Teams stats*:

Record:	2-6-1 (no post-season record)
Forfeits:	0 / 2
Team batting avg:	0.549
Runs per at-bat:	0.273
Runs scored:	96 / 159
Double plays:	3 / 7
Triple plays:	0 / 0
Outs at home plate:	0 / 1
1-2-3 innings:	7 / 6 (4 converted by Tufts alone)

* (Made by Verdasys / Made by opponents faced)

Batting stats**:

Most Games Att:	Kevin M. / Mark V. / Tim N. (9)
Most Hits:	Kevin M. (18), Russ (16), Mark V. (15)	Patsy / Melissa N. (8)
Most Runs:	Kevin M. / Bowler (10), Matt / B. Kelley (9)	Patsy (3), Heather L. (2)
Most RBIs:	Tom C. (14), Russ (10), Kevin M. / Gowtham (9)	Patsy / Melissa (4)
Most SACs:	Tom C. (3), Kevin M / Gowtham (2)	Patsy / Melissa (3)
Most Doubles:	Bowler (5), Kevin M. / Jorge C. (4)	Melissa / Kristen S. (1)
Triples Club:	A-WOL, Josh, Luke, Kevin M, Mark V, Tim C, Tim N, Tom C (1)
HR Club:	Kevin M / Matt / Tom C. (2), A-WOL / Bowler / Gowtham / Mike P. (1)
Season-long hit streak:	Kevin M. / Mark V. (9 GA), A-WOL (8 GA), Bill K. (7 GA) (7 Game min)

** (Men - Women)

Milestones:

-	Team tied best seasonal record in club history. (2 wins and 1 tie.)
-	Team hit 35 doubles (2B), 8 triples (3B), and 10 HR this season. All amounts are a seasonal highs for the franchise.
-	Team did NOT forfeit any games. Last forfeit-free season was 2008.
-	No games were postponed due to weather. 2010 was the only other time in Verdasys history. Writing staff also observed a postponed-free season in 2006 since their tenure starting in 2004.
-	Tom Cottom set a club record for furthest hit by hitting a fly ball that struck the outfield fence, just short of an over-the-fence HR. (And with a legal bat and ball, unlike some teams ...)
-	Season ended on Aug. 22, the earliest it has ever ended for the team.
-	Was the 5th consecutive season as team skipper of Verdasys for Andrew Wolan; 8th in his career overall.
-	Was the 12th consecutive season as a team skipper of Impole for Bill Kelley.

Writing Staff Stats:
Number of photos and video clips taken: 707
Number of words written for website: 20,717
Game note/summary articles written: 11 (133 total since 2004)

Miscellaneous Stats:
Questionable bats detected: 1
Unique rabbits observed: 9

The Snap
In a display of unorthodox behavior, the league commissioner snapped at Coach A-WOL this afternoon, going so far as asking the Team Skipper to not coach a team in 2013. Apparently, the commissioner was unhappy with A-WOL after he emailed the league and requested the final seasonal record from each team.

The commissioner argued that A-WOL violated a recent decree requesting that “no correspondence be sent out to coaches unless it is sent by me”. This rule was enacted after a player from another team sent an inappropriate message to the rest of the league. This player’s email was a response to an email sent by A-WOL reminding everyone of the league’s “no drinking policy”.

She then argued that “no one wants their inbox full of coed softball correspondence” and that the league “has run very smoothly” under her tenure as league commissioner for the past 25 years. She concludes by asking that A-WOL “not return as coach for next year” because she could not trust A-WOL to adhere to the rules.

A-WOL fired back, challenging her management of the league. A-WOL asked why haven’t people who have who committed far worse violations, such as punching other players or playing the game while drunk, been punished? A-WOL mentioned that most messages sent to the commissioner are ignored, and asked how are teams expected to communicate with one another when the league lacks an alternative form of communication to email?

A-WOL also mentioned that it was inappropriate to snap at him considering all the “little things” A-WOL has done the background for the league, such as picking-up trash and racking the infield on weekends. He also talked about how he has sent messages to the league in seasons past, and was even thanked by the commissioner on one occasion for “calling out” teams for trashing a dugout that A-WOL later cleaned-up.

