This past week the Blazers encountered both ends of a baseball spectrum as our boys played three games of widely contrasting results. Adding to their record against "developmental" opponents, the locals had a field day against Hempstead, winning by a record 23-0 score but fell before highly rated North Shore in a 12-8 slugfest, also being overpowered by Clarke 13-1 in a replay of an earlier rain shortened game. The overall record has been upgraded to 9-5 with six games remaining, broken down to 6-0 (developmental) and 3-5 (league). It is thus apparent that such a split schedule has reaped an appropriate measure of progress in the team's outlook which has shown in the diverse outcomes of games up to now.

Following their eight game string of B-IV and VI encounters, the Blazers effected a momentary reprieve to meet the Hempstead Tigers for the second time at home on May 4. Coming after a big time rout of Malverne, our boys remained in a hitterish frame of mind, notching a series of scoring innings which showed as 5-2-5-3-8=23 on the scoreboard with 17 hits and 10 walks contributing to an overloaded box score. Brian Rosenberg breezed through the Hempstead lineup with ease, earning his third win in as many starts, scattering three hits and four walks while fanning 10 in the shutout. The game was terminated after six innings by mutual agreement, equivalent to a girls 15-run rule of softball. Carlos Flores and Ed Ramirez divided mound duties for the visitors, each responsible for about half of the Blazer batting forays which culminated with an 11-man bataround, the first eight of these reaching base and scoring before an out was made. Key hits along the offensive route by the North hitters included a base clearing double by Drew Schechtman, two more two-baggers by Josh Bilgrei plating three runs, two singles and a double by Micah Tucker with three RBIs, two RBI singles by Brian Litvack and a combined 4-for-4 from Justin Katz and Jon Donenfeld who split time as ninth place hitters. The most resounding of all the safeties was a monstrous homer by Jarret Scheinman which soared out of sight to left opening the eight run fifth, only his third hit of the season. In two games against Hempstead the Blazers have tallied 45 runs on 26 hits, yielding only three runs on eight hits to the Tigers in just 11 innings of action.

North's meeting with North Shore on May 6, originally scheduled as a Blazer home game, was shifted to the field of the Vikings as the local grounds were unsuitable for action. Nevertheless the locals batted last as the designated home team. This game was a delight for the dual fan gathering to witness with two lead changes along the way with the final decision going to the 9-3 Vikings by a 12-8 score. With right-handed fastballers Terrence Vogenberger opposing Josh Bilgrei of the locals on the mound, North Shore posted four first inning runs on as many hits, including run scoring doubles to deep center by Rich Bozza and Chris Ryba along with three Blazer misplays in the field. The locals came back with a run in the first and two in the second, including an unexpected 320-foot left field homer by Schectman followed by a double to center by Rosenberg who scored when Jon Donenfeld's bunt was thrown past first, bringing North back to 4-3. The Vikings added two more in the fourth when Ryba squeezed home two runners on a sacrifice bunt for a three run lead. In their bottom half the Blazers exploded for four runs after two were out. Doubles by Katz and Stock plus a single by Tucker set the stage for a tremendous home run over the opposite right field fence by Steve Kohan, unofficially estimated at 365 feet. This drive would have easily landed in the home football bleachers, a blow never before accomplished by a right handed hitter. Thus they took their first lead at 7-6 and added their final run next inning as Litvack scored following his single and a walk to Scheinman on a wild pickoff attempt at second. With Bilgrei noticeably tiring by the sixth inning, walking two plus allowing a single to load the bases with two out, Kohan relieved him on the mound from his current third base position. Steve, for once, was not up to the task at hand, yielding four more walks plus a two-run single by Mike Stanco, netting the Vikings five runs and an 11-8 lead. A leadoff homer in the seventh by Luke Powell wrapped up the scoring as North Shore prevailed by 12-8. Bilgrei was charged with the loss despite Kohan's ineffective outing since the go-ahead run was on base when Steve took the mound. Five of North's seven hits were for extra bases with Kohan adding three RBIs to his mounting total. Chris Ryba who relieved Vogenberger in the fourth was credited with the win.

The Blazers journeyed to Clarke on May 8 for a makeup game cut short by rain two days earlier. The locals, in effect, were granted a reprieve as they had faced Clarke's ace pitcher John Wesley with a speed gun 85-90 MPH fast ball. In 3 1/3 innings he had recorded nine of 10 outs via the strikeout route while walking two with an 8-0 lead behind him. Since he could not come back with a day's rest Bryan Landini, the #2 starter for the Rams faced Justin Katz in the replay. The result was a similar score to the earlier outing but was extended to a 13-1 final score as Clarke scored in four of their six turns at bat, closing with a five run burst in the sixth. Held to one hit through five innings, a bloop single by Rosenberg, the locals scored their only run next inning on singles by Katz and Kohan with a wild pitch in between. Katz pitched the distance for North, allowing 13 hits and as many runs, fanning and walking two. In addition to his topnotch hurling, Landini went 3 for 3 with four RBIs and catcher Tim Belz added a three-run homer for Clarke in their big sixth inning.

Mike Stock continues to lead the Blazer hitters with a .442 BA, also leading or tieing in every other offensive category along with a record-paced 27 stolen bases. Brian Rosenberg (3-0) and Josh Bilgrei(3-2) have six of the nine team wins with Bilgrei the workhorse with 47 strikeouts in 36.2 innings.

The locals met Lynbrook and Hempstead earlier this week and will play a return engagement on May 15 with the Tigers. On May 18, 19, 20 North will close its season with Plainedge at home plus an away-home series against Westbury. All upcoming games are to start at 4:15 p.m.