June 1st - The new month rolled in with some very comfortable weather. It was cloudy throughout the entire game since the area is expecting some heavy thunderstorms this evening and into the weekend.
There were a total of 24 players who signed in to play this morning so the game was set up as a two team, nine inning game. The final score was 16-8.
The winning pitcher was Rich Palmer and the opposing pitcher was Don Witmer.
The equipment was set up on Field "A", the short field with fences 225 feet from home plate. Each ball over the fence was declared a double. Eight balls were hit for doubles by five players. Cecil Vasquez lead the group with three over the fence, followed by Freddy Gonzalez with two, and three players with one. Those who hit one over
were Ron Thompson, Larry Powell, & Ron Butler.
It is difficult to achieve a triple on the small field but Jim Laffoon accomplished that feat when he lined a ball to rightfield. Defensive player Richard Moots retrieved the ball & relayed it into the infield as Jim headed for third.
In the field, one double play was turned in the game. Shortstop Wayne Mundy fielded a grounder and quickly flipped to rover Larry Powell covering second base. Larry threw to 1st baseman Joel Freedman to complete the play.
Batter Bill Walker was out when pitcher Rich Palmer caught a hard line drive that headed directly toward the middle of his chest. Nice catch Rich.
Left centerfielder Freddy Gonzalez made two nice defensive plays this morning. He raced across the outfield grass in the direction of leftfield and made a nice backhand catch on a liner from the bat of Sam Harrell. Later in the game, Freddy turned a Joel Freedman base hit into a fielder's choice when he threw to shortstop Jim Laffoon to get the runner from first base out.
Third baseman Ron Butler made a good catch at his position. Shannon Steinmetz reached for a short pitch and hit a short pop up in the infield. Ron charged in and made the catch.
June 5th - The three team game score today was 20-11-8 as pitcher Don Witmer recorded another win. Team Two, with Dick Sessink on the mound, scored 11 while allowing just eight runs. Rich Palmer pitched for Team Three and gave up 20 runs while that team scored eight.
The game was mostly highlighted with excellent defensive plays but there were a few players who excelled in batting this morning. Doug Chamlee was on fire and the bench joked that his blood should be tested for performance enhancing drugs. On two separate occasions, Doug drove the ball deep and quite a distance over the head of defending left centerfielder Freddy Gonzalez. If everyone thought Doug's first hit was long, his second shot came within just a matter of a few feet from the warning track.
Another player hit his longest drive since joining the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club on May 1st of this year. Carl Luebking cranked a ball way over the head of leftfielder Cecil Vasquez.
Another player who is a recent new member to the organization, Walt Leggett, hit a sharp line shot to the right of left centerfielder Freddy Gonzalez.
During one inning, Team One surged for the maximum five runs with several key hits. With two outs, the fifth and last run of the frame was driven in by an opposite field hit by Bill Spring. That hit was the second hit of the day for Bill.
Other players who hit well today were Cecil Vasquez, Fred Dampier, Jim Laffoon, Tim Gallagher, & Freddy Gonzalez.
Morty Dermer returned to the
playing field after several years of umpiring duties. Morty manned the catcher position today.
Only one double play was turned and it was a relatively routine play that involved two slow runners. Shortstop Ron Butler fielded a grounder, flipped to rover Ron Thompson covering 2nd base, & Ron relayed to 1st baseman Hank Gomez for the second out.
Second baseman Bill Spring played a super defensive game. He recorded five assists when he cleanly fielded grounders & made accurate throws to either first or second base.
Pitcher Don Witmer caught a very hard line drive about shoulder high from the bat of Hank Gomez. Poor Hank really was jinxed at the plate today. All four of his at bats resulted in hard hits that all were caught and three were atom balls. Don Witmer caught two from the bat of Hank.
Besides making headlines with his bat, Doug Chamlee also fared well with his glove work. He patrolled leftfield in the contest and made two excellent catches. The first was a sinking line drive hit by Jaime Rivera. Doug had to run in and was able to make the catch below knee high. His second catch was completely the opposite. Doug had to race back & reach high to nab a long hit by Ron Butler. Great catches Doug.
Leftfielder Jaime Rivera made a spectacular running back catch too. The deep hit by Cecil Vasquez appeared to be at least a double until Jaime caught up to the ball and made the grab.