The commissioner responded by backpedaled her stance and mentioned that A-WOL was not “kicked out of the league” and is “welcome to play”, furthering stating that he was simply asked not to coach, but will not be prohibited from coaching next season. As for the questions asked by A-WOL, no direct answer was given, other than stating that the town lacked the “financial means”.

The Cause
Officially, the cause behind this sudden outburst was because A-WOL violated a “no correspondence” rule. But what about the violations the commissioner has taken no action on, such as violence towards other players or the public consumption of alcohol? Those violations are far more serious, if not illegal. So why hasn’t she responded to those violations with the same fervor as she has against A-WOL?

The answer is simple: A-WOL stepped on her domain and made her feel uncomfortable. Over the past few seasons, A-WOL has participated in extracurricular activities that have benefited the league, be it on the field or off. Since some of these tasks fall under the commissioner’s domain, someone might take it as a sign of the commissioner being incompetent at her job. In interest of defending her territory, she snapped at A-WOL.

However, A-WOL has no malicious intent and was not trying to get her fired. Instead, he just wants the league to be the best it can be, even if it means considerable extra work on his part.

With that in mind, what the commissioner should have done was delegate some of her responsibilities to A-WOL and other motivated individuals in the league. Such a more prolific league will require more time and more resources to run. But if people volunteered their time and resources, such a league could be achieved at no additional cost to the town. In the end, it would be a win-win for everyone.

But even if everyone whom she delegated work to were to do their job, it will still require extra time from her schedule to co-ordinate everything. The commissioner clearly has no interest in spending any extra time on the league. If she had, this whole incident would not have happened in the first place.

Coach A-WOL and A-WOOF president “Ms. S.B.” got a chance to play in front of a unique audience once again this afternoon, as the duo participated in a softball game over at Soldiers Field in Harvard. This was the second appearance at the collegiate level for either player. (Previous appearance was at Harvard last year.) To celebrate the occasion, the A-WOOF leader herself wore a special outfit out on the field.

On defense, A-WOL started in deep center field. For the day, A-WOL had no putout opportunities, with exception to a fly ball that went over his head and hit the fence. Batting wise, A-WOL was 2 for 2 (2B), with 2 runs and a RBI. Ms. S.B. was 1 for 3, with her second hit being denied following a close play at the plate.

The most memorable play made by either player came on A-WOL’s second scoring play. The Verdasys team skipper was on 3B when the batter hit a grounder back to the mound. With A-WOL running on contact, and the pitcher scrambling to retrieve the ball and toss it to the catcher, A-WOL slid into home plate ahead of the play attempt and scored.

As for the game itself, the contest ended in a 14-10 loss.

End of Season News
After a good start, the Verdasys Softball team dropped their final 5 games, ending the regular season with a 2-5-1 record. Their losing streak included a heart-breaking 13-12 last inning defeat in their final regular season game.

As for the playoffs, participation in the playoffs is not automatic as it has been in past seasons,. This season, only the top 4 teams in a league of 10 will qualify. At last check, the Verdasys Softball club is near the bottom of the ranking, and will not quality. Therefore, the team will miss the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. If it’s any consolation, teams in the league got to play 9 games this season instead of the normal 6-7 games.

Despite the unhappy ending, the team is already looking forward towards next season. Many are eager for the return of star slugger Chris Bowler, along with the return of the new recruits from this season. Several players have expressed interest in joining an indoor softball league over the winter to help hone-in on their fielding skills.

Playoffs News (Added: Sept 13, 2012)
In the semi-finals, B&V (1) defeated Softworld (4) to advance to the finals. Meanwhile, #3 seed Tufts fended off a 7th inning rally to squeak-by Bay Financial (2) with an 18-17 win. In the championship round, Tufts edged HR hitting B&V with a 9-8 victory, earning Tufts the Waltham Recreation Co-Ed Softball League Championship title.

Per league regulation, the Verdasys Softball organization has released the following injury and roster report for the 2012 season as it stands after Game 7.

