April 2007 News Archive
 April 1st - Sunday - Single game statistics were kept for each player according to the scoresheets.
It has been mentioned that, since the league has adopted the 1-1 count, the batting averages have probably dropped. This is true for the league as a whole. There have also been less walks. Since the 2007 Winter Haven Senior Softball Club season has concluded, a list of the top three leaders by category has been compiled. The statistics are only as accurate as the score sheets. 
April 3rd - Today began the first day of nine months of softball with the signin format. After all are signed in, Joel Freedman will divide the players into teams with the hopes that the talent on each team is as equal as possible. This is a tough job and Joel deserves credit for this unenviable task.
The total number of players dwindled down to 31 for the contest today, so there were three teams and seven innings were played. Rich Palmer pitched for Team One. Rich gave up 13 runs 
while his team scored the most runs today. The team erupted for 22 runs.
Ted Granoski hurled for Team Two. That team scored 13 runs while Ted didn't allow a single run to cross home plate. Jerry Witter & Dick Sessink shared the pitching duties for Team Three. While on defense, 22 runs were scored against the team 
while they couldn't manage to score a run.
Al Andrews was really hitting the ball on the nose today. He hit an inside-the-park three run homer by right centerfielder Ed Neumyer in the first inning. By the end of the frame, the team had scored five runs without a single out being recorded. Later in the game, Al drove the ball deep over Ed for a solo shot. All in all, Al Andrews went 4 for 4 with two doubles and two homers. One more homer was hit in the game. Bobby Ayers hit a gapper shot that rightfielder Jim McPartlan couldn't cut off. As the ball rolled to the fence, Bobby rounded the bases. Others who hit well today were Denny Shaffer, Ron Thompson, & Rich Palmer. Rich went 3 for 3 and also hit a sacrifice fly to score one run. Terry Feehan had a nice hit that went into leftfield. Outfielder Bob Lewis couldn't quite catch up to the ball as it dropped in for a single. In the field on defense, right centerfielder Art Zakrowski made a superb catch on a ball hit by Ted Granoski. Art had to run to his left & extend his glove arm fully to nab the hard line drive. Leftfielder John Zimny had to run hard into foul territory to make a tough catch. Nice grab John. In the infield, Wayne Mundy, playing 2nd base, jumped as high as he could to rob Richard Moots of a sure hit. The liner was hit hard & Wayne had very little time to react. April 6th - The weather was a bit chilly this morning as the temperature dropped to 60° F before game time. There was also a wind factor, which had gusts to about 20 MPH. The coolness in the air didn't deter 33 ballplayers, so there was a three team game for seven innings.
Ted Granoski pitched for the winning team. That team scored 17 runs while giving up 13 runs on defense. Rich Palmer pitched for another team. He allowed 8 runs while the team scored 13. Dick Sessink threw for the third team. That team scored 8 while surrendering a total of 17 runs. Marshall Bloom had a good day 
at the plate. His best hit was a grounder past 1st baseman Joel Freedman that rightfielder Frank Miller had to retrieve. By the time the ball was returned to the infield, speedy Marshall had a triple.
Another player connected for a triple today, too. Cecil Vasquez drove in two runs on a hit that was just out of reach of left centerfielder Art Zakrowski. Late in the game, Denny Shaffer hit a ball way over the head of Art Zakrowski for an inside-the-park homer. There was one runner on base at the time of that blast. Other players who hit well today were Doug McLellan, Rich Palmer, Fred Dampier, Don Witmer, Ron Cerotzke, & Shannon Steinmetz. Great hitting, guys. Several good plays were made in the field today. Gene Morey, playing 1st base, had an unassisted putout on a grounder that was hit down the line by Ron Thompson. Gene fielded the ball cleanly & beat Ron to the bag for the out. Ron was on the defensive end of a nice play at his 3rd base position. He had to run towards the shortstop area to snare a grounder hit by John Zimny. A strong throw was made to 1st baseman Denny Shaffer for the out. In the outfield, left centerfielder Al Andrews made a nice running back catch on a long hit by Mike Stepp. The ball got out there quickly but Al had a good line on the ball. Nice catch Al. With two outs, Wayne Mundy singled towards left centerfielder Fred Dampier. Fred threw to cutoff man, shortstop Don Witmer, & Don threw a chest high strike to catcher Joe DeForge to get the base runner from 2nd base out at home. There were a few double plays in the three team game today. Pitcher Ted Granoski began a nifty little play. On a grounder hit back to him, Ted threw to Larry Powell, the rover covering 2nd base, & Larry fired to 1st baseman Joel Freedman to complete the twin killing. One of the three catchers was active behind the plate. Terry Feehan caught a popup during the game. April 10th - The game today didn't present too many scoring opportunities as the final score of the three team contest was 6-3-1.
