The following was submitted by Roger Whittlesey. To submit your own news, e-mail the editor at andrewsylvia@westfordtemplate.com
It took all five games of the semifinal round before Floral Arts defeated Shortcut Landscaping. Now, with the finals sitting at two wins to one in favor of the Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs, Floral Arts finds itself in a similar scenario to the semifinals when it went down two games to one. This is the sixth straight year in a row that the Mustangs and Floral Arts have met in the finals. The Mustangs has won three championships in that time.
SEMIFINALS
Floral Arts 17, Shortcut Landscaping 4
On Tuesday, Floral Arts advanced to the final for the sixth year in a row with a 17-4 win over the powerful Shortcut Landscaping team. Larry Mardany pitched a gem of a game and the Floral defense was nearly perfect all night. Mardany helped his cause in the fourth when he hit a two-run homer. Roger Whittlesey hit an opposite-field three run homer in an inning when Floral scored eight runs. Ken Delaney homered twice and Jim Peloquin and Simon Tripp each homered once. Dave Janowsky continued his hot hitting, getting on base in every at-bat.
FINALS
Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 20, Floral Arts 15
On Wednesday, the Mustangs scored six runs in the first and then kept adding on incrementally all night to stay just ahead of Floral Arts. Ken Delaney hit a three-run homer in the second inning for Floral during a seven-run inning that brought the score to 11-7 Mustangs. Jack McGrath’s three-run homer in bottom of sixth provided the insurance runs necessary to hold on for the win. The following Mustangs had productive nights at the plate: Jack Erickson 3-for-3, 2 RS, 2 RBI, Jay Dolan 3-for-3, 2 RS, 1 RBI, Don Cusano 2 hits, 3RBI, Cormac Bordes 2 hits, 3 RS, 2 RBI. Bill Knute was solid defensively in left.
Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustang 23, Floral Arts 16
On Friday, the Mustangs were an offensive machine, knocking the ball to all fields and several over the fence. Their success against Floral’s starting pitcher in the first two innings prompted a rare pitching change as Floral shortstop Jim Peloquin came in to stop the bleeding. But the Mustangs did not relax; they continued to pound the ball. Mark Chamber hit a three-run homer for Floral and Jim Peloquin hit a two-run shot to the opposite field. Mustangs’ pitcher Don Cusano and left fielder Bill Knute each scored four runs, had two homers and knocked in four. Mike Kennedy and Paul Selfrige were both 4-for-4 with 4 runs scored and two RBI. Selfrige also hit a home run. Jim Ward, Mark Cusano and Craig Smith had three hits each. Dan Crogan and Paul Liguori played great infield defense.
Floral Arts 13, Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 8
On Sunday, Floral Arts needed a win to force a fourth game in the best-of-three series finals, and they came out swinging. Mike Alonardo, Jim Peloquin, and Simon Tripp hit homers in the first inning to go up 3-0. Floral pitcher Larry Mardany shut down the Mustangs in the bottom of the inning, and then Floral tacked on more runs, including a home run by Rob Beaudette. Frank Lancelotta was 2-for-3 and hit an opposite-field songle that scored a runner from second. Floral Arts’ strong defense kept the Mustangs from scoring in four of the seven innings. Mustangs’ Mike Kennedy hit a home run and knocked in three, while playing excellent defense at third. Bill Knute collected three hits. Paul Selfrige, Dan Crogan, and Jack Erickson had two hits apiece. Jim Ward played well in the outfield.
