O'Neill's Pub raced out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning of Tuesday's game against undefeated Marinello's in an Adult Softball League game. It took one mighty swing by Phil Mrazik to erase it.
Mrazik's first-inning grand slam sparked a six-run outburst and Marinello's bats kept slugging throughout en route to a 16-8 victory. Mrazik went 4-for-4 and scored two runs to lead Marinello's, which improved to 16-0 overall and is 5-0 in the second half. O'Neill's dropped to 13-3 and is 4-1 in the second half.
The wind knocked balls down and gave outfielders fits all night, but the elements couldn't stop Mrazik's line drive rocket over the left field fence. "I wasn't concentrating on the wind,'' Mrazik said. "I just got up and swung hard."
Marinello's, which is the only undefeated team in any of Norwalk's leagues, got a battle from O'Neill's. Mike DePalma's two-run single in the second put O'Neill's back in front, 7-6. Tim Brown had four hits for O'Neill's, and Billy DiStefano and DePalma had three each. Brown also scored three runs.
Marinello's responded with four in the third to take the lead for good. Greg Kimmel and Al Bocanfuso delivered RBI singles and JoJo Orgavan clubbed an RBI triple. Orgavan went 3-for-4 with two triples, a double and three RBIs. John Kurdy had three hits and three RBIs, and Bocanfuso also had three hits.
"We have a good team and we don't get down if we fall behind,'' Mrazik said. "We rely on each other and stick together."
As the season enters its homestretch, Marinello's looks poised to make another run at the city championship. It has won the city title 12 of the last 13 years. "That's why we're here,'' Mrazik said. "That's our goal every year."
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