Ted Granoski pitched for the winning team for the second time in-a-row. Three runs were allowed while the team was on defense. Dick Sessink pitched for Team Two, which scored three runs and gave up just one. Don Witmer hurled for the third team. That team scored one & gave up six runs. Most of the game had notable plays in 
the field but some players had a good offensive day at the plate. Fred Dampier went 4 for 4 with one double and scored two of the three runs for the team. Ron Thompson banged out two doubles, with both hits having had to be fielded by rightfielder Art Zakrowski.
Steady elder statesmen Shannon Steinmetz, Gene Morey, & Terry Feehan all had hits today. Gene & Terry are pushing 80 years young while Shannon is a spry 84. Great going, guys. Keep on playing ball and enjoying every minute of it. We all aspire to continue stepping onto the old ball field when we are into our 80s. In the outfield on defense today, leftfielder Bob Lewis made a sparkling catch on a line drive from the bat of Sam Harrell. Bob had to track the ball down as it tailed away from his left side. Fred Dampier, 
playing right centerfield today, had to run to his right to catch a sinking liner that was hit by Mike Stepp. The ball was also curving away from him.
Numerous double plays were executed by the three teams today. The most notable DP was made when 1st baseman Gene Morey stopped a grounder, stepped to his right, & threw the ball to shortstop Wayne Mundy covering 2nd base. Wayne, in turn, fired the ball back to Gene, who had to return to cover 1st base for the relay throw. Nice play on the 3-6-3 double play, Gene & Wayne. First baseman Joel Freedman made a nice catch on a line drive hit by Bill Spring. Joel had just enough time to take a step & reach hard across his body to snare the ball. Another first baseman made two good plays. John Fulton, a left centerfielder for his team, filled in at 1st base for another team in the game. On a ball thrown by the shortstop, John made a great scoop in time to get the runner out at first. John also stopped a hard grounder from the bat of Ron Thompson. John alertly threw to shortstop Wayne Mundy to get the lead runner. Wayne threw to pitcher Don Witmer, who covered 1st base, & almost was able to double up the batter running to first. Art Zakrowski hit the ball hard in the direction of shortstop Wayne Mundy & Wayne made a spectacular catch as he had to reach high to nab the line shot. Today marked the last day for two snowbirds. Denny Shaffer & Art Zakrowski are headed back north for the summer. Take care & we will see you in the fall, Denny & Art. April 13th - Friday, the 13th. Yikes! The day was unlucky for two players, too. While running to 1st base after getting a single, one knee of Jim Laffoon gave out & he had to leave the game.
Wayne Mundy also had a knee problem when he was running home from 3rd base. Wayne injured the knee in the Florida Half Century tournament last month & it has been bothering him ever since. There was a good turnout for the game today & each team wound up with 12 players per team, although only 11 could play defense. The final score was 14-10-5 with Ted Granoski pitching for the winning team again. While in the field, the team allowed five runs. Dick Sessink pitched for the team that scored 10 runs but the team gave up 14 while in the field. The third pitcher, Rich Palmer, gave up 10 runs while his team scored five. The standout hitter of the day was Marshall Bloom. In his first at bat, he hit a gapper triple between right centerfielder Wally Granger & rightfielder Sam Harrell. His second at bat produced a double towards Sam. A single followed in his third plate appearance. Needing a homer for the cycle, Marshall got on base his last at bat on a fielder's error. Reg Barnes had a fine day at the plate. He kept getting the outside strike & continued to hit to the opposite field. Reg had a "Texas Leaguer" single to 
right centerfield, followed by a double in the same direction.
Others who hit well today were Ron Cerotzke, Jerry Noble, Fred Dampier, Shannon Steinmetz, Ted Taylor, & Rusty Landahl. In the infield on defense, 2nd baseman Jack Valliere made a great stop on a grounder hit up the middle. He threw to rover Ron Cerotzke covering 2nd to get the force out. Don Witmer, playing 3rd base today, began a double play when he fielded a grounder, stepped on 3rd for the force, then threw across the diamond to 1st baseman Rusty Landahl to get the second out. Randy Lane hit a bullet in the direction of rover John Fulton, who reached out in time to make the catch. In the outfield, right centerfielder Wally Granger played a potential base hit on a short hop and turned the play into a fielder's choice when he fired to 2nd base with rover Ed Lupiani covering for the force out. Leftfielder Jerry Noble made a nice running in catch on a foul ball hit by Sam Harrell. The ball was almost against the foul fence when Jerry made the grab. He ran along the fence line for a few steps while honing in on the ball. A new player came to the ballpark for a game. Wally Granger lives in Auburndale & has been in the area for about 20 years. Some of the guys know him from Florida Half Century tournament ball. Welcome aboard, Wally. April 17th -
A total of 36 ballplayers showed up for the contest today. Instead of four teams of nine with the batting team supplying one or two players to fill in on defense, it was decided to have three teams of 12 with 11 in the field. The team with Ted Granoski as pitcher won the game 12-5-2. This makes a four game win streak for Ted. While in the field, the team surrendered two runs. Rich Palmer was on the mound for a team that scored five runs while giving up 12 & Dick Sessink pitched for a team that scored two while allowing five. Although no one in particular stood out in the batting category, several players had good days at the plate. Hank Gomez played for the first time after an absence from the old ballfield, which included a two week bout with the flu. He displayed 
his old form as he went 3 for 3 today. Ed Lupiani also dropped in three hits in three trips to the plate.
