August 3rd - The weather has been unpredictable the past few days. It has rained in the morning sometimes and in the afternoon & evening at other times. Yesterday, hard rain soaked the ball fields in Lakeland, resulting in the cancellation of the Lakeland Senior Softball game in the top of the first after only one out. Today, in Winter Haven, only 20 players showed up to play, possibly because the cloudy skies were threatening rain.
Bob Swartz was the winning pitcher in the 16-6 contest. The opposing pitcher was Dick Sessink. So few runs were scored in the 9 inning game that everyone was out of the park before 10:00 A.M.
The Polk Community College women's softball field was utilized this morning so every ball hit over the fence was ruled a double. Freddy Gonzalez hit two over the fence & Doug Chamlee and Fred Dampier hit one over for ground rule doubles.
Jack Valliere had a perfect day at the plate. He
went 4 for 4, including two doubles that were placed into the right centerfield and rightfield areas.
Bob Walker also had a good hitting day. He connected for two doubles in the contest as well. Another player who hit good was Don Witmer. He placed the ball all over the field & his best hit was a triple in the direction of rightfielder Shannon Steinmetz.
Four double plays were turned during the game and each one began with a different player fielding the grounder. Elvis Abney, patrolling 3rd base, began the first DP. He tossed to rover Doug Chamlee for the first out at 2nd base & Doug relayed to fill in 1st baseman Joel Freedman. The next DP began with a grounder to shortstop Jack Valliere. He threw to rover Sam Harrell, & Sam fired to fill in 1st baseman Fred Dampier, who made a nice scoop on the throw in the dirt.
Shortstop Wayne Mundy picked a grounder to his left & turned and threw to rover Doug Chamlee. Doug finished the DP with a throw to fill in 1st baseman Joel Freedman. The fourth and final double play went from shortstop Don Witmer to rover Sam Harrell to fill in 1st baseman Joel Freedman.
Joel also recorded an unassisted putout when he scooped a sharp grounder from the bat of Ed Neumyer and beat Ed to the first base bag for the out.
In the outfield, left centerfielder Fred Dampier caught up to a deep hit by Dick Sessink. Fred ran back & lined up for the catch.
To emmulate the major league players, a few of the senior players this morning were communicating with their mouths hidden in their respective gloves so the opposition wouldn't hear the conversations. It was all in fun because some players speak so loud, one would have to be deaf to not hear the exchange of words between the players.
August 7th - It seems to only be getting hotter and hotter each day. It was approximately 90° F this morning and there was only a slight hint of a breeze on rare occasions. Before the game had concluded, each shirt on every ball player was soaking wet.
The three team contest ended with a score of 9-6-6. Dick Sessink pitched for the winning team while Bob Swartz & Fred Dampier threw for the other two teams. Don Witmer, a fill in for Team Three, relieved Fred and pitched the final two innings for that team.
Chuck Duff powered a batted ball deep over the head of leftfielder Cecil Vasquez for a two run homer. An inning before that hit, Team Three was in jeopardy of being shutout but the team managed to score a lone run after three straight goose eggs on the scoreboard.
John Fulton has been hitting very well lately and today was no exception. He hit a ball in the gap for a double. Leftfielder Randy Lane and left centerfielder Freddy Gonzalez gave chase
but the hit was well placed between the two outfielders.
Randy Lane absolutely crushed a ball that went over the head of leftfielder Walt Leggett. Walt, an exceptional fielder, was almost able to catch up to the ball but missed a catch by a step or two. Left centerfielder Chuck Duff had come over to back up the
play. He threw the ball in to shortstop Wayne Mundy, who had gone into the outfield grass for the relay throw. As a result of the quick recovery in the outfield and accurate throw, speedy Randy was held to a double.
In his first two at bats, Bill Spring produced two hits. Each hit was crucial in extending the rally for his team. The second hit was a two out, RBI single to leftfield. Bill still has the competitive spark in him at the tender age of 88 years young. Keep on going Bill.
Two fine defensive plays occurred in the very first inning of the game. Elvis Abney, playing third base, made a great stop on a sharp grounder to his right that was hit by Bob Swartz. He had all the time in the world to throw to rover Doug Chamlee for the force out at second base. The next batter, Randy Lane, smashed a hard liner in the direction of Elvis, who reached low to make the catch. The runner from first didn't think the ball had the slightest of chances of being caught, so he ran on the hit. Elvis threw to first baseman Rusty Landahl to double off the runner and end the inning.
