December 1st - What a beautiful day for a couple of ballgames! The nice weather brought out the player's power swings as there were a few long balls in the contests today.
On Field E, the 9 inning game ended with a tie score of 18-18. Newcomer George Tinsley pitched for the visiting team while Rich Palmer threw for the home team.
The low scoring affair on Fred White Field ended after 7 innings. Three teams battled it out to the final score of 9-7-8. Ted Granoski was the winning pitcher against fellow moundsmen Ron Thompson & Jerry Witter. Ron gave up 8 runs while his team scored 7 & Jerry surrendered 9 runs while his team scored 8.
George Tinsley cranked a homerun over the fence in his debut game. George is one of our sponsors this year as he has entered a team into the league with his Kentucky
Fried Chicken franchise. Thank you for your sponsorship & great hit George.
Fred Dampier connected for two inside-the-park homers. The first shot was a gapper between leftfielder Ted Taylor & left centerfielder Jaime Rivera that scored three runs. Later in the game, Fred hit a two run shot over the head of right centerfielder Art Zakrowski. The two homers accounted for 5 of the 9 runs scored on Fred's team.
Jerry Remington hit two deep balls today. One was a long double over the head of leftfielder Ed Neumyer & the second was a monster drive to the warning track that was almost caught by left centerfielder John Fulton. As a result of the near catch, Jerry was held to a single since the base runner from 1st held his base until the ball wasn't caught.
John Stewart came out of retirement to join the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club today. He last played four years ago in the Lakeland Senior Softball program. John connected for a triple over the head of defending left centerfielder
Jaime Rivera to drive in one run.
Bill Ravo hit a nice double gapper that split leftfielder John Stewart & left centerfielder Fred Dampier.
Ed Schmiedeke continued his hitting streak with a double that sailed over the head of John Fulton.
Several others also had good days at the plate today. Ted Taylor, Sam Harrell, Ron Augenstein, & Wayne Mundy all hit well. Joe DeForge got on base twice in the game with a single & a walk. Joe applied his trademark cap tipping after his line drive base hit to left centerfield.
Quite a few double plays were recorded today. Shortstop Don Witmer began one with a scoop of a grounder hit in his direction. He fielded the ball cleanly, flipped to rover Sam Harrell covering 2nd base, & Sam
relayed the ball to 1st baseman Joel Freedman.
Third baseman Bill Ravo began a double play with runners on 1st & 2nd base. Bill fielded a grounder, tagged 3rd base & threw to 2nd with Sam Harrell covering the base.
An around-the-horn DP was recorded when a grounder was hit to 3rd baseman Cal Leigh. Cal threw to rover Jack Valliere at 2nd base, & Jack completed the play with a throw to 1st baseman Hank Gomez.
The last two double plays worth mentioning were perhaps the two best plays of the day. Rover Jack Valliere recorded an unassisted double play when he short hopped a liner hit by Joel Freedman, tagged 2nd base, & then tagged the runner just leaving 2nd base.
Shortstop Wayne Mundy took a relay throw from left centerfielder Fred Dampier in time to tag the runner who was attempting to stretch a single into a double. After the tag, Wayne fired home to pitcher Ted Granoski covering the plate in time to get the base runner out.
Incidentally, Wayne nailed another runner at home later in the game as Ted Granoski took that throw, too.
Ernie Lancto returned from Syracuse, New York & Fred Rose returned from Barberton, Ohio. Rick DeYoung returned from his 8 month travels to Washington and other states of interest. Ernie and Fred didn't play today but remained at the ballpark to watch the action. Welcome back Ernie, Fred, & Rick.
As stated earlier, George Tinsley joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club recently & began playing today. John Stewart also joined the Club. John is a summer resident of Belleville, Ontario, Canada. Doug Graham joined earlier but made his debut today. Doug is a snowbird who resides in Lima, Ohio. Welcome aboard George, John, & Doug.
December 5th - For the first time since the past season ended in March of this year, there were enough ball players to justify the use of three fields. A cold front blew in so the temperature at sign in time was hovering around the 60° F mark. The low this evening is predicted to dip down to 53° F. B-r-r-r-r-r-r-r!
The visiting team prevailed 25-9 on Fred White Field, with Ernie Lancto on the mound against opposing pitcher Dick Sessink.
Jerry Witter was
the winning pitcher on Field 'E' against Ted Granoski in the huge scoring game. The final tally was 34-23.
