Storylines for the final week of the double elimination tournament of the Marco Island Senior Softball League included championship wins by Salty Dog and Snook Inn to claim tournament titles in the Island Division and Marco Division respectively. This ends the 2025 season for the Marco Senior Softball League.
Congratulations to all the champions and thanks to all the players, coaches, and sponsors for another great season of senior softball.
ISLAND DIVISION
Nacho Mama’s, 14; Salty Dog, 10
With the score tied at nine in the middle of the seventh inning, Nacho Mama’s scored five runs in the bottom half and made it hold up the rest of the way to defeat Salty Dog in the championship round, forcing one more game between the two teams for the title.
Earlier in the contest, Salty Dog jumped out to an early 7-2 lead after scoring four times in the top of the third inning on run-scoring hits by Bill Coyle, Brian Alexander, and Tad Fabian, along with an infield ground out. Nacho’s quickly answered with four of their own on a run-scoring single by Paul Nussbaum, a two-base error scoring two runs, and a run-scoring hit by Carl Parker.
The teams traded leads over the next few innings in this thrilling battle, beginning with a sacrifice fly by Nacho’s manager Todd Rogers that tied the score at 7-all. Brian Alexander gave the Dog an 8-7 lead on an RBI double. But Nacho’s Bob Masulis blasted a double to right center scoring a pair of runs to retake the lead 9-8. Two innings later, pitcher Ed Caster’s run-scoring single tied the game 9-9, leading into the game winning rally by Nacho’s.
The decisive seventh inning for Nacho’s began with back-to-back singles by Jerry Shovan and Brett Bartholomaus. One batter later, Nussbaum drove in a run on a single, and after another single by Matt Minik that loaded the bases, Masulis came through again with a two-run single that gave Nacho’s a 12-9 advantage. Two more run-scoring hits by Parker and Jeff Kaczka completed the uprising that upped the score to 14-9.
Masulis completed his big day for Nacho’s with five RBIs on three hits, and Nussbaum scored four times on four hits and had a pair of RBIs. Bartholomaus chipped in with three hits, and Minik, Parker, and Rogers all knocked in a pair of runs for the winners.
Alexander led the way for Salty Dog with three hits and two RBIs, and David Falls and Terry Downs also drove in two runs in the contest.
Salty Dog, 12; Nacho Mama’s, 8
Led by four hits by Brian Alexander and strong defense, Salty Dog avenged their defeat earlier in the week to defeat Nacho Mama’s and claim the Island Division Tournament Championship.
The Dog got on the board right away with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. After singles by Alexander and Bill Krausmann (two RBIs), David Falls (three hits) plated two runs on a clutch two-out single. Nacho’s answered with two of their own in the bottom half. With Paul Nussbaum on first after a leadoff single, Matt Minik doubled him home, and Bob Masulis followed with a single that scored Minik to even the score at two.
Nacho’s added two more runs in the second on a two-out, two-run single by Brett Bartholomaus to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
Salty Dog put five on the board in the fourth inning to retake the lead 7-4. Alexander doubled and scored on a Krausmann single, and after two more hits, Terry Downs had the big blow, a bases-loaded double that cleared the bases. Downs then scored on a Mike Schwab single to complete the uprising.
The Red and Blue continued tacking on runs in the late innings while holding Nacho’s scoreless to extend the lead to 12-4. George Grygorcewicz drove in a pair of runs with a two-out single in the seventh, making the score 11-4 at the time.
Nacho’s had one last comeback attempt in the ninth. Run-scoring singles by Jeff Kaczka and John Gross made it 12-6, then a sacrifice fly by Bruce Denlinger followed by a run-scoring hit by Paul Kramer closed it to 12-8, but that’s how the game ended.
The tournament run by Salty Dog culminated a season of extreme highs and lows for the team, as they started by winning five of seven, then proceeded to lose eight straight games, before rebounding to win four of five. They entered the tournament as the fifth seed but defeated DaVinci’s, Verdi’s, and Nacho Mama’s to advance to the championship round. Facing Nacho Mama’s again and needing to win one of two games, they split the two games to take the title.
The season and tournament also demonstrated the balance of the Island Division with all six teams separated by only four games in the final regular season standings.
MARCO DIVISION
Snook Inn, 15; Stonewalls, 9
Displaying its winning formula of consistent hitting and fielding, Snook Inn roared to the Marco Division tournament championship while ending Stonewalls magical ride to the final round of the tournament.
Trailing 2-0 after Stonewalls at bat in the first inning, Snook set the tone for the rest of the game in the bottom of the inning. Jim Dorey (two RBIs) lined an opposite field single for one-run and Dan Gulick (three RBIs) smacked a double, scoring Dorey and tying the game at 2-2. Jim Willert (three RBIs) then drilled a single to score two more runs. Snook concluded its five-run scoring blitz on John Cavanagh’s (two RBIs) sacrifice fly, good for a 5-2 Snook advantage, a lead it would not surrender the remainder of the game.
Up 8-4 as it came to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, Snook tacked on five more runs to pad its lead. With one-run already in, Chuck McAlpine (two RBIs) bashed a single for a 10-4 Snook cushion. Another RBI single by Dorey plated one-run bringing up Steve Hemmerlein (four hits) whose opposite field single moved the runner to third who then scored on a sacrifice fly. Willert then capped the rally with another RBI single, giving Snook a 13-4 lead. Up 13-7 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Snook added two more insurance runs, one of which came on Gulick’s line drive single. The victory, Snook’s seventh in a row (including the end of the regular season) exemplified its steady play throughout the year.
Offensively, Snook finished the 2025 campaign with a .503 team batting average, scoring 329 runs (second highest in the division). It also excelled with the glove. Over the course of its 23 games in 2025, Snook committed 47 errors (about two per game; it had two vs. Stonewalls), far exceeding the division’s five other teams whose total team errors for the 2025 season were all above 70. His team’s consistent play in all phases was not lost on manager Peter Karl, as he reflected on the season and winning another post-season tournament title.
“We worked hard all season, with plenty of practices and drills and it paid off,” said Karl, who awarded the game ball to the entire team after winning its second straight post season tournament championship. “I feel fortunate to have had a good cohesive team, built on teamwork, with everybody being friends and having fun. That’s what really mattered.”
For Stonewalls, Chris Goerlich led the offense with four hits (a perfect four for four day). Support came from Rob York (a triple among his three hits) while Chris Nolan and Tom Gazzillo also had three hits each. Mitch Eil had three RBIs (two of which came on a long double in the sixth inning) that pulled Stonewalls within 13-7 in the sixth inning. While an epic comeback was not in the cards for Stonewalls, its run to the final round was nonetheless majestic.
Going into the tournament as the sixth seed, Stonewalls parlayed timely hitting and improved fielding throughout the tournament to upset wins of third seeded Joey’s Pizza and then second seeded Sami’s. While dropping to the loser’s bracket after being defeated by Snook, the Orange and Black rebounded to win the bracket by edging Joey’s again, giving itself a chance to compete for the title. Stonewalls closed the season with nine wins, going 3-2 in the tournament.
More: Senior Softball: Oyster Society wins Gulf Coast tourney title
And: Senior Softball: Verdi’s, Snook claim division titles
Also: Senior Softball: Upsets mark early tournament action
This article originally appeared on Marco Eagle: Senior Softball: Salty Dog, Snook Inn are tournament champs
Reporting by Randy Wesolowski and Kevin Byrnes / Marco Eagle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
