| UCSSL 2020 PLAYOFF RESULTS | ||||||
| 60’s Divisions | ||||||
| Games for Week of August 23, 2020 | ||||||
| Yogi's Boys 11, Avengers 4 | ||||||
| Yogi's Boys took the opening game of this best of three 60's B Division semifinals by scoring 7 runs in the 6th inning to defeat the Avengers 11-4. For Yogi's, Paul Leso, Ken Hopper, Joe DePierro and Tom Lombardi each had two hits in the victory. The Boys' defense was led by Ken Hopper who turned two double plays on balls that would have been hits. Andy Coukos and Ken Thew also flashed the leather on defense to make run-saving plays. Joe DePierro pitched a great game holding the Avengers' bats in check. For the Avengers Jeff Villani had 3 hits on the night, and Bill Moore, Sal Iannaconne and Joe Brown had two hits each. | ||||||
| Awnings Galore 14, DeBellis Associates 5 | ||||||
| Top seed Awnings Galore defeated DeBellis Associates 14-5 in the opening game of this 60's B Division best of three playoff series. Awnings put the game away with 6 runs in the 4th and 5 runs in the 6th innings. Tom Pasko once again had a stellar pitching performance and helped the effort by going 2 for 3 at the plate. Bruce Crawford's first of the season over the fence homer at Tremley Field catapulted the Shadesters to victory. Danny Mendoza almost matched him with a long shot that hit the top of the fence for a long double. Both added singles as well. Frank Green had a triple and a single. Paul Newton, Rich Polonitza and Carmine Priore each contributed 2 singles. | ||||||
| Liberty Lighting Group 22, American Legion 16 | ||||||
| In the first game of this 60's A Division semifinal, Liberty Lighting outlasted American Legion 22-16. With the game tied at 15 going into the final frame, LLG plated 7, and held on for the victory. Leadoff man Paul Bifani collected 4 hits in 4 at bats. Lou Balestriere, Don Miller, Harry Semple, Mike Backus and Rick Regenthal each had 3 hits on the night. Balestriere blasted a 3 run HR in the third. After 3 walks, Willie Jackson cashed in on his final at bat with a towering grand slam HR to put the game on ice. | ||||||
| Renda Roads 22, Kenilworth VFW 5 | ||||||
| After falling behind 5-0 in the first inning, Top-seeded Renda Roads powered their way to an opening game victory in this best of three semifinal 60's A Division playoff matchup by a score of 22-5. Gary Pence was the winning pitcher as he kept the VFW bats quiet after the first inning. The Renda offense was led by Joe Massimino, Sal Martino and Dana Kimmel with 3 hits apiece. Al Feigenbaum was 3 for 3 for VFW | ||||||
| Games for Week of August 31, 2020 | ||||||
| Renda Roads 21, Kenilworth VFW 6 | ||||||
| Renda Roads defeated Kenilworth VFW 21-6 to sweep their best of three semifinal playoff series and move on to the 60+ A Division Finals. Renda's offense was led by Tom Baldowski with 3 hits and an HR, and John Mazur with 3 hits and a triple. Anthony Santorelli, Gary Pence and Bernie Maguire also contributed 3 hits each. Dennis Watson and Sal Martino were defensive standouts. For VFW, Don Montefusco, Rich Kovach and Bob D'Meo had 2 hits apiece. | ||||||
| American Legion 21, Liberty Lighting 6 | ||||||
| American Legion knotted this 60+ A Division best of three semifinal playoff series at 1-1 with a convincing victory over Liberty Lighting Group. Legion overcame an early deficit by scoring 9 runs in the third inning to take the lead and never looked back. Leading the charge for the Legion with big hits were Ralph Genova, John Amato, Gene Antonucci, Bill Dugan and Glenn Sytko. Contributing with outstanding defensive plays were Bill Buteau and Willie Shumate to keep LLG from mounting a comeback. Winning pitcher Ed Lubas pitched a shutout over the last six innings for the victory. | ||||||
| Awnings Galore 20, DeBellis Associates 9 | ||||||
| Top seed Awnings Galore closed out DeBellis Associates in this 60+ B Division Semifinal series by a score of 20-9. Awnings 29-hit performance and an 8-run 5th inning proved too much for DeBellis to handle. Triples by Bruce Crawford (3 for 3) and Paul Newton (2 for 4), and doubles by Tom Pasko (2 for 4), Danny Mendoza (2 for 4), Kevin Carroll (2 for 4) and Mike Carnevale helped power the Shadesters to victory. 3 hit contributions by Rich Polonitza, John Campanella and Rich Traub, and two apiece by George Merlo, Frank Green, Bobby Lorincz and Ray Meigs, assisted in the win. | ||||||
| Avengers 4, Yogi’s Boys 2 | ||||||
| Game Two of the Avengers vs Yogi's Boys playoff semifinal series was a real nail biter. Trailing 2-1 in the top of the fourth inning, Avengers' Joe Sarica doubled to score two runs. The score remained 3-2 until the top of the 6th when a key hit by Tom Connolly provided the insurance run. The Avengers tight defense led by infielders Steve Falco, Steve Landau, Gino Raisley, Jeff Villani, Bill Moore and pitcher Alan Schachman set down 6 straight Yogis in the last two innings to earn the victory and tie the B Division series at 1-1. | ||||||
| Avengers 10, Yogi’s Boys 1 | ||||||