Shortstop Ron Butler jumped high in the air and brought down a ball from the bat of Kenny Duell. Just enough of the ball remained in the glove to stay put.
Some players were thrown out on the base paths this morning. Tim Gallagher turned a base hit by Joel Freedman into a fielder's choice
when he gunned down the runner from 1st with a throw to rover Ron Thompson at second base.
Fill in left centerfielder Don Witmer threw out a runner at 3rd base. That particular runner was trying to advance from 1st to 3rd on an error ball hit by John Fulton.
Left centerfielder Freddy Gonzalez threw home to catcher Morty Dermer after a single by Carl Luebking to get the runner from 2nd out at the plate.
Commissioner Ron Thompson held a brief meeting with the players in attendance before the game to announce some decisions that were made by the Board of Directors in a meeting that took place on Friday, June 1st. First off, Sam Harrell was named the Director of Field Maintenance.
The raised seam softballs, used primarily for fast pitch, will be replaced in the near future with slow pitch softballs. The balls will be purchased at Play It Again Sports in Winter Haven with funds due to the Club when the business agreed to be a sponsor during the 2007 season. Ed Neumyer had conducted a vocal survey and then brought a petition to the game last Friday in an effort to quit using the raised seam balls. Of the 37 players in attendance, 21 wanted the balls to be removed from play and exchanged for slow pitch balls.
Also covered was the amount charged for summer players. That charge will be $20.00, which will cover charges until October 15th. The initial annual fee of $40.00 for new players is due by October 15th and, as always, $30.00 for the rest of the players should be paid by the 15th of October.
Some other topics were discussed in the BOD meeting but could not be recalled in the short meeting this morning.
June 8th - The turnout at the old ballpark has been tremendous so far this summer. Last year at this time, and even as early as the third week in May, there were enough players to use only half a field. In fact, there were seven or eight play dates during the past summer when the game was played on half the field due to low turnout. But this year has been much better. We are still playing games with three teams at this point. Keep on coming out guys!
Rich Palmer logged the win for Team One as they won 17-7-9. While in the field, Team One allowed seven runs. Dick Sessink was on the mound for Team Two, which scored seven runs and surrendered nine, & Jaime Rivera took the hill for Team Three. That team scored nine and gave up 17 runs.
Freddy Gonzalez has continued to hit the ball with authority as he logged two inside-the-park homers today. The first one was a three run shot that split the outfielders. The line shot went between right centerfielder Richard Moots and left centerfielder Ed Neumyer. The second homer by Freddy hit the warning track way over the head of Ed. Great hit, Freddy.
Doug Chamlee got into the action with a deep double way over the head of fill-in leftfielder Jim Laffoon. Randy Lane drove a deep ball over Jim as well, but was credited with only a single, since the fifth and final run of the inning scored from third when the ball was hit.
Jaime Rivera threaded the needle at the third base line with a hard grounder. By the time fill-in leftfielder Freddy Gonzalez recovered the ball & relayed it back into the infield, Jaime had a stand up triple.
Other players who hit well today were Larry Powell, Cecil Vasquez, & Ron Thompson.
All the notable fielding
plays occurred in the infield. Second baseman Doug Chamlee fielded a grounder and back handed the ball to rover Larry Powell to get the force out at 2nd base.
Elvis Abney, playing 3rd base, reached as high as he could to catch a line drive from the bat of Sam Harrell. Elvis played 3rd base for two teams & has returned to forfeiting his times at bat so his shoulder can properly heal. It appears that swinging the bat seems to aggravate the shoulder.
A short and high pop up was hit by Richard Moots that stayed in the infield. Second baseman Reg Barnes charged up and took command of the situation with a nice catch.
Fill-in rightfielder Fred Dampier fielded a single to the opposite field that was hit by Ed Neymyer & fired it into shortstop Jim Laffoon. Jim saw two runners trying to score on the hit. The first runner was safe but the trailing runner was out by at least 20 feet when catcher Shannon Steinmetz made a nice pick up on a throw into the dirt at home.
A player rejoined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club today. Frank Acevedo last played here in 2004. He has remained a member of the Lakeland Senior Softball program. Welcome back, Frank.
