hi guys - yesterday (tues., sept. 8) a group of travelin' red hot chili peppers from albany played a taut, back-and-forth game with the leominster (mass.) diamondbacks at doubleday field in cooperstown. albany lost in 9 innings, 4-3.
still, it was a picture-perfect day with blue skies, rich green grass, soft breezes in the historic, brick-and-wood spot. the game featured great pitching on both sides - jim kostantakis and mike girard (playing his first game at cooperstown) were terrific - and we had timely hitting and defense from the rest of the squad of steve lounello, tony nardacci, ted poleto, tommy maney, mike labarge, ron smaka, billy smith, greg smith and al hart.
i bring this up for two reasons - first to suggest that setting up a game at cooperstown is not all that hard for anyone who wants to do it - begin by contacting the village hall, and they'll direct you.
and secondly, leominster is part of the over-40 central mass msbl league. this year, for the fourth year in a row, they're having a 12-team, three day tournament on september's last weekend - this year, fri. the 25th through sun. the 27th - and it features good teams from around new england. in fact, last year's winner was the boston wolfpack, which has won national msbl titles.
the wood-bat games are played day and night and each team is guaranteed three, 7-inning games.
the tournament's directors, johnny cantatore and marty mastovich, were the managers of yesterday's diamondbacks teams. they told us that they waiting on two teams to fill out the 12-team tournament, and their fees may come in any day. but if an albanyl team gets its $450 entry fee in first, it's in.
johnny and marty also said the tournament has openings for pool players who would like to play but don't want to form teams.
the only downside for us is that this year for the first time, we have our over-45 playoff final that weekend. but teams or guys who are not in that game and would still like to play in the central mass tournament might still do so.
leominster is about 2 hours east of albany, about 70 miles from boston.
for lodging in the area, the league has negotiated an agreement with the Four Points by Sheraton, located at 99 Erdman Way in Leominster, MA.
Rooms may be reserved for $95 per night (double occupancy). To make your reservation and qualify for this discounted price, simply call 978-534-9000 and mention the "Central Mass Fall Classic" baseball tournament.
for more details (i.e., directions to fields, bylaws, etc.) you can contact marty - e-mail ( mmastovich@aol.com) or call 978-815-2271 or email johnny at JHC929@aol.com.
for those who have the time and want to stay sharp for florida ball, this could be a good tournament.
