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08/24/2020 12:00 AMThe Deep River Horseshoe League (DRHL) wrapped up the regular season with Week 10 action. The playoff slate was decided with 8 of the league's 16 teams qualifying for the single elimination tournament, which began Aug. 26 with the quarterfinals, continues with the semifinals on Thursday Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m., and concludes with the final at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30.
While some teams have fallen out of contention, most competitors are grateful to have even a shortened season, given the circumstances.
The playoffs will pit the Pirates at the No. 1 seed versus the eighth-seeded Angels, the second-seeded Tigers against the No. 7 seed Mets, the No. 3 seed Royals against No. 6 seed Cardinals, and the fourth-seeded Cubs versus the fifth-seeded Rangers. League
President Frank Jolly, who lives in Old Saybrook, says that this season has been anything but normal, and the playoffs will be slightly different, as well.
"This year we haven't really followed the bylaws due to the COVID. We decided to have the meeting and cookout when the championship team will be there for the final," Jolly said. "We'll play the quarterfinals in a best three out of five games on Wednesday, and then the semifinal round will be four teams. That will also be best three out of five. The final game will be Sunday, and that will be four of seven. We'll have a cookout, and then we'll all play a tournament for fun in the afternoon."
The final week of the season saw the Pirates cling to first place, just barely after losing 5-1 versus the Rangers. The Pirates single-game lead at 39-21, just edged out the Tigers and the Royals, who finished with the same 38-22 record. The Tigers earned the No. 2 seed over the Royals thanks to a head-to-head record tiebreaker. The No. 4 seed Cubs and the
No. 5 seed Rangers also finished the year with the same record of 37-23, with the Cubs taking the tie-break. The No. 6 seed Cardinals at 32.5-27.5 just eked past the Mets (32-28) by a half-game, and the Angels took the last spot with a .500 record of 30-30.
The final standings for the non playoff teams were as follows: Red Sox (27.5-32.5), Reds (27-33), Giants (27-33), White Sox (26.5-33.5), Dodgers (26-34), Yankees (24.5-35.5), Orioles (22-38), and Braves (16-44).
As for top performers in Week 10, the Reds' A Player Billy Beckwith, who lives in Old Lyme, outpaced all throwers with a series score of 136, while the Dodgers' Mike Zanelli, Sr., a Haddam resident, was second with a score of 129. The Angels' Todd Nuhn, of Killingworth, threw a 127 for third best among the A Division.
In the B Division, the Rangers' Andy Perna, who lives in Chester, tossed a series 127, which put him on pace with the many of the DRHL's A players. Damin Roberts, a Cromwell resident who plays for the Tigers, scored 113 for second-best of the Bs, while Deep River's Sheryl Serviss, who plays for the White Sox, notched a score of 100. Among C Players, Frank Durinick scored a 119, which would have been second among B players. Deep River's Scott Allen, Jr., who plays for the Cubs, tallied a score of 99 for second, and Essex's Rob Stack, who plays for the Red Sox, came in third with an 82.
The Pirates' C player Karen Perna, who lives in Chester, has some experience in the DRHL's high-pressure playoff contests. Last year, Karen Perna was on the league-champion Astros, and hopes to see similar results this season. However, anything can happen in the playoffs, anyone can get hot or cold at any moment.
"I think the season went really well. Everybody enjoyed themselves. It was short, but it is what it is. I'm excited for the playoffs. It would be extraordinary if I managed to be on the team that won it all again this year. This week, our team lost five of six. That can happen easily in the playoffs, too. Anyone can play badly and not make the grade," Perna says. "You never know until you get there. I had three great weeks, but then I bombed out this past Thursday. You can never quite figure out what you're doing wrong while you're doing it. The three of us are anxious to play. Anything can happen."
Perna's husband Andy Perna, who plays for the Rangers in the B Division, also has some playoff experience under his belt. Last season, the Pernas faced off in the semifinal round of the playoffs, and Andy Perna would like to exact some friendly revenge on his wife by knocking the Pirates out of contention this year. Both Pernas are practicing to keep their throwing mechanics in check prior to the main event.
"We're happy that we made the playoffs. Hopefully we'll be able to play each other again this year. Karen's team beat my team in the semifinals last year, and we've both gotten better since then. We played in the winter league," Perna said. "When summer came, we picked it up pretty quickly. Karen has played twice as well as this year, going from 11 handicap to 22, and I've improved from 20 to 26. We're going down to the pits to throw tonight."
The Tigers' Robert "Skip" Robinson, who lives in Guilford, knows that the playoffs can feature plenty of upsets, especially this year with so many evenly matched teams finishing near the top. The Tigers were very close to overtaking the Pirates for the top seed last week.
"If we got one more game, we would have pulled ahead, but that's horseshoes. It's been a wonderful season, even shortened with COVID. The league really was outstanding. Our team had a great season, and we would have really missed it if we didn't have one," said Robinson. "Now, it's anybody's game. Anybody can have a really good night or a really bad night. The complexion can change within a game or two. If you start off slow and can't get it together by mid-game, you're already behind the 8-ball."
The league's top player this season has been Clinton's Mark Goodale, who is the Royals' A player. Goodale has the season's series-high score of 170, and the Royals have been hovering in the top-4, and even threatening to overtake the Pirates for first place briefly.
While Goodale has been phenomenal, he knows that it takes more to win than a great performance from one player. Goodale credits his teammates, Dave Aldrich and George Talmadge, for playing well all year, but especially last week, as he was unable to make it to pits for Week 10 to face the Braves.
"I feel fortunate that we were able to get a half-season in. Frank Jolly put a lot of effort into keeping us going, and I think everyone is very appreciative. I actually missed last week, as I was on vacation. I give a lot of credit to my teammates and Bill Brown my substitute. They took five games. They deserve a lot of credit," Goodale said. "I'm looking forward to the playoffs. I was on a playoff team the my very first year as a sub, but I was still pretty green. I'm expecting pretty stiff competition with Tony Cutone's team, the Cardinals. They have good players, so we certainly can't let our guard down."
After crowning a league champion, the DRHL will vote on a new league president. Jolly guided the league through a tumultuous 2020, and he has decided it's time for new blood in the position. Jolly will be taking some well-deserved time off from the administration side of the DRHL.
"I've been president for five years now, so I'm not running. I think it's time to have someone different," Jolly said. "This has been a difficult year, no doubt. We've had a good season, though. 10 weeks went by awfully quick. It's a lot of work, but I enjoyed doing it."