Looking back to the games that were played on Monday, Murphy's Law took a big step towards catching L Street Tavern when they pinned a 12-8 loss on the L Streeters. I would normally add some game notes here but the information was not passed along before press time. In any case, I'm sure it was a nail biter that will have both teams looking forward to their July 19th rematch.

Also on Monday, the Dorset Club needed a win to get back into contention and was looking for the upset but the Greatest Bar kept their composure and held on for the 10-7 victory. Again, game notes were not handed in on time so we are all left to wonder how the game unfolded.

The nightcap on Monday saw the reloaded Brewers dismantle Full Tilt, 21-10. One of the new additions, Leon Correy, paid huge dividends when he banged out 4 hits with a HR and 6 RBI. Full Tilt tried pitching around slugger Dan Brown but each time they did the Brewers answered with timely hits. Mike Hourihan and Kevin Coyle each collected three hits in the big win for the Brewers while Greg D'Antona picked up the win from the mound.

On Tuesday, Tweeter played well enough to win but it was Sidewalk that held on to prevail, 10-9. Sidewalk's offense came to life in the fifth inning when they connected for seven straight hits that led to six runs. Brian Ellsworth had the big hit in the inning when he doubled to left center that drove in two runs. Trailing 10-2, Tweeter didn't go quietly as Jose Almanzar fouled off a bunch of pitches before he answered with a two-run homerun to left. Tweeter scored another run on Steve Mills' single that cut the lead in half. Tweeter added a pair of runs in the sixth inning on Steve Stalcup and Dave Conti's RBI singles and suddenly Tweeter was knocking on the door. But it was Sidewalk's veteran pitcher, George Pratt, who stayed composed and wiggled out of a seventh inning jam to pick up the tough to come by wins for Sidewalk. Pratt was opposed by Eric Malerba, who despite the one tough inning, pitched great and collected two hits in the process.

The final game of the week had El Presidente taking on Il Giardino. Keeping in mind that it was a holiday week, the El Prez boys travel in from the North Shore and had a very difficult time getting to the game on time. However, within five minutes of game time they all arrived in uniform and were ready to go. Il Giardino got a great start from pitcher, Nick Klemola, but couldn't muster any offense against fireballer Alberto Perez and fell 9-1. The win kept El President ahead of Sidewalk in the Lucas Division while Il Giardino's loss brought the Brewers and Full Tilt a game closer in the Feeney Division.

In closing, last week's hot topic was the league's decision to change game balls from the Dudley .47 Core to the .44 Core ball. The move was made for safety reasons and was also made to level the playing field between offense and defense. The .44 ball is a restricted flight ball and doesn't travel as far. Several players and coaches voiced their concern over a switch during the middle of the season. A valid point but the league had made it known that it had been searching for a ball for several weeks now and finally settled on one. There were also several complaints about the ball turning to mush after just an inning of play. Further investigation found that some of the .44 balls had a synthetic cover that was tearing after a few good whacks. Those balls have since been replaced by the proper leather ball and hopefully this will be the last time we discuss the ball we use in league games.

M Street Softball is played Monday through Friday with games starting at 6pm, 7:30, and 9pm. The players look forward to seeing you in our stands at an upcoming game.