Mansion on Broadway Leads Men’s A- Tight Race in Co-Ed A Softball
There have been some changes in the White Plains Recreation Department Summer Softball League this year. Lauren O’Conner has departed after doing a great job as Senior Recreation Leader and Softball Supervisor. She has taken a position as a Recreation Supervisor with the New Rochelle Parks and Recreation Department.
Longtime White Plains Recreation Supervisor II Matthew Hanson has assumed the position as Softball Supervisor this year. Nonetheless, the Recreation Softball staff remains intact and Hanson is assisted by Softball Coordinators Ryan Mathews and White Plains Recreation Softball guru Lou DeMarco, who has worked with WP Recreation Softball for over five decades.
Other changes that were implemented in Recreation Softball this summer included the unfortunate elimination of the Women’s League. Also teams in the flourishing Men’s and Co-Ed Leagues can no longer bring their own bats to games. The White Plains Recreation Department is providing four Thermo Composite Barrel bats of various weights for each game.
However, one thing that remains constant in Recreation Softball is that Mansion on Broadway (MOB) consistently brings a quality team to the Men’s A League. After winning the Men’s A Playoff Championship last season, MOB is on top of the Men’s A League this year with only about two weeks remaining in the regular season.
MOB swept a double-header at Carl J. Delfino Park, on Thursday, July 20, to enhance their record to 11-2 this season with a five-game lead in the Men’s A Division.
Umpires had to enforce the Mercy Rule in MOB’s first game of the evening, while beating Bennett Funeral Home, 21-8 after just five innings. The Mercy Rule is implemented when one team is beating an opponent by as many as 12 runs after five innings of play.
MOB’s second game of the evening presented more of a challenge as they were pitted against last year’s Playoff Championship opponent Reptar, who they beat last year to maintain the Title. After Riemann’s Auto Body beat Dunnes Pub, 19-11, in an earlier contest to tie for second place; Reptar needed the win against Mansion to remain in sole possession of the second slot in Men’s A.
Reptar got off to a good start while winning 7-1 in the third inning. But Mansion proved that they are still MOB, by coming back to tie the game 8-8 in the bottom of the fourth inning. The game remained tied until the sixth inning when Mansion put seven runs on the board behind a RBI single by John Bruno and Jesse Smith’s long single to leftfield to score two runs, which made the score 15-8.
“This year feels different only because we won all around, we won in other leagues and we have been doing it for three years. I think we are starting to let our guard down a little but towards the end of the season things start to pick up,” stated Mansions long-ball slugger Smith.
Reptar, a quality team in its own right, did not give-up. They scored four runs in the bottom of the last inning, which included a three-run HR by Giuseppe Granitto. But Mansion went on to win 15-12. “I think we are good enough to be in first place but we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. Absolutely, we will be in it at the end of the season,” stated Reptar Manager Joe McEntee.
Co-Ed A League Standings is as tight as it could get with about three weeks remaining on their Wednesday scheduled games. Pete’s Saloon (8-2), Quantum Technology (7-2), Ron Blacks (7-3) and Lazy Boy/ Whisky Creek (6-4) are all competing for the top spot.
The Men’s A Softball League plays at Delfino Park Fields 1 & 2, on Thursday evenings starting at 7 p.m. The Co-Ed A League plays at Gillie Park Field 2, on Wednesday evenings starting at 6 p.m. Adult Softball it is an entertaining White Plains community activity, come out and support.