Injury Updates:
Chris Bowler is will be out for the remainder of the season after tearing a calve muscle while advancing on a SAC fly in Game 4. (Specifically, he has a partial tear of the bicep femoris.) The injury was made worse after Bowler tried to run to 1B on a ground ball hit during Game 7. Chris has volunteered to help mange the team from the bench for the remainder of the season. Bowler ends the season with 12 hits and 10 runs, and was on pace to break the team's records for most hits and most runs scored in a season. (Records stand at 24 hits and 12 runs, both set by Mike O'Conner in 2008.)

Melissa Nolte participation was limited in the first half of the season after fracturing her wrist in the off-season. She has since recovered. However, she is currently experiencing pain in one of her hands and will require surgery to address issue. Procedure will be held off until after the season is over.

Contractions:
Ryan Grimard (right), the team's star outfielder and batter, became a free agent after the 2011 season. He expressed interest in signing with the team for 2012, but never followed through. He's expected to miss the rest of the season.

Karina Salas has left the team after signing with the Newton Knights softball club during the off-season.

The Vallieres, (Pete and Kristen,) are expected to miss the rest of the season as they prepare to move to their new home.

Elliott Eno, another star outfielder, is expected to miss the reset of the season after coming down with matrimony. The team wishes the couple-to-be the best of luck.

Usha Shama has stated that she has retired from the sport and will not play, regardless of how much A-WOL begs.

Roster Additions:
During the off-season, the Verdasys Softball team acquired Gowtham, Tom Cottam, Bob Bevington, Marc and Heather Meunier, and veteran Russell Rick. Gowtham and Tom have done an excellent job filling-in the hole left by Grimard’s and Eno’s absence, while Russell has contributed greatly with the bat and as a closing fielder.

As announced prior to the start of the season, the Verdasys and Impole softball teams merged, infusing the depleted Verdasys roster with the Impole bench. By merging, the two teams were able to stop worrying about their rosters and to just have fun. The new additions to the roster include: Bill Kelley, Chris Bowler, Heather Lesson, Jorge Calderon, Kevin, Leah, Matt, Mark Vitello, Melissa Nolte, Nancy, Patsy Gillespie, Tim Cooles, and Tim Nolte.

The Verdasys Softball team improves to 2-1-1 for the season following a “double win” in this afternoon’s contest. The game featured a match-up between long-time rival and soon-to-be building rival Mass Medical Society (MMS).

A strong infield effort by the trio of Kevin, Matt and Bowler at 3B, SS and 1B respectively helped make quick work of numerous MMS batters. In all, the Verdasys defense limited MMS to 1 run or less over each of the first 6 innings of play. As for the Verdasys offense, they scored early and gave the team a 5 run lead going into the final inning of play.

Late in game the injury bug bit Verdasys, and MMS exploited vulnerability in the defense to hammer in 5 runs in the final inning of play. But their production was not enough to overcome their deficit as the game ended in 9-9 tie.

With the “double win”, the team improves to 2-1-1, tying a franchise best of 2 wins and a tie set in the 2009 season. The team’s defense also set a team record of yielding only 9 runs over the course of the game. Historically against MMS, Verdasys has 2 win, 2 losses, a “double win” and a “double forfeit”. (Fascinating.)

The rivalry between Verdasys and Mass Medical Society has been heating up over the past few seasons. But today, the rivalry has officially replaced that between Verdasys and recently departed hallway rival RPG.

This morning, Coach A-WOL sent a friendly email message to the league's coaches reminding them that the consumption of alcohol at the Veteran's Athletic Complex is prohibited. This message was sent out in light of what happened during Verdasys' last game, when a player from the opposing team got drunk and became chirpy towards the end of the game. To A-WOL's surprise, he received the following response from a "Chris Beauford":

Hey A-Wol, Get a life or join a real softball league. That email is the biggest joke I've ever seen.

So who is this "Chris Beauford"? There is no team captain with that name, nor does his email address match any on the league mailing list. Could it be someone from last night's game holding a grudge against Verdasys? Was someone sending an anonymous hate message to Coach A-WOL?

