August 2006 News Archive


August 1st - With the temperature hovering about 97° F, a total of 18 ballplayers attended the game today.

Dick Sessink was the winning pitcher for the home team as the final score was 15-11.

Larry Powell started the game for the visiting team & made a quick exit after walking the first two batters.  Jaime Rivera took over the pitching duties & allowed two hits and three walks before handing the ball over with no outs to Fred Dampier, who pitched the remainder of the game.

Jim Laffoon continued his power hitting and parked two balls over the fence - one to left centerfield and one to right centerfield.  Fred Dampier hit the only other ball over the fence in the game today.

The one-two batters for the losing team hit well in the game.  The leadoff hitter, Elvis Abney, collected a gapper double between left centerfielder Randy Lane & right centerfielder Bob Bailey for one of his four hits.  The second batter, Jaime Rivera, hit well as he went 4 for 5.

Several nice defensive plays were executed during the game.  On a single by Rusty Landahl, right centerfielder Sam Harrell fielded the ball and relayed it to shortstop Jim Laffoon.  Jim threw a perfect strike to catcher Joe DeForge in time to cut down the baserunner who was attempting to score from 2nd base.
Billy Spring, playing 2nd base, reached out far to his left to snare a hard line drive from the bat of Doug Chamlee & pitcher Fred Dampier caught a hard line drive while playing the positon of pitcher.
Ron Butler played a superb 3rd base today.  Ron cleanly fielded every ball hit his way at the hot corner.  One of his catches was a screaming liner hit by Larry Powell.

Two snowbirds are recovering from injuries.  Frank Miller recently had surgery on his shoulder & isn't participating in any softball activities until he has been cleared by his physician.  Frank hopes to be healed before the 2007 season begins.
Doug McLellan has been taking a series of cortizone shots in his left shoulder & seems to be healing well.  Doug has discontinued playing softball while he is on the shelf.

Local ballplayer Jack Valliere has been on the disabled list, as well.  Jack sustained an injury to his left foot & has taken his first injection of cortizone.
One other local player is on the injured reserve list.  Jim Margolin hasn't been playing much this summer due to eye problems & an injury to his hand.  Please keep Frank, Doug, Jack, and Jim in your prayers for a speedy and complete recovery.

A new player joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club this morning.  Bob Bailey is a retired postal worker now residing in Nalcrest.  He is retired from Nashville, Tennessee.  Welcome aboard, Bob.

August 4th - It was another hot day at the ballpark & a total of 18 players took the field for the contest.  Maybe it is the warmer temperatures that is keeping everyone inside because the turnout this summer has been the lowest in over four years.

In an unusually lopsided score the home team won 17-6 today.  Not enough praise is given to commissioner Joel Freedman for faithfully creating a lineup each game & his lineups almost always result in a close game.  Thank you, Joel, for the unenviable task you perform before each game.

The winning pitcher today was Larry Powell while Dick Sessink pitched for the visiting team.  Dick did a fine job in his pitching duties & recorded three strikeouts.

Only one ball sailed over the short fences today & it was hit by Larry Powell.  Freddy Gonzalez drove two doubles off the fence in the direction of left centerfielder Fred Dampier.  Shannon Steinmetz also hit well in the game.  In his third at bat, Shannon hit a ball to the opposite side & fill-in right centerfielder Larry Powell had to chase the ball to the fence as Shannon legged out a triple.  In Shannon's final appearance, he hit a double between leftfielder Randy Lane & left centerfielder Fred Dampier.
Don Witmer hit well today, too.  One of his hits was an opposite field double in the direction of rightfielder Reg Barnes.

