December 2005 News Archive
 December 2nd - Although the weather was hovering below 60° F during batting practice, there were a total of 42 ballplayers signed in today.
The game on "Fred White Field" was somewhat lopsided as the final score was 30-8. Jerry Witter pitched for the winning team in the 11 on 11 matchup. On "Field E", the game was a good defensive and offensive matchup. The visiting team won by one run as the score was 10-9. Winning pitcher Elmer Wilcox tossed against George Summers in a game 
that had a bit of everything that kept the game an interesting contest.
Newcomer Wayne Grimes, a friend of Jose Agosto, drove the ball deep twice for homeruns over leftfielder Jose. To make matters worse, Wayne used Jose's bat. The first homerun sailed way over the leftfielder's head. Jose Agosto did exact some revenge with a double way over leftfielder Wayne's head. Great hits Wayne & Jose. Elmer Black also hit a massive shot. He connected for a long triple during the game. His drive was a bomb between leftfield & left centerfield. Defensively, there were several great plays. Shortstop Doug McLellan did a fantastic job at his position today. On one play in particular, he was able to snare a hot grounder to his left, flip to 2nd baseman Jack Donnelly, who fired to 1st baseman Ed Schmiedeke to complete the double play. Nice play Doug. Right centerfielder Bob Douglas made a nice catch near the end of the game that saved at least one run for his team. Bob dashed in & caught a ball that initially appeared to be just out of his range & would fall in for a bloop single. Although Bob fell down after the catch, the baserunners from 1st & 2nd didn't tag & advance to the next base. Instead, both runners had to retreat back to their respective bases since they both thought the ball was going to drop in for a base hit. Wayne Grimes signed up to play for the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club today. He is a snowbird from Belton, Missouri. Welcome aboard, Wayne. December 6th - Brrrrrrrr! Even though the temperature was 66° F, that wind was cold today! It was blowing at 15 MPH with gusts to 20 MPH. That didn't deter 44 players from appearing at the ballpark, so two games were played with 11 players per team. Perfect numbers for the powers who have to even up the sides & choose players for teams.
The game on "Fred White Field" began as a one-sided blowout but the visiting team wouldn't give up & the final score was 26-20. Jerry Witter was the 
winning pitcher of record against Ted Granoski.
Elmer Wilcox was victorious over Dick Wilhelm in the 19-13 contest on the other field. Jose Agosto went a perfect 5 for 5. Fred Ducham and Rusty Landahl were also perfect at the plate with 4 hits in 4 appearances each. Two of Rusty's singles were decisive hits as the 5th & final run of the inning scored on two different occasions. Nice clutch hitting Rusty. If Bob Lewis could always lead off the inning, he would be a force to be reckoned with as he began 3 innings for his team with 3 hits. Ed Neumyer must have eaten his Cherrios this morning as he drove a triple by left centerfielder Cal Leigh, scoring Frank Miller & Marshall Bloom. Another long hit was produced from the bat of Elmer Black as he cranked a 3 run homerun over leftfielder Fred Ducham's head. Joe DeForge had a good day at the plate with two hits in his first two trips to the plate. Hank Gomez also got two hits in his first two plate appearances. Hank did get one more hit before the game ended. Doug Chamlee blasted a deep double 
over Ed Neumyer & drove in Reg Barnes & Cal Leigh.
Jerry Witter was able to connect with a gapper double between defending left centerfielder Fred Ducham & right centerfielder Marshall Bloom. Defensively, shortstop Doug Chamlee fielded a hard grounder to his left & threw to 1st baseman Rusty Landahl for the out. Shortstop Floyd Welton made a nice scoop on a ground ball hit by Dick Wilhelm in time to fire to 1st baseman Joel Freedman for the out. Before the inning was complete, Floyd fielded a grounder up the middle by Russ King for his 2nd assist of the inning. Rover Ed Schmiedeke did very well fielding his position today as he recorded several assists & putouts. One of his notable catches was a high liner hit by Jack Donnelly that would have been towards the gap in centerfield had Ed not reached high to snag the ball. Hank Gomez, playing 2nd base, made a nice backhanded catch on a liner hit by Jack Valliere. Nice catches, Ed and Hank. Chris Constantine dropped by the ballpark. Chris came down from Manchester, Connecticut but didn't play ball today. Welcome back, Chris. Newcomer Russ King began playing for the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club today. Russ is a snowbird from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Welcome aboard, Russ. December 9th - There won't be any reports on the rough weather today. It was a gorgeous day for a ballgame or two.