Googling the name "Chris Beauford" led to a dead end, so the answer will have to come from the email message itself. Analysis of the email message's header revealed that A-WOL’s message was originally received by an email server named "mms.org" or "Mass Medical Society". Further analysis of the message itself reveal the following tidbits:

-	The mailing list A-WOL used did not replace any addresses with a "display name", with exception to Eno, the league commissioner, and her assistant. (Example: "jsmow@email.com" vs "Joe Smow".)
-	When the recipient received the message, their client replaced the email addresses of known contacts with their "display name". This modified list was shown in the reply message from "Chris Beauford". The accounts that were impacted were that of A-WOL, Eno, the commissioner, her assistant, and the team captain of MMS.
-	The recipient then forwarded the message to a Gmail account. The legal caption at the bottom of the message matched that found in past correspondences with the MMS team captain.
-	The username of “Chris Beauford”’s account is “thebizness2point0”. It is questionable that a person would use such an awkward account name unless it was intend to be used in a ploy.

Using the above observations, we can therefore conclude that the message was sent by someone affiliated with the MMS softball team. With a username of “thebizness2point0”, it’s likely that "Chris Beauford" is just an alias for the sender to hide behind when mailing this message.

So why send the message in the first place? It is believed the message was sent in hopes of being a distraction prior to the contest between these two teams on Monday.

When asked about the incident, Coach A-WOL's said, "I wonder if they are going to boo me when I go to bat? Because if they do, it'll be awesome! I can wear a mask and be like one of those wrestlers that everyone jeers against.

"However, I still don't understand the remark of 'join a real league'. If that is how he feels about the league, then why is he still in it?"

The merger of Verdasys and Impole continues to prove productive. In today’s match-up, the 2 clubs fielded a team packed with 17 players, tying the number from Game 1. Their opponent, Life Plans (LP), had two of their three women players bail on them at the last minute. With only one female player on their roster at game time, LP was forced to forfeit, handing Verdasys Softball their second win of the season. To ensure that the afternoon wasn’t a total waste, the two teams agreed to play a non-binding scrimmage game.

The win is the 4th win in 5 games for Verdasys Softball (all via forfeit) spanning from the 2011 season. The win also gives the team a record that is at 0.500 or above for the first 3 games of the season, a team first.

It would appear that a few of our feathered friends have decided to make their home a part of the action. During the team’s game against Softworld, a Killdeer bird nest was spotted in the outfield of Cusick Field. This nest is located about 20-30 feet from the fence in dead-center field, and contains 3 off-white eggs with black and brown speckles. The nest itself is merely a shallow depression with no nesting material around it; however, it is well camouflaged and difficult to spot by chance.

During the course of the game, whenever the outfielders took their positions, the Killdeer pair would circle the area and make their distinctive “Killdeer” call. If a fielder got too close to the nest itself, one of the birds would try to lure the player away from the nest with a "broken-wing act". (Don’t worry; it’s just an act to lure predators away from the nest and towards it instead.)

Ideally, this nest should be relocated outside the area of play and into a safe location. Since the birds are a native species, relocating their nest without a permit is violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The team did ask the state’s Fishery and Wildlife Department to try to have the nest relocated, but we were told moving the nest would do more harm than good. Thankfully, the birds are precocial, meaning the chicks will start walking around after they hatch. Hopefully, the incubation period is almost complete, and the birds will be off the field soon. Until then, if has been suggested that the nest be marked with cones in hopes of protecting the nest.

Update (7/11/2012):
Since the story broke, the field has been mowed, and the bird nest is now gone. Likely scenario: the nest was destroyed by a lawn mower.

The merger of Verdasys and Impole is already proving to be productive. In today’s match-up, the 2 clubs fielded a team packed with 17 players, the largest Verdasys has had seen 2009. Their opponent, GSN, was not as prepared and produced just 8 players. With an insufficient number of people, GSN was forced to forfeit, handing Verdasys Softball their first win of the season. The two teams then agreed to play a non-binding scrimmage game. Verdasys won that game 16-11.

The win is the third straight win for Verdasys Softball (all via forfeit) spanning from the 2011 season. The current streak is the longest (and only) such streak in team history. The win also gives the team a record that is above 0.500 for the first time in club history.