June 12th - The women's fast pitch field was the diamond of choice for the game today. The fences are shorter and the outfielders don't have to run as much on this field. It is so very helpful for the outfielders as the temperature continues to rise during the hot summer months. On this field, all balls hit over the fence are declared doubles.
The final score was 18-9-17, with Rich Palmer recording the win for his team. While in the field, the team gave up nine runs. Fred Dampier pitched for Team Two, which scored nine runs and allowed 17 while on defense. This is the first time Fred has pitched in a game situation in two months. Since he isn't a regular pitcher, the home plate umpire was instructed to call only strikes. No balls are called on the batter when a
position player takes the mound. Fred recorded four strikeouts in the seven inning game.
Dick Sessink hurled for Team Three. That team scored 17 runs while surrendering 18.
Six balls sailed over the 225 foot fences for ground rule doubles. Freddy Gonzalez and Fred Dampier each hit two over and Doug Chamlee & Cecil Vasquez hit one over the fence. Some batted balls also hit the fence. Sam Harrell, Ron Butler, and Fred Dampier all bounced one off the short fences this morning.
Two players managed inside-the-park homers. Freddy Gonzalez & Cecil Vasquez both hit to the opposite field. The hits had to be retrieved by rightfielder Sam Harrell while Freddy and Cecil were off to the races on their solo shots.
Hank Gomez had a fine hitting day today. He hit to all fields and wound up going 5 for 6 after it was all said and done. Hank has been hitting the ball on the nose lately but some bad luck came his way in the two games prior to the game today. Although the hits were hard, some had been rockets to waiting fielders while others had been caught with fine defensive plays.
Others who hit well in the games this morning were Randy Lane, Jim Laffoon, & Ed Neumyer.
The notable plays today all involved outfielders throwing runners out on the base paths. Left centerfielder
Freddy Gonzalez made two nice plays. He threw one runner out at first on a potential single. First baseman Rusty Landahl took the throw. Freddy also turned a base hit by Rich Palmer into a force out when he fired the ball to rover Larry Powell at second base.
Right centerfielder Ron Thompson was also instrumental in turning a base hit into a fielder's choice. Rusty Landahl hit a liner to the right of second base. Ron fielded the ball after a few hops and fired to shortstop Wayne Mundy covering second base in time to get the runner from first out at the bag.
Cecil Vasquez patrolled the right centerfield area today. He fielded a hit & threw to first baseman Hank Gomez for the out.
The retirement from umpiring duties and the return to the playing field was short lived for Morty Dermer. He did take batting practice before the game but returned to his familiar position behind the plate when the game started. He played two games upon his return as a player before retreating back to the umpire position.
Today marked the last play date for Rich Palmer for a couple of months. He will be heading north to participate in the New Jersey National Senior Olympics and to visit with his relatives. Drive carefully Rich & enjoy your time with family.
June 15th - With a national girls softball tournament in town for the weekend, the game had to begin early so the field could be vacated before the tournament teams arrive. For that reason, the start time of the game this morning was pushed back about 45 minutes to 8:00 AM. There were two teams in this contest.
Dick Sessink recorded the win in a 15-7 victory for the home team. A new player and prospective Winter Haven Senior Softball Club member, Bob Swartz, hurled for the visiting team.
A total of five balls were hit over the short fences today. Those who hit ground rule doubles were Jim Laffoon, Ron Thompson, Carl Luebking, Dick Sessink, & Dean Schapeler.
Dick Sessink hit one off the very top of the centerfield fence but the ball bounded back onto the playing field. Dick scampered into second base for a double on that hit.
Others who hit well were Don Witmer, Rich Kralik, & Wayne Mundy.
In the field, rover Jack Valliere stopped a grounder up the middle that was hit by Freddy Gonzalez. Jack threw to shortstop Wayne Mundy for the force out at second base.
Speedster Tim Gallagher hit a hard grounder directly back at pitcher Bob Swartz. Bob didn't stop the ball but he did get part of his glove on it. Rover Doug Chamlee was waiting in the wings & fielded the ball near second base. He tagged the bag & threw to first baseman Rusty Landahl to complete the double play.
Bill Spring, playing second base this morning, took charge on a pop up that no one appeared to want to catch. Bill ran up and to his left to make the grab.
Left centerfielder Tim Gallagher was very busy in the outfield today. He caught all three fly balls in the 1st inning and finished the game with eight catches.
