Matthew’s on Main refuses to lose

Games versus Ronny’s Ringers cap off successful fundraiser for ailing soccer coach

By RICHARD A. ROSS

FREMONT CENTER, NY - It was a spectacular finish to a softball tournament to remember. After rounds of sparkling games on Sunday that saw stellar play from Matthew’s on Main, Fitness Factory, Ronny’s Ringers and Stone Arch Inn, it turned out to be a pair of games between Matthew’s and Ronny’s that would lead to Matthew’s on Main’s second big tourney championship this summer.

The tournament, which was a fundraiser for Lenny Miret and his family, began on Friday evening, July 14. Miret is currently waging a battle against cancer

Friday and Saturday featured a slate of games that led up to Sunday’s dramatic climax. (Visit www.riverreportersports.com for details of days one and two on the softball page, and read about Miret on the soccer page.)

By midday on Sunday, Matthew’s and Ronny’s were the only teams left in the winner’s bracket. The team that won that fray could rest up and cool down from the sweltering heat, while the other team would drop into the loser’s bracket and have to reckon with the likes of Fitness Factory and Stone Arch Inn.

Only one of those three would survive to play in the championship against the game winner.

To some, it seemed as if Ronny’s Ringers was this year’s team of destiny. After disposing of Stone Arch Inn by the score of 14-3, they fought off a tough Fitness Factory team on Saturday and won 4-2 on Pete Hankins’ clutch two-run single in the bottom of the seventh.

In the early Sunday game between Ronny’s Ringers and Matthew’s on Main, the score seesawed back and forth. It looked as if Ronny’s had registered the knockout punch with a five-run fourth inning and another run in the fifth to take a 7-3 lead, but Matthew’s rode a three-run homer from Mike Weir to get right back in it.

The Ringers got two in the top of the seventh, as Campfield and Brian Gillow scored to extend the lead to 9-6. But Matthew’s refused to die. With one out, they plated three runs as Glen Rosenberger, Billy Nordenhold and Eric Kratz scored to tie the game and send it into extra innings.

When the Ringers put up a three spot in the top of the eighth, most figured they would prevail. But Matthew’s bats kept the heat on against Ronny’s. After Craig Smith reached on an E-4 to tie the game at 12-all, Joe Meyer’s single plated the final run and Matthew’s on Main came out on top 13-12.

An exhausted Fitness Factory team was up next for the Ringers. Fitness had disposed of Stone Arch Inn by the score of 6-2, riding a booming three-run homer from Aaron ‘Red’ Dingle that just cleared the pole in left.

Now facing the Ringers again and playing their fourth game of the day in oppressive heat, Fitness Factory’s bats slowed and they succumbed to Ronny’s big boppers and the pitching of long-time veteran Bobby Bunnel. The Ringers won 6-1, setting up a potential tournament-ending game with Matthew’s. Fitness Factory settled for third place in the tourney, as the Ringers prepped for their third consecutive game of the day.

If Matthew’s won, they would be crowned champs with a 5-0-tourney record. A Matthew’s loss would have forced another game.

The men in blue got two in the first on a homer by John Wilhelm, but Ronny’s answered right back with two in the bottom of the frame with RBI from John Meyer and Drobowsky.

Then Matthew’s pulled away 10-2, sending 14 men to the plate in the second and piling up RBI from Brian Kitson, Wilhelm, Meyer, Craig Smith and Chris Reichmann.

Somehow, though, Ronny’s climbed right back in. While Ronny’s hurler Pat Collins held Matthew’s scoreless for the next five innings, Ronny’s got one back in the third from Gillow and four in the fifth with RBI from Meyer, Campfield and Drobowsky. The score stood at 10-7 heading into the bottom of the seventh. It was clear that Matthew’s pitcher Mooner Buday was tiring.

He allowed a leadoff single to Muller, and after Meyer walked and Campfield reached on an E-4 with one out, Ronny’s was knocking at the door. Drobowsky reached on a single and on a close play at third, the umpires deemed the runner safe. That drove in a run.

Rosenberger took the mound to try to put the fire out, but Allen Rutledge singled in another run leaving runners at second and third with two out. A single would have won the game, but Paul Schwatz flied out to center as Matthew’s held on for the 10-9 win.

In a dramatic moment, plate umpire Benny Chesnick, a 45-year veteran, was struck in the arm by an errant pitch. Although the blow caused him to bleed, the feisty icon, known and beloved for his decades of donning the blue, refused to stay out of the mix.

After getting taped up, Chesnick resumed his spot behind the dish. The crowd gave him an ovation. Chesnick is in his eighties.

The final game, Chesnick’s unflappable spirit, the awesome turnout for the Lenny Miret Benefit and the rounds of great softball made the weekend an outstanding success.

Other teams that fared well included Sidetracks, who beat American Electric and McGurrin’s Pub, Darder’s Stoneworks, who beat Ideal Snacks, and R+H Gorr, who beat Darder’s Stoneworks. Ideal Snacks recorded a win with a victory over Lake Huntington Garage, as did Goob’s Goober’s, who defeated McGurrin’s Pub.

Kudos to Dennis Brockner for organizing the tournament and to Loreen Gebelein and company for tireless efforts at the Fremont Center Ballpark.

Up next is the Seventh Annual Fremont Center Tournament, which will be held on August 4 and 5 as a benefit for Nicholas Mootz, a 15 year old from Sullivan West, who is suffering from Hodgkin’s disease. Visit www.riverreportersports.com and the upcoming issues of The River Reporter for more about Nick and the tournament, as well as details and photos from this past weekend’s tourney.