Men's Summer Softball Championship

Front row (left to right): Greg McBride, Neil Brown, Scott Michelson, Jim Mesloh, Mik Perna, and John McConnell Back row (left to right): Frank Power, Joe Moody, Doug Van Wickler, Dan Sydor, and Ken Moody Missing from photo: Bill Moody

The 2006 Men's Summer Softball Championship was contested on October 2, 2007 pitting Leo's Melkonian against the Tin Alley Grill Thunder. The Thunder were victorious, sweeping the series in 2 straight games.

The Thunder have a team history dating back almost two decades, with six of the founding fathers still active on the team. After their mediocre regular season record of 6-4, the Thunder decided it was time to 'step up', 'lay it on the line', 'bring their "A" game' (or insert any other cheesy SportsCenter cliché referring to playing well when it matters) for the playoffs.

By finishing 4th in the regular season, the Thunder were given a bye in the first round of the playoffs. In the second round, the Thunder faced the Walkstreet S's. Although usually intimidated by the S's, the Thunder were able to pull off a victory thanks to a thirteen run fourth inning. Greg McBride was the player of the game with a 3 for 3 performance including 2 runs and 2 RBI. Dan Sydor was also 3 for 3 in the game. John McConnell pitched brilliantly for the Thunder holding the S's to 5 runs. The win was sealed by a Neil Brown home run (last time Neil hit a homer there were diving boards at the pool, making this a print worthy accomplishment). The 17-5 victory advanced the Thunder to the semi finals.

(left to right): Mike Perna, Greg McBride, Dan Sydor, Doug Van Wickler, and John McConnell

Their next matchup was against the J.P. McGeevers Fire. Trailing by six runs going into the final inning, the Thunder began a two out rally. They scored eight runs by stringing together nine back to back base hits, with the last hit of the inning (an RBI single) delivered by Doug Van Wickler. Their strong defense helped close out the game 10-8 and placed them in the finals.

After two impressive post season wins, the Thunder were up against Leo's Melkonian for the league title. Melkonian, a perennial league powerhouse, were by far the favorite in this best-of-three matchup. In the first at bat of the game, Thunder team captain, Scott Michelson injured his leg. He fought through it and finished the game, going 3 for 4. Frank Power replaced him in the outfield and played outstanding defense, while battling his own injury. The Thunder opened up the scoring in the second inning on a solo homerun by Bill Moody. In the third inning the Thunder scored 4 runs on 6 hits, including a clutch 2 run triple by Joe Moody. Thanks to quality defense and pitching the Thunder held Melkonian in check. The Thunder scored a total of eight runs in the game, and staved off the Melkonian offense to take the game 8-7 and a 1-0 lead in the series.

Original members of the team (left to right): Frank Power, Neil Brown, Scott Michelson, Jim Mesloh, Ken Moody, and Joe Moody

With their captain injured and not playing in game #2, the Thunder came out swinging. They mounted an offensive attack that scored 5 runs in the first inning and 4 runs in the second. After two innings of play the Thunder held a 9-0 lead capped off by a 2-run home run from Jim Mesloh (this happens about as often as a senatorial election, so we'll give him the press). Melkonian fought back with 3 runs in the fourth inning bringing the score to 9-4. The Thunder struck back with 3 runs in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 12-4. Melkonian scored another 4 runs in the top of the sixth, but that was all they could muster. The Thunder defense put the game away with a nice fielding play by Mike Perna and a perfect scoop at first base by Neil Brown to claim the championship with a 12-8 victory. Ken Moody was 7 for 8 in the championship series.

A post game celebration was held at the Garden City Tin Alley Grill. The party was hosted by Dean and Chris Patalano, the owners of the restaurant. The team enjoyed the festivities while dining on the top notch buffalo wings. The off-season will be spent recovering from general body soreness, "celebrating" over and over again, and preparing for the spring season.