Natick Softball

The 2005 Night League campaign opened in late April and closed in late August. The final touch was last Sunday's annual one-pitch tourney which in the heat and humidity feels like it lasts as long as the 22-game regular season. The 11-team extravaganza lasted from 8:30 A.M. until 6 P.M. and was played proudly in memory of players Mike Breau and Brian Leshinski who recently passes away.
After nine teams were eliminated having each lost twice, George's Pizza and Natick Federal played a one-game showdown. Entering the battle both clubs were 3-0 but George's squeezed every bit of sauce and cheese there was to be squeezed out of the Feds. Before Federal had even batted in the first inning George's had built a 12-0 command sparked by eight walks. From there George's coasted to a 23-9 triumph.
Stars of the tournament for George's were many and included shortstop Aldo Donnelly, hot corner whiz Mitch Bobinski, second baseman Mike Coco and pitcher Pete Putnam. 'Every year this tourney is a ball for every participant and all the families,' said player/coach Putnam. 'It really is not about winning but I would be lying to say that winning this thing wasn't wonderful.'
Outfielder Tom Kelly, Federal's MVP(.500,8 RBI, 8RS and great D) on the day, agreed.'Jim Lavezzo and Paul Adams deserve a ton of credit for consistently making this work. From the umps to the food and soda to the games themselves. Just super,' said the outfielder whose amazing catch with two on and two out in the last of the seventh allowed Federal to hold on for a 10-9 win over JFK Transportation in his team's third contest.
Fed pitcher Paul Adams was instrumental during his club winning its first three games but no single play was as dramatic as Kelly's running grab in right field. 'Tom simply outran the line drive and caught it next to the tent. I thought he was going to bring the tent down on the fans who were sitting inside hiding from the sweltering sun,' said Adams.
Jerry McCarthy and Dan Detatie each hit .563 for Federal during the marathon while Scott Moore and Shawn Connors each batted .500. The squad was rounded out by Tom Kampersal, Gary Repella, Jack Collins,Mike Savard, Frank Maguire and Phil'I used to be very good' Mazzocchi.
Noteworthy highlights'.Jay Nesbit's clutch hit to help JFK help beat Muddy Waters'Jamie Murphy's clutch hit to help George's beat the Hogs'Kevin Kearns' walk-off 2-run homer against Hutchinson's to lead Connolly's to a one-run decision'Coach Tim Dempsey of the Hogs losing an arm wrestle to Coach Dan Skinner of Wellesley Carriage'umpire/cook Mike Lavezzo winning a hot dog-eating contest against Jim Argir of Atlantic Management and Mike Fennell of Morn's with the winner devouring four plus buns.
Team Cheryl Sizzles Again in Road Race
The annual Falmouth Road Race featured for the eighth straight August Team Cheryl, a 26-person crew of mostly Natickites including courageous wonder girl Cheryl Chagnon. Team Cheryl runs for fun and more importantly to raise money for lymphoma research. Chagnon was diagnosed with this type of cancer eight years ago at age 37.
Natickites on Team Cheryl were the Connolly Clan(Dana, Jesse and D-2 Night League star John plus his sister-in-laws Dale Finger and Darlene McKenzie), the Jennings Family(Sandy and state police officers Jessica and Mike),the Chagnons(Tara, Andrew and Cheryl), Audrey DeMaio(sister of the late NHS athletic star Tom Tower), Larry Frederick, Beth and Bill Lederman, popular Natick Police Seargents Cara Rossi Cafarelli and Paul Thompson, Dr. Cliff Scott and former NHS football star Detective John Haswell.The speedy platoon was rounded out by Melissa Bosselman, Karen Plescia, Callie Rose, Steve Schoen, Ed Lynch, Maurice Prendergast and Paul Piselli.
Lesniak's 2005 D-1 All-Star Team