On Field 'D', regular shortstop Jim Laffoon was called on to pitch against outfielder Jaime Rivera. Although pitching
isn't their preferred defensive position, both players can pitch well. The game ended up with the visiting team winning by the score of 17-15. Jim Laffoon had a 17-7 lead going into the bottom of the 9th inning. The home team jumped into high gear to score 8 runs, or one more run than they were able to score in the previous eight innings. Several runs scored with two outs in the books. Although they came up two runs short, the rally was magnificent.
On offense, Jack Valliere drove an opposite field homer between rightfielder Marshall Bloom & right centerfielder Richard Moots. The ball rolled all the way to the warning track.
Chuck Duff had a fantastic hitting day as he connected for several hits, including a homer & a triple. The round tripper was a gap hit between left centerfielder Fred Ducham & right centerfielder Al Andrews. Overall, Chuck was the powerhouse RBI man for his team during the game today.
Ron Carrothers connected for a long triple. The ball was hit way over the head of defending leftfielder Cecil Vasquez.
Many players had excellent hitting games today. Among those players were Sam Harrell, who is working on getting away from the pull hit down the 3rd base line. Sam made only one out & most of his hits were in the direction of left centerfield. Wayne Mundy was placed in
the cleanup part of the lineup & came through with several timely hits. Cal Leigh sprayed the ball between centerfield & leftfield as he hit well today.
Joe DeForge got two hits & one of them was a well placed hit toward leftfielder John Stewart.
Erv Szewczuga had a memorable day on offense. Erv accumulated four hits. Way to go, Erv.
Other players who hit well were Joel Freedman, Ernie Lancto, Doug Chamlee, Don LaMay, Fred Dampier, & Ed Neumyer.
In the field, Ron Thompson covered the shortstop position on Field E & recorded several nice plays. In the first three innings, three double plays were registered with Ron at the helm.
Reg Barnes, playing 2nd base, fielded every grounder hit his way & made an excellent stop on a grounder hit to his right. Reg had time to stop, turn & fire to 1st baseman Sam Harrell for the out.
Rightfielder Marshall Bloom was busy at his position. He had to make three running in catches & he made strong throws into the infield after the catches to prevent runners from tagging up & advancing after the outs.
Left centerfielder Fred Dampier turned a base hit from the bat of Bob Douglas into a fielder's choice. Fred threw to 2nd baseman Reg Barnes for the force out on the runner from 1st base.
Don LaMay returned from Livinia, Michigan & umpire Tom Mohler returned from Monticell, Indiana. Tom is greatly appreciated for the volunteer umpiring job he does during the fall & winter months. Welcome back Don & Tom.
Here's some comic humor, compliments of a clipping of a "Crankshaft" comic by Tom Batiuk & Chuck Ayers gathered by Ron Carrothers. It's soothing to know we can chuckle at our circumstances & athletic abilities.
December 8th - Today was the coldest day at the old ballpark since the 2006 season ended. The north wind was blowing about 20 MPH & the morning temperature dipped to approximately 48° F. The low temperature wasn't as intolerable as the stiff wind. Needless to say, several ballplayers stayed in the warmth of their
homes & the games today took place on two fields instead of three.
On Fred White Field, pitcher Dick Sessink prevailed over pitcher Bill Ravo in the 17-16 contest. It was somewhat of a surprise that Bill knew how to pitch but he did an admirable job. The high winds played havoc on the pitchers today. The higher the arc by the pitcher, the more the softball was susceptible to wind-aided movement.
In Field E, the final score was 26-17, with Jaime Rivera earning the victory over opposing pitcher Ted Granoski.
Cal Leigh was the story on Fred White Field as he accounted for 7 runs batted in with his hitting performance. Cal produced two triples among all the hits he accumulated. Nice hitting, Cal.
Jerry Remington drove a ball deep over leftfielder Art Zakrowski for a double while two runs crossed the plate. Floyd Welton also hit a deep shot when he hit the gap between left centerfielder Fred Dampier & right centerfielder Denny Shaffer.
Perhaps the longest ball hit on Field E today was from the bat of Jaime Rivera. He blasted a triple that came within 10 feet of the warning track. Great hit, Jaime.
Other players who hit well were Jerry Noble, Al Andrews, Ted Granoski, Doug McLellan, Fred Ducham, & Cliff Hamilton.
In the field, shortstop Russ King made a terrific diving stop of a grounder to his right. He recovered in time to flip the ball to 3rd baseman Jerry Remington for the force out at that base.
