October 2005 News Archive



October 4th - The early morning rain & the 12 mph winds gusting to 19 mpg kept many players snug in their homes today.  A total of only 16 dedicated & healthy ballplayers showed up to play.

The orange cones were brought out from storage to seperate the outfield so the batter was restricted to hit only to the left or right of second base.  Nevertheless, a very competitive game was played with the visiting team winning 8-5 by scoring 6 runs in the 9th inning after trailing the entire game.

Kenny Duell & Joel Freedman lead the winning team with 4 for 6 performances.  Kenny drove in 4 of the 8 runs for his team.  Rich Palmer had 3 hits today & Joe DeForge had a productive day with 2 hits.

Chuck Duff lead the home team with a 4 for 6 day, including a solo homerun well over defending left centerfielder Jim McPartlan.  Rusty Landahl & Jose Agosto each got 3 hits.

A fine defensive play was made as 1st baseman Rusty Landahl scooped a low throw in the dirt thrown by the 3rd baseman.
Rover Bill Spring accounted for all three outs in the 9th inning.  Bill fielded a ground ball by leadoff hitter Jose Agosto in time to make a strong throw to 1st baseman Joel Freedman.  The next batter, Ted Granoski, also grounded out to Bill.  After the third batter got a hit, the next batter grounded into a fielder's choice to shortstop Vassurl Bess, who threw to Bill for the 3rd out.
The 3rd base position was busy today.  Jose Agosto had 7 assits & 3 putouts & the opposing 3rd baseman, Rich Palmer, had 9 assists & 1 putout.

Jack Donnelly returned from Northfield, Ohio to play today.  Jack played all summer in Ohio so he was in midseason form playing shortstop today recording 6 assists.  Welcome back, Jack.

October 7th - For the second game date in-a-row, threatening weather kept many ballplayers away from the park.  A total of 17 players were present to wait out the misting rain & proceed with a contest using only 1/2 of the outfield.  The visiting team prevailed 9-8 after holding the lead from the beginning of the game until the bottom of the 8th inning, then winning in the 9th inning.

For the winning team, leadoff hitter Jim Margolin went 4 for 7 while Bill Walker went 3 for 6 & collected 4 RBIs.  Don Witmer led the charge for the losing team with a 4 for 4 effort, including a double & a triple.  He also managed a walk.  Leftfielder Randy Lane went 3 for 6.

The main defensive play that stood out from the others involved 3rd baseman Don Witmer fielding a Shannon Steinmetz ground ball, tagging 3rd to force out baserunner Joe DeForge, then firing a strike to 1st baseman Joel Freedman for the double play.  Excellent throw Don.

Floyd Welton returned from Boque Falle, Michigan to have a 2 for 6 day & play shortstop for the winning team.  Welcome back Floyd.

October 11th - The significent turnout at the ballpark today resulted in a 3 team game.  With 8 to 9 players per team, the final score was 9-4-7.  The lowest scoring team jumped out of the gates with 2 runs in the 1st inning to take an early lead as Vassurl Bess lead off the game with a double near rightfielder Shannon Steinmetz.  In all, there were 4 hits for the inning.  The team cooled off after the first inning & didn't score again until their other 2 runs crossed the plate in the 5th inning.

The winning team scored 5 of their 9 runs in the 3rd inning with hits by 7 of the 9 players who batted in the inning.  Dean Schapeler drove in the final run of the inning with 2 outs.

The team with 7 runs staged a rally in the final inning, but came up 2 runs short after the final out was made.  The RBIs in their portion of the final inning were produced by Doug Chamlee & Rusty Landahl.

Altough none of the 3 teams scored in double digits, several players had good days at the plate.  Ed Neumyer went 3 for 4 & Jose Agosto went 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs for the winning team.  Chuck Duff drove in 3 of the 4 runs scored for his team, while teammate Frank Miller went 3 for 4.

The 2nd place team scored 7 runs & Doug Chamlee drove in 4 of the runs with a 4 for 5 effort, including 2 doubles.  Rich Palmer went 4 for 5 & Randy Lane went 4 for 6 as the leadoff hitter for the team.  Jim Laffoon went 3 for 5, including a double & 2 triples, while scoring 3 runs.

The longest hit of the day was a triple from the bat of Jim Laffoon.  It is estimated the ball travelled 295' on the fly, since it hit on the warning track of the 300' left centerfield fence & took one bounce to the fence.  Great hit Jim.

Returning players are Frank Miller from Michigan, Jerry Witter from New York, who pitched for the winning team, Ed Schmiedeke from Missouri, Fred Rose from Ohio, & Marshall Bloom, who returned after a long layoff.  Welcome back Frank, Jerry, Ed, Fred, & Marshall.

October 14th - The game today was played on Field "B" due to a water sprinkler problem saturating the 3rd base area on "Fred White Field".  The final score of 19-14 indicated a hitters day & 5 of the 18 half innings ended with 5 runs scored before 3 outs were made.

