Korpela League Wraps Up While Other Leagues Tighten Up

RMSA DIAMOND DUST, Week 12 (July 18 – July 24, 2010)
By Mike Kohli, RMSA Board Member

[RMSA Diamond Dust is a weekly synopsis of action in the Rome Men’s Softball Association. It will spotlight feature games and stand-out players from each week’s games]

The Jim Korpela League wrapped up regular season play this week with Palisades beating Dilligaf 26-11 to finish undefeated and repeat as Korpela League Champions. Mattacola Law Firm finished one game back at 9-1 as they defeated Firemen in a forfeited game. Midnight Mikey’s/Federated Insurance wrapped up third place, scoring four runs in their final at-bat in a come-from-behind win over The Mill. Mikey’s finished the regular season with a 7-3 record.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Community League and Monday Burt Smith League leaders stayed true to form, remaining undefeated with one week remaining in regular season play in each league. Western Legion won by forfeit over Sammy G’s to move their record to 10-0 in the Community League and Performance Wire held Bill Herrig’s Auto to just four hits as they won 12-0.

Nine teams have already punched their tickets to the sixteen team season-ending RMSA Tournament. The remaining playoff spots have yet to be determined as several teams are locked in ties with the final week of games remaining to determine the fourth seed from each league. The final four tourney teams will earn their spots through their individual league play-in tournaments beginning the week of August 8. One “Wild Card” team will also be determined following the play-in games to round out the field for the annual tournament that will be played August 12, 14, and 15 at the Haselton-Wright Softball Complex.

Sunday’s big game was the nightcap on field two between a pair of 5-4 teams vying for the fourth seed from the Community League. Bravo’s/Wagoner-Hickok and Taylor Construction played a tight match throughout, heading into the Taylor fifth tied at three. Taylor exploded for nine runs to take a 12-3 lead. Ryan Waterman had a bases-clearing triple to pace Taylor in the inning and Jeremy Nodecker knocked in two runs with a double.

Bravo’s answered with two in the sixth and ground out six more in their half of the seventh but still came up short, losing 12-11 and dropping to 5-5 in league play heading into a final week matchup against Waste Management. Mark Bahr finished a perfect four-for-four for Bravo’s and Bob Raymond had a double and a home run among his three hits. Trinity Swancott also homered and tripled for Bravo’s in the loss.

The win put Taylor in the driver’s seat heading into a tough final week matchup against perennial RMSA powerhouse Don’s Auto.

Monday’s game with playoff implications pitted 6-2 Casey’s Brew Crew against 6-2 Bucky’s. After an explosive first inning that saw a total of fifteen runs scored, the teams settled in to trade leads through the middle innings.

Gary Reese hit a two-run home run for Brew Crew in their eight run first inning, while Bucky’s used several walks and a couple of sacrifice flies to score seven of their own in the inning.

Heading into the sixth inning leading 11-10, Bucky’s scored six runs to take an insurmountable lead. John Destito plated a pair of runs with a single in the inning to lead the way for Bucky’s. Destito would later hit an RBI triple in the seventh to add to the lead. Destito finished the night three-for-four, while Lenny Costello and Joe Guilano had three RBI apiece for Bucky’s in the 19-11 victory.

Gary Roth hit a solo home run for Brew Crew and Lou Westcott as a perfect four-for-four with two RBI in defeat. The loss knocked Brew Crew into a tie for fourth place with Black River Ale House/D&D Carpets with one game remaining for both teams.

Playoff seedings will take place following completion of each league’s play-in tournaments. Seedings will be determined by league records and average run differential. If the tournament were to start today, the top three seeds would be Western Legion, Performance Wire and Palisades.