The Columbus Lodge #2143 Golden Lions were crowned champions of the 2002 Arthritis Foundation Softball Tournament on a sunny afternoon at Cantiague Park in Hicksville. The Aug. 10 tournament, now in its fifth year, ended with a Dave Saviano catch in right-centerfield and a 16-4 victory over the two-time defending champions from the accounting firm KPMG.

The mission of the Arthritis Foundation is to improve the quality of life for children and their families with rheumatic diseases, specifically by working toward improved medical care, providing collective and individual advocacy and providing education and support. The Arthritis Foundation is the only national, voluntary health organization seeking to help find cures, prevention and treatments for the more than 100 forms of arthritis.

According to Arthritis Foundation Special Events Co-ordinator Jeff Jackson, the Foundation would like to thank the event sponsor Avanti Pharmaceuticals and the sponsored softball teams from the accounting firm KPMG, the Columbus Lodge #2143, the Chris Jones All-Stars and the Long Island Volunteer Association. Also, the Foundation wishes to grant a special thank you to the men in blue, from the Nassau County ASA Umpires, who volunteered their time to make the event a success.

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in determination. In their semi-final game, the Columbus Lodge was matched up against the team from the Long Island Volunteer Association (LIVA). In the first inning, LIVA found out how determined the Golden Lions were when leftfielder Dennis Tranchina, a last minute replacement for veteran Ron Gandolfo, hit a 2-run homerun. Fellow teammates were impressed with the power shown by the leftfielder, in his Columbus Lodge debut. The Lions went on to score 8 runs, on 9 hits in the inning.

The lead was extended to 10-0, in the second inning, on a Jeff Steinberg homerun and an RBI single by Ed Bochynski. The lodge continued to maul the LIVA with 3 runs in the third inning, 2 of which scored on a triple by shortstop Joe Pecella. In the fifth, the Columbus Lodge tacked on 7 runs off the strength of Jeff Steinberg's 320-foot, 3-run homerun over the centerfield fence. Dennis Tranchina made it back-to-back homeruns and Massapequa's Gina Nonenaker collected her third hit of the game as the Lions took a 20-0 lead.

The lopsided score was a testament, not only to good hitting but also, to spectacular fielding. In the sixth, outfielder Jeff Steinberg ran a 30-yard dash toward the foul line in leftfield, extended his arm and made a circus catch to preserve the shutout. "When you play hard, give your best effort, and you're surrounded by teammates who do the same, then you can't help but enjoy the game, win or lose," said team captain Ed Bochynski.

The final runs were scored in the bottom of the sixth inning when Anthony "the big Sausage" Curran singled in Joe Pesale and Dave Saviano. Despite the brilliant 6-hit, 22-0 shutout pitched by Curran, he knew his teammates were relying on him to take the hill and pitch one more masterpiece, but this time it would be against the tournament's two time defending champion.

KPMG entered the tournament as the favorites to win a third consecutive championship. For 15 seasons, their legendary softball manager, Tom Galgano, has filled the trophy case at KPMG's Melville office. Having guided his team to a hard-fought 11-7 semi-finals victory over the Chris Jones All-Stars, only the Columbus Lodge, a team he defeated in each of the past two seasons (13-4 in 2001 and 14-6 in 2000), stood between him and a 3-peate championship.

KPMG opened the game with singles by Tom Galgano and Lou LiBrandi. The two men would eventually score to give KPMG an early 2-0 lead. But in the bottom of the first, the Lions came roaring back with 4 runs to capture the lead. KPMG knotted the score at 4-4, as the Lions came up to bat in the third inning. A one out throwing error put Dennis Tranchina on second base when Ed Bochynski smashed a single to centerfield, scoring Tranchina. Later, with 2 outs RBI singles by brother Chris Tranchina (his 2nd of 3 hits in the game), "Hippie" Tony Novarro, and Rita DiSalvo gave the Columbus Lodge an 8-4 lead.

Throughout the game, shortstop Joe Pecella's acrobatic catches appeared to sap the life out of KPMG. In the top of the fifth inning, Pecella got a quick jump off the bat of KPMG's Mike Grady and made a grab in shallow leftfield with his back to home plate, to prevent two runners from scoring. "I looked at their (KPMG) faces and, at that moment, I felt they were defeated," said Ed Bochynski. In the bottom of the inning, the Columbus Lodge pounded out 8 runs on 10 hits to take a 16-4 lead. Anthony Curran pitched another gem, scattering 10 hits and not allowing a run to score over the final four innings.

Without question, the Columbus Lodge dominated this year's tournament. They out-hit their opponents 52-16, outscored them 38-4, and had a team on-base-percentage of .538. Four players batted over .700 for the series: Ed Bochynski hit .750 and Gina Nonenaker, Jeff Steinberg, and Dennis Tranchina each hit .714. In addition, Joe Pesale (.625) and Dave Saviano (.667) batted over .600 and Jeff Steinberg hit 2 HRs, had 6 runs scored, and had 6 RBIs. Anthony Curran's 7 RBIs led the tournament.

The Sons of Italy-Columbus Lodge #2143 Golden Lions is a softball team dedicated to community involvement through softball fund-raising events. This year, the team's participation in charity softball events have helped local organizations raise over $73,500 and since the team's inception their participation has helped raise over $512,000. The Golden Lions' lifetime record in charity events is 25-10. To become a member of the Columbus Lodge, one may telephone Steve LaScala at (516) 735-2535.