Floyd Welton went a perfect 5 for 5 & drove in 4 runs.  Bill Walker, Jim Margolin, & Chuck Duff each had perfect days by going 4 for 4.  Chuck achieved a rare feat by hitting for the cycle in his 4 plate appearances.  Doug Chamlee drove in 5 runs as he went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles.  Great hitting Floyd, Bill, Jim, Chuck, & Doug.

Although Joe DeForge didn't get a hit every time, he reached base all 4 at bats.  He went 1 for 2 with 2 walks & reached base on an error. Another player blasted a homerun as Larry Powell drove the ball over defending left centerfielder Frank Miller.

Left centerfielder Ed Neumyer made a nice running catch on a shot off the bat of Doug Chamlee.
Rover Vassurl Bess began a double play as he fielded a ball up the middle hit by Bob Lewis, tagged 2nd base to force out runner Randy Lane, then made a very strong throw to 1st base.
Bill Ravo, playing 3rd base, made several strong & accurate throws, too.  One of the plays resulted in a double play.  When Ed Neymyer hit a ball down the 3rd base line, Ravo fielded the ball cleanly, tagged the base, then threw to catcher Ed Schmiedeke.

Bob Lewis returned from Massachusetts to play 1st base.  Responsible for 5 of the first 6 outs of the game, Bob recorded 3 unassisted grounder putouts, 1 lineout putout, & 1 putout from a relay throw after a grounder to 2nd base.  Welcome back Bob.

October 18th - A fantastic finish earned a win for the lowest scoring team going into the final inning.  A total of 27 ballplayers witnessed one of the strongest comeback wins in the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club.

The final score was 17-16-12 & the winning team needed 9 runs to pull out the victory. Bob Lewis drove across the final run with 2 outs with the 11th hit of the inning as winning pitcher Rich Palmer crossed the plate.  Of the 9 runs in the inning, 7 were scored after there were 2 outs.

Ron Thompson was perfect with a 5 for 5 performance & 2 of his hits were doubles out of the reach of rightfielder Jim McPartlan.

Rich Palmer contributed with 4 hits in 5 trips to the plate.

Chuck Duff went 4 for 5, drove in 6 runs, & scored 4 for the 2nd place team.  One of Chuck's hits was a 3 run homerun over the head of left centerfielder Cal Leigh. Cal made a gallant effort for the fly ball but missed it by inches.

Ed Neumyer scored 3 runs as he went 3 for 5 in the leadoff position.

Jim Margolin went 2 for 2 & extended his hitting streak to 6 consecutive hits, but played an abbreviated game.  He left after the 3rd inning after twisting his knee coming out of the batter's box on his 2nd hit.  Hopefully, the injury isn't serious.

The 3rd place team's leadoff hitter, Jose Agosto, went 4 for 6 & Reg Barnes returned after a 6 game layoff to hit 4 for 5.  Cal Leigh drove in 4 runs for his team.

Although there were many runs scored & great hitting, there were also some fine defensive plays in the game.  Ed Schmiedeke, playing 1st base, dug out a low throw in the dirt from shortstop Floyd Welton for an out.
Left centerfielder Ron Thompson caught a Reg Barnes lineout & fired to 1st baseman Ed Schmiedeke in time to get baserunner Cal Leigh out.
Cal Leigh made a fine catch on a sinking liner from the bat of Ted Granoski & rightfielder Jim McPartlan made a nice running catch on an opposite field hit by Floyd Welton.
Shortstop Chuck Duff doubled up Rich Palmer & Hank Gomez after Hank hit a sharp grounder with Rich on 1st base.  Great defensive plays guys.

Cal Leigh returned from Coulterville, Illinois to play today.  He did very well, considering he hasn't played all summer.  Cal covered his outfield position with ease & got 3 hits today.  Welcome back Cal.

October 21st - The winning team began the game with 5 runs & never looked back as they scored the maximum runs in 4 of the 6 innings.

The final score was 26-16-12.  Chuck Duff lead the charge with a 5 for 5 day, including 2 doubles & 7 runs batted in for the game.  Close behind was Don Witmer, who went 5 for 6 with 2 doubles & 5 RBIs.  Winning pitcher Jerry Witter hit a perfect 5 for 5 & he scored each time he got on base.  The complete lineup had an excellent batting day & the last 2 batters, Ed Schmiedeke & newcomer Harry Crane, drove in 4 runs & 6 runs respectively.

For the second contest in-a-row, one of the teams staged a superb 7th inning rally.  The second place team batted 14 & had 10 runs on 11 hits in the final frame. Bill McDonough & John Smith each went 2 for 2 in the inning.  Doug Chamlee also went 4 for 5 with a double.

Although the last place team could only garner 12 runs, pitcher Ted Granoski drove in 5 runs on 2 hits & 2 sacrifice fly balls.  Ron Thompson continued his torrid hitting streak with a 5 for 5 day, including 4 doubles in the direction of rightfielder Bill McDonough.  Ron has hit safely in his last 12 at bats.  Jim McPartlan went 4 for 5 in the losing effort.

