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The Marco Island Men’s Senior Softball season ended with upsets in both divisional playoffs.

Sand Bar knocked off regular-season Island Division champs Nacho Mama’s twice in the double-elimination tourney to win the title.

Marco Community Bank knocked out regular-season champs Rookies, then edged Crazy Flamingo twice to win the Marco Division title.

Here is Commissioner Bill Shurina’s final report.

Island League Playoffs:

Bertram Orthopaedics 9, Cedar Bay 4

Bertram’s had to rally from a 4-2 deficit to stay alive in the tournament and eliminate Cedar Bay. John DeRosa delivered the big blow in the fifth with a grand slam home run, giving Bertram’s a 6-4 lead. Bertram’s added three insurance runs later in the game. DeRosa ended with three hits and five RBI. Jerry Engel had two hits and two RBI, with Pete Keelen and Larry Thompson driving in a run each for Bertram’s. Cedar Bay’s runs came on a two-run double by Jim Green and hits from Ralph Leiterding and Bernie Seidman.

Sand Bar 18, Bertram Orthopaedics, 8

Both teams scored four runs in the first inning, but Sand Bar continued pounding the ball to earn a position in the championship game with a total team effort. Art Fletcher had two hits and four RBI, Jim George and Dan Cody each had two hits, including triples and three RBI each, while Art Weins knocked out three hits and drove in a run. John DeRosa had three hits and a RBI, while teammate Jerry Engel had two hits and two RBI for Bertram’s.

Sand Bar 9, Nacho Mama’s 4

In a see-saw battle Sand Bar avenged an earlier loss to regular-season champ Nacho Mama’s, forcing a second game to determine the tournament winner. Sand Bar had an early lead wiped out in the third inning when Nacho’s took a 4-2 lead, but Sand Bar rallied back, scoring seven runs in the last three innings to win the playoff title. Winning pitcher Jack O’Brien helped his cause with two hits and two RBI. Ron Peterson and Dick Knothe drove in two runs on doubles, while Dick Schiller also drove in two runs. Nacho’s runs were the result of a two-run double by Steve Kaufman and RBI hits by Clay Zyerveld and Doug Tuttle.

Sand Bar 7, Nacho Mama’s 3

In the championship game, pitcher Joe O’Brien continued to keep Nacho’s players off balance, leading Sand Bar to victory for the Island Division playoff title. O’Brien allowed two runs in the first inning and one in the sixth. Nacho’s had a 2-1 lead entering the sixth. Nacho’s scored its runs on a Mike Hopkins two-run double and Sand Bar on a Dan Cody single. In the sixth Sand Bar pushed five runs across the plate with Jim George, Ron Shudes, and O’Brien each driving in a run and Art Fletcher two. Nacho’s scored a run in the bottom of the sixth on Doug Tuttle’s hit and Sand Bar tallied its final run in the seventh on a Murph Knapke double.

Marco Division Playoffs:

Marco Community Bank 9, Rookies 7

Marco Community Bank advanced from the loser bracket to championship game with its extra-inning win over Rookies. Rookies jumped out to a 4-0 lead only to have the Bank tie the score at 5-5 in the fourth. The game remained tied until the eighth when the Bank scored four runs to Rookies’ two. Ray Zielinski, Steve Slaggie and Gary Grant each drove in two runs for the Bank, with Zielinski making key defensive plays at shortstop. Rookies pitcher Ed Kopecky had two RBI, while Walt Daleske, Al Cenicola, Bill Voss and Dick Corley knocked in a run each.

Marco Community Bank 9, Crazy Flamingo 4

Marco Community Bank forced a rematch with regular-season champ Crazy Flamingo when it handed Flamingo’s its first defeat in the playoffs. It was an early pitching duel between Flamingo’s Jack Patterson and the Bank’s Bob Zinkevicz. The only run scored through five innings was a on a Paul Shelton double in the fourth for Flamingo’s. The Bank finally got to Patterson, scoring four runs in the sixth. Chuck Wilson, Keith Stought, Bruce Steele, and John Gamble all drove in runs. Flamingo’s scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings. Shelton had a triple to drive in one run, along with RBI singles from Fred Kramer and Ron Burger. In the eighth the Bank scored five runs off the bats of Jim Walsh, Stought, Steele, Gamble and Harry McKee.

Marco Community Bank 7, Crazy Flamingo 4

Marco Community Bank scored five runs in the first inning and then held on to win the Marco Division championship. Chuck Wilson and Harry McKee each drove in two runs and Keith Stought knocked in one run in the first for the Bank. Flamingo’s made it a 5-3 game, scoring twice in the second on hits by Bob Gober and Jack Patterson. The Bank then scored twice in the third on a Ray Zielinski triple and Chuck Wilson’s single. Flamingo’s final runs came from Bob Kirsinger’s double and Gober’s RBI hit.

Keith Stought of Marco Community Bank summed up the team’s season and the feelings of all the players, easily fitting all the teams.

“The men on this team look forward to the season on Marco Island each year,” he said. “Although the cumulative age on the team is over eight centuries, the men can still run, throw and bat. The camaraderie adds quality of life to the guys.”

Most of his team have been together for five years.

“The men come from many states with one accord, to laugh and enjoy each other and the wives back us up in the stands with their encouragement.”

Loretta Diotte, wife of Fran, whose Sand Bar team surprised with a championship run, agreed.

“The guys just love being out there,” she said. “I’ve been following my husband around for 30 years and it is still exciting. The wives have a great time knowing the pleasure the men get out of the game.”

At their age nicks and bruises come easier, but that doesn’t slow the men.

“The game starts with Kate Smith singing God Bless America, then music from the 50s and 60s is played between innings,” Stought said. “For us its a revival of our youth. The aches and pains become badges of a good time.”