Playoffs in the Rick McDonald Memorial Fastball League got underway Monday night in Azilda as a pair of quarter-finals battles began. In the opening game, the Garson Hounds scored three runs in the opening frame and then held on for a 4-1 victory over the Sudbury Athletics and a 1-0 series lead.

On two separate occasions, the fifth place Athletics had runners in scoring position but could not capitalize on their chances. Gary Lamothe went the distance for the Hounds, giving up six hits and striking out eight. Pat Brennan Sr was tagged with the loss, surrendering seven hits while fanning nine batters.

Brian Welsch, Eddy Roy and Gary Lamothe cracked out two hits apiece for Garson, with J.P. Miron went 1/2 in a losing cause for the Athletics. In the nightcap, the defending league champions were clicking on all cylinders as the Dog House North Stars dumped the Pickerel River Cardinals 10-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the series "B" quarter finals.

It took until the third inning to break the goose egg before the North Stars put on a hitting clinic, blasting ten runs in the next three frames to win going away. Regular season league-leading pitcher Jordy Dahlvick put on a pitching clinic for the Dog House with a nice mixture of drops, rise balls and off speed pitches.

He finishes with a two-hitter, striking out seven. The Cain brothers led the way for the North Stars as Mike (Cain) goes 2/2 with a double and younger brother Mark betters that performance with a 3/3 game. Earl Contin and Elwood Assagawasagai smacked out the only two base hits of the evening for the Cardinals.

Pickerel River starter Jonathan Contin suffered the loss and Johnny Kagagins came in to relieve him in the fourth as the Stars tagged the pair for a total of eleven hits.