Three double plays were executed.  Sam Harrell hit a hard grounder that was fielded by 3rd baseman Elvis Abney.  Elvis tagged 3rd base for the force out & fired to 1st baseman Rusty Landahl to complete the inning ending double play.
Freddy Gonzalez was involved in the other two double plays & was playing a different defensive position in each one of the plays.  While playing his regular position of left centerfield, Freddy caught a fly ball & noticed the runner from 2nd base had wandered too far off the base.  Freddy threw to 2nd baseman Vassurl Bess to get the retreating runner for the second out.
Freddy was filling in at 1st base when a grounder was hit to shortstop Doug Chamlee.  When the ball was hit, the only runner on the base paths was on 2nd base.  The runner headed for 3rd while Doug threw the ball to Freddy.  After Freddy caught the ball, he alertly fired to 3rd baseman Elvis Abney, who applied the tag on the surprised runner.  Nice throw Freddy.

Hank Gomez dropped by the ballpark to watch the game this morning.  Hank hasn't played lately & is battling an illness.  Thanks for visiting Hank.  Hank was honored recently with a plaque given by the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club.  Click HERE to see the plaque.

August 8th - There was a fantastic turnout today at the ballpark as a total of 24 guys showed up for the game!

The finish was exciting as the home team pulled out the win in the 10th inning after scoring 9 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to necessitate extra innings.

It was looking like the home team would record the loss after the great comeback in the 9th inning. The visiting team scored one run in the top of the 10th inning & the first two batters in the bottom of the 10th made two quick outs.  The last batter in the lineup, Bob Bailey, squeezed out a slow infield hit towards 2nd base to start the rally.  Leadoff batter Randy Lane also got on base with a slow grounder - this one towards third base.  Jaime Rivera walked to load the bases & Fred Dampier hit a grounder base hit past defending 2nd baseman Vassurl Bess.  As the ball rolled into rightfield, Randy raced from 2nd to home to score the winning run.

The final score was 22-21.  Pitcher Dick Sessink picked up the win against opposing pitcher Larry Powell.

Several players hit balls that cleared the short fence for a double.  Those players were Bill Walker, Kenny Duell, Fred Dampier, Dean Schapeler, Doug Chamlee, & Jim Laffoon.  Jim Laffoon produced hits in all but one of his plate appearances.  Larry Powell, John Fulton,Tim Gallagher, & Jim Bright also had productive days at the plate.

In the field, the double play was the order of the day.  On two occasions, a twin killing was executed with the combination of 2nd baseman Sam Harrell to rover Reg Barnes covering 2nd base to 1st baseman Rusty Landahl.  Also, two double plays were pulled off with shortstop Doug Chamlee to rover Reg Barnes covering 2nd base to 1st baseman Rusty Landahl.
A nice double play was recorded when shortstop Jim Laffoon fielded a grounder, threw to 3rd baseman Ron Butler, who threw to 1st baseman Jim Margolin to finish the play.  Rover Vassurl Bess began one double play as he fielded a grounder & flipped the ball to shortstop Jim Laffoon covering 2nd base & Jim threw to 1st baseman Jim Margolin.
The outfield made some good catches.  Left centerfielder Fred Dampier had to charge in hard & reach low to rob Tim Gallagher of a sure base hit.  Fred also had to run in to catch a liner hit by Ron Butler.  Right centerfielder Jaime Rivera made a nice catch on a ball hit over his head.  Leftfielder John Fulton made a similar catch on a ball hit by Sam Harrell.  Nice catches Fred, Jaime, & John.

Jim Margolin returned from the injured reserve list & began playing again today.  He has been out for a few months with eye problems.  It's nice to have you back on the field, Jim.

Vacationer Terry Feehan dropped by the ballpark to watch the action.  Terry is in Winter Haven for a week & plans to play Friday.

August 11th - Several ballplayers who usually play here took the day off today, possible because there is a Florida Half Century tournament this weekend.  As a result, only 16 guys signed up to play.  The cones were placed in midfield & everyone had to hit to the left side of the infield.

The final score in the one-sided game was 13-1, with Dick Sessink recording the win against opposing pitcher Larry Powell.

