September 2nd - For the first time since right after the season ended, there were enough players to merit a 3-team, 7 inning game. The final score was 17-15-13 as Shannon Steinmetz relieved Larry Powell & received the win today. Rich Palmer & Jack Hamon pitched for the other two teams. The winning team didn't take the lead until the 7th inning. They scored 10 runs in the frame for a fantastic comeback win.
Several players each had a productive day at the plate. Only Doug Chamlee had a perfect 5 for 5 day while several players produced hits in all but one at-bat. Don Witmer, Jim Laffoon, Bill Hepworth, Chuck Duff, Bill Walker, & Hank Gomez all hit well.
Jim Laffoon hit a triple between leftfielder John Fulton & left centerfielder Fred Dampier. Dan Connolly hit a mammoth drive within about 20 feet of the centerfield fence for a three-run homerun, scoring Don Witmer & Bill Hepworth. Great hits Jim & Dan!
Two of the pitchers, Rich Palmer & Jack Hamon, caught line drives back at the pitching mound for outs. Chuck Duff & Ron Thompson each made a nice catch in the outfield after running quite a distance to catch up with the ball. Shortstop Don Witmer took a relay throw from the outfield & fired a strike to catcher Joe DeForge to nail baserunner Fred Dampier at home plate. Showing tremendous range, shortstop Jim Laffoon fielded a ground ball up the middle in time to throw out the baserunner at 1st base.
Chuck Duff returned from Pennsylvania, Bill Hepworth came from Pensacola, & Larry Powell took a day off from his busy schedule at work to play ball today. Welcome back Chuck, Bill, & Larry.
September 6th - Another good turnout necessitated 3 teams again today. Jack Hamon was the winning pitcher as the final score was 18-16-6.
Doug Chamlee went 5 for 5 again & is on a torrid batting streak of 14 for 14 since returning from knee surgery. Great hitting, Doug. Chuck Duff, Ron Thompson, & Jose Agosto all hit homeruns today & Jim Laffoon hit a grand slam homerun in a 7th inning comeback try but his team ended up 2 runs short in the final score.
3rd baseman Elvis Abney, 2nd baseman Hank Gomez, & shortstop Jim Laffoon all made sparkling defensive plays in the field. Elvis caught a difficult pop up at the tip of his pocket, commonly known as a "snow cone". Hank snared a line drive, & Jim turned the beginning of a double play after fielding a ground ball up the middle.
John Paye returned after a long layoff to play ball today. Welcome back John.
A team of Winter Haven Senior Softball Club players travel to Lakeland tomorrow to challenge the Lakeland Senior Softball Club. Pizza will be served at the VFW Post after the ballgame. Good luck, guys.
September 7th - Wednesday - For the first time in nine tries, the team from Winter Haven was victorious over Lakeland by the score of 19-17 after a 9th inning come-from-behind win. Way to go, guys!
Winter Haven tied the score 4-4 in the 3rd inning but Lakeland took & held the lead after the completion of 4 innings. Freddy Gonzalez hit a 2-run homerun in the 8th inning, scoring Chuck Duff. Since they didn't score in the home half of the 8th, Lakeland brought a 15-12 lead going into the 9th inning.
The 9th began when Hank Gomez grounded out, followed by singles from Randy Lane & Joel Freedman. Reg Barnes then drove in Randy with a single & John Raburn hit a sacrifice fly to leftfield to score Joel's pinch runner Don Witmer. A throwing error by the Lakeland shortstop allowed the next batter, Don Witmer, to reach 2nd & Reg to get to 3rd base. With 2 outs, the next batter Jim Laffoon was walked to load the bases & set up a force out at any base to end the game with a 15-14 Lakeland victory. Fred Dampier batted next and hit a grand slam homerun out of the reach of right centerfielder John Fulton to take an 18-15 lead. Chuck Duff hit a double & scored on throwing errors for the 19th & final run for Winter Haven.
September 9th - The home team won today by the score of 13-8 as Ted Granoski returned from a layoff to record the victory. Jack Hamon pitched for the visiting team.
Fred Dampier went 4 for 4 with 2 doubles for the visiting team but needed a pinch runner on the bases in 3 of the at bats. On one occasion, Joe DeForge pinch ran from 2nd base & had to earn both bases to score the run. He tagged up from 2nd base on a Don Witmer sacrifice fly that scored Jim Bright from 3rd base, then tagged up from 3rd base on a Bill Walker sacrifice fly.
Billy Spring went 3 for 3 for the visiting team. For the home team, Doug Chamlee went 3 for 4. He ended his 14 for 14 streak in his first at bat, but started another streak directly afterwards.
Larry Powell took a day off from work to hit a homerun out of the reach of leftfielder Bill Walker. Jack Valliere hit the longest ball he has connected with in quite a while as he homered way over the head of Bill Walker. Both homeruns were produced by the home team.
Shortstop Don Witmer came up with the best defensive play of the day. He nabbed a hard liner off the bat of Jack Valliere that would have easily been a double or better. Another notable play was made by leftfielder Bill Walker. Running in & towards the foul line fence, Bill caught up with a foul ball from the bat of Randy Lane.