While releasing the 2012 schedule, the commissioner announced some major changes to the league structure. These changes were made as a direct response to dwindling enrollment into the league.

Contraction
In 2011, 2 teams left the league. Their departure reduced each division from 8 teams to 7. This season, 4 more teams have left. This includes Thermo Fisher and hallway rival Racepoint Group. The reason for T.F.'s departure is unknown, but RPG is said to have relocated to Boston. The departure of these teams reduces the team count in each division from 7 teams to 5.

Unification
Instead of having two independent five-team divisions, the "Cusuck" and "Middlefield" divisions were dropped and replaced with a unified 10-team division. To ensure equal playtime against each team, the regular season was expanded from 7 games to 9.

The lack of divisions now means that the schedule will span both the "Cusuck" and "Middlefield" fields, and not one.

New Rainout Format
In the past, games were scheduled Monday-Thursday, with at most one game per week. (16 teams, 2 fields spans 4 days.) Rainouts were rescheduled after all the scheduled games had been played.

With fewer teams in the league this season, the weekly game schedule will span 3 days instead of 4. Games will now be scheduled Monday-Wednesday, with Thursdays reserved as a "make-up" date. This make-up date will allow games to be made-up during the course of the season, allowing the season to end on-time. This change also means it is now possible to have two games in a given week.

Playoff Format Change
In the past, the top 4 teams in each division competed for the league crown, while the bottom four played for the "consolation tournament" crown. This year, only the top four teams will be eligible to participate in the playoffs.

Teams playing at the Middlebrook Field this season can expect a surprise visit from a few local residents.

During the course of a team practice session, several cotton tail rabbits were spotted roaming about the grass near the outfield fence. These rabbits had ventured out into the open to graze on fresh clover flowerets. At least 3 separate rabbits were identified. It is believed that the rabbits have made a home under the thick brush outside the outfield fence, making future sightings likely. There is no word from A-WOL on whether he'll be recruiting the rabbits.

In addition to the rabbits, numerous species of bird were spotted as well. While it is not unusual to spot one or two unique species on any given day, it is unusual to spot such a wide variety in one occasion. Species observed include sparrows, mocking birds, killdeers, blue jays, robins, mourning doves, and numerous other indigenous specious. (Non-migratory Canadian geese don't count.) Some are unique in that they have not been observed at Middlebrook Field before. It would appear that a growing diversity of bird species is calling this location home.

Despite a 2011 seasons marred with player shortages, the team will give it one more try in 2012 thanks to some enlisted help.

Change of Mind
After a difficult 2011 season, the team agreed that it would be best to disband. The decision was made after it was apparent people had lost interest in the company team.

Despite this realization, Coach A-WOL was bothered by the fact that the team was not taking advantage of their close proximity to the Veterans Memorial Complex. To be located near some really nice softball fields, (which can be hard to come by,) and not use them seemed like a waste.

Though Coach A-WOL had no plans to rejoin the league, one matter made him reconsider: the fact that the company team could be relocating. If this move were to happen, odds were the new location would not be located near such nice fields. Thus, it seemed like a reasonable idea to give the league one last and final run before the option was taken away from the team for good.

Merger with Impole
Given the internal recruiting issues from 2011, the team would have to look externally for players. As luck would have it, another team in the league, Impole, was looking to recruit players as well.

Neither team had enough people to form a team on their own. However, if the two teams combined, they would have a sufficient roster for the course of the season.

The two teams spoke and later agreed to merge for the 2012 season. Both sides concluded that merging would make the season more enjoyable for both teams by eliminating the stress of having to constantly recruit players.

It was agreed that the merged team would retain the name "Verdasys Softball" because Verdasys Softball would be its sponsor. The team will be co-managed by Andrew Wolan of Verdasys Softball and Bill Kelley of Impole. The former co-captains from both sides, Elliott Eno and Chris Bowler respectively, will act as backups.

During the 2011 season, Impole was 2-4 and were winners of the Cusick Division Consolation Tournament. Verdasys was 1-5 and skipped the winning round of the Middlebrook Field Consolation Tournament after winning the semi-final round.