Island team falters late in 11-0 loss
by Kevin Cassidy
Islander Correspondent
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| West Coast Surf Shop catcher Henrik Brusso lunges for a pitch during Little League action against Reebok Coyote at G.T. Bray Park in Bradenton. |
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| Neil Carper prepares to deliver a pitch for his Anna Maria Island Little League team. |
The Anna Maria Island Little League West Coast Surf Shop team felt good coming into its March 20 game against the Reebok Coyotes at G.T. Bray Park in Bradenton.
The Surf Shop had won two of its last three games and that confidence showed early in the game. Starting pitcher Johnny Mattay was sharp through three innings, allowing only two runs and walking nobody as the Surf Shop trailed 2-0 through three innings.
But the wheels came off the bus in the fourth inning as Parker Keegan and then Neil Carper struggled to find the plate. They weren’t wild, but were just missing their spots, resulting in some free passes for the Coyote batters. The big blow came when Jeremy Fournier came up with two men on and launched a towering home run over the centerfield fence to ice the game for the Coyotes. Fournier finished the game 2-for-3, while teammate Jacob Wise added a pair of singles and two runs scored.
The Surf Shop was led by Henrik Brusso and Alex Zinc, who both had singles for the only hits of the game. Next up for the Surf Shop is a pair of games with Troxler & Smith.
Key Royale golf news
The annual President’s Cup was played on March 16 at the Key Royale Club. John Pirris earned bragging rights for the year with his 3-under-par 29, which was one shot better than a trio of players who carded 2-under-par 30s. Using a tiebreaker system, Vince Mercadante ended up with second place, followed by John Driscoll and Pete Weir.
Dave Kruger’s natural 36 was good enough to earn first place in the low-gross category.
The team of Jon Kent, Tom O’Brien, Ed Holba and Bill Gallagher combined to card 133 to win the team low-net category by a tiebreaker over the team of Dick Mills, Gary Duncan, Gerry Elson and Gary Silke.
The women of Key Royale Club played an individual-low-net and a team-low-net game on St. Patrick’s Day. Judy Squier earned top honors in Flight AA with a 4-under-par 28 to finish one shot ahead of Joy Phelan.
Grace Sayles’ 2-under-par 30 was good enough for first place in Flight A, which had Joyce Brown, Sara Falk and Patty Townsend lumped together in second place with even-par 32s. Flight B produced a two-way tie between Phyllis Lamp and Meredith Slavin after both carded 3-under-par 29s, while Sally Keyes, Terry Westby and Joyce Reith tied for third with even-par 32s.
Markie Ksiazek and Sue Wheeler tied for first place in Flight C. They both carded 2-under-par 30, which put them two shots ahead of Dolores Jorgensen and Jean Besant. Flight D winner was Marilyn Hayes with a 3-under 29. Two shots back in second place was Mary Miller.
The foursome of Kay Anderson, Slavin, Tootie Wagner and Terry Westby combined to card an even-par 128 to win the team-low-net competition, while Kay Anderson, Jean Holmes, Grace Sayles, Roswitha Fowler, Wagner and Phyllis Lamp all had chipins.
The men played their usual 18-hole weekly tournament on March 18. The team of Jim Krumme, Pieter Thomassen, Neil Hammer and Jim MacVicar combined to card a 16-under-par 112 in the two-best-balls-of-foursome match. Four shots back in second place was a trio of foursomes, including Tom Lewis, Chuck Boes, Bob Lamp and Bob Sayles; Ernie Hauser, John Sagert, Vince Fanton and Bob Landgren; and Bob Kral, Vince Mercadante, Jim Mixon and Gino DiClemente. The team of Earl Ritchie, Bill Melvin, Ed Havlik and Dick Eichhorn carded a 117 to match the score of Lew Winegarden, Gary Harris, Dave Kruger and Bob Elliott.
On March 20, women and men teamed up for a throw-out-the-worst-team-hole tournament. First place went to Pam Alford, John Driscoll, Tom Warda and Paulette Proxy with a score of 106. Second place was shared by the team of Rose Slomba, Rosemarie Knick, Jerry Brown and Jim Finn, who matched the 117 carded by Nell Bergstrom, Joyce Brown, Gary Alvord and Don Ledford.
Tom Warda and Dorothy McKinna both had chipins on the day.
Horseshoe news
The March 21 horseshoe games at the Anna Maria City Hall pits produced three teams from pool play action. Justin Zirwes and Bob Lee squared off against Debbie Rhodes and Bob Masin in the semifinal game and came away with a 21-15 victory to advance to the finals against the waiting team of Herb Puryear and Gene Bobeldyke. Puryear and Bobeldyke edged Zirwes and Lee 22-20 to earn bragging rights for the day.
March Madness took over at the horseshoe pits on March 16 as nine teams were waiting in the wings for an available pit. Four teams advanced from pool play with Gene Bobelkyke and Doug Yox rolling past Bob Lee and Jerry Disbrow 22-12 in the first semifinal. John Crawford and Rod Bussey cruised to the finals, defeating Adin Shank and Mike Lovey 21-7. Crawford and Bussey came out on top in the finals, defeating Bobeldyke-Yox 25-13.
Play gets under way at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m. followed by random team selection. There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.
Anna Maria Island Little League schedules
Majors
Date Time Field
March 27 7 p.m.Surf Shop vs. Troxler & Smith Bray#3
March 30 6:30 p.m.USA Fence vs. Surf Shop AMICC
Traveling Minors
March 28 noon Ace Hardware vs. MWLL Bray #3
March 31 6:30 p.m. MWLL vs. Ace Hardware AMICC
Minors
March 25 12 p.m. Totally Cool vs. LB Ace Hardware AMICC
March 28 12 p.m. Panoramic vs. LB Ace Hardware AMICC |