September 13th - It was a hitters game today as the 3 teams scored a total of 67 runs. The final score was 27-23-17 & Ted Granoski received the win although he walked 6 batters. The other pitchers were Rich Palmer & Jack Hamon. Rich, or Bullseye as he was called today, probably thought he had a target pinned on his chest since there were nearly 10 balls hit straight up the middle past him. He was able to stop one grounder in time to throw the runner out at first.
There were many hitting stars today. For the winning team, Chuck Duff had a perfect day at the plate, going 6 for 6 with a 2 doubles & a triple while driving in 6 runs. Bill Walker was also perfect with a 5 for 5 day, Randy Lane went 5 for 6, & Herb Oesterreich, returning after a long layoff, went 4 for 5 & drove in 5 runs.
For the second place team, Don Witmer had a perfect 2 for 2 day to go along with 3 walks & Jim Laffoon went 4 for 5 with a double.
For the third place team, Ron Thompson went a perfect 5 for 5 with 2 doubles, Jim Bright went 4 for 5 with a double & a triple while driving in 4 runs, Dean Schapeler went 4 for 5 with a triple, & Jack Valliere went 4 for 6 with a double.
Chuck Duff had the 2 longest hits of the day & both sailed over the head of right centerfielder Jim Bright.
The 2 best defensive plays were generated by newcomer shortsop Bobby Murphy. After a flyout to leftfielder Randy Lane, Bobby took the relay throw & fired a strike to catcher Jose Agosto to nail baserunner Jack Hamon, who was trying to score from 3rd base. Bobby Murphy also robbed Jack Hamon of a hit by fielding a grounder up the middle, touching 2nd base & throwing to 1st baseman Bill Walker to complete a double play. Great plays, Bobby.
Dundee resident Bobby Murphy joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club today & made an immediate impact. Welcome aboard Bobby & welcome back Herb Oesterreich.
Rusty Landahl returned from a layoff after having some health problems. Fred Dampier went back on the disabled list. He is trying to allow a lower abdominal injury to completely heal & expects to be inactive for about 3 months. Welcome back Rusty & hang in there Fred - the time will quickly pass.
September 16th - The home team was victorious today by a score of 12-7 as Ted Granoski recorded the win. Jack Hamon pitched for the visiting team. On hand to watch the game was Jimmy Rumbold, who retired from the game after the 2004 season. It was nice to see you today, Jimmy.
Dan Connolly & Billy Spring led the home team with 4 for 4 games. Dan had 2 doubles & a homerun included in his 4 hits. Don Witmer drove in 4 runs with 2 triples. Ron Thompson had a solo homerun out of the reach of rightfielder Vassurl Bess. Bess has been playing outfield lately & has done a respectable job. Today he caught up with 3 flyballs playing rightfield & he caught 2 fly outs in leftfield on Tuesday. With his speed, Bess could fill an opening for an outfield spot. Hang in there, Bess; you are doing a fine job.
Jim Margolin had a perfect 4 for 4 game for the visiting team & Freddy Gonzalez drove in 3 runs, 2 from a homerun out of the reach of Randy Lane.
There were several notable defensive plays today. Right centerfielder Dan Connolly made a long running catch from a drive by Jack Hamon. Left centerfielder Freddy Gonzalez made a very nice shoestring catch on a ball hit by Rich Palmer. Jack Hamon was robbed of another sure hit by rightfielder Herb Oesterreich, who threw to 1st baseman Rich Palmer in time to double Jack Valliere off 1st base. Great play, Herb.
On the infield, rover Mike Swartz stopped a ground ball up the middle that appeared to be a base hit.
Bill Ravo returned from Saunderstown, Rhode Island to begin playing again in the league. Bill went 3 for 4 as the lead-off man for the visiting team. Welcome back Bill.
After all the votes from the players were tallied, the results of the Board of Directors openings were announced. Ron Thompson replaced Forrest Keown & Fred Dampier replaced Shannon Steinmetz on the Board of Directors.
The new members will serve two-year terms. Vassurl Bess & Bill Walker are current Board members beginning the 2nd year of their two-year terms. Joel Freedman is the Commissioner.
Pitcured are Board of Director members Joel Freedman, Vassurl Bess, Bill Walker, Fred Dampier, & Ron Thompson.
September 20th - With Category 2 Hurricane Rita passing the Florida Keys & heading to Texas, the weather was windy & overcast today. There was some rain during batting practice & during the game, too. Although the turnout was slim with only 19 players, the game was a hard fought battle. The final score of 23-18 doesn't reflect the closeness of the game, because the home team succeeded in matching the visiting team's score in the 3rd through the 7th innings to keep the game tied after each inning. After the visiting team failed to score in the 8th inning, the home team charged ahead with 5 runs & took the lead for the first time since inning one. The visiting team failed to score in the 9th inning. Pitcher Ted Granoski received the win while Jack Hamon was on the mound for the visiting team. Hats off to both pitchers for doing well in windy conditions.
