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06/27/2024 10:22 PMAs the Deep River Horseshoe League entered into the second half of its season, everyone got to enjoy the longest day of the year (15 hours of daylight) and also endure the hottest day of the year. With temperatures in the high 80s, players were doing their best to stay cool in Week Nine.
Diamondbacks’ Chip Goodrich (East Hampton) led his team to a sweep of Joe Heery's Rangers with a 132 point series, equally his season best, while Gary Stevens' (Chester) 86 point series tied his season best. Brian Walsh’s (Killingworth) 81 point series was his season's best, as well. The Diamondbacks scored 299 points and defeated the Rangers by over 100 points.
The Cardinals have been up and down in the standings, while the Orioles have been slowly climbing since Week Four. John Durinick got the Orioles off to a quick start with a 40 point game. Cardinals’ Kris Toohey responded in game two with 42 points to even the match. The Orioles managed to win the next two, benefit of strong games by Ed Turner and John O'Brien.
In game five, Kris Toohey started with a double, and after four boxes, he only had 11 points. He then tossed 14 ringers over the next eight boxes, including five straight doubles, to end the game with a new league season high of 55 points, 17 ringers, and seven doubles. He ended the night as the leading scorer with 157 points, 48 ringers, 12 doubles. Toohey now holds the league season highs in four of the six statistical categories. The Cardinals scored 311 points, and the Orioles had 289 points. The two teams split, and the Cardinals fell from sixth to ninth place.
The Braves were looking to recover from last week's stunning loss, and they decided to take it out on the Reds. Braves’ Mike Zanelli Jr. and Reds’ Pudge Goodrich got locked into a good head-to head match, each winning two games apiece, with Goodrich edging Zanelli 107-102.
Zanelli got great support from Warren Bellows, who topped the century mark for the fourth time in five weeks, and Matt Valentin, whose 86 point series was the third leading "C" scorer. The Braves won 5-1 and upped their first place lead from half a game to two-and-a-half games.
Yankees’ Todd Nuhn started the match with six straight ringers that set the tone for the rest of the night. In game two, the Red Sox had the lead going into the final two boxes, but Yankees’ Damin Roberts double and Nuhn’s ringer sealed another Yankees win. Roberts’ season best 40 points, 11 ringers, and three doubles gave the Yankees their third win in a row, and they also won the next two games before the Red Sox could salvage a win. The Yankees won 5-1 and moved up from fourth into third place.
Roberts’ 124 point, 32 ringers, and six doubles was a season best series and the top "B" scorer. In addition, he is now in the top three in all six statistical categories. The Yankees scored 325 points and 75 ringers. This is the second week in a row they have gone 5-1, topped 300 points, and had 75 ringers.
As the second leading scoring team, the Marlins had a distinct advantage over Sheryl Serviss's Tigers, plus they had the scoring duo of Mark Goodale and Howie Fisher. However, beware of the Tiger on the prowl. The Tigers have gone 19-5 over the last four weeks, and three weeks ago they were in last place. The Tigers jumped out to four quick wins before the Marlins finally got a win. The Tigers won 5-1 and have moved up from ninth to sixth place, while the Marlins have slipped from third to seventh place.
The Mets had a new sub for Keith Toohey in Leif Selander, and it provided a big handicap advantage to the Mets. They reaped it benefit in games one and three. The White Sox could only manage one win in game two, as Brady Milker and Hunter Beckwith each had their best game of the evening.
There was also a match within the match, when father Bob Beckwith (Mets) faced his son Hunter (White Sox). Bob won 3-1 and and outscored Hunter 79-66. Mets’ Bob Cifaldi and Brady Miller had a good head-to-head match, with each of them winning two games and Cifaldi edging Miller 116-113. The Mets won 5-1 and moved up from eighth to fifth place in the standings.
The second place Dodgers were looking to stay within striking distance of first place, as they faced off against the Pirates. The Pirates had subs for both of their "A" and "B" players. This was a back-and-forth match with each team trading wins - they both won three. However, these were two of the highest scoring teams of the night.
Frank Rausch, subbing for Skip Robinson, had a 142 point series, the second highest score for the night. Harvey Strausser's 99 point series was the second leading score for "C" players, and sub Frank Durinick’s 84 points helped the Pirates total 325 points, 76 ringers, and 11 doubles.
While the Dodger Duo of Vinny Jonynas (105 points) was the third highest for "B" players, and Dennis Allen (108 points) led the scoring for "C" division, add in Butch Carotenuto's 84 points and they totaled 307 points, 64 ringers, and six doubles. The Dodgers remain in second place, two-and-a-half games behind the Braves.
In the other games, the Giants won over the Cubs 4.5 - 1.5. Giants’ Mike Zanelli Sr.'s 142 point series was tied for the second high score of the night. The Cubs slipped from seventh to twelfth in the standings. Also, the Angels defeated the Rockies 3.5 - 2.5, behind Tony Cutone's season best series of 125 points and Ted Dubay's season best series of 111 points. Dubay was the second leading scorer for "C" division. The Angels moved up one spot to fourth place.