The following was submitted by Roger Whittlesey. To submit your own news to the Westford Template, e-mail us at andrewsylvia@westfordtemplate.com
Most teams would likely acknowledge that the ball did not fly out of the park this season the way it has in the past. Some blame it on the humid summer, others on the bats, and still others on old age. However, there is an elite group of hitters in the league that hit them no matter what the circumstances.
Here are the top home run hitters of the 2014 regular season:
1. Don Cusano: The Mustangs pitcher is the league’s most consistent power hitter. He is usually good for one home run a game, though he hit seven home runs in the final three games of the season. Cusano knocked out 23 home runs in 24 games this season.
2. Rob Beaudette: The Floral Arts left fielder plays softball as a change of pace from his role as the Nashoba Tech varsity football coach. Softball is not his favorite sport, but that hasn’t stopped him from banging out 21 home runs this season and gathering 60 RBI.
3. Simon Tripp & Jim Peloquin: Both players are key on defense for Floral Arts and each hit 20 home runs this season and knocked in 50-plus runs. The pair hit a combined four grand slams this season.
5. Thanh Nyugen: Gutcheck’s star left fielder and sometimes pitcher hit five home runs in the final week of the season to finish with 19 home runs. It is staggering to think how many more home runs he would have hit if he hadn’t been intentionally walked nearly ten times and constantly pitched around.
6. Todd Shepherd: The Drew Farms outfielder got off to a screaming start, hitting 12 home runs in the first ten games, but then hit four in the final 12 games for a total of 16 long flies.
7. Mike Gross: Shortcut Landscaping’s first baseman rapped out 15 home runs this season, including several grand slams.
8. Rob Swinamer & Billy Knute: When Willis Tents’ Swinamer is playing, no one parks within fifty feet of the right field fence. The powerful lefty is known for hitting tape-measure shots over the right field fence into the parking lot. Knute, the smooth left fielder for the Mustangs, also bats lefty and is a formidable presence at the plate. Both Knute and Swinamer tied with 14 home runs.
10. Mike Kennedy & Mike Alonardo: The Mustangs’ Kennedy and Floral Arts’ Alonardo each swatted 13 home runs.