The games weren't very close on either field, with scores of 16-6 & 18-10. Elmer Wilcox continued his winning ways with a victory over opposing pitcher Ted Granoski & Rich Palmer  recorded the win in the 16-6 game .
Don Witmer found the gaps in the outfield as he connected for 3 homeruns. He also had a double included in his hitting barrage. Rich Palmer had a perfect 5 for 5 game & Jose Agosto went 4 for 5 at the plate. Floyd Welton also 
hit well & used leftfield & right centerfield for most of his damage. One of his hits drove in the fifth run of the inning.
In the field, shortstop John Fulton made an excellent pickup on a sharp grounder to his right & was able to get the runner out with an accurate throw to 1st baseman Joel Freedman. Fred Dampier returned from the disabled list to play 3rd base for both teams but didn't bat. He fielded every grounder, linedrive, and popup & made only one throwing error. Incidentally, the low throw to first with one out, if it could have been scooped by the 1st baseman, would have ended the inning with a goose egg for the hitting team. Instead, four runs scored before the inning came to an end following the miscue. Fred did begin an around-the-horn double play at 3rd base by fielding a grounder with one runner onboard. He threw to rover Jack Valliere covering 2nd base for the first out & Jack threw to 1st baseman Hank Gomez for the second out. Catcher Joe DeForge chased down a foul ball for a nice catch. Don Bercaw returned from Lima, Ohio to watch the games. Don is recovering from an injury. Terry Feehan returned from Deshler, Ohio to play rightfield today. Welcome back, Don and Terry. December 13th - It was another chilly day but that didn't stop 40 guys from showing up to play ball.
On "Fred White Field", Elmer Wilcox continued his winning ways with a 22-12 victory over opposing pitcher Jerry Witter. The contest on "Field E" went down to the wire as the visiting team came back from a huge deficit to score 2 runs in the 9th inning & hold the home team to a goose egg in the home half for 
a 17-16 win. Ted Granoski was the winning pitcher in the game & newcomer Steve Collins pitched for the home team.
Doug McLellan & Jim Laffoon blasted shots off the middle of the left centerfield fence for nice hits. Doug Chamlee was the big RBI man on his team as he drove the ball in the gaps well today. Fred Dampier connected for a gapper homerun & hit for the cycle today in his 4 for 4 effort. He also walked once after working the pitcher to a full count. Teammate Elmer Wilcox went 4 for 5 & Ron Thompson hit 
two doubles & a triple in the direction of rightfielder Joe DeForge.
In the field, third baseman Doug McLellan made a terrific stop on a hard grounder & made a strong throw to first for the out. Another 3rd baseman, Doug Chamlee, made a similar stop on a grounder hit by the speedy Elmer Black. Doug was able to throw to 1st baseman Joel Freedman quickly enough to get Elmer out by less than half a step. Rover Jack Valliere made a super catch on a line drive. When the ball was hit, it seemed like a sure single up the middle, but Jack darted back & reached high to his right to make the catch. Nice catch Jack. 
Gene Morey returned to the ballpark to play 2nd base today. Gene recently suffered a mild stroke & was hospitalized for a number of days. Fortunately, he has recovered & is back to his regular routine. Welcome back, Gene. The draft was held today for the upcoming season of play, which begins on January 10th & concludes after the last game on March 24th. The managers are Ted Granoski for the Royal team, Elmer Black for the appropriately named Black team, Floyd Welton for the Kelly team, Frank Miller for the Turquoise team, Jack Valliere for the Gold team, & George Summers for the Orange team this winter. The pool players & Tuesday or Friday only players will don Red or Purple shirts & caps. The draft was held differently this year compared to previous season drafts. The managers no longer chose players one at a time. Instead, players were placed on teams according to individual player ratings from 1 to 4 & an equal number of players from each of the rates were placed on each team. Afterwards, some players were moved to another team to balance the team with infielders & outfielders. In all, the teams should be more equally competative this season, provided everyone shows up on a regular basis. A new player joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club today. Steve Collins plays Lakeland Senior Softball & will play regularly here in Winter Haven. Welcome aboard, Steve. December 16th - The weather was cool & windy enough to cause players to dress in layers of clothing & gradually peel off some of the outer layers as the temperature rose during the games. It was a cool 60° F but the 5-10 MPH north wind made it seem cooler. Of course, the snowbirds probably thought it was beautiful weather to begin a game but the locals were somewhat cold.