Rich Kralik returned to the field today. Rich had taken some time off after the season ended in March but did play some in April. Welcome back Rich.
One member of the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club had back surgery two days ago & is recovering in the hospital. All went well for Ted Granoski and he will be released tomorrow. Rest up Ted & return to the field soon.
A potential new member played in the game today. Bob Swartz is retired and resides in Nalcrest. Please return and join the group Bob.
June Teenth - The two team game was played on the short field on this warm and still summer morning. The outcome was lopsided as the visiting team won 13-3, with pitcher Don Witmer recording
the victory against Dick Sessink.
On the offensive side, Wayne Mundy tagged a ball to the opposite field in the direction of rightfielder Richard Moots for a stand up triple.
With one runner on base, Freddy Gonzalez also hit a liner to rightfield. The ball skipped by the fielder as Freddy rounded the bases. By the time the ball was relayed to catcher Bill Spring, Freddy was on the way to home plate. He scored since the ball wasn't caught.
Before flying out to leftfield in his last at bat, Jose Agosto, was 4 for 4.
John Fulton had a good eye for the ball & slashed out line drives to left and left centerfield.
In the infield, shortstop Cecil Vasquez ran out to the leftfield area to catch a "Texas Leaguer" hit by Sam Harrell.
Third baseman Elvis Abney reacted quickly as he reached hard across his body in order to catch a line drive from the bat of John Fulton.
Jack Valliere, playing 2nd base, stopped a grounder that was hit up the middle by Joel Freedman. It appeared to be a clean shot single until Jack seemingly came out of nowhere to make the grab. A toss to first baseman Rusty Landahl completed the play.
Several outstanding plays were made in the outfield. Right centerfielder Ed Neumyer caught a fly ball on the run that was tailing away from him to his right. The ball was hit by Don Witmer.
Fred Dampier, patrolling leftfield today, raced quickly to his left to nab a liner from the bat of Sam Harrell.
John Fulton rotated at several
positions since there were 12 on a team and only 11 could play in the field. He made several catches in three of the four outfield positions. The most notable catch occurred in right centerfield on a hit by Wayne Mundy. John had to run to his right and reach low and across his body to make the grab. Nice catch John.
Sam Harrell played rightfield this morning and made a number of catches. One in particular was a long foul ball from the bat of Ron Thompson. Sam ran up and toward the white chalk line to make the catch in the foul dirt area along the fence line.
After the game, the league sponsored a Kentucky Fried Chicken lunch for the players on hand today. The grounds crew and maintenance staff at the DiamondPlex were also treated to the meal. Former player Dan Connolly was on hand for the lunch. Dan had to retire from playing softball following a freakish accident several months ago that left one of his legs damaged. He can walk fine but doesn't feel like he is capable enough to adequately field a position or run the bases. Please drop by the old ballpark to watch some of the action now and then Dan.
There will be no Winter Haven Senior Softball Club game on Friday, June 22nd. The DiamondPlex Complex is hosting another major tournament and the tourney games will begin Friday morning.
June 26th - The game was played on the short field again today. The turnout was good enough to merit three teams. The last game was played one week ago so everyone was ready to play a ball game.
A new pitcher took the mound for the winning team. Dean Schapeler occasionally pitches some batting practice and volunteered when Team Three took the field without a pitcher.
Dean, a player on the sitting team, trotted out to leftfield when the fielding team went to their respective positions to start the top of the first inning. Each team needed two players from the sitting team to fill out the defensive positions since there were nine on each team. When no one wanted to pitch, Dean stepped up and did a fine job. He hasn't pitched in a game situation so there were no balls called. He struck out three batters as his team allowed 13 runs while scoring 17. Fred Dampier pitched for Team One, which scored 13 runs while giving up nine. Fred, considered a regular pitcher now, walked one batter and recorded no strikeouts. Ron Thompson, also considered a regular pitcher, walked two batters and struck out three. That team scored nine runs and surrendered 17 while on defense.
There were quite a few balls that cleared the 225 foot fences. Jim Laffoon hit three over, Chuck Duff & Doug Chamlee hit two, and Freddy Gonzalez, Fred Dampier, & Ron Butler hit one. Included in the balls hit over the fence, Fred Dampier, Chuck Duff, & Ron Butler hit back-to-back-to-back bombs.
