Sports
Softball: Opening Day & Inductions
By The Commissioner• 8/10/2026
•4 min read
Hello dear friends. Before I get to the Highlights and lowlights, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy to Mrs. Christian Melnick and her family on the loss of a dear friend, a wonderful husband and father and brother and brother-in-law, son-in-law, special teacher and a Hall of Fame softball player!
You will be missed Christian!!
We all loved you!
INDUCTIONS
Last Wednesday, on the 2026 Opening Day of BVM Summer Softball, we inducted 4 men, 4 great athletes, into our Hall of Fame: (1) Dan Halligan, (2) Ray Fico, (3) Fr. Patrick Mackin and (4) Christian Melnick.
The Hall of Fame Medallions were presented to two recipients who attended; Dan Halligan and to Christian’s two daughters who have been attending our games for many, many years, and to his father-in-law Dr. David Grossi. Ray Fico and Fr. Mackin will have their medallions sent to them.
Here is bit of a bio on each.
1. Dan Halligan, one of original players, going all the way back to when BVM played in a league of church teams. He pitched and played the infield and played like a pro.
2. Ray Fico, the fastest and best leadoff batter I have ever seen.
3. Fr. Patrick Mackin, who played Center Field like he owned it, and never, never gave up on a fly ball and about 95% of the time he caught up with it.
4. And Christian, the most complete ballplayer to play in our summer league as he could hit, run, field and lead his team with the best of them. It was a beautiful night to celebrate the induction.
Little did we know that Christian would pass away just 52 hours later.
May He Rest in Peace!
OPENING DAY
Hall of Famer Dan Halligan threw out the first pitch and Fr. Enriquez gave us all his blessing.
Captains Nick Halligan and OG Roberts then drafted their teams. We had a large crowd of about 30 and had about 24 players. The weather was perfect and the game was played as I expected—Some very good softball and some AWFUL SOFTBALL. Concessions were handled wonderfully by Krystina Roberts with Booster Club Supervisor, Melanie Zapp, helping out. And just FYI and GUIDO’S benefit, 7 players paid their fees. Thank you to those payees and also warning to those who did not pay this week: Guido is going to check the list next Thursday. Needless to say, you do not want to be on the NO PAY NAUGHTY LIST!!!
And now for the HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Nick Halligan, last year’s Home Run Leader, had the First Home Run of the season and did not need the GRAVEL PIT to do it.
2. James Ermold also homered late in the game to bring his team 2 runs away from tying the game. He went to right field as there was no one there. He almost passed his teammate, Br. Timothy, who was hustling around the bases, hoping James didn’t run him over.
3. Thomas Halligan also homered to deep center. He and his cousin are a Dynamite Left-Handed Duo!
4. Shawn Lynn made two great catches in centerfield. Yes, Shawn that was centerfield you played in. Shawn is new to our league and to softball and it showed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I believe he struck out once but that was good for a first timer. His speed around the bases falls somewhere faster that George Roppel and Patrick Edwards, the two SSSLLLOOOWWWEEESSSTT players on the MDA Modified Baseball team, and the tortoise in the tortoise and the hare story.
5. Declan Roberts had a triple in his softball debut. Not bad for an eighth grader. Making sure that happened as Raf’s notes are in some language he invented while in HS at MDA!
6. Raf ALMOST beat out a grounder to short!!! He complained to the Commissioner that he beat the throw by two steps. The Commissioner said YOU DID NOT. YOU ARE OUT. This is a HIGHLIGHT because Raf did not argue!
7. Anthony Zapp Jr. made several good catches in Left including one that he juggled several times and finally caught the ball in his lap as he fell to the ground.
8. James Ermold and the three Rowe kids (Matthew, Antonette, and Cecilia) helped to clear the rocks out of the outfield. James cleared the fewest rocks. Thank you, Matthew, Antonette, and Cecilia!
9. The field looked great thanks to Shawn, who mowed the grass, Gerard Roberts, who put up the Foul Poles, Rich Homeyer, who lined the field and Raf, OG and Gerard who always help to get us started!
10. Fr. Boyle moved his 6 pm appointment to 6:15 so he could be there for the opening Ceremonies. BUT because Traditional Catholics are “Traditionally Late”, Father had to leave before we had the ceremonies!
11. Hall of Famer Dan Halligan’s Ceremonial First Pitch was better than any pitch Gerard Roberts or Gerard “Moby Dick” * Jemison had all game!
* See lowlight #7.
And now the lowlights!
1. Fr. Enriquez left before the game began. WHY??? I hope he is not going to duplicate Fr. DeLallo’s poor attendance or show up and have a THREE-BEAN SALAD IN THE BLEACHERS. I “think” Fr. DeLallo is afraid to play a sport with a ball smaller that a soccer ball or a basketball ball. Please Fr. Enriquez “SAY IT AIN’T SO”!!
2. Adam Edwards had the worst sportsmanship at the game, trying to field the third base position while eating a slice of pizza. That may be OK in KY Adam but not here in Warners.
