By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
The Laguna Madre Park men’s softball ball league wrapped up its third week of action this past Wednesday, Sept. 9 with plenty of movement in the standings as teams jockeyed for position and tournament seeding.
After three weeks of play, Cantu’s (6-0) became the lone undefeated team in the league after sweeping the Bandidos (3-3) and Star Playaz (1-5) on Wednesday night.
Right behind Cantu’s is Powerhouse (5-1), which also swept its games and now sits alone in second place.
On a side note, with 12 teams participating in the league, these top two teams will not have an opportunity to face off against each other until the end of the season tournament.
Meanwhile, three teams are tied for third place with 4-2 records: Kings, Coming in Hot, and Hitmen. Kings had big night, sweeping both their opponents, while Hitmen went in the opposite direction, dropping their two contests.
With two weeks remaining in the season, all three teams are capable of making a run and pulling off an upset against one of the league’s frontrunners. Two key Week Four matchups to watch include Cantu’s against Coming in Hot and Powerhouse versus Kings.
The Swingers, who entered the third week with just one win under the belt, opened the night with an eye-opening upset of Coming in Hot in first set of games.
In their second game, the Swingers faced off against the Bandidos. Their effort to continue climbing the standings got off to a promising start as they collected seven base hits in the first inning, jumping out to an early 3-1 lead.
The second inning saw the Bandidos get a handful of hits of their own as they rallied to take a 4-3 lead. In the bottom half inning, the Swingers continued to pile on the hits but only managed to bring in one run, tying the game at 4-4.
In the third inning, the Bandidos continued their solid hitting, including an inside-the-park homerun, as they jumped out to a 7-4 lead. Meanwhile, the Swingers bats began to fizzle.
F
ast-forward to the final inning, with the Bandidos holding a 9-5 lead, they distanced themselves even further by adding three more runs. Unfortunately for Swingers, their offense had run out of steam, allowing the Bandidos to hold on for a 12-5 final.
The bottom half of the standings features the Bandidos (3-3) and Ballaholics (3-3), followed by Swingers (2-4), and Hopper Haus (2-4).
Bringing up the rear are Brew Crew (1-5), Star Playaz (1-5), and Spicy Cats (1-5).
Games will continue to be played every Wednesday of the month of September with games starting at 7 p.m.