Jerry Remington made several nice stops at his position & fielded three balls directly at him near the line that he turned into fielder's choices but stepping on 3rd base. He also
had to throw across the diamond to 1st baseman Doug McLellan on two separate plays.
Pitcher Ted Granoski made a nice play when a ball was hit back in his direction. He fielded the grounder & alertly turned toward 3rd base and noticed the runner had taken too much of a lead. The baserunner tried to run home, since he was basically a dead duck if he went back to 3rd, but Ted fired a strike to catcher Rick DeYoung for the out.
Bob Lewis, playing 3rd base, began a double play when he fielded a grounder & threw to 2nd baseman Cliff Hamilton. Cliff relayed the ball to 1st baseman Larry Powell to complete the play.
A game-ending double play was executed today on Field E. Rover Ron Carrothers caught a popup in the infield & within 5-7 feet of 2nd base. Apparently the runner from 2nd, who wandered off the base, may have thought the ball may not be caught because of the wind factor. Ron did catch the ball & beat the runner back to the base by a step to end the game.
Right centerfielder Denny Shaffer raced back & was able to track down a fly ball hit by Russ King. The catch was even more spectacular considering the weather elements.
A new ballplayer joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club today. Alan Walters is a snowbird from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. Welcome aboard, Alan.
December 12th - All the cold weather has left the state & the sun was shining bright for the games today. A total of 61 players, the best turnout so far, signed in at the old ballpark. Three fields were allocated so there was plenty of action to be seen.
On Fred White Field, Jerry Witter pitched for the winning home team against opponent Dick Sessink. Cal Leigh, a versatile player who probably prefers the outfield positions, began the game at shortstop but relieved Dick from his pitching duties before the game ended. The final score was 25-11.
Jaime Rivera,
another infielder-outfielder, was the winning pitcher on Field D against long time pitcher Ernie Lancto. The home team won 23-9.
On Field E, pitcher Ted Granoski recorded the victory over opposing pitcher Ron Thompson in the 29-18 game. The home team also won this contest, so it was a clean sweep for the home teams today.
On Fred White Field, Wayne Mundy hit a deep opposite field shot over the head of defending rightfielder Bob Douglas. By the time the ball was relayed back into the infield, Wayne was standing on 3rd base with a triple. Cal Leigh also connected for a triple in the game. The shot Cal hit was over the head & out of reach for left centerfielder Don LaMay.
With the bases loaded, Marshall Bloom came through in the clutch with a double down the rightfield line just by 1st baseman Richard Moots. Two runs crossed the plate on that hit.
Left handed batter Dick Sessink threaded the needle for a hit down the 3rd base line that was fair by inches. John Fulton, playing 3rd base, didn't have time to react quickly enough to stop the ball so leftfielder John Stewart retrieved
the ball to hold Dick to a double.
Fred Dampier stepped into a nice pitch & banged a solo homer over the head of defending right centerfielder Richard Bloom.
Other players who hit well today on Fred White Field were John Stewart, Jack Valliere, John Fulton, Rusty Landahl, & Don LaMay. Don hit safely in all five plate appearances.
Cal Leigh played an excellent shortstop position today & covered a huge circumference on short popups near & around the infield & short outfield. Cal stopped every grounder hit his way, too. He stopped one grounder, threw to 3rd baseman Sam Harrell, & Sam threw to 1st baseman Reg Barnes for an unusual bases loaded double play.
On a ball tipped by pitcher Dick Sessink, Cal changed directions, collected the ball, and tossed it to 2nd baseman Billy Spring for a force out. Tough old Billy reached out with his hand and caught the ball. Billy, the most elder member of the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club, celebrates his 88th birthday this Thursday, December 14th. He was born just a month after World War I came to an end & before Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, the peace treaty that ended the War between the Allied and Central Powers and the German Empire. Be sure to wish Bily a belated happy birthday this Friday.
Pitcher Dick Sessink also fielded his position well today. Dick assisted in a force out at 2nd base and he caught a hard line drive hit back at him.
Third baseman John Fulton caught a hard line drive hit his way, too. The ball was hit by Cal Leigh.
Terry Feehan played in his first game since journeying down from Deshler, Ohio. Terry began his offensive day with a single in the direction of leftfielder Jack Valliere. Welcome back Terry.
December 15th - The Board of Directors & the managers and alternate manager for the 2007 season met today after the games to select players for the draft.