Don Witmer tried to pull the ball for a hit but 3rd baseman Chris Constantine made a nice stop as he gloved the ball on a short hop. He threw to ball to first baseman Joel Freedman for the out.
The best catch, by far, in the outfield was made on a deep high fly ball from the bat of Freddy Gonzalez. Left centerfielder Chuck Duff sped back and reached high above his head to haul in the ball.
August 10th - Once more, the game was played on the Polk Community College field reserved for the women's softball team, so balls hit over the fence were ruled doubles.
Three teams were chosen by the luck of the draw from a deck of cards since Joel Freedman is on vacation. For the past few years, one of the duties of Joel has been to create team match ups according to the sign in sheet. He has done an admirable job & usually the scores of the games are close. Thank you Joel for
performing this difficult task on every game day.
Dick Sessink was the winning pitcher in the 19-4-16 game. Eddie Diaz pitched for Team Two, which scored four runs while giving up 16 runs. Ron Thompson returned from his Illinois & Kentucky vacation and pitched for Team Three. That team scored 16 while surrendering 19 runs.
Going into the bottom of the seventh and final frame, the score was 19-4-6, but Team Three mounted a tremendous comeback attempt by scoring 10 runs before first baseman Rusty Landahl pulled off an unassisted double play on a hard liner hit by Reg Barnes to end the game. Rusty made a great catch, then stepped on 1st after the runner broke for 2nd on the hit.
Besides that double play, this game was filled with several notable defensive plays and quite a few double plays. But first, the offensive end of the game with the listing of those who hit the ball over the short fence for ground rule doubles. Freddy Gonzalez hit three while Chuck Duff, Jim Laffoon, Sam Harrell, & Fred Dampier each hit one over the fence.
A hit by Cecil Vasquez towards left centerfielder Tim Gallagher came within a foot of clearing the fence. Cecil still was able to leg out a double.
Although none of his hits cleared the 225 foot fence, Jack Valliere had a perfect day at the plate. He went 5 for 5. One of his hits was a double that burned right centerfielder Fred Dampier.
Now for an outline of the remainder of the double plays. Team Two pulled off two DPs in the first two innings. In the first frame, shortstop Don Witmer fielded the ball, tossed to 2nd baseman Frank Acevedo, and Frank threw to 1st baseman Rusty Landahl. In the second inning, the play went from third baseman Frank Acevedo to second baseman Cecil Vasquez to first baseman Rusty Landahl. Later in the game, the same team executed another double play, which totaled four double plays in seven innings. Way to go defense! Cecil Vasquez, playing 3rd base this time, fielded the ball and stepped on third for the force then threw to 2nd baseman Frank Acevedo for the second out.
An unusual 6-2 double play occurred when shortstop Wayne Mundy fielded a grounder while running towards 2nd base.
He continued to 2nd for the force out then threw to catcher Elvis Abney to get the runner at home. Great heads up play Wayne.
One twin killing began when rightfielder Jack Valliere raced in to make a catch on a short pop up hit by Richard Moots. Jack noticed the runner from first had strayed too far from the bag so he threw to 1st baseman Hank Gomez in time to get the runner out before he was able to return to safety.
Shortstop Don Witmer gloved a short hop grounder while running to his left. He flipped to 2nd baseman Frank Acevedo for the force out.
Wayne Mundy, playing shortstop, robbed Hank Gomez of a sure line drive hit up the middle. Wayne ran as quick as he was able and stretched out his arm as far as he could to make the catch.
Two first basemen recorded unassisted putouts. A hard grounder from the bat of Ron Thompson found its way into the glove of Rusty Landahl. Rusty was on the other end of a nice play when he hit a grounder to 1st baseman Hank Gomez.
In the outfield, left centerfielder by John Fulton fielded a single by Dick Sessink and threw to relay man, shortstop Wayne Mundy. Wayne gunned down the runner trying to score from second base. Catcher Elvis Abney caught the throw from Wayne.
