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WNTN 2002 Softball Season Recap
From 1979 to 2005 the WNTN Softball All*Stars played in men's and co-ed leagues in Newton and Needham.
• 2005 Season Recap, Results & Stats
• 2004 Season Recap, Results & Stats
• 2003 Season Recap, Results & Stats
• 2002 Season Recap, Results & Stats
• 2000 Season Recap, Results & Stats
• 1999 Season Recap, Results & Stats
WNTN SOFTBALL 2002
Season Recap
At last a championship. Seven years in the Needham Community Softball League and finally the trophy goes to the WNTN Softball All*Stars. This was the team's fifth trip to the final round and they were able to shed the bridesmaid label with a convincing 3 games to 1 series victory over Micks. With a 22-6 score in game four, the team completed one of their most successful seasons with a 25-4 record.
While they limped home with six starters (David Higgins, Ted Argentieri, Mike Donley, Stu Kaplan, Greg Kassabian, Eddie Murray) injured or out, the 2002 club came prepared with the additions of several new contributors such as Josh Horwitz, Dan Mikesh, Stu Kaplan, Rob Braunstein and Max Gulman. John Toyias returned after a year off to take over the shortstop position with his shotgun arm. Players like Keith Garland and Darren Roy returned from injury to play key roles.
The team worked hard in the off-season to fill holes created by Mike Abbott (moved away), Keith Ryan (retired), Mike Hluska (changed his mind about coming out of retirement), Kevin Gorey (grad school), Pete Smith (retired) & Jeff Jackson (work commitments). That's a lot to replace. But enter Dan Mikesh, Josh Horwitz, Rob Braunstein, Stu Kaplan, Max Gulman, John Toyias & Ed Murray.
This team had better depth, youth and speed than recent versions and it all came together. Jeff Miller's (18-2 5.64) pitching was superb. Mike Donley's outfield defense (until he broke his collarbone in the semi-finals) was some of the best in team memory. Mike McLean hit close to .700 for almost two-thirds of the season. Dan Mikesh in the leadoff spot was the speedy table-setter missing the last few seasons. The Toyias-Kassabian double play combo was unrivaled. Ted Argentieri (2-30-.535) hit like the old Ted. The team hit .487 overall with nine players batting over .500 (Mike McLean, Ed Murray, Dan Mikesh, Josh Horwitz, Rob Rudnick, Ted Argentieri, Keith Garland, Dave Higgins & Rob Braunstein).
The 2002 WNTN softball team had so much depth that it really had six outfield starters (Higgins, Argentieri, Mikesh,Donley, Kaplan & Roy) and five infield starters (McLean, Kassabian, Murray, Toyias &Horwitz). Extra hitter George Langdon excelled when it counted, hitting .538 in the post season. Not many teams had the bench strength this one had with players like Rick Barsam, Rob Braunstein, Max Gulman & Rob Rudnick all making key contributions.
Everyone will have their own framed moments of the championship 2002 campaign. Whether it's the diving catches by Mike Donley & Dan Mikesh, Greg Kassabian's clutch hits, Dave Higgins' slashing liners, Keith Garland's rockets to left, George Langdon & Rick Barsam waving home another runner, John Toyias' submarine torpedo's, the two out masterful hitting of Stu Kaplan or the goaltender-like defense of pitcher Jeff Miller, there are great memories of the summer of 2002.
A unit of great balance, they had power (John Toyias & Stu Kaplan combining for 13 home runs) and hustle (Dave Higgins, Dan Mikesh & Mike McLean with 23 combined doubles). And the reward is the "Claxton Cup" to be in the possession of the WNTN softball team until next season. A true team effort. Very gratifying.
2002 Schedule/Results
Regular Season: 17-2 (Playoffs: 8-2)
| 4/30 | WNTN 10, at PTC 2 |
| 4/30 | at WNTN 7, Hartney Greymont 5 |
| 5/8 | Micks 13, at WNTN 8 |
| 5/8 | WNTN 25, at Daddy-O 8 |
| 5/15 | at WNTN 17, Spirits 14 |
| 5/15 | at WNTN 35, Fubars 8 |
| 5/21 | at WNTN 20, IDX 3 |
| 5/21 | at WNTN 16, Roche Bros. 11 |
| 5/28 | at WNTN 7, Bullseye 0 |
| 5/28 | at WNTN 7, MacAdam Painting 3 |
| 6/12 | WNTN 23, at Micks 17 |
| 6/12 | at WNTN 15, Daddy-O 12 |
| 6/19 | WNTN 12, Spirits 3 |
| 6/25 | at IDX 10, WNTN 8 |
| 6/25 | WNTN 15, Roche Bros. 3 |
| 7/1 | at WNTN 17, TYC 1 |
| 7/1 | WNTN 29, at Hartney Greymont 16 |
| 7/8 | WNTN 14, at Bullseye 4 |
| 7/8 | WNTN 15, at MacAdam Painting 5 |
| 7/16 | at WNTN 11, Bullseye 4 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 1) |
| 7/18 | WNTN 12, at Bullseye 0 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 2) |
| 7/25 | at WNTN 12, Spirits 9 (Playoffs Round 2, Game 1) |
| 7/30 | at Spirits 14, WNTN 13 (Playoffs Round 2, Game 2) |
| 7/31 | at WNTN 14, Spirits 9 (Playoffs Round 2, Game 3) |
| 8/1 | WNTN 12, at Spirits 8 (Playoffs Round 2, Game 4) |
| 8/5 | at WNTN 5, Micks 4 (Playoffs Final Round, Game 1) |
| 8/5 | WNTN 17, at Micks 11 (Playoffs Final Round, Game 2) |
| 8/6 | Micks 13, at WNTN 11 (Playoffs Final Round, Game 3) |
| 8/7 | at WNTN 22, at Micks 6 (Playoffs Final Round, Game 4) |
2002 Statistics
G AB R H HR RBI AVG 2B 3B BB K S
1 Darren Roy 21 59 15 23 1 18 .389 5 2 3
3 David Higgins 21 72 38 37 3 18 .513 7 2 10 1
4 Ted Argentieri 23 71 27 38 2 30 .535 6 2 1 4
8 Rick Barsam 18 21 7 7 5 .333 1 1
10 Mike Donley 21 69 21 25 2 23 .362 2 4 1 1
11 Josh Horwitz 25 69 30 38 24 .550 3 1 3 2
14 Dan Mikesh 19 62 32 35 4 19 .564 9 3
15 Jeff Miller 25 28 8 9 9 .321 1
17 Keith Garland 25 67 27 35 2 23 .522 1 3 2 2
19 Rob Braunstein 24 53 21 27 1 19 .509 3 2 2
20 Stu Kaplan 25 80 33 39 6 38 .487 3 2 3 3
21 Mike McLean 28 86 35 51 19 .593 7 2 2
23 George Langdon 23 54 16 23 12 .425 2 3 6 1
25 Rob Rudnick 27 39 11 21 10 .538 1 2 1
26 Max Gulman 18 35 11 14 9 .400 1
28 Greg Kassabian 20 77 34 38 4 24 .493 2 2
30 Eddie Murray 18 54 27 31 2 21 .574 3 1 1
31 John Toyias 28 89 29 38 7 36 .426 3 3 5 6
T O T A L S 28 1087 421 530 34 369 .487 57 27 44 2 29
Pitching
APP IP R eR BB K W L ERA S
Miller 21 134 148 108 14 4 18 2 5.64
Higgins 8 48 64 49 2 5 2 7.14 1
Barsam 1 4 5 5 1 8.75
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