The home team won 24-15 on "Fred White Field" as Jerry Witter picked up the victory for his team. Elmer Wilcox pitched for the visiting team. The final score of the game on "Field E" was closer, but the visiting team had to rally for 7 runs in the 9th inning to draw the final score to within 5 runs of the victorious home team. The final score was 19-14 & Rich Palmer received the win against opposing pitcher Ted Granoski. There were plenty of gapper homeruns & one even hit the fence. Fred Dampier hit two gapper homers. The first one was between left centerfielder Frank Miller & right centerfielder Jack Donnelly & the other one was over the head of rightfielder Bob Douglas. Frank Miller hit a gapper homer out of reach of right centerfielder Dan Connelly. Elmer Black blasted a ball over leftfielder Cal Leigh. The furtherest homerun was hit by Elmer Wilcox. He connected for a grand slam homerun way over the head of defending right centerfielder Dan Connelly. The ball hit the upper half of the fence on the fly. Although Chuck Duff didn't record any homeruns, three of his shots hit the fence. Two went for doubles & one for a triple. Chuck was a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate & so were Jose Agosto & Jerry Witter. Two of Jose's hits went for doubles. Several players accomplished three hits today. Reg Barnes, John Fulton, & Rick DeYoung all collected 
three hits. Fred Dampier also achieved this feat since he had a double to go along with his two dingers. In the field, 1st baseman Rick DeYoung made two excellent scoops from low throws in the dirt to nail baserunners during the game. Shortstop Chuck Duff snared a line drive with a quick jump on a ball hit to his right. It seemed like the ball would find the gap between the shortstop & 3rd baseman Elmer Black. Shortstop Russ King also made a similar catch although the ball wasn't quite as far to his right. Nice grabs Chuck & Russ. Harold Turner returned from Cockranton, Pensylvania to play rightfield today & he got two hits in his first game. Welcome back, Harold. A new ballplayer joined the ranks today. Rich Palmer brought Ken Wilson from Deer Creek Park. Ken is a snowbird down from Dundas, Ontario, Canada. Welcome aboard, Ken. December 20th - With Christmas quickly approaching, enough players came to the ballpark to justify the utilization of two fields.
The final scores for both games were close but the accumulation of the runs were vastly different. On "Field E", the lead changed sides several times until the home team took a late lead & prevailed with a 14-11 score. The winning pitcher was Dick Wilhelm while Steve Collins pitched for the visiting team. On "Fred White Field", the home 
team took an early lead and held it thoughout the contest. Rich Palmer pitched for the winning team & Larry Powell was the pitcher for the visiting team.
Ken Wilson hit for power today as he blasted a gapper homerun & later connected for a triple. Larry 
Powell hit a solo shot homer & was safe at home after the pitcher cut-off an accurate throw to homeplate catcher Morris Rosenhack.
Jim Laffoon was perfect with a 4 for 4 performance, including a triple. Hank Gomez also had a perfect 4 for 4 day. Jose Agosto hit well as he accumulated 3 hits & drove in 3 of the first 5 runs for his team. Defensively, shortstop Doug McLellan began a double play with a grounder almost directly to him. He flipped to rover Jack Valliere covering 2nd base & Jack 
threw to 1st baseman Bob Douglas to complete the play.
