Ocean Air Tops Phillips South for Co-Ed Title

OCEAN CITY- Ocean Air's co-ed undefeated softball team completed its perfect season this week, beating Phillips South, 11-4, in the championship game of the Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department's summer-long co-ed softball league's playoffs.

Ocean Air ran the table in the regular season, compiling an impressive 13-0 record. The team then swept through the playoffs culminating with the impressive 11-4 win over always-tough Phillips South on Monday. The win in the championship game completed a three-game sweep in the playoffs by Ocean Air, which has been called possibly the best co-ed softball team to participate in the annual summer league in years.

Ocean Air beat Phillips North in the first round of the playoffs, 18-2, but found Phillips South to be much tougher in the second round. The two teams, ranked number one and number two in the league, played to an 8-8 tie before Ocean Air's Dan Shiveley drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Ocean Air's win propelled them into the championship game, but it wasn't certain who they would play until the outcome of the other semifinal between Phillips South and the Greene Turtle. South then beat the Turtle, 22-10, to set up the rematch with Ocean Air for the title.

The two teams played a tense title game at Northside Park on Monday morning for the championship before Ocean Air pulled away for the 11-4 win and the title. Rich Ethridge and John Gilman each homered for Ocean Air in the championship game.