SUNDAY, April 14, 2014—it was opening day for the Hoboken Coed Softball League at Mama Johnson Field.  The star-studded performances left many in attendance in awe after a slew of players showcased their talents throughout the day. The Pourhouse Sliders took on the role of a welcoming committee for the Insects, who switched to the competitive division after winning last fall's rec league championship.  Pourhouse made a clear statement: if the Insects want to hang out with the big boys, they better flex some muscle. To demonstrate, Pourhouse launched 3 homeruns in their 6 to 3 victory.

The Insects got off to a hot start, taking a 3 to 1 lead in the 1^st inning.  Once the Sliders’ opening day jitters wore off, their defense shut down the Insects’ offense in 6 scoreless innings. Slider shortstop Brandon Marucci stopped a potential rally by making an awesome snow cone grab off a line drive and then tagging the runner sliding back to 2^nd to get the double play.

Brandon’s defensive play wasn’t the only web gem of the night. The Insects proved why they belong in the competitive division with their 6 to 3 to 5 double play.  What I mean is - there was a runner on 2^nd base with 1 out and a hard ground ball was hit to Insect shortstop Ryan Arcadia.  Ryan threw the runner out at 1^st base.  First baseman Gus Guida saw the lead runner going to 3^rd base and threw to Insect D.J. Betancourt who tagged the sliding runner to end the inning.

It was hard for the Insects to make those kinds of defensive plays when the ball wouldn’t stay in the park.  Pourhouse’s Sean Pardue and Rich Davis went a combined 6 for 7 with 2 homeruns and 5 RBIs.  Sean hit a monster of a shot with his ball going beyond the playground.  

Rich Davis will definitely be talking about the Pourhouse vs Insect match-up on his sports talk show on 6pm eastern time on channel SNY. How about a plug for the good ol' ABL, Richie? We're on the hunt for new blood.