Eatontown, Monmouth Beach reach championship round
By jack oakley
Staff Writer

It will be Eatontown challenging defending champion Monmouth Beach in the championship playoff round in the Shore Firemen’s Sunday Slow Pitch Softball League.

The teams will square off in the first game of the best-of-three series Sunday morning at 10 at Firemen’s Memorial Field in Eatontown.

Eatontown attained the final round by humbling Oceanic, of Rumson, 29-5, while Little Silver was ousted by Monmouth Beach, 14-11. Both teams took the best-of-three series in two straight games. Eatontown won the opener, 11-7 and Monmouth Beach blanked Little Silver, 14-0.

The winners pounded out 38 hits. Jim Lastella had a career day for Eatontown. He smashed two home runs, a triple, double and single and scored four times. Papa Frank never got five hits in a lifetime. Ken Sneath also went 5-5 with a pair of doubles. He scored five runs.

Joe Miller and Bill Mego each had four hits for Eatontown while Bubba Gaetano and Jim DiGiovannni split the four between them. Miller had two doubles and a triple. Dane Richards and Brian (I never met a buffet I didn’t like) McLaughlin had three hits each. McLaughlin was slowed down and all of his hits were for one base.

Eatontown broke the game open with nine runs in the second inning to take a 11-1 lead. It upped the margin to 15-1 after three sessions.

Oceanic’s big inning was the fourth when Ed Ott tripled, Chris Davidson doubled and Dave Blumel and Bob Boyer singled. A first inning double by Dave Hendrickson led to Oceanic’s other run.

Lastella’s first home run came in the second inning at Meadow Ridge and scored two. He had a three run clout in the seventh. Miller tripled in a run in the second and Dane Richards had a two-run single.

Richards also tripled in a run in the fourth and doubled in a pair in the fifth to give him five RBIs for the day.

Monmouth Beach matched Little Silver’s three-run first inning outburst then scored twice in the second inning for a 5-4 lead. It added four runs in the third and never looked back.

Chick Bruno carried the load for Little Silver with four hits and scored three times.

Larry Buccheri started the game with a double and Bruno singled him home. The Beach boys would have escaped with only one run against it, but the unknown left fielder committed a disastrous error and three runs crossed the plate in the inning. He did catch the next ball.

Monmouth Beach bounced right back with John Schulz drawing a leadoff walk and John Jones singling. After two outs, Allan Jones doubled and Dave Stickle tripled to tie the score. Mike Flego doubled and scored as the unknown right fielder botched the next fly and the go-ahead run scored.

John Keller and Chris Marsh singled to start Beach’s third inning and Jones collected his second two bagger. Stickle singled him home and scored on a ground out.

Brad Donmoyer, Bryan Keeshan, Ron Catelli and Ernie Brine singled in a three-run fifth.

John Jones single and Marsh’s double completed the winners scoring in the sixth session.