Two balls were hit over the fence, both by Don Witmer, who had three doubles today. Two sailed over the fence & one was legged out after he hit a grounder through the infield.  For the losing team, lead-off batter Ron Butler went 3 for 4.  John Fulton had some nice hits, one that sailed over the head of defending outfielder Randy Lane.

Morris Rosenhack & Billy Spring each had a hit in the game.  Morris & Billy are the two elder statesmen of the league.  Morris is 86 & Billy is 87 years young.  The third oldest player in the league, Shannon Steinmetz, managed two hits today.  Shannon still pinch runs for players much younger than him.  All of these men are inspirations to everyone.  We all hope we are healthy enough to cross the white chalk lines & still be playing ball at their ages.

In the field, Don Witmer played a stellar defense at shortstop.  He was able to field every ball hit his way or out of his way, for that matter.  One of the catches he made was on a lob liner from the bat of Billy Spring.  Don had to venture into the outfield to make the over the shoulder catch on the ball.
In the outfield, Randy Lane had to run back to the warning track to catch a long drive by Rusty Landahl.  Randy got a good jump as soon as the ball left the bat & he actually had to run partially across the warning track to make the play.  Nice catch, Randy.

Jose Agosto dropped by the old ballpark during the game today.  Jose, who resides in Lakeland, hasn't played much here in Winter Haven since the season ended because of steep gasoline prices.

August 15th - A very offensive 9 innings was played today in a game that sported 10 players per team.

The final score was 29-24 & Dick Sessink picked up his third consecutive win.  Fred Dampier pitched for the losing team.

Since the game was played on the short field, balls that sailed over the fence were recorded as doubles.  Players who hit doubles today were Elvis Abney, Jim Laffoon, Tim Gallagher, Fred Dampier, & three were hit by Freddy Gonzalez.  Oddly enough, only two of the seven were hit by the winning team.

The leadoff batter of the game, Vassurl Bess hit a liner towards leftfielder Randy Lane & raced around the bases for an inside-the-park homer.  That's tough to accomplish on the short field and Vass was running in high gear all the way.

Many guys hit very well today.  The winning team was lead by a 6 for 6 effort from Jim Laffoon.  Other batters who hit well for the winning team were Jim Bright, Jaime Rivera, Tim Gallagher, Dick Sessink, & Rusty Landahl.  Freddy Gonzalez went 6 for 6 on the losing team, while Vassurl Bess went 5 for 6.  Jack Valliere returned from the sidelines to go 4 for 5 today.  Welcome back, Jack.

Two plays stood out defensively & both were made by the pitchers.  Fred Dampier snared a hard grounder from the bat of Rusty Landahl & Dick Sessink caught a liner hit by Jim McPartlan.  Nice plays, Fred and Dick.

Jim McPartlan returned to the ballfield today after sitting out most of the summer.  Jim lives in Winter Haven but has just returned from a vacation in his home state of Minnesota.  Welcome back, Jim.

August 18th - Due to lack of players, the game was played today with cones marking off half the outfield.

In the seven inning game, pitcher Dick Sessink recorded his 4th win in-a-row.  Larry Powell started the game for the losing team & was relieved in the 1st inning by Shannon Steinmetz.  The final score was 15-9.

Only one ball cleared the short fences today.  Freddy Gonzalez connected for the ground rule double when the ball went over the fence beyond leftfielder Randy Lane.

The hitter of the day was Morris Rosenhack.  Rather than taking two strikes before hitting, Morris was aggressive at the plate & went 4 for 5.  He reached base every time since one batted ball was hit to the shortstop, who committed an error.  Great hitting, Morris!

Dick Sessink was very patient in the batter's box & walked twice to go along with a gapper double between leftfielder Freddy Gonzalez & centerfielder Sam Harrell.  Reg Barnes & Randy Lane each walked twice in the game, too.

The lead-off hitter for the losing team, Rusty Landahl, went 3 for 4 and has been swinging the bat with authority lately.  Teammate Vassurl Bess also went 3 for 4 in the losing effort.  For the second straight game, Vass hit an inside-the-park homer.  His homer today was almost straight up the middle & had to be chased down by centerfielderJohn Fulton.