Another double play was acted out in a different way. Shortstop Fred Dampier fielded a grounder, threw to 2nd baseman Jack Valliere. The baserunner from 3rd base hesitated and then headed for home after the play began, so Jack alertly fired home to catcher Shannon Steinmetz to easily cut down the runner for an inning ending double play. Left centerfielder John Fulton fielded a base hit up the middle & fired a strike to rover Jack Valliere to force out the baserunner. Nice throw, John. Second baseman Jose Agosto fielded a sharp grounder to his left & threw to 1st baseman Hank Gomez for the out. Steve Livingston returned from Plainsville, Michigan to play catcher today. Another Michigander returned today as well. Don LaMay travelled from Livonia, Michigan to play right centerfield. Welcome back, Steve and Don. December 23rd - The weather was a bit cool this morning as the signin temperature dipped to 46° F. The wind was blowing from the north at a breezy 5 MPH at gametime. Forty-two ballplayers braved the cold to get in the last game before Christmas.
Both games ended with the victors winning by one run. The home team won on "Fred White Field" by a score of 23-22 as Don Witmer received the win against Elmer Wilcox. Fred Dampier started the game but promised to remove himself from the mound after the second walk. He lasted almost 3 innings & departed from the mound with a 10-0 lead. As it turned out, the visiting team whittled the lead down as the game progressed. In the 9th and final inning, the tying run was thrown out at home plate to end the game. Following 
a base hit to rightfielder Bob Douglas, Bob fielded the ball & made a strong throw in to the infield to 2nd baseman Elmer Black. Elmer fired a strike to catcher Phil Johnson in plenty of time to cut down the baserunner to end the game. What an exciting finish!
The game on "Field E" ended with a whopping 31-30 score with the home team winning in the bottom of the 9th inning with a bases loaded walk to Terry Feehan. Terry has a sharp eye at the plate & worked the count full to 3-2 before the free pass was issued. Rich Palmer received the win & Steve Collins pitched for the visiting team. With over 100 runs scored today, there were plenty of hitting stars. Jim Laffoon hit for the cycle & his homerun was a grand slam shot against the fence. Fred Dampier went 4 for 4 with a walk and knocked two homeruns & a double. One of his homeruns was a grand slam & he ended up with 10 runs batted in for the day. Teammate Don Witmer hit well & managed an opposite field solo homerun out of the reach of rightfielder Shannon Steinmetz. Rusty Landahl 
cleared the bases with a bases loaded double over the head of defending right centerfielder Ed Neumyer. Great hit, Rusty.
Elmer Wilcox was perfect at the plate as he went 5 for 5 & teammates Frank Miller & Jim Bright were almost perfect as they collected 4 hits each. Jim had two doubles down the 3rd base line among his four hits as leftfielder Dean Schapeler really got quite a workout. Jose Agosto hit the ball well today. He accumulated 5 hits, including two doubles & a triple. Joel Freedman amassed 4 hits in 6 atbats. Two of Joel's hits were opposite field singles. Ed Neumyer also hit the ball well as he sprayed the ball to all fields. Ron Carrothers 
hit the ball hard every trip to the plate & got one double with a long shot way over the head of right centerfielder Don LaMay.
In the field, 1st baseman Rusty Landahl looked like he was back in midseason form by pulling off an unassisted double play. Don Witmer hit a hard ground ball toward 1st base & Rusty scooped it up, tagged Ed Neumyer running from the bag, and then stepped on 1st for the second out. Shortstop Bill Ravo began a double play with a grounder to his left. A quick flip to rover Bill Walker covering 2nd base accounted for the first out. Bill threw to 1st baseman Ron Carrothers to complete the double play. Rover Bill Walker played an almost flawless infield as he fielded several chances cleanly & made strong & accurate throws to 1st baseman Ron Carrothers. Shortstop Russ King had to make a quick dash to his left & toward the outfield to snare a line drive that seemed to have base hit written all over it. Nice grab, Russ. Fred Dampier, playing left centerfield, scooped up what looked like a base hit by the batter only to fire a strike to 1st baseman Ron Carrothers. The throw beat the suprised runner by less than half a step. A new player joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club today. John Zimny is a friend of Frank Miller & a summer resident of Rochester, New York. Welcome aboard, John. Merry Christmas to everyone. It is my prayer that we all have a blessed Chirstmas with family and friends & that we have a healthy year throughout all of 2006. December 27th - Several players returned north for Christmas so only 33 guys came to the ballpark today. That amounted to 11 players per side for a three-team contest.