3. And as long as I am on the subject of Adam, he went 0 for the night, flying out 3 times to his brother Stephen, who caught everything hit at him. So step aside Adam! Stephen is here to play and to shine.
4. John Halligan and Adam (remember him) committed about 10 errors setting a record for a Shortstop/Third Baseman combination in one game!
5. Matt Babson was the First STRIKE OUT of the season! But to his credit, he only missed all two pitches by 6 inches! On another note, Gerard “Moby Dick" Jemison struck out Matt Babson. Raf Roberts was also struck out by his brother Gerard with his pineapple pitch.
6. Chris Halligan had a great play backing up First Play on a bad throw. You think this should be a HIGHLIGHT. Well, Chris was actually coaching first base for his team that was batting. So he cost his team an advance of a base for two runners. I think he learned about baseball at LaSalette. Does that sound correct?
7. Gerard Jemison did not kill anyone as he usually plans on doing that. This is a lowlight because Gerard “MOBY DICK the Whale” Jemison dove back to third base in a crucial inning rally and literally caused the Fire House Alarm to go off when he hit the ground. We will need a yard of dirt to fill in the cavity before we can play next week. Thank Goodness he did not hit Adam, the third baseman, as Adam would have lots all his ATOMS with the MOBY Crush.
8. We needed a VIDEO REPLAY of a close play at first to confirm the Commissioners SAFE CALL. Thank you, Dan, for filming all your sons plays. No need to get anyone else filmed, I guess!!!!
9. OG’s team did not wake up until the 8th inning, and I blame that on coaching!!!
10. Xavier Forget played the outfield like he was looking for his father, flying over the field, so he could tell him where to land. There was no sign of any plane and Xavier did not catch many fly balls. But he did realize his dad was not in the skies. It was the softball!
11. Declan and Alex Roberts pulled off a Double play. Not sure if ADAM was the one that doubled up but my guess is YES HE WAS!!!
NEXT WEDNESDAY is HOT DOG WEDNESDAY. Bring the family. Chef Zapp will be cooking.
And just as an afterthought, can anyone answer two questions for me? (1) Why would an athlete who loves the game and plays softball so well, choose to PAINT SHUT TERS instead of playing on Opening Day? Anthony, do have any idea? And (2) where the heck has Mr. EAGLES, FLYERS, AND SIXERS FAN been the last 3 or 4 years???? C’mon Greg. You TALK A GOOD GAME! How about PLAYING IN ONE???
That is it for now.
The Commissioner
PS: Please submit all questions, criticisms and suggestions into the box outside door 3. It looks like a trash can!!! God bless.
You will be missed Christian!!
We all loved you!
INDUCTIONS
Last Wednesday, on the 2026 Opening Day of BVM Summer Softball, we inducted 4 men, 4 great athletes, into our Hall of Fame: (1) Dan Halligan, (2) Ray Fico, (3) Fr. Patrick Mackin and (4) Christian Melnick.
The Hall of Fame Medallions were presented to two recipients who attended; Dan Halligan and to Christian’s two daughters who have been attending our games for many, many years, and to his father-in-law Dr. David Grossi. Ray Fico and Fr. Mackin will have their medallions sent to them.
Here is bit of a bio on each.
1. Dan Halligan, one of original players, going all the way back to when BVM played in a league of church teams. He pitched and played the infield and played like a pro.
2. Ray Fico, the fastest and best leadoff batter I have ever seen.
3. Fr. Patrick Mackin, who played Center Field like he owned it, and never, never gave up on a fly ball and about 95% of the time he caught up with it.
4. And Christian, the most complete ballplayer to play in our summer league as he could hit, run, field and lead his team with the best of them. It was a beautiful night to celebrate the induction.
Little did we know that Christian would pass away just 52 hours later.
May He Rest in Peace!
OPENING DAY
Hall of Famer Dan Halligan threw out the first pitch and Fr. Enriquez gave us all his blessing.
Captains Nick Halligan and OG Roberts then drafted their teams. We had a large crowd of about 30 and had about 24 players. The weather was perfect and the game was played as I expected—Some very good softball and some AWFUL SOFTBALL. Concessions were handled wonderfully by Krystina Roberts with Booster Club Supervisor, Melanie Zapp, helping out. And just FYI and GUIDO’S benefit, 7 players paid their fees. Thank you to those payees and also warning to those who did not pay this week: Guido is going to check the list next Thursday. Needless to say, you do not want to be on the NO PAY NAUGHTY LIST!!!
And now for the HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Nick Halligan, last year’s Home Run Leader, had the First Home Run of the season and did not need the GRAVEL PIT to do it.
2. James Ermold also homered late in the game to bring his team 2 runs away from tying the game. He went to right field as there was no one there. He almost passed his teammate, Br. Timothy, who was hustling around the bases, hoping James didn’t run him over.
