On Sept. 20, the Columbus Lodge #2143 Golden Lions captured the Queens Borough Championship at Cunningham Park in Bayside, Queens. Third baseman "Reet" DiSalvo's toss to second baseman Hynoski, for the putout, sealed the 11-0 title game victory against the team from Airborn and advanced the Golden Lions into the NYC Championship round in the 8th Annual NYC Mayor's Cup Softball Tournament.

Columbus Lodge #2143 softball player/manager Ed Bochynski, who has guided his team to a AFSC title and a .857 winning percentage this season, won the Queens Borough Championship last week and will look to capture the NYC Mayor's Cup softball title next week.

Two rain delays reeked havoc with the Columbus Lodge roster as several players, including veterans "Hippy" Tony Novarro, Joe Pesale, Dave Saviano and Jeff Steinberg were all unable to make the rainout date. "The rainouts gave some of our other members a chance to break into the lineup and they didn't disappoint us," said Golden Lions manager Ed Bochynski.

In the qualifying round opener, the Columbus Lodge (CL) staked the team from St. Martin's Press to an early one run lead before coming to the plate. After the first two batters were retired, Dennis Tranchina's innocent single was the start of a 5-run explosion. Ron "Gondo" Gandolfo followed with a mammoth 2-run homerun to centerfield and, three batter's later, shortstop Joe Percella singled in another run. Deb McTigue followed with a 2-run triple to cap the inning.

In the third, CL's Joe Percella drove in a pair of runs and, in the fourth, Angelo Parone, who was making his Columbus Lodge debut, got his first hit as a member of the Golden Lion. St. Martin's Press scored a run in the 5th for a 8-2 final score. Manager Ed Bochynski credits tight defense as the reason for the low scoring.

In the borough championship game against the team from Airborn, CL's Angelo Patrone squeaked home on a Dennis Tranchina ground out for an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. In the bottom of the frame, a fantastic throw by Transchina, from centerfield, reached home plate a full two strides before the Airborn base runner. Catcher Deb McTigue's brilliant tag prevented Airborn from tying the game.

First baseman Ed Bochynski's lead off single in the third opened the floodgates for 7 runs on 9 hits. A triple by Anthony "the Big Sausage" Curran and doubles by Gondo, Patrone and Tranchina highlighted the inning. During the hitting barrage, several family and friends of the CL players began performing "the wave" from the bleachers.

The Columbus Lodge tacked on 2 runs in the fifth and a run in the sixth inning for an 11-0 final. Gondo Gandolfo, the Big Sausage and Dennis Tranchina each collected three hits in the game. The crowned champions of the borough of Queens advance to the City Championship round, in Manhattan, where they will compete against other borough champs for the NYC Mayor's Cup. Among the teams will be last year's champs, the Manhattan Demons, winners of 45 consecutive games.

All proceeds from the NYC Mayor's Cup softball tournament will provide uniforms and equipment for Little League Baseball programs. In addition to team sponsorship, other donations to this tournament were received by Crown Trophy, deBeer, active.com, and NEXTEL. The NYC Mayor's Cup is presented by the United Athletic Association, in conjunction with the NYC Parks Department.

Other OSIA News: Ron Gandolfo's appearance in the final game of the QBC softball tournament enabled him to surpass Daron Tripoli for 5th place on CL's all-time tournament games played list. Columbus Lodge's testimonial dinner/dance honoring TOB Supervisor John Venditto will be on Oct. 24. For tickets one may contact Sal Patrone at (516) 797-0984.