1B Ryan Hogan, Morn's. Probably his finest season ever, batting over .500 and absolutely sparkling on defense.
2B Tim Nelson, Owen O'Leary's. Despite a campaign-ending injury with two weeks remaining Tim hit .560 and was the best defensive second baseman in the division, earning a slight nod over Brett kane and Jack Collins.
SSJoe Arena, Hogs and Allen Donnelly, George's. Somehow..some way.. as Arena gets older he actually gets better. At age 37 Joe's defensive play was a level above all other shortstops in the division EXCEPT for Allen Donnelly. The 22 year-old hit for a higher average than arena but Arena owned a defensive edge.
3B Mitch Bobinski, George's. One of Natick softball's most unknown, unsung and underrated players. Mitch batted .550 and was clearly the league's best defensive hot corner star.
C Eddie Arena, Hogs. Clutch defensive plays, clutch base hits, always there to back up an incoming throw, a leader. Can anyone say Johnny Bench'
P Joe Gallarani, Sr., Morn's. At age 70 the oldest but one of the best players in the league. On the mound Joe utilizes the 12-foot arc to the max and rarely walks a batter. He was the main reason that Morn's won the pennant and allowed the fewest runs(161) in the division. Joe hit .540.
LF Brian Linton, Hogs. For the second straight year Brian was the best all-around leftfielder. He hit .550 and consistently made great catches a la Yaz.
LCF Joe Gallarani, Jr.,Morn's. No outfielder in the league was better than Gallarani. He batted .600 and led Morn's in RBI, helping the team to 217 runs, second only to the Hogs' 223 runs. Defensively nobody does it better and with Steve Zwick and John Stolarczyk now retired Gallarani could be the absolute top active player in D-1.
RCF Dave Anslem, George's. With seven homers during the year of the dead ball Southern Dave led the division and hit over .500. Defensively he was outstanding and owns one of the several best arms in town.
RF Rich Brothers, Hogs. A superb defender and along with Anslem, Mike McCarthy and Mike Tarrentino among the most feared lefty sluggers in the league.Like Bobinski Rich goes relatively unnoticed.
DH Sam Gifford, Morn's. Despite playing injured all season the 6'4'' infielder batted nearly .600 and played well at third base after moving from short due to injury.
Utility star Randy Dale, Dawgs. The longtime veteran hit a career-high .600 and shined in both the infield and outfield.
Unsung Hero Bobby Harless, Carriage. Over the final two- thirds of the campaign Harless was outstanding on the mound,consitently giving his club a realistic shot at winning.
Best sub Tom Kelly, Federal. Due to an unstable and constantly changing group of outfielders Federal called for Kelly's services in 13 games. Defensively he was fantastic in all four outfield slots and hit .545(24 for 44) with 17 runs scored from the lead-off spot.
Coach of the Year Dan Skinner, Carriage. While five teams remained in the top five spots in the standings all season three fought hard for the sixth and final spot. Until the last two weeks of the race Carriage was dead last but sparked by the inspirational Skinner ultimately secured the sixth playoff seed.
Infield reserves Ken Fleming 3B Carriage, Rod Spinazola 3B Roche Brothers, Ryan Van Tassell SS, O'Leary's
Outfield reserves Jerry McCarthy LCF George's, Billy Gassett LCF Hogs, Matt Washek RCF Morn's
Regular Season MVP Joey Gallarani, Morn's. In a league of sensational left centerfielders(McCarthy, Gassett, Steve Keniry, Jim Gavagan,etc) Gallarani is as the song says simply the best. He was the number one star on the first-place squad. Period.
Playoff MVP Joe Arena, Hogs. Ozzie smith he is not. Actually Arena plays short like Ken Dryden played net. Arena's style is aggressive and unique. Often when he makes a play one feels as if he or she is watching Jake LaMotta. Very little grace and a lot of heart. Arena's defensive antics almost single-handedly pushed the Hogs past George's in the semifinals.



source: .naticksoftball.net