Defensively, only one double play was executed in the game.  After Joe DeForge got a hit with one out, the next batter grounded into the double play from shortstop Vassurl Bess to 2nd baseman Rusty Landahl to 1st baseman Jim Margolin.
Early in the game, 3rd baseman Jaime Rivera raced in to catch a popup.  The play was exceptional since Jaime was playing deep for the powerful batter at the plate.

August 22nd - Last night, the Winter Haven area received quite a bit of rain in the evening hours.  This morning, four of the five fields had standing water on the infield.  Our field was the lucky one.  Although the infield was soft, the field was playable.

The atmosphere was damp & the dew that completely covered the outfield didn't help matters.  By the time the shortened seven inning game was complete, not one player's shirt was dry.

The final score was 20-14 as two pitchers who infrequently take the mound for a game battled each other.  Ron Thompson recorded the win for his team & Ron Butler pitched for the other team.  Both Rons pitched well & there were only a few walks in the game.  Most players took into account that the two pitchers were playing out of position so most of the batters hit balls that were in the general vicinity of the strike zone.  It is very much appreciated by pitchers when batters aren't going to the plate just to draw a walk.

Two balls were hit over the fence today.  Fred Dampier hit a line drive over the left centerfield fence beyond John Fulton & Freddy Gonzalez hit a fly ball over the fence as defending left centerfielder Fred Dampier watched.

Jim Margolin got off to a great start with two singles that drove in three runs before he injured his shoulder playing 1st base after reaching for a high throw from the shortstop.  Jim left the game after that & determined his shoulder wasn't healthy enough to bat.  Fred Dampier drove in five runs as he had a good hitting day.  Rusty Landahl continued hitting well & drove two hits deep past right centerfielder Jim Bright.

Pesky hitter Shannon Steinmetz got two singles to the opposite field & Billy Spring connected for one hit.

In the infield, one double play was executed.  Pitcher Ron Thompson fielded a ball hit back to him, turned & threw to shortstop Doug Chamlee covering 2nd base, & Doug threw to 1st baseman Joel Freedman to complete the twin killing.
Both pitchers, Ron Thompson & Ron Butler, fielded several balls hit back to them & covered 1st or 2nd base on at least one occasion at each base.  Great fielding, Ron and Ron.
In the outfield, left centerfielder John Fulton fielded a base hit by Jim Bright & threw to 2nd baseman Joe DeForge to force the runner from first for the out.
Rightfielder Vassurl Bess bobbled a base hit & recovered in time to throw the batter out at second base, who was trying to advance on the mishandled ball.  Nice throw, Vassurl.

August 25th - The weather felt like the fall season before the game started.  How nice it will be when fall actually arrives!

Another abbreviated 7 inning game was played between the 19 ballplayers who showed up at the old ballpark.  Since we are low on pitchers, Ron Thompson pitched for the winning visitors while Jack Valliere was on the mound for the home team.

The final score was 14-10 but the visitors had to battle back for the victory.  They finally tied the score at 9-9 in the top of the 5th inning, were down by one run at the completion of the 5th, & took the lead for the first time in the 6th as they racked up 5 runs.

Two balls were hit over the fence on the short field today.  Rusty Landahl connected for a ground rule double as the ball sailed over defending left centerfielder John Fulton.  The other ball was hit over by Fred Dampier with a fly ball beyond right centerfielder Reg Barnes.

Jim Laffoon was perfect at the plate with his 4 for 4 performance & Jack Valliere went 3 for 4.  All three of his hits had to be fielded by rightfielder Shannon Steinmetz.  Nice opposite field hitting, Jack.