3. Thomas Halligan also homered to deep center. He and his cousin are a Dynamite Left-Handed Duo!
4. Shawn Lynn made two great catches in centerfield. Yes, Shawn that was centerfield you played in. Shawn is new to our league and to softball and it showed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I believe he struck out once but that was good for a first timer. His speed around the bases falls somewhere faster that George Roppel and Patrick Edwards, the two SSSLLLOOOWWWEEESSSTT players on the MDA Modified Baseball team, and the tortoise in the tortoise and the hare story.
5. Declan Roberts had a triple in his softball debut. Not bad for an eighth grader. Making sure that happened as Raf’s notes are in some language he invented while in HS at MDA!
6. Raf ALMOST beat out a grounder to short!!! He complained to the Commissioner that he beat the throw by two steps. The Commissioner said YOU DID NOT. YOU ARE OUT. This is a HIGHLIGHT because Raf did not argue!
7. Anthony Zapp Jr. made several good catches in Left including one that he juggled several times and finally caught the ball in his lap as he fell to the ground.
8. James Ermold and the three Rowe kids (Matthew, Antonette, and Cecilia) helped to clear the rocks out of the outfield. James cleared the fewest rocks. Thank you, Matthew, Antonette, and Cecilia!
9. The field looked great thanks to Shawn, who mowed the grass, Gerard Roberts, who put up the Foul Poles, Rich Homeyer, who lined the field and Raf, OG and Gerard who always help to get us started!
10. Fr. Boyle moved his 6 pm appointment to 6:15 so he could be there for the opening Ceremonies. BUT because Traditional Catholics are “Traditionally Late”, Father had to leave before we had the ceremonies!
11. Hall of Famer Dan Halligan’s Ceremonial First Pitch was better than any pitch Gerard Roberts or Gerard “Moby Dick” * Jemison had all game!
* See lowlight #7.
And now the lowlights!
1. Fr. Enriquez left before the game began. WHY??? I hope he is not going to duplicate Fr. DeLallo’s poor attendance or show up and have a THREE-BEAN SALAD IN THE BLEACHERS. I “think” Fr. DeLallo is afraid to play a sport with a ball smaller that a soccer ball or a basketball ball. Please Fr. Enriquez “SAY IT AIN’T SO”!!
2. Adam Edwards had the worst sportsmanship at the game, trying to field the third base position while eating a slice of pizza. That may be OK in KY Adam but not here in Warners.
3. And as long as I am on the subject of Adam, he went 0 for the night, flying out 3 times to his brother Stephen, who caught everything hit at him. So step aside Adam! Stephen is here to play and to shine.
4. John Halligan and Adam (remember him) committed about 10 errors setting a record for a Shortstop/Third Baseman combination in one game!
5. Matt Babson was the First STRIKE OUT of the season! But to his credit, he only missed all two pitches by 6 inches! On another note, Gerard “Moby Dick" Jemison struck out Matt Babson. Raf Roberts was also struck out by his brother Gerard with his pineapple pitch.
6. Chris Halligan had a great play backing up First Play on a bad throw. You think this should be a HIGHLIGHT. Well, Chris was actually coaching first base for his team that was batting. So he cost his team an advance of a base for two runners. I think he learned about baseball at LaSalette. Does that sound correct?
7. Gerard Jemison did not kill anyone as he usually plans on doing that. This is a lowlight because Gerard “MOBY DICK the Whale” Jemison dove back to third base in a crucial inning rally and literally caused the Fire House Alarm to go off when he hit the ground. We will need a yard of dirt to fill in the cavity before we can play next week. Thank Goodness he did not hit Adam, the third baseman, as Adam would have lots all his ATOMS with the MOBY Crush.
8. We needed a VIDEO REPLAY of a close play at first to confirm the Commissioners SAFE CALL. Thank you, Dan, for filming all your sons plays. No need to get anyone else filmed, I guess!!!!
9. OG’s team did not wake up until the 8th inning, and I blame that on coaching!!!
10. Xavier Forget played the outfield like he was looking for his father, flying over the field, so he could tell him where to land. There was no sign of any plane and Xavier did not catch many fly balls. But he did realize his dad was not in the skies. It was the softball!
11. Declan and Alex Roberts pulled off a Double play. Not sure if ADAM was the one that doubled up but my guess is YES HE WAS!!!
NEXT WEDNESDAY is HOT DOG WEDNESDAY. Bring the family. Chef Zapp will be cooking.
And just as an afterthought, can anyone answer two questions for me? (1) Why would an athlete who loves the game and plays softball so well, choose to PAINT SHUT TERS instead of playing on Opening Day? Anthony, do have any idea? And (2) where the heck has Mr. EAGLES, FLYERS, AND SIXERS FAN been the last 3 or 4 years???? C’mon Greg. You TALK A GOOD GAME! How about PLAYING IN ONE???
That is it for now.
The Commissioner
PS: Please submit all questions, criticisms and suggestions into the box outside door 3. It looks like a trash can!!! God bless.