March 2006 News Archive
 March 3rd - Center State Bank Black edged out Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal for their first win against them this season. An 8th inning two run homer by Vic Platania tacked on insurance runs since Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal rallied for two runs in the 9th inning.
Premier Mortgage Turquoise exploded for three 5 run innings as they were victorious over American Legion Post 8 Gold. All but two players for Premier Mortgage Turquoise scored at least one run. Bill Ravo & pool player Dick Mackey each scored four runs. Larry Williamson scored four of American Legion Post 8 Gold 11 runs. Merrill Lynch Orange scored 9 runs in the first two frames & coasted to a win over Beef O'Bradys Kelly. All but two pool players were inserted into the games today. The ballplayers are becoming more dedicated as the weather gets warmer & warmer. Team pictures were taken before the games & are posted on the standings page. To access the pictures, click on the blue dot to the left of the team name.
LEADING HITTERS: Center State Bank Black Jim McPartlan - 3 for 3. Elmer Black - 3 for 4 with 1 double & 1 homer. Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal Herb Oesterreich - 4 for 4. Vassurl Bess - 3 for 4. Premier Mortgage Turquoise Frank Miller - 3 for 3 with 1 sacrifice fly & 1 walk. Ken Wilson - 3 for 3 with 1 walk. Rich Palmer - 3 for 3 with 1 sacrifice fly. Jerry Remington - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Jose Agosto - 4 for 5. American Legion Post 8 Gold Doug McLellan - 4 for 4 with 1 double & 1 triple. Larry Williamson - 4 for 4. Dick Erickson - 3 for 4. Bill Walker - 3 for 4. Merrill Lynch Orange Jerry Witter - 4 for 4. Ron Thompson - 3 for 3 with 1 double & 1 walk. Russ King - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Don Witmer - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Joel Freedman - 3 for 4. Beef O'Bradys Kelly John Ormsby - 4 for 4. March 7th - Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal & Merrill Lynch Orange were tied 11-11 after the completion of 8 innings. Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal rallied for an 8 hit, 8 run 9th inning when every player in the lineup batted. The stunned Merrill Lynch Orange could respond with only one run in the bottom of the frame & went down to defeat for only the 4th time this season. Russ King lead the charge for the losing team with two doubles & one homer. Vassurl Bess was perfect with a 5 for 5 effort & scored 4 runs for the winning team.
Second place team Premier Mortgage Turquoise could not take advantage of the loss & gain ground in the standings as they lost against Beef O'Bradys Kelly. Manager Floyd Welton went 4 for 4 with a homer & Don Erb came back from a week layoff with a pulled hamstring to go 4 for 4 with a homer. Center State Bank Black scored one run below the maximum in the first four innings to chalk up a win against American Legion Post 8 Gold. The two through four batters were all perfect at the plate as Vic Platania went 6 for 6, Denny Shaffer went 5 for 5, & Fred Dampier went 4 for 4. Doug McLellan cranked two homers for American Legion Post 8 Gold.
LEADING HITTERS: Beef O'Bradys Kelly Floyd Welton - 4 for 4 with 1 homer. Don Erb - 4 for 4 with 1 homer. Cal Leigh - 3 for 4. Premier Mortgage Turquoise Jose Agosto - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. Bill Ravo - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. John Fulton - 3 for 4. Randy Lane - 3 for 4. Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal Vassurl Bess - 5 for 5. Bernie Peterson - 4 for 5 with 2 doubles. Merrill Lynch Orange Russ King - 4 for 4 with 2 doubles & 1 homer. John Zimny - 4 for 5 with 2 doubles. Ron Thompson - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Joe Hissey - 3 for 4. Center State Bank Black Vic Platania - 6 for 6 with 1 triple & 1 homer. Denny Shaffer - 5 for 5 with 1 double. Fred Dampier - 4 for 4 with 3 doubles & 1 sacrifice fly. Bob Martin - 4 for 5. Jack Donnelly - 4 for 5. American Legion Post 8 Gold Doug McLellan - 4 for 4 with 2 homers & 1 walk. Ray DePalma - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Jim Bright - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Ernie Lancto - 4 for 5. Hugh Lessard, a super player for the Merrill Lynch Orange team, will be undergoing an operation for a defibulator at the London University Hospital in Ontario, Canada. We are all including Hugh in our prayers for a speedy recovery & we're looking forward to Hugh's return next year in our softball program. March 8th - The second annual competition between the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club & the Lakeland Senior Softball Club concluded with three games at the Diamond Plex fields in Winter Haven. The first three games took place on March 1st at the Southwest Complex in Lakeland.
