By Andy Simek
MONTICELLO — August 18, 2006 — The Fitness Factory players showed just how fit they are on Monday night during the semifinal round of the Monticello Men’s Softball League playoffs.
The evening doubleheader was held at the Sommerville Field and pitted Ma’s and Pa’s against The Fitness Factory.
The Fitness Factory got a hold of the lead and had it for the near entirety of the first game.
Keith Shaddock got them off to a start by scoring the first run in the bottom of the first inning, thanks to a double by Player/Coach Edwin “Flaco” Rodriguez.
Ma’s and Pa’s took a temporary lead in the top of the next inning, with Vinnie Radesa and Josh Card both hitting doubles and scoring the runs. The glory didn’t last long, however.
The bottom of the second inning held in store two more runs for The Fitness Factory. Shane Conner scored the tying run and Mike Weiner stole home to put his team back into the lead.
To secure this advantage, the Fitness Factory recorded four more runs in the bottom of the third, two more in the bottom of the fourth and ended the game in the bottom of the fifth by scoring another three runs. Those three runs gave The Fitness Factory a 12-2 lead and the victory as the game was called at that point due to the league’s 10-run rule.
The second game would decide the outcome of the evening by telling who would make it to the final round and who would be left to contemplate the settling dust of Sommerville Field.
With the Fitness Factory still on a roll, Ma’s and Pa’s would have a tough game ahead of them, as the first inning proved.
Alex Salazar brought home three runs with a triple in the top of the first inning, promising another run-filled game.
In the bottom of this inning, Billy Kowal put Ma’s and Pa’s on the board with an inside-the-park home run and Bill Schutz hit a triple. Moments later, Schutz crossed home plate on a hit by Radesa.
The Fitness Factory made a slow but steady climb away from Ma’s and Pa’s, scoring runs in the next four innings.
By the bottom of the fifth inning, the score was 10-2 in favor of The Fitness Factory.
It seemed there was going to be a repeat of the previous game, but the Ma’s and Pa’s players still had some fight left in them.
Schutz scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning with a little help from Radesa’s triple and Josh Corman scored another run in the bottom of the seventh.
Their renewed vigor was too little, too late, however. The game ended with a score of 10-4, which ushered The Fitness Factory into the finals.