There will be seven teams this coming season & one team will have a bye each playing date.
Good luck this year guys. Let's all have fun & play safely to avoid injuries.
December 19th - With Christmas day less than a week away, there were enough players today to justify the use of three fields. The weather was wonderful & warm - just the way we like it.
On Fred White Field, pitcher Cal Leigh was victorious over pitcher Dick Sessink in the 20-19 game. The winning run was scored in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs already recorded in the books.
Jaime Rivera was the winning pithcer against Ernie Lancto on Field 'D'. The final score was 18-9.
On Field 'E',
pitcher Ted Granoski received the win over opposing pitcher Jerry Witter in the 17-12 contest.
Doug McLellan was the hitting star on Field 'E' as he hit for the cycle in five at bats. He went 5 for 5 with two homers. Great bat today Doug. On Fred White Field, Fred Dampier connected for a three run homer over the heads of right centerfielder Chuck Duff & left centerfielder John Fulton.
Ron Augenstein drove a ball deep over the head of left centerfielder Fred Dampier for a long double. It is estimated the ball landed about 20 feet from the warning track in centerfield.
Chuck Duff cracked a triple that hit half way up the centerfield fence. That blast was the longest hit of the day on Fred White Field.
Another notable extra base hit was produced by Dick Sessink. He connected with an opposite field liner that leftfielder Bill Walker had to retreive. Dick had a standup double from the well placed hit.
Reg Barnes was perfect at the plate today as he went 5 for 5. One of his hits was a gapper double.
Other players who hit well were Cal Leigh, Rusty Landahl, Shannon Steinmetz, Joe DeForge, & Jose Agosto.
In the infield, shortstop Ron Thompson covered a lot of ground to his left when he
picked up a grounder from the bat of Sam Harrell, who usually is a pull hitter. Sam attempted to drive the ball up the middle but Ron stopped the grounder & threw to 1st baseman Rusty Landahl for the out.
Two hard line drives were snared out of the air by infielders. Doug McLellan, playing 2nd base, caught a ball hit by Ray Petrie & Rusty Landahl reached high to catch a liner hit by Jose Agosto.
Catcher Joe DeForge displayed quick reactions when he chased down a foul ball from the bat of John Fulton.
In the outfield, Chuck Duff got a good jump on a potential hit by Marshall Bloom when he raced in to make the catch. Nice grab Chuck.
Left centerfielder Fred Dampier & shortstop Ron Thompson racked up assists when a baserunner was thrown out at home. Catcher Joe DeForge caught the throw by Ron for the out.
Former Winter Haven Senior Softball Club member Otto Smith dropped by the old ballpark to watch some of the games on the three fields & to greet old friends. Otto used to pitch & play 1st base and last played in 2005. Thanks for stopping by Otto.
One of our snowbirds returned to the ballpark on December 15th. Ken Doxtater resides in Wyoming, Michigan. He was out the entire 2006 season due to a nagging injury and has returned to play full time this coming season. Welcome back Ken.
One last note: Check out the team picture of the Lakeland Angels. For future reference, the picture is stored on the OTHER TEAMS link near the bottom of this page.
Jose Agosto created, managed, & played on the team that he took to a national tournament. There are several players from the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club on the team.
December 22nd - Since the season will start on January 9th & many ballplayers were at the park today, now was a good time to pit team against team for practice games. The guys got a chance to play together and acclimate themselves as teammates before the season begins. Some of the players still haven't arrived in the area to complete the rosters, so the teams with the least amount of players at the ballpark today were split up & those players were placed on other teams for the games.
The format seemed to work so this may be the route to use until January 9th.
| Play It Again Sports Red | 26 | Brian's Tree Service Turquoise | 18 | ||||
| Kentucky Fried Chicken Gold | 23 | Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal | 15 | Center State Bank Gray | 14 |
LEADING HITTERS:
Play It Again Sports Red
Bill Spring - 1 for 1 with 4 walks.
Chuck Duff - 5 for 6 with 2 doubles & 1 homer.
Tim Gallagher - 5 for 6.
Jaime Rivera - 4 for 5.
Brian's Tree Service Turquoise
Russ King - 5 for 5 with 2 doubles & 1 walk.
Fred Dampier - 4 for 5 with 1 homer & 1 sacrifice fly.
Bill Ravo - 3 for 4 with 1 triple & 2 walks.