For results of the games, click HERE. Also, the results can be accessed by clicking on the link near the bottom of the page titled "2006 Competition between Winter Haven & Lakeland". A special "Thank you" goes out to organizer Ron Thompson for his diligent work in assuring the tournament was an astounding success. March 10th - It was a warm day with winds gusting upwards to 10 MPH. The high today is predicted to reach 83° F.
The first place Merrill Lynch Orange battled second place Premier Mortgage Turquoise & the matchup proved to be an offensive game from beginning to end. Both teams scored 5 runs in the first inning & the score was 11-10 after 3 innings. After Premier Mortgage Turquoise pulled away, Merrill Lynch Orange tied the score at 22 with a 7 run 7th inning. Six walks in the frame helped the cause as the gusting wind played havoc on the pitchers today. Premier Mortgage Turquoise scored 5 runs in the 8th inning, capped off by a homer over the left field fence by Ken Wilson. Unfortunately for Ken, the blast was recorded only as a double, since his run would have been the 6th of the frame. A triple by starting pitcher George Summers was the big hit in the bottom of the last inning for Merrill Lynch Orange, as they scored 3 runs. Beef O'Bradys Kelly leadoff hitters John Ormsby & Harold Turner were perfect at the plate. John went 4 for 4 with a walk & Harold went 5 for 5 as Beef O'Bradys Kelly easily topped Center State Bank Black. Fred Dampier hit for the cycle for Center State Bank Black. In a nail biter, American Legion Post 8 Gold scored 9 runs in the 9th inning for a win against Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal. Three of the batters in the lineup batted twice. Jim Bright went 2 for 2 in the inning.
LEADING HITTERS: Premier Mortgage Turquoise Frank Miller - 5 for 5. Ken Wilson - 4 for 5 with 1 double & 1 triple. Bill Evans - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Jose Agosto - 3 for 4 with 1 double & 1 walk. Randy Lane - 3 for 4 with 1 walk. Merrill Lynch Orange Russ King - 4 for 5 with 1 double. George Summers - 3 for 4 with 1 triple & 1 walk. Ron Thompson - 3 for 4 with 1 double & 1 walk. Beef O'Bradys Kelly Harold Turner - 5 for 5 with 1 double. John Ormsby - 4 for 4 with 1 double & 1 walk. Floyd Welton - 4 for 5 with 1 double & 1 triple. Don Erb - 4 for 5 with 1 triple. Cal Leigh - 4 for 5. Jim Margolin - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. Bob Lewis - 3 for 4 with 1 walk. Bob Douglas - 3 for 4. Center State Bank Black Fred Dampier - 4 for 4 and hit for cycle with 1 sacrifice fly. Bob Lundquest - 4 for 4. American Legion Post 8 Gold Bill Ayer - 5 for 5. Jim Bright - 5 for 6. Art Zakrowski - 4 for 5 with 1 walk. Marshall Bloom - 4 for 5. Dick Wachter - 3 for 4 with 1 walk. Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal Chris Constantine - 3 for 4 with 1 double, 1 homer, & 1 walk. Jerry Noble - 3 for 4 with 1 triple & 1 walk. Bill Cook - 3 for 4. March 14th - Ninth inning homeruns were the order of the day today. Cal Leigh & Rusty Landahl both connected for 9th inning homers as Beef O'Bradys Kelly scored 6 runs to top American Legion Post 8 Gold 16-10.
The score had been tied 10-10 from the bottom of the 6th inning through the 8th inning as one goose egg after another was logged onto the scoreboard. American Legion Post 8 Gold went scoreless after the 5 run outburst in the 5th inning. Center State Bank Black played a great game as they defeated Merrill Lynch Orange 19-16. Fred Dampier blasted a 9th inning homer as Center State Bank Black scored 3 runs in the final frame. Merrill Lynch Orange was down by 6 going into the bottom of the 9th inning but Russ King hit a homer to bring his team within 3 runs of a tie. With the exception of the 1st inning, Premier Mortgage Turquoise scored in every frame to charge into 1st place in the standings. Bernie Peterson hit for the cycle in a losing effort for Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal.