There were plenty of notable plays in the field.  Vassurl Bess, playing 2nd base, leaped high for a linedrive from the bat of Jim McPartlan.
Bob Lewis, playing 3rd base, snared a ground ball near the foul line & successfully made the long throw to 1st baseman Bill Walker for the out.
Shortstop Doug Chamlee chased down a popup to the outfield grass & made an over-the-head catch with his back to the infield.  Great catch Doug.
Shannon Steinmetz played 1st base today & made a nice play on a grounder with a runner on 1st base.  Shannon scooped the ball & threw to shortstop Ron Thompson in time to force out the baserunner.

John Smith returned from Ithica, New York. He had a nice day with a 4 for 5 performance.  Welcome back, John.

A new player joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club today.  Harry Crane retired from Muscatine, Iowa & had lived in Leesburg for the past several years before moving to Winter Haven.  Welcome aboard, Harry.

Bill Dumas, a former Winter Haven Senior Softball Club member who now plays & manages in the Lakeland Senior Softball Club, played today.  He had intended only to watch the game with his wife, but pulled out the gear from his car after he was persuaded to play in order to even the sides.  Thank you for playing today, Bill.  You are welcome to join us anytime.

October 25th - In the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma, a category 3 storm with 125 mph winds that went inland in the wee hours of the early morning between Naples & Fort Myers yesterday, a northerner blew in, thus drying the grounds & lowering the game time temperature to 58 degrees.

Only the faithful ballplayers dared to show up at the park, so the outfield was divided again.

The final score was 17-4 & the game was never in doubt.  In the 9 inning game, the visiting team scored in 6 innings.

Leadoff hitter Reg Barnes went 4 for 6 & 3 of his hits were in his first 3 at bats.  Randy Lane also went 4 for 6.

Dean Schapeler scored 2 of the home team's 4 runs.  Doug Chamlee belted 2 doubles as he went 3 for 4.  Way to go Dean & Doug.

Umpire Morty Dermer was called to duty to play with one of the teams & answered with a nice catch in left centerfield on a fly ball hit by Frank Miller. 
Randy Lane, moving into the infield to play 3rd base, executed a difficult catch on a foul ball near the foul line fence.
Shortstop Doug Chamlee made a nice pickup on a ground ball in the hole in time to make an accurate throw to rover John Smith for the force out at 2nd base.  Doug displayed great range on that play.

October 28th - A total of 27 ballplayers were in attendance for the game, so there were 3 teams today.

The final score was 30-18-5.  The winning team scored in every inning & capped it off with 9 runs in the final frame.  Jim Laffoon, the winning pitcher, drove in 9 runs on 5 hits & scored 6 times.

Bob Lewis had 5 hits as well as Ron Thompson & Jim McPartlan.

The 2nd place team tied the score in the 3rd inning with a 6 run effort.  There was only 1 out when John Smith drove in Jim Margolin for the 6th run.

Don Witmer hit a perfect 4 for 4 day & walked once.  Ed Schmiedeke had 4 hits in his first 4 trips to the plate.  Jim Margolin & Rusty Landahl also belted out 4 hits apiece for the 2nd place team.

Although the last place team scored only 5 runs, Floyd Welton had a http://whball.com/erfect day in 4 trips to the plate.  He also drove in 4 of the 5 runs scored for the team.  One of his hits was the only homerun during the game, which was a long drive past right centerfielder Jim McPartlan.  Hats off to all the hitters that were mentioned above for the game today.  Great hitting guys.

If records were kept for the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club prior to the game this morning, catcher Morris Rosenhack probably would have broken a record with his offensive performance today.  Morris reached base 5 consecutive times on fielding errors.  In his 2nd at bat, he reached on an error by the shortstop; his 3rd at bat resulted in an error by the 3rd baseman; Morris reached base on errors by the 2nd baseman in his 4th through 6th at bats of the game.  I think you have set an unbreakable record Morris.

Defensively, it was the day for the 1st basemen to shine in the limelight.  Bob Lewis, playing 1st base, caught a high line drive in the 2nd inning to rob the batter of an extra base hit.
After receiving a throw from a groundout, fill-in 1st baseman Ron Thompson fired home to catcher Erv Szewczuga for the double play to nail Don Witmer, the pinch runner for Rusty Landahl.
Rusty Landahl, playing 1st base for his team, made a nice pickup on a hard ground ball from the bat of Ron Thompson for the 3rd out of the inning.  Everyone knows how hard Ron hits the ball down the 1st base line.  Great plays Bob, Ron, & Rusty.

Erv Szewczuga returned from Waupace, Wisconsin to play today.  Erv played catcher for the last place team & drove in a run for his team.  Fred Ducham returned from Sanford, Michigan & was placed as the leadoff hitter for the last place team.  Fred got a hit in his first plate appearance.  Welcome back Erv & Fred.



September 2005