July 16 - Fan Club Improves to 5-6 With
A Twin-Bill Sweep Vs. Colonial
by Don Girone
The DFC virtually clinched a play-off berth for the 9th straight year by topping Colonial 14-12 & 10-4 at Latteri Field in Clifton on Sunday. In Game 1, the Fan Club used an early 14-hit barrage to grab 12-2 cushion under threatening skies. Wasting no time, the DFC jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the visitors' 1st stanza as Scott Peterson's bad-hop single plated 2 runs, while Tony Simonelli & Drew Ruscil added run-scoring singles. After Colonial halved the lead in their opening at-bat, the Fan Club moved further away with 3 in the next inning. Alfredo Rojas drove in Brian Kazmierski with a single, Peterson plated Kyle Kasper on a force-out and Simonelli added his second RBI with a base-hit.
While the team started slowly in the 3rd (a Ron Kazanchy walk followed by 2 fly-outs), the bats suddenly erupted. A Kazmierski's single led to a run-scoring hit by Kasper, with another run scoring on an overthrow. Consecutive RBI singles by Rojas, Peterson and Dave Nathanson gave pitcher Marc Platkin a fat 10-run bulge to work with. Marc did allow a run in the 4th and 5 more in the 5th, but all runs were unearned as the defense let down with 4 miscues. Tom Waggner's titanic HR to left field plus an RBI single from Nick Marshall padded the edge to 14-8 in the DFC sixth, but Colonial kept the pressure on with 4 tallies(another 3 unearned) in their turn. Finally, Platkin shut the door with a 1-2-3 7th as the Fan Club prevailed, avoiding what would have been Colonial's first win (0-10).
Colonial did grab their only lead of the day in the opening frame of the nightcap, as Platkin struggled to find his groove. Four straight hits plus a walk led to a quick 3-0 deficit. The DFC responded with a 5-spot highlighted by Waggner's RBI double, a 2-run singleby Simonelli, and RBI's by Roy Lawlor(single) and Platkin(sac fly). Suddenly, the 5-3 1st inning slug-fest turned into a pitchers' duel as neither team threatened to score until the 6th. Colonial rallied for a run and threatened to tie it, but Tony Simonelli turned a great double-play to get the Fan Club out of trouble. Tony then began the DFC 6th with a double, and the run-faucet flowed. 3 RBI singles(Lawlor, Marshall, and Rich Loftus) sandwiched around a dropped fly ball, plus Kris Kasper's RBI force brought the count to 10-4. Platkin, aided by another Simonelli DP, sent down Colonial to ice the victory.
The Fan Club's next twin-bill (7/23 vs. Car Kings at Holster) will be preceeded at 3 PM with the completion of a suspended game from 7/9 (vs Bergen B&M) to be played at Latteri Field. Stay tuned for more "Hot News" plus spotlights on key acheivements by DFC softballers, present and past!