Kentucky Fried Chicken Gold
Cecil Vasquez - 5 for 5.
Bill Walker - 4 for 4.
Fred Ducham - 2 for 2 with 3 walks.
Shannon Steinmetz - 1 for 1 with 3 walks.
Doug Chamlee - 4 for 5 with 2 doubles.
Dick Sessink - 3 for 4.
Jarrett-Gordon Ford Royal
Ron Augenstein - 4 for 4 with 2 homers.
Lloyd Hopper - 4 for 4 with 1 homer.
Elmer Black - 3 for 4.
Cliff Hamilton - 3 for 4.
Center State Bank Gray
Jim Laffoon - 4 for 4 with 3 doubles.
Jerry Remington - 4 for 4 with 1 double.
Gary Reed - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
December 26th - The new format of grouping the players together as teammates on their 2007 teams was scrubbed today as only 41 signed in to play ball. We will attempt the new format this coming Friday.
The rainy weather has been soaking the area lately so the games were held on Fred White Field & Field "B", which were the only two fields without standing water in the infields.
The sky was cloudy & overcast
to begin the games & turned cool and windy before the steady misty rain fell for two complete innings early in the game. However, before the games were completed, the sun had peeped through & the temperature began warming up just a bit.
The game on Fred White Field was one-sided as the home team won 21-9. Pitcher Dick Sessink picked up the win against opposing pitcher Jerry Witter.
Larry Powell was the winning pitcher on Field B. Jaime Rivera pitched for the visiting team in the 16-15 contest. The winning run crossed the plate on a bases loaded walk to patient batter Ken Doxtater.
One ball was hit over the fence today. The smash by Doug McLellan hit the scoreboard in leftfield on Field B. Doug, who went 4 for 5 in the game, also had an inside-the-park homer. Great hitting Doug.
A couple of players connected for two homers on Fred White Field. Jack Valliere
connected for a two run homer over left centerfielder Cal Leigh & later hit a three run shot past rightfielder Bob Douglas.
Fred Dampier hit his first homer, a two run shot, over rightfielder Bob Douglas. His second homer, a gapper over the heads of leftfielder Floyd Welton & left centerfielder Cal Leigh, was the second of back-to-back solo homers. The first of the back-to-back homers was hit by John Stewart. The hit by John was out of reach of right centerfielder Marshall Bloom.
Right centerfielder Ed Neumyer had trouble in the misting rain when he tried unsuccessfully to
locate a deep fly from the bat of Chuck Duff. The hit by Chuck resulted in a three run homer.
The one-two batters, John Stewart & Fred Dampier, each had a perfect day at the plate, & Joe DeForge, batting last in the lineup, got two hits today. Ed Schmiedeke & Ed Neumyer also hit well in the game.
With the bases loaded, Doug Chamlee drove the ball over right centerfielder Marshall Bloom for a bases clearing double. On defense, Doug, playing shortstop, began a double play when he fielded a grounder. He flipped to 2nd baseman Sam Harrell and Sam threw to 1st baseman Hank Gomez to complete the play.
Doug McLellan, playing 1st base on Field B, recorded an unassisted double play when he fielded a sharp grounder, tagged the runner just leaving the base, then stepped on 1st for the second out.
Shortstop Chuck Duff made an outstanding stop on a grounder from the bat of Ed Neumyer that was hit way to his left. It appeared to be a sure hit up the middle but Chuck scooped the ball & threw a bullet to 1st baseman Joel Freedman for the out.
Both pitchers on Fred White Field, Jerry Witter & Dick Sessink, caught hard line drives during the game for outs.
In the outfield, left centerfielder Fred Dampier racked up two assists when he fielded hits in his direction & threw to 2nd base for the force outs.
John Smith returned from Ithaca, New York. He didn't realized that the games were being played today since the weather was threatening rain so he showed up late & watched the game on Fred White Field. Welcome back John.
December 29th - Today marked the very last game for the year 2006. It has come & gone so quickly that it just doesn't seem like it's time for the ball to drop on Times Square in New York City again. Happy New Year to everyone & it is our wish that we all have a healthy year throughout all of 2007.
One two team game and one three team game was played, but the players weren't grouped together with their 2007 teams again today.
The contest on Fred White Field ended with a score of 17-11. After being down 6 runs, the home team fought back and took a one run lead in the 5th inning. The visiting team tied
the score in the 6th, & pulled it out with a 7th inning rally to insure the victory. Jerry Witter received the win against opponent Dick Sessink.