Others who hit well were Chuck Duff, Mike Stepp, 
Fred Dampier, Rich Kralik, Frank Miller, & Rusty Landahl.
Two notable defensive plays took place in the infield during the game. An unusual double play occurred with runners at the corners and two outs in the inning. The batter took a vicious swing but ended up topping the ball. As a result, the ball dribbled only a few feet in front of home plate. Catcher Terry Feehan charged from behind home plate & threw to 1st baseman Doug McLellan for the first out. In the meantime, the runner from third decided to dart toward the plate. After touching 1st base, Doug saw the runner heading home & threw back to Terry to get the runner out in a close call at the plate. That was a great play on the part of both Terry & Doug. They each recorded one assist and one putout. Another nice play took place in the middle of the infield. Rover Ron Cerotzke fielded a ball that was hit up the middle, stepped on 2nd base for the first out, & threw to 1st baseman Gene Morey for the second out. Bob Lewis played 3rd base today & made a terrific stop on a hard hit grounder. In fact, Bob stopped every ball hit his way today and he was rather busy at the hot corner. Rusty Landahl made a nice fielding play for an unassisted out. Ron Thompson pulled the ball down the 1st base line with a hot grounder but Rusty snagged it & strolled to 1st for the out. A ballplayer who is recovering from surgery came by the old ballpark & was gracious enough to volunteer to umpire at the 1st base side of the field. Elvis Abney is getting over shoulder surgery. Thank you for umpiring today, Elvis. April 20th -
The game today was played on Field A, which is the softball field for the Polk Community College women's team. The fences are 225 feet from home plate. Last year, we played on this field practically all summer long so we are all familiar with the dimensions. Due to the fact that there were 13 players on two teams this morning and 12 on the third team, Ron Thompson, the Commissioner, decided to change the rules for the game today. For the first "Ron Rule", each team would play until four outs were recorded! Another "Ron Rule" implemented for today concerned balls hit over the short fence. For today only, all players were allowed to hit only one ball over the short fences for a double. Any ball hit over the fence after that would be deemed an out. Hmmmmm . . . . wonder why this "rule" was put into effect today after using this field all last summer and allowing doubles for EVERY ball hit over the fence? And what is that FOUR outs all about? Apparently, only Ron knows. Just voicing an opinion and we all have one. 
Although Team Two lead most of the game, it was Team Three who won the contest in the bottom of the last frame after two outs were in the books. Dick Sessink drove in the tying & winning runs with a high fly ball to the outfield that wasn't caught. The mood for Team Three went from a deep sigh when the ball was hit to a feeling of jubilation when the ball fell to the ground next to two outfielders. What a comeback for the team that just wouldn't quit. Rich Palmer pitched for a team that scored 13 while allowing 21 runs. The winning streak of Ted Granoski was halted when that team scored 21 runs while allowing 22. Dick Sessink pitched 
for the winning team & gave up 13 while in the field.
In another rule dreamed up from the top of his head, Ron Thompson also forced a different pitcher to take the mound for one inning, so he pitched the 5th frame for Team One. Jim Laffoon pitched for Team Two & Fred Dampier hurled for Team Three. With the "Ron Rule" in effect, four balls were hit over the short fences. The players who accomplished this feat were Fred Dampier, Jim Laffoon, Chuck Duff, & Doug McLellan. In the field, right centerfielder Mike Stepp made a superb shoestring catch on a sinking liner from the bat of Wayne Mundy. Richard Moots, playing 2nd base, made a nice stop on a grounder hit by Ted Taylor. Another 2nd baseman, Reg Barnes, snared a liner hit by Don Witmer. Shortstop Cecil Vasquez leapt high in the air to catch a line drive from the bat of Ted Granoski. After the catch was made, Cecil fired the ball to the first baseman. Had the ball not been dropped, a neat double play would have ensued, because the throw to first beat the runner by at about two steps. Another almost play was made. Right centerfielder Marshall Bloom fielded a base hit & quickly released the ball with an accurate throw to 2nd base. The lead runner would have been out had the ball not been dropped by the fielder. Nice throw Marshall. One good double play did occur. Shortstop Russ King caught a line drive hit by Larry Powell & then threw to 3rd baseman Ted Taylor to get the runner out before he retreated back to the base. Today marked the last day of play for Ron Cerotzke. He is heading back north for the summer. See you back in the fall, Ron. April 24th -
The weather was so perfect for a ballgame today that enough players showed up to have two ballgames. At last count, 38 guys signed in this morning. Since the groundskeepers didn't expect to have to prepare two fields & were in the process of watering two infields, the other diamond that saw action was Field B. At this time of year, the sun wasn't much of a factor on that field. Dick Sessink recorded 
the win on Fred White Field against opponent Ron Thompson. After a strong start the Sessink team cooled off in the latter innings but had already scored enough runs to coast to a victory.