LEADING HITTERS: Beef O'Bradys Kelly Jim Margolin - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. Floyd Welton - 3 for 4. American Legion Post 8 Gold Ray DePalma - 3 for 4 with 1 double & 1 homer. Ernie Lancto - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Center State Bank Black Denny Shaffer - 5 for 5 with 1 triple. Bob Lundquest - 4 for 4 with 1 triple. Bill Walker - 3 for 3 with 1 walk. Fred Dampier - 3 for 4 with 1 homer & 1 sacrifice fly. Merrill Lynch Orange Russ King - 5 for 5 with 2 doubles & 1 homer. John Zimny - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Premier Mortgage Turquoise Jose Agosto - 5 for 5. Bill Evans - 4 for 5 with 2 doubles & 1 homer. Rich Palmer - 4 for 5 with 2 doubles. Bill Ravo - 4 for 5 with 1 triple. John Fulton - 4 for 5. Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal Bernie Peterson - 4 for 5 and hit for cycle. Ed Neumyer - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Gene Morey - 3 for 4.  March 17th - Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Since the games won't be played next week due to a national tournament at the DiamondPlex, today marked the final games of the season. The signin format will return in place on Tuesday, March 28th. Premier Mortgage Turquoise was crowned the league champions following a dramatic bottom of the 9th inning win against Center State Bank Black. The final run crossed the plate when Morris Rosenhack grounded out for the second out of the inning. Freddy Gonzalez, a pinch runner for Reg Barnes, scored from 3rd base to end the game. Every ballplayer who participated this year made this season an enjoyable sporting event. The six managers all did an outstanding job with their teams. Those six managers are Ted Granoski, Elmer Black, Floyd Welton, Frank Miller, Ray DePalma, & George Summers. A big "Thank you" also goes out to the board of directors for their involvement in the league. The board members are Joel Freedman, Ron Thompson, Fred Dampier, Vassurl Bess, & Bill Walker. For all the snowbirds who will remain in the area for a little while longer, please join us at the ballpark on March 28th for the beginning of our 9 months of pickup play. Merrill Lynch sponsored the end of season festivities. Baked chicken, hotdogs, & cold drinks were served. Team pictures were made available to every ballplayer on one of the six teams & to the pool players who were included in the team pitcher taken of the pool players.
LEADING HITTERS: Merrill Lynch Orange John Zimny - 4 for 4 with 2 doubles, 1 triple, & 1 walk. Ron Thompson - 3 for 3 with 1 homer & 2 walks. Don LaMay - 5 for 6. Jerry Witter - 4 for 5 with 1 walk. American Legion Post 8 Gold Jack Valliere - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Ken King - 3 for 4. Beef O'Bradys Kelly Don Erb - 4 for 5 with 1 double & 1 triple. Ed Schmiedeke - 4 for 5 with 1 double. John Ormsby - 3 for 4 with 1 double & 1 walk. Bob Douglas - 3 for 4. Shannon Steinmetz - 3 for 4. Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal Chris Constantine - 4 for 4 with 2 doubles. Bernie Peterson - 3 for 4 with 1 double & 1 triple. Ed Neumyer - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. Gene Morey - 3 for 4. Premier Mortgage Turquoise Frank Miller - 4 for 4 with 2 doubles. Bill Ravo - 3 for 3 with 1 double, 1 homer, & 1 sacrifice fly. Jerry Remington - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Center State Bank Black Fred Dampier - 3 for 4 with 2 doubles. Mike Swartz - 3 for 4. March 21st - Jose Agosto assembled a 65s team for the 1st annual SSUSA National Tournament. Click HERE to view the team picture of the Lakeland Angels. In addition to Jose Agosto, Winter Haven Senior Softball Club members on the team included John Fulton, John Ormsby, Dick Wilhelm, Bill Evans, Ron Thompson, & Wes Wilder.
Lakeland Senior Softball Club player Mel Curtis managed a 70s team for the tournament. The team was comprised of ballplayers in the Winter Haven & Lakeland Senior Softball Clubs. Players from Winter Haven on the Fred's Market team included Rusty Landahl, Elmer Wilcox, & Frank Miller. March 22nd - Several members of the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club travelled to Nalcrest to play in a tournament. The team, organized by Floyd Welton & known as the Winter Haven Wonders, won the game 16-9.
In the first game of the day, Rich Palmer managed his Deer Creek team & defeated the Nalcrest team 20-4. |
February 2006