The three team game was played on Field E & the final score was 22-18-7. Pitcher Ernie Lancto picked up the win. While on defense, Ernie allowed 18 runs. Ray Petrie pitched for the team that scored 18 runs & Ray gave up 7 runs in the game. Jim Laffoon was on the mound for the team that scored 7 runs.
There were plenty of notable hits and an equal amount of good defensive plays today. It is first appropriate to mention the nice hitting display. Don Witmer hit a hard grounder past 3rd base that had to be chased down by leftfielder Ed Neumyer. Speedy Don got an inside-the-park homer on that hit.
Fred Dampier drove a three run home run way over the head of rightfielder Richard Moots. Dick Sessink also hit a three run homer. Right centerfielder Doug Chamlee gave it the old college try on the hit to his left but it was just out of reach for the catch. Later in the game, Dick got into another one & cranked a double in the direction of leftfielder Ed Neumyer. Nice hitting, Dick.
Doug Chamlee hit a long double that burned leftfielder Ted Taylor. Ed Neumyer produced one of his longest hits with a double between left centerfielder Larry Powell & right centerfielder John Stewart. Another gapper double, hit by Doug McLellan, parted leftfielder Randy Lane & left centerfielder John Fulton.
Sam Harrell, with his 4 for 4 effort, was perfect at the plate. Other players who hit well were Larry Powell, Joel Freedman, & Ron Thompson, who placed two
grounder doubles down the rightfield line towards Vassurl Bess.
In the infield, a double play was started with a sharp grounder to rover Marshall Bloom. Marshall flipped the ball to shortstop Don Witmer & Don completed the play with a throw to 1st baseman Hank Gomez. Shortstop Russ King fielder a grounder, tossed to rover Bob Lewis covering 2nd base, & Bob relayed the ball to 1st baseman Ed Schmiedeke for the second out.
Lloyd Hopper, playing 3rd base, made a nice stop on a grounder & threw across the diamond to 1st baseman Ron Carrothers for the out. Ron made a good scoop on the low throw.
Hard liners were caught by shortstop Wayne Mundy & 3rd baseman Jerry Remington. Don Witmer hit the rocket to Wayne, who had just enough time to reach across his body to make the catch. Cecil Vasquez connected with the screaming liner to Jerry. Both fielders displayed quick reflexes with the catches.
In the outfield, John Stewart made an outstanding catch on a seemingly gapper hit by Jack Valliere. John charged hard to his right & made a backhand catch on the play.
Leftfielder Ted Taylor made a nice running in catch on a ball. It first appeared that it was going to drop in for a Texas Leaguer hit.
Left centerfielder Tim Gallagher fielded a single from the bat of Ron Cerotzke. Tim fired a strike to 2nd base for the force out. Great play Tim.
Right centerfielder Richard Moots also recorded an assist in the outfield. With one out and a runner on 1st, Fred Dampier skyed a ball to Richard and it looked like the ball was going to fall in for a hit. Richard gave chase & made a nice catch. He relayed the ball to the infield while the baserunner continued running,
rounding 2nd base & heading toward 3rd. Apparently the runner had thought the ball wasn't catchable. An easy toss to 1st baseman Hank Gomez ended the inning.
The most unusual play of the day occurred on Fred White Field in the top of the 8th inning with two outs. With runners on 1st & 2nd, a lazy popup was hit towards the foul line one half way between home & 1st base. The runners took off on the hit, since there were two outs. Catcher Bob Douglas chased the ball down, realized it wasn't going foul, picked it up, & threw to shortstop Don Witmer at 2nd base in an attempt to get the force out. The runner was easily safe because the fielders had waited & watched the ball in hopes it would roll foul. Meanwhile the runner from 2nd base rounded 3rd & headed for home since no one was covering the plate at the time he rounded 3rd base. Don threw to catcher Bob, who had alertly retreated back to home plate in time to catch the ball for the out at home. That play ended the inning & stymied the rally. And that was the way it happended. Strange but true.
Two players returned to the old ballpark today. Ron Cerotzke returned from Arlington, Illinois & participated in the three team game on Field E. Bob Martin came down from Linden, Michigan but didn't play today. Welcome back Ron & Bob.
One more note - Rich Palmer dropped by the park to cheer for everyone. He has been away taking care of some annoying skin cancers in the facial area. Rich looked good & should be ready to go soon. Hurry back Rich.