On Field B, Rich Palmer, pitching for the home team, won against fellow pitcher Ted Granoski by the score of 17-8. Hank Gomez had a good hitting day on Fred White Field. He spread out his hits to left centerfield & right centerfield. Wayne Mundy, Jim Laffoon, Fred Dampier, Chuck Duff, & Frank Miller all had a good day at the plate, too. Elvis Abney is healing from shoulder surgery and shouldn't be swinging a bat so he played 2nd base for both teams today. We appreciate that Elvis. Thank you. Three runners were thrown out at home of Fred Whiter Field. Third baseman Jack Valliere had that opportunity early in the game & fired a perfect strike to catcher Joe DeForge for the out. Two innings later, shortstop Jim Laffoon received a relay from right centerfielder Frank Miller & threw home to catcher Shannon Steinmetz. Late in the game, pitcher Ron Thompson threw home to Shannon after the batter hit a slow dribbler to the right of Ron. The runner from third darted home but Ron made a nice pickup and had time to turn and toss to Shannon for the out at home. In the outfield on defense, left centerfielder & leftfielder Gary Reed made some nice catches that were hit his way. He made one catch on a towering high fly ball hit by Jim Laffoon that drifted into foul territory. He also made a nice running in catch on a line drive. That ball was caught below the knees. A new ballplayer came to the park today. Walt McCloud is retired and moved to the area 15 years ago after a job transfer from Virginia. His inaugural at bat was a clean base hit to leftfield. Please return & join the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club, Walt. One of our snowbirds is heading back north until the winter. Terry Feehan will return again in December. See you then, Terry. April 27th -
The last game for the month of April was a three team affair. Dick Sessink was the winning pitcher. That team scored 19 while surrendering nine while on defense. Ron Thompson pitched for Team Two, who scored nine runs and gave up 14. Fred Dampier took the mound for Team Three. That team scored 14 runs and allowed 19 while in the field. There were some long balls hit today. To lead off the slugfest, Doug McLellan hit the fence as the ball sailed way over the head of defending left centerfielder Freddy Gonzalez. Doug ended up with a triple on that powerful hit. Fred Dampier drove the ball over 
left centerfielder Mike Stepp for a homer & later hit one over right centerfielder Tim Gallagher for a triple.
Leftfielder Randy Lane had to give chase to a ball hit over his head from the bat of Cecil Vasquez. Cecil raced around the bases for a homer. Sam Harrell had cataract surgery on one eye about two weeks ago & was seeing the ball well today. He hit a hard line drive 
gapper between leftfielder Randy Lane & left centerfielder Mike Stepp for a double. Had Sam not slipped & fell between 2nd & 3rd bases, he would have had a homer. Later in the game, Sam had a triple approximately in the same area.
Other players who hit well this morning were Ed Lupiani, Ted Taylor, & Wayne Mundy. In the field on defense, Ed Lupiani, playing 3rd base, snagged a screaming grounder hit by John Fulton and threw to shortstop Jim Laffoon for the first out. Jim fired to 1st base to complete the twin killing. Jim Laffoon ran up and caught a short liner hit by Shannon Steinmetz & threw to rover Doug McLellan covering 2nd base to double off the runner. Apparently, the base runner didn't think the ball had a chance at all of being caught. Rich Kralik, playing 2nd base, made a nice catch on a signature "parachute" ball hit by Hank Gomez. Shortstop Jim Laffoon was involved in another defensive gem. He took the relay from the outfield & threw home to catcher Bill McDonough for the out. In the last inning and with the bases loaded, third baseman Jack Valliere stopped a hot grounder that was hit by Bill Walker, stepped on 3rd for the first out, then threw to catcher Bill McDonough for the 2nd out at home. Today was the last day of play for Fred Ducham. He will be heading back north for the summer. See you in the Fall, Fred. |
March 2007