The Red Hook Softball League (RHSL) returned with all eight teams in action at the Red Hook ballfields and beautiful weather for opening day on April 16.

Defending champions MiniBar had the Colucci Cup in the dugout as they took on the Cheeseballs, formerly called Hometown. The Cheeseballs were also wearing new uniforms, which were reminiscent of the 1986 Mets uniforms. Both teams made some nice plays in the field, and after MiniBar took a 2-0 lead, brothers Joe “Fish” and Mike hit back-to-back RBI singles to make it 4-0. Both brothers also pitched in the game as MiniBar won the Game 6-2.

At Dovey Diamond, the RHSL’s two oldest rivals met again as the Wobblies, who made it to the championship last year, took on Bait & Tackle. A two-run home run by Satchel got the Wobblies off to a strong start, and they continued to pile on runs, jumping out to an early 13-1 lead. Bait broke through offensively later in the game, but the Wobblies won 18-7.

While the Wobblies and Bait had a slugfest, B61 and the Record Shop played a strong, defensive, close game. The Record Shop took an early 1-0 lead, but an RBI single and sac fly put B61 in front 2-1. They tacked on another run and led 3-1 going to the top of the seventh. The Record Shop rallied and cut the lead to 3-2 with no outs after there was a collision at the plate. They tied the game up, and then Manny crushed a go-ahead three-run home run to put them up 6-3. Lars Fisk closed the game out in the bottom of the inning to give the Record Shop a dramatic 6-3 victory.

At 8 pm, the two new teams in the RHSL played at Dovey Diamond as Union Grounds took on the Piscina Pussycats. Union Grounds hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the first to jump out to a 3-0 lead, though the second homer led to a pulled muscle. They went on to cruise to an 11-1 victory.

There were two games on April 20, which was a chilly evening. The Cheeseballs got off to an early 5-0 lead over the Wobblies thanks to a pair of home runs. The Cheeseballs won the game 8-1 for their first victory of the season.

A few fields down, B61 took on Union Grounds. B61 broke out offensively and batted around in two different innings as they strung together hits and extended rallies. Union Grounds got on the board to avoid a shutout, but B61 cruised to a 25-1 victory for their first win of the season.

On April 23, Bait & Tackle took on the Pussycats with both teams looking for their first win of the season. Bait was powered by a three-run homer by Tom, and then they hit a two-run homer. They also turned a pair of double plays, and won 16-4. Bait won the championship in 2023, but went winless last season, so this was a big win o improve to 1-1. Piscina dropped to 0-2.

Next, MiniBar took on the Record Shop. MiniBar jumped out to an early 5-0 lead as Record Shop walked in three runs. They came back and cut the lead to 5-4 but MiniBar responded with a two-run homer and continued to tack on runs. Mike went the distance on the mound for MiniBar as they won 10-5 to improve to 2-0. The Record Shop dropped to 1-1.

On April 27, the Cheeseballs took on Piscina. In the top of the second inning, Piscina had runners on first and third with no outs and hit a fly ball to left. The Cheeseballs threw out the runner at the plate and then threw out the runner on first, trying to advance to second for a rare triple play. In the bottom of the inning, Cheeseballs hit three homers and scored eight runs. They won 17-1 to improve to 2-1, while Piscina dropped to 0-3.

Next Bait & Tackle took on Record Shop. A three-run homer by Kohl helped the Record Shop take an early lead. However, Bait’s outfielders threw out a runner at the plate and another runner at third to keep it close. The game ended after the sun went down, and the Bait outfielders couldn’t see a fly ball in the sixth, which turned into a home run. The Record Shop won 15-9 to improve to 2-1 while Bait dropped to 1-2.

On April 30, MiniBar took on Union Grounds. Joe “Fish” was on the mound for MiniBar made a great running catch to get out of a jam. Gaetano crushed a 2-run homer for MiniBar as they opened up a 9-0 lead. Union Grounds got on the board with a solo homer, but MiniBar won the game 17-4 and improved to 3-0 while Union Grounds dropped to 1-2.

Also on April 30, B61 took on the Wobblies in a close matchup. The Wobblies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, but B61 responded with three in the bottom of the inning. The game remained tied until a solo homer by Lee made it 4-3 B61 in the fourth. B61 tacked on a few more runs and led 7-3 heading into the seventh. In the top of the inning, the Wobblies cut the lead to 7-5, and then a two-run single by Ari tied the game at seven. The game went to extras. Wobblies couldn’t score in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, with runners on second and third and no outs, “Cincy” Tim hit a walkoff sac fly to lift B61 to an 8-7 victory. The win made B61 2-1 while the Wobblies dropped to 1-2.

Standings:

MiniBar: 3-0
B61: 2-1
Record Shop: 2-1
Cheeseballs: 2-1
Wobblies: 1-2
Bait & Tackle: 1-2
Union Grounds: 1-2
Piscina: 0-3