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Cambridge (July 18) - Meeting for the third time in as many years, the two dominant urban running clubs this side of the Charles River were late starting their softball classic Saturday at Glakin Field because a soccer game was going on in the outfield. Even after the soccer match had concluded, a group of spirited Brazilians (is that redundant?) stayed to watch the Cambridge Sports Union stifle the Somerville Road Runners 11-5 in seven innings. Their evening was complete when Umberto Di AquaVita O'Connor (Glenaldo) hit a deep fly to left field that found its way into the lower right corner of one of the soccer goals in stoppage time.
CSU took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, and added runs in the third and the fourth. Meanwhile, Kim "Kid Lightning" LeSage held the Somerville team scoreless through the first three innings with a dazzling variety of pitches and the help of solid defensive play from CSU's "hundred-dollar" infield (Mike Bonacci- 1B, Rick Weinstein - 2B, Glenn O'Connor - SS., Jon Waldron - 3B) and "69.95...order before midnight tonight!" outfield (Jamie Sarkesian - LF, Lou Ristaino - CF, Keith Pijanowski, CF, Paul Thompson - RF). In the fourth frame, "Dizzy" Doug Johnson relieved Kim and surrendered a single run , as the Somerville bats finally began to wake from their deep sleep. Heading into the bottom of the 5th, it was still 5-1 when the warriors from Winter Hill staged a four-run rally to tie the game. The barrage was sparked by line drive hitting, aggressive baserunning, and some creative moves with the lineup card by Paul "Skip" Colyer.
Leading off the top of the 6th with the game tied 5-5 and Colyer on the hill, Jon "Downtown" Waldron took one pitch from the right side of the plate, then shocked the assembled multitude by switching to the left side. After fouling off one pitch , Joltin' Jon smacked the next one deep down the right field line, past the astonished right fielder, and into the kiddie pool (or some similarly remote location). Much to his own surprise, Jon was able to circle the bases unimpeded and CSU had a 6-5 lead. Having left the door open, Somerville couldn't close it again. Hit followed hit, bringing O'Connor to the plate. Glenn took Colyer deep, hitting a legitimate smash to the edge of the woods in Left for another four-bagger. When the inning was over it was 10-5, CSU. With another big cushion, the Cambridge defense shut down the Somerville sluggers. Paul "Gold Glove" Thompson made a great catch on a deep fly ball to end a threat in the 6th. Then, after two SRR hitters reached base in the bottom of the seventh, Johnson induced a game-ending infield force play to seal the victory.
Paul Colyer, ever gracious in defeat, blamed his team's loss on the difficulty of playing in Cambridge. "I dunno, maybe it's the water," he shrugged "or the lack of inexpensive parking. Whatever. This place is a jinx on my players. We're gonna host next year's game in Somerville, so we can win one of these things."
Winning pitcher: Doug Johnson (1-0); Losing pitcher: Paul Colyer (0-1). Time of game 1:44. Attendance: 36 (including both teams, friends, innocent bystanders, and the Brazilians). CSU players: Mike Bonacci, John Howard, Doug Johnson, Kim LeSage, Glenn O'Conner, Keith Pijanowski, Lou Ristaino, Jamie Sarkesian, Paul Thompson, Jon Waldron, Rick Weinstein. (Did I miss anyone?)