Joe’s Ranch House got off to a bit of a rough start early in the Wayne County Men’s Softball season.

The Beach Lake-based ballclub lost three of its first four games and seemed to be headed in the wrong direction.

However, relying on a potent mix of youngsters and grizzled veterans, Joe’s Ranch House is now challenging the established teams for a spot atop the overall standings.

The Beach Lake lads are in the midst of an 8-game winning streak and show no signs of letting up anytime soon.

As The Wayne Independent went to press on Thursday, Joe’s Ranch House was all alone in third place with a 9-4 record.

Dynamic Duo
One of the main strengths of the Joe’s Ranch House team is a dynamic pitching duo.

Wayne County Sports Hall of Famer Bob “Reggie” Bunnell anchors the staff, while savvy southpaw Rob Spaulding is also enjoying a solid season.

Bunnell improved his record to 6-2 for the ‘09 campaign with a recent 8-4 decision over first place Waymart Hotel. Reggie went the distance in this one, scattering seven hits over seven innings.

Scotty Beilman, Brett Hopkins and Craig Ciarrocchi led the way offensively.

Beilman lashed two hits in-cluding a 2-run triple. Hopkins crushed a crucial 2-run homer, while Ciarrocchi chipped in with three basehits.

Richie Walker suffered the loss for Waymart Hotel. Dennis Smeding paced the offensive attack with a solo homer.

Spaulding upped his mark to 3-1 for the season with a complete game effort of his own. Rob pitched seven strong innings in leading his team to a 6-1 win over The Crossroads. He allowed only four hits.

Ken Bednash took the hill opposite Spaulding and suffered a hard-luck loss. Bednash strung together four shutout frames before Joe’s Ranch House tallied four times in the home fifth.

On a Roll
Wargo Flooring moved to 9-3 on the season with a pair of wins this past week in Wayne County Men’s League action.

The squad, which is based in Waymart, recorded impressive victories over FYI Graphics (22-5) and Radio Shack (19-4).

Brian Bolduc drew the starting nod against FYI and ended up with the win. The versatile player also helped his own cause by belting a 3-run homer.

Dave “Curly” Bell (3-for-4), Mark Bell (3-for-4) and Brian Blaum (3-for-5) led the offense.

Ken Rizzi Sr. turned in yet another strong outing on the hill as Wargo Flooring handed Radio Shack a lopsided loss. “Senior” allowed just five hits in seven innings.

Justin Collins (3-for-4), Dale Snyder (3-for-4) and Ken Morris (2-for-4) led Wargo’s assault.