The final score was 20-16-10 as Jack Valliere received the win for a game begun by Larry Powell. Rich Palmer & Cal Leigh were on the mound for the other two teams. The temperature right before gametime was a brisk 43° F with a 5 MPH wind blowing in from leftfield. The game was mostly dominated with nice fielding plays. There were three notable double plays in the game today. An around-the-horn double play 
began when 3rd baseman Doug McLellan fielded a hot grounder. He threw to rover Jaime Rivera covering 2nd base for the first out & Jaime threw to 1st baseman Ron Carrothers for the 2nd out.
The same team pulled off another double play as shortstop Ray Petrie fielded a grounder to his left, stepped on 2nd base & then threw to 1st baseman Ron Carrothers. Pitcher Cal Leigh caught a line drive from the bat of Shannon Steinmetz, then threw to 1st baseman Gene Morey to nail the pinch runner, who had headed for 2nd base upon contact of the batted ball. Nice reflexes, Cal. Ed Schmiedeke played an almost flawless 2nd base & even racked up two assists in one inning. Ed had to throw the batter out at 1st base on both plays in that particular inning. Right centerfielder Ted Taylor made a nice catch on a ball hit in front of him. Rightfielder Shannon Steinmetz caught a high fly ball hit his way. Shannon also fielded a ground ball base hit & threw the ball in quick enough to hold the baserunners to one base. Offensively, Elmer Black connected for a gapper homerun to the left of defending left centerfielder Bob Lewis. Although no one was perfect at the plate today, several players did hit well. Russ King hit two doubles, Frank Miller, Ken King, Rich Palmer, Harold Turner, Fred Dampier, Doug McLellan, & Fred Ducham all achieved multiple hits. December 30th - There was a morning chill in the air as the temperature dipped to 50° F directly before sign-in time. The fog was heavy & finally subsided at game time. A total of 46 ballplayers showed up today, the last day before the new year.
The home team dominated the game on "Fred White Field", with 
a final score of 23-17. Cal Leigh pitched for the winning team & Larry Powell began the game for the visiting team. Don Witmer did go into the game as relief pitcher to finish an inning but
Larry returned to the mound the following frame.
On "Field E", pitcher Ernie Lancto received the win against opposing pitcher Rich Palmer, as the visiting team scored 8 runs in the 9th inning to pull off a 21-16 victory. Homeruns were hit today by Hugh Lessard, Russ King, Fred Dampier, Frank Miller, Larry Powell, & Chuck Duff. The blast by Chuck was driven all the way to the warning track. Great hit guys. Dean Schapeler hit a towering shot & was able to record a triple for his effort. Cal Leigh connected for two doubles & Rick DeYoung had one double among his two hits. Rusty Landahl batted a perfect 4 for 4. In the field, shortstop Hugh Lessard turned a nifty double play with a ground ball to his left. He scooped the ball, stepped on 2nd base, & fired to 1st baseman Joel Freedman to complete the play. A Shannon Steinmetz line drive tipped off the glove of Cal Leigh as he made a valiant effort to reach & catch the ball. The ball tipped into the air & shortstop Hugh Lessard was able to catch the ball. Gene Morey, playing 2nd base, made a nice stop on a hard grounder to his left. Gene was able to flip to rover Marshall Bloom covering 2nd base for the force out. 
Leftfielder Jim Laffoon made a nice running in catch on a sharp line drive & Fred Dampier ran in hard to make the catch on a fly ball. Ron Cerotzke returned from Arlington Heights, Illinois & Hugh Lessard returned from St. Thomas, Ontario to join the group. Welcome back, Ron and Hugh. Rick Lipinski dropped by the ballpark to watch the action. Rick had a tough year during 2005 since he had to endure several surgeries. He is looking well & we all hope to see him out on the ballfield after he builds up his energy level. Take care, Rick. Another year has come & gone and we all have fond memories of the games that took place during 2005. It is my prayer that we all have a healthy year throughout all of 2006. Happy New Year everyone. |
November 2005