Jack Valliere batted 1.000 today. He went three for three and walked one time. Others who hit
well were Jim McPartlan, Walt Leggett, Ron Thompson, & Carl Luebking.
Jack Donnelly was tagging the ball square on the nose with every swing of the bat today but two hits were slammed right at a fielder. For all his valiant effort, Jack ended up with just one hit. Tough luck Jack - you deserved better.
Two double plays occurred in the game this morning. Shortstop Wayne Mundy began the first one as he fielded a grounder & threw to rover Larry Powell, who was covering second base. Larry completed the play with a throw to 1st baseman Hnak Gomez. The same team turned the only other double play. Larry Powell scooped up a grounder, tagged 2nd for the unassisted putout then threw to 1st baseman Hank Gomez to finish the twin killing.
Shortstop Ron Butler made a tremendous stop on a bullet grounder to his left. He had to stretch and stoop down to one knee to field the ball. By the time Ron had gotten back to his feet and made the toss to first, speedy Freddy Gonzalez had beaten out the throw.
Wayne Mundy, playing shortstop, dropped to one knee to make the catch of a sinking liner from the
bat of Sam Harrell. Nice catch Wayne.
First baseman Rusty Landahl used every bit of his 6 foot 8 inch frame and long wing span to nab a high line shot that was hit near the foul line. Ed Neumyer was robbed of a hit with your fine defensive prowess, Rusty.
Pitcher Ron Thompson charged off the mound to get a slow roller on a swinging bunt. His throw to 1st baseman Joel Freedman got the batter/runner out by one step.
In the outfield, Sam Harrell, playing leftfield, ran back and reached over his head to catch a fly ball that was hit by Wayne Mundy.
Left centerfielder Freddy Gonzalez had to leap on a quick line drive from the bat of Chuck Duff. Chuck got in on a good defensive play too when he filled in for another team. He had to race in at full speed to grab a "Texas Leaguer" that was hit to right centerfield.
One base runner was thrown out at home plate. A single to right centerfielder Richard Moots began the play. Richard relayed the ball to 2nd baseman Frank Acevedo & Frank fired home to catcher Jim McPartlan to get the runner from second base trying to score on the hit.
Joe DeForge dropped by the ballpark to watch some of the action. Joe is nursing a sore shoulder & had some medical problems earlier in the year. He thinks he will return to the old ball field soon.
June 29th - The game was moved back to the regular field today so "Fred White Field" is now the diamond of choice. A moderate turnout necessitated the creation of only two teams, thereby allowing the game to conclude after nine innings.
Don Witmer pitched for the winning team against opponent Dick Sessink. Going into the 9th and final frame, the visiting team was leading by five runs as the score was 16-11. The home team was slowly attempting a comeback. At one time early in the game, the visiting
team was winning 9-1. Ron Thompson took the mound for the home team in the last inning so the starting pitcher could sit out an inning. By the time the last inning was over, the final score was 21-11.
In the very first inning, Jim Laffoon cranked a deep shot way over the head of defending rightfielder Fred Dampier for a three run homer.
Chuck Duff stepped into two pitches for long drives. Both were gappers beyond and between leftfielder Ed Neumyer and left centerfielder Freddy Gonzalez. The first hit went for a solo homer. Chuck pulled up at 3rd base for a triple on the second one.
Elvis Abney produced a perfect day at the plate, going 5 for 5. Most of his hits were hard grounder singles to the right side of the infield.
Other players who hit well this morning were Rusty Landahl, Ron Butler, Shannon Steinmetz, Reg Barnes, & Carl Luebking.
Spry old Bill Spring pounded out two hits today in four trips to the plate.
In the field, leftfielder Chuck Duff made a nice running catch on a hit by Carl Luebking. Chuck ran back and to his left, reached above his head, and made the grab.
Wayne Mundy, playing the shortstop position this morning, made a fabulous stop on a grounder to his right that was hit by Jim Laffoon. Wayne got the force out at second base when he made the stop, turned and threw a bullet to rover Reg Barnes.
One player was gunned down at home trying to score on a base hit. Right centerfielder Larry Powell fielded the ball & threw to shortstop Jim Laffoon. Jim fired a strike to catcher Shannon Steinmetz for the out.