A few nice defensive plays were executed today.  Rightfielder Shannon Steinmetz caught a hard line drive from the bat of Don Witmer.
Billy Spring, playing 2nd base, caught a pop up in the infield & almost caught a line drive later in the game.  The ball tipped his glove & continued its way to the outfield.  Nice try, Billy.
A hard grounder popped out of the glove of pitcher Ron Thompson, but he was able to pick the ball up & toss it to 1st baseman Joel Freedman for the out.
Left centerfielder Fred Dampier fielded a base hit by Doug Chamlee, threw to shortstop Jim Laffoon, who relayed the ball to pitcher Ron Thompson covering home plate for the out.  The runner had tried to score from 2nd base on the hit.
Fred Dampier also made two nice running in catches.  One was a liner by Joe DeForge that several players on the bench unjustly thought Fred had played in too close before the hit.  Jack Valliere hit a line shot that Fred had to make the same sort of catch.  That catch ended the game.

August 29th - A total of 23 ballplayers played in the game today.  Although Tropical Depression Ernesto is threatening to attack the Keys of Florida later on this evening, the skies were sunny & clear.

The final score was 13-8 as pitcher Larry Powell recorded the win for his team against opposing pitcher Ron Thompson.  Going into the bottom of the 9th inning, the visiting team was holding a comfortable 13-5 lead.  A gallant effort by the home team fell short but they did pick up 5 runs in the bottom of the final frame.

The game was most memorable for the fine defensive plays but several balls did fly over the fence for ground rule doubles.  Jim Laffoon & Dean Schapeler each hit two over the fence, while Tim Gallagher & Don Witmer each connected for one long ball.

Billy McDonough took the hotter days of summer off from playing softball but returned today & was able to go 3 for 4, with all his hits towards the opposite field.

Four double plays were executed by the infielders.  Rover Sam Harrell stopped a grounder that was barely to the rightfield side of 2nd base, tagged the base for the first out, then threw to 1st baseman Rusty Landahl to complete the double play.  This play was pulled off twice in the game.
Another double play was executed twice as well.  Shortstop Jim Laffoon fielded a grounder, tossed to 3rd baseman Doug Chamlee & Doug fired to 1st baseman Jim Bright for the 2nd out.
Shortstop Don Witmer excelled on two defensive plays.  He first made an excellent stop on a grounder up the middle from the bat of Rusty Landahl & had plenty of time to throw to 1st baseman Jim Bright for the out.  Later in the game, Don had to race into the outfield to catch up with a popup hit by Billy Spring.  Nice catch Don.
Joe DeForge has been playing at the 2nd base position in the past few games.  Today, he made a nice stop on a grounder but the ball skipped out of his glove.  Joe recovered in time to throw to 1st baseman Jim Bright to put out Shannon Steinmetz, who was the pinch runner from home plate for batter Bob Bailey.
The outfielders made some nice plays today, too.  Rightfielder Billy McDonough made a catch on a long slicing fly ball that was hit by Doug Chamlee.
Right centerfielder Kenny Duell was able to hold onto a fly ball hit by Jim Bright & the catch was made in the tip of the glove's pocket, commonly known as a "snow cone" catch.
Rightfielder Bill Walker caught a line drive that was tailing away from him since the ball was an opposite field hit by Don Witmer.
Right centerfielder Fred Dampier elected to play short leftfield as a defensive strategy to try to take away a base hit from pull hitter Sam Harrell.  The decision paid off as Fred caught the hard line drive hit slightly to his right.
One outfielder recorded a putout and an assist on a double play.  Left centerfielder Tim Gallagher caught a fly ball hit by Jaime Rivera & fired to 1st baseman Jim Bright to double off the baserunner, who had wandered too far from the base after the ball was hit.  Nice throw Tim.

As noted earlier, Billy McDonough returned to the old ballpark to begin playing again.  Also, umpire Mike Kerentoff returned from Adrian, Michigan & umpired the last part of the game behind home plate.  Welcome back, Billy and Mike.

One last note to mention.  The Winter Haven Senior Softball Club would like to thank the Lakeland Ledger & the newspaper's photographer for attending the game today in preparation for a future article or photo for the newspaper.  We are grateful for the recognition.



July 2006