Shannon Steinmetz was perfect at the plate with a 4 for 4 day, along with a walk & a sacrifice fly. Vassurl Bess went 6 for 7 as the lead off hitter & scored 4 times. Randy Lane & Chuck Duff each went 5 for 7 for the winning team. Chuck drove in 5 runs during the game.
Jose Agosto, Jim Margolin, & Ron Thompson each went 5 for 6 in a losing cause, & Joel Freedman went 4 for 5. Jim Margolin drove in 5 runs for his team.
In the field, right centerfielder Kenny Duell gunned down Ron Thompson, who tried to turn a single into a double. Great throw, Kenny. Kenny got another assist from the outfield when Bill Walker tried to advance to 3rd base on a hit by Elvis Abney. Jose Agosto, filling in at 3rd base, took the throw from relay man shortstop Jack Valliere & applied the tag.
A nice around-the-horn double play began when Bill Walker fielded a ball at 3rd base, threw to 2nd baseman Vassurl Bess, who then relayed the ball to 1st baseman Rich Palmer.
September 23rd - The home team prevailed by a score of 14-6. The visiting team was lead by a 3 for 4 performance by Ron Thompson. One of his hits was a triple out of the reach of rightfielder Shannon Steinmetz. Only 2 other players for the team had multiple hits; pitcher Jack Hamon had a 2 for 3 day & Chuck Duff went 2 for 4 with a homerun.
Bill Walker lead the home team by going a perfect 4 for 4 with 3 RBIs. Jose Agosto went 4 for 5 & Doug Chamlee went 3 for 4 with 4 RBIs.
The 1st inning provided an excellent fielding play as left centerfielder Chuck Duff tracked down a long fly ball over his head that appeared to have burned him. Great catch, Chuck. Winning pitcher Ted Granoski was able to cover 1st after a ball was hit to the 1st baseman. In fact, he covered 1st twice in that particular inning. Bill Ravo, playing 3rd base, fielded a Vassurl Bess ground ball deep in the hole in time to make a strong throw to 1st for the out.
Besides being included on the wrong end of a nice defensive play, Vassurl Bess also made a notable defensive play himself. The 2nd baseman caught up to a pop up from the bat of Shannon Steinmetz that drifted into the outfield & towards 1st base.
September 27th - The game wasn't decided until the last batter in the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 outs reached base on a throwing error, as the deciding run crossed the plate for a 15-14 home team victory. Ted Granoski was the winning pitcher.
Jim Bright recorded a 3 for 4 day as he got a single, a double, & a homerun. The two-run homerun scored Dean Schapeler following his opposite field base hit. Dean Schapeler & Doug Chamlee each went 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs for the winning team.
Jim Margolin
batted a perfect 2 for 2. His 2 RBIs were the results of 2 sacrifice flyouts. Randy Lane went 3 for 5 with a triple for the losing team.
There were several sparkling defensive plays early in the game. Jack Hamon, playing 2nd base, went far to his left to scoop up a ground ball from Dean Schapeler in time to throw Dean out at 1st base.
Rightfielder Jim McPartlan returned to the ballpark after a long layoff to get an assist as he threw to shortstop Mike Swarz covering 2nd base to force out baserunner Joe DeForge. Welcome back Jim.
Doug Chamlee, playing 1st base, fielded a hard ground ball to his right by Ron Thompson in time to force baserunner Randy Lane out at 2nd base. Shortstop Mike Swartz took the throw from Doug.
Ted Granoski fielded a swinging bunt from the bat of Jim McPartlan in time to throw to 1st baseman Rusty Landahl for the out. Shortstop Jim Laffoon fielded a Jim Bright ground ball far to his left & threw to 1st base for the out.
Vassurl Bess, playing 2nd base, tracked down a pop up in the grass & near the 1st base foul line. Great plays everyone.
Mike Kerentoff returned from Adrian, Michigan to umpire the game today. Mike managed the Red Team in 2004 & umpired the games for league play in 2005. Welcome back Mike.
September 30th - The matchup didn't quite pan out evenly as the home team won 25-11. Rich Palmer was the winning pitcher of record for his team. The visiting pitcher, Jack Hamon
, may have possibly played in his last game for the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club. Jack sold his home in Winter Haven & is returning to Delaware, Ohio. He may or may not return. If you do not return, Jack, it has been a pleasure having you play in our league & you will be truely missed by everyone who has been associated with you.
Jim Laffoon went 5 for 5 with 3 triples for the winning team. The 1st triple burned leftfielder Dean Schapeler, the 2nd triple burned replacement leftfielder Ron Thompson, & the 3rd triple burned right centerfielder Jim Bright. All 3 hits landed very close to the warning track. Great hitting Jim.
Chuck Duff drove in 6 runs, one of which was a two-run homerun over the head of left centerfielder Jim Margolin that landed near the warning track. Jose Agosto & Rich Palmer each went 4 for 5 today.
For the visiting team, Jim Bright went 3 for 3 with a walk & scored 3 runs, while Vassurl Bess & Don Witmer went 3 for 4.
Defensively, 2nd baseman Jack Valliere snared a Ted Granoski hard line drive heading directly towards the outfield gap. Great catch Jack. Jim Bright tracked down a long flyball by Doug Chamlee for the out.
