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07/08/2024 01:49 AMFor the second week in a row, the standings underwent a shuffle in the Deep River Horseshoe League. After holding down first place for eight straight weeks, the Orioles swept the Braves out of first place. The Dodgers squeezed into first place with a split against the Diamondbacks. The Yankees held on to third place, one of two teams to hold their position in the standings. The Angels tumbled into a tie for seventh, while the Cardinals jumped into a tie for fourth place with the Mets.
Expectations were that the match would be decided between the "A" players of Orioles’ John Durinick and Braves’ Mike Zanelli Jr. The match between "B" players Ed Turner (Orioles) and Warren Bellows (Braves) was considered even, and the match between the "C" players went to Orioles’ John O'Brien vs. Braves’ substitute Kyle Sunderland.
Zanelli defeated Durinick 118 - 106. For the second week in a row, Turner had a 101 point series and defeated Bellows by 27 points, while O'Brien's 89 point series was a season's best. He was the "C" players’ second leading scorer. The Orioles won 6-0 and moved into sixth place in the standings.
In Week Nine, the Dodgers scored 307 points to split their match and still stayed within striking distance of first place. The Diamondbacks were coming off a sweep and had scored 299 points. However, Frank Durinick subbed for Diamondbacks’ Chip Goodrich, and the teams split the first four games.
The last two games were both decided by one point. In game five, Butch Carotenuto and Vinny Jonynas each tossed a four in the last box for a Dodger win, and in the final game, it was Diamondback Brian Walsh's ringer in the last box to get the win. Walsh's 87 point series was his season best and was the third highest for "C" players. The teams split, but the Dodgers eased into first place by one-half game.
In Week Nine, Frank Rausch subbed for Pirates’ Skip Robinson, but in Week 10, he went up against Robinson, as he subbed for Angels’ Tony Cutone. The Pirates got off to a quick start, winning the first four games before Rausch and Ted Dubay of the Angels were able to garner their lone win.
It was the scoring of Pirates’ Anthony Malerba's 108 point series (third leading "B" player) and Harvey Strausser's 95 point series (leading "C" scorer) that carried the Pirates to a 5-1 win. The Pirates moved into a tie for seventh place, while the Angels slipped into a tie for ninth place.
The fifth place Mets took on the sixth place Tigers, who have gone 24-6 over the last five weeks. However, the advantage went to the Mets, since the Tigers had to use a blind score for Anthony Conkling. With only two points of handicap assigned to any game, this could be considered a scratch match.
The teams split the first four games. After winning game five, it was Mets’ Bob Beckwith's single point in the last box that gave the Mets a one-point win, and they won 4-2. Sheryl Serviss of the Tigers had her season best series with 135 points, 37 ringers, and seven doubles. She was the third leading scorer for the "A" division.
The Reds are now facing the top teams in the standings as the season moves on. In Week Nine, it was the first place Braves, and in Week 10, it was the third place Yankees. The Yankees lead the league in ringers per game with an average of 67 and are the third leading scoring team.
The stats didn't seem to phase Pudge Goodrich's Reds, as they won three of the first four games. Yankees’ Damin Roberts had three games in the mid 30s on his way to a season best 129 point series, but open boxes by the Yankees led to losses in two of those games. The Reds won 4-2, but the Yankees remain in third place.
The next match featured the No. 1 and No. 3 scorers in the league - Cardinals’ Kris Toohey and Red Sox’s Bill Beckwith. The Cardinals were forced to use the blind score for Mike Mercier, so the advantage went to the Red Sox.
In the first game, Toohey edged Beckwith 35-32, and the Red Sox managed to win by three points. That would be the Red Sox’s only win, and the expectations of a close head-to-head matchup never materialized. Toohey ended the night as the "A" division second leading scorer with a 145 point series. The Cardinals won 5-1 and jumped from ninth place to a tie for fourth in the standings.
Mike Zanelli Sr.'s Giants appeared to be taking on the role of a spoiler. The Marlins are the league's leading scoring team and were looking to rebound from two weeks of losing. However, the Giants won the first five games, and each of the Giants had their season best series. Zanelli’s 150 point series was the leading score for the night, Paul Chrystal had a 78 point series, and Gary Haney had a 56 point series. The team totaled 284 points, 55 ringers, and seven doubles.
Marlins’ Mark Goodale was the second leading "B" division player with a 123 point series that included a season best 45 point game. The Marlins’ totals for the night were 285 points, 55 ringers, and four doubles. The Giants won 5-1, and the Marlins fell from seventh to eleventh place in the standings.
In other matches, the White Sox won 4-2 over the Cubs behind the season best scoring of Brady Miller’s 126 point series and Hunter Beckwith's 104 point series. The White Sox totaled 306 points and are the ninth team to top 300 points. In a low scoring affair, the Rockies cruised to a 4.5-1.5 win over the Rangers.