| The Avengers defeated Yogi’s Boys 10-1 in the deciding game of their B Division semifinal playoff series. Avengers tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the 1st and then added 9 more runs over the next 5 innings while shutting out Yogi's Boys for the balance of the game behind another masterful pitching performance by ace Alan Schachman. He was backed by a solid defense which included 3 double plays. At the plate, Steve Falco, Stu Lukowiak, Joe Brown, Bill Moore and Anthony Abbaleo contributed 2 hits apiece. Avengers move on to the B Division Finals and will take on top seed Awnings Galore. | ||||||
| American Legion 15, Liberty Lighting 9 | ||||||
| American Legion took the rubber game of this A Division semifinal series by defeating 2019 champion Liberty Lighting Group 15-9. The Legion took a six-run lead in the fifth inning off the bats of Willie Shumate, Chris Paterek, Jim McCullough and Gene Antonucci. LLG cut the lead to two in the sixth inning, but the Legion responded with four in the bottom half of the inning led by Bill Buteau, Jack Helfrich, Bill Dugan and Mike Jones. A great running catch by Jim McCullough in the sixth derailed any comeback attempt by Liberty. Winning Pitcher Ed Lubas drove in three runs for the victors. American Legion moves on to face top seed Renda Roads in the 60+ A Division Final series. | ||||||
| Games for Week of September 6, 2020 | ||||||
| American Legion 12, Renda Roads 11 | ||||||
| American Legion took the opening game of this A division best of 3 playoff championship series by a nail-biting score of 12-11. The Legion broke open a tie game by scoring five runs in the sixth inning to take the lead. Starting the charge on offense were Bill Dugan and Bill Buteau, followed by run-scoring hits from Steve Miscia, Jim McCullough and Glenn Sytko. Multiple hit games were recorded by Ralph Genova and Chris Paterek. Defensively, John Amato turned several nifty double plays to help maintain the lead. | ||||||
| Awnings Galore 18, Avengers 8 | ||||||
| Awnings Galore took the opening game of the B Division best of three final playoff series with a 21-hit attack while scoring the maximum 6 runs in both the 2nd and 4th innings. Paul Newton led the Shadesters' offense once again with a 3 for 3 performance. Pitcher Tom Pasko was 2 for 2 (2 doubles). Also contributing 2 hits in the winning effort were Danny Mendoza, Rich Polonitza, Mike Carnevale, Ray Meigs and John Campanella. For the Avengers Stu Lukowiak was 3 for 3. Joe Sarica, Leo DiGuilio, Anthony Abbaleo, Steve Landau and Sal Iannaconne added two hits each. | ||||||
| Renda Roads 11, American Legion 8 | ||||||
| The second game of the A Division playoff championship series saw the game knotted at 4-4 when Renda Roads plated 7 runs in the top of the 7th inning, all started by a Brian Williams single to start a 2-out rally. In the bottom of the 7th Legion scored 4 runs and had the bases loaded with the winning run at the plate, when a lazy fly ball ended the threat to force a deciding third game. For the Roadsters Mark Mariski led the way with 2 hits including a game-tying homer in the 5th inning. Brian Williams, Bernie Maguire, Dan Difedele, Sal Martino and Tom Baldowski all had 2 hits on the night. Gary Pence was the winning pitcher. The Legion early game 3-run lead came off the bats of Willie Shumate and Jack Helfrich. Their 7th inning rally was fueled by a Bill Dugan home run and hits from John Amato, Gene Antonucci, Steve Miscia and Jim McCullough. The A Division Finals is tied at 1-1. | ||||||
| Awnings Galore 14, The Avengers 12 | ||||||
| Awnings Galore was cruising in game 2 of this B Division best of three playoff finals series with a 14-1 lead after 5 innings. The Avengers rallied with 11 runs over the final two frames and had the tying runs in scoring position when a fine Awnings defensive play stopped the bleeding to capture the 60+ B Division championship. Leading the Awnings offense were Rich Polonitza with 2 doubles and 4 RBIs, and the always reliable Tom Pasko who added 2 hits including a double. Also contributing two hits apiece were Frank Green, Mike Carnevale and Joe Mitarotonda. Bruce Crawford added a double for Awnings. For the Avengers Stu Lukowiak and Jeff Villani were 4 for 4, Steve Falco had 3 hits, and Steve Landau, Sal Iannaconne, Joe Brown, Bob Hoffman and Richie Krov added 2 hits each. Awnings Galore sweeps the B Division Finals 2-0. | ||||||
| Games for Week of September 13, 2020 | ||||||
| Renda Roads 21, American Legion 20 | ||||||
| In a most exciting final game of the abbreviated 2020 UCSSL season, Roselle Legion and Renda Roads entered the 7th inning of the 60+ Division Finals knotted at 13-13. Glenn Sytko (2 hits) and Bill Daniel (3 hits) started a seemingly insurmountable 7 run rally in the top of the final inning. Not to be outdone, Renda Roads came back with 8 runs in the bottom of the 7th for the win. Leading the Renda attack were Tom Baldowski with 2 Homers and 2 intentional walks, Tom Straniero 4-4, John Mazur 3-4 with a Home Run, Dan Difedele 3-4, and Brian Williams 2-2. Roselle American Legion was paced by Willie Shumate (3 hits), Gene Antonucci (2 hits), Bill Dugan (2 hits including a long double) and Bill Buteau with a triple scoring two runs. Also contributing offensively with multiple hit games were Mike Jones and Ed Lubas. Renda Roads wins A Division Finals 2-1. | ||||||