Freddy Gonzalez hit two high fly balls that were caught. Right centerfielder Fred Dampier had to charge in hard to make a grab on a towering "Texas Leaguer" from the bat of Freddy. Chuck Duff ran in so hard that he lost his sunglasses and ball cap but not the ball when he caught a high "Texas Leaguer" by Freddy.
Chuck and Fred Dampier each made one other catch that is worth a note. Chuck ran in quickly to make a great catch on a liner hit by Jim Laffoon & Fred made a similar catch on a line drive from the bat of Tim Gallagher.
August 14th - Field "B" was the designated diamond today. This field is in the position to shine the sun in the batter's eyes during the winter months so it is not used during our league play. However, at this time of year, the batter isn't hindered by the sun. We used this field since the grounds crew chalked it. Even the batter's box was laid out so a big "Thank you" is extended to the DiamondPlex grounds crew.
The winning pitcher in the three team contest was Bob Swartz. That team scored 10
runs and gave up nine while on defense. Ron Thompson pitched for the team that scored nine and allowed three while in the field. Dick Sessink hurled for the team that scored three and surrendered 10 runs.
Team Three had a slim one run lead going into the 7th and final frame of the game. The score was 3-8-9. It appeared Team Three would win the game as the first two batters for the second team immediately hit into outs. Then, with two outs, Chuck Duff got a single, followed by a single from the bat of Jack Valliere. Bob Swartz stepped into the box & slammed a ball deep over the head of leftfielder Tim Gallagher to score two runs. Team Three could not answer in the bottom of the seventh & couldn't claim the victory. Bob Swartz not only won the game as the pitcher but also drove in the winning run when he batted the last time.
There were some deep hits in the game this morning. Chuck Duff blasted a ball over the 300 foot fence. His three run shot tied the score at three in the first inning of the game. The leadoff batter for the game, Freddy Gonzalez, connected for a solo inside-the-park shot. The ball was just out of reach of leftfielder Ed Guspyt.
Cecil Vasquez stepped into an inside pitch and drove it over the head of leftfielder Walt Leggett. Cecil stopped at third base with a stand up triple.
Fred Dampier powered a deep triple to right centerfield. The ball was hit over defending outfielder Larry Powell.
In the field, third baseman Chris Constantine really stood out in the crowd today. He played the hot corner
with ease and scooped up every grounder in his direction. Sam Harrell was the victim of the glove work of Chris on two occasions. Sam hit a low liner down the third base line that Chris reacted quickly to make the grab. Later in the game, Chris stretched it out completely to make a diving catch on another line shot by Sam.
Rover Reg Barnes got in on the action in the infield. He made a nice catch on a line drive that was hit by Shannon Steinmetz.
In the outfield, leftfielder Ed Guspyt made a good running back catch on a long ball hit by Rusty Landahl. Fill in rightfielder Chuck Duff had to run in at full speed to catch up to a pop up from the bat of Ed Neumyer. Chuck was near the pitcher's mound by the time he was able to put on the brakes following the catch.
Two players joined in on the game this morning. Floyd Welton came down from Tennessee for a week & played 2nd base for one of the teams. Ed Guspyt, who resides in Ohio during the summer, was also in the area for a visit. Both Floyd and Ed are snowbirds who join the group in the fall and winter.
Sam Harrell has organized a team of Winter Haven Senior Softball Club players for a double header tomorrow against players from Kissimmee. Sam played in the Kissimmee morning league prior to joining the Winter Haven Club. The first game will begin at 9 AM on Fred White Field. Everyone is welcome to come by and watch the games. The players & spectators are invited to the American Legion Post 8 after the games for fellowship.
August 17th - The game relocated back to Fred White Field, which is the diamond that is preferred by the players. The final score of the three team contest was 20-2-12, with Ron Thompson recording the victory. That team gave up only two runs while on defense. Bob Swartz pitched for the team that scored two and allowed 12 runs & Dick Sessink hurled for Team Three. That team scored 12 and surrendered 20 runs.
After Ed Guspyt began the top of the first inning with a single, Fred Dampier cranked a two run inside-the-park homer over defending right centerfielder Larry Powell.
Later in the game John Fulton stepped into one of the deepest hits he has had in quite some time.
He drove the ball deep to leftfield. By the time outfielder Cecil Vasquez relayed the ball back into the cutoff man, John had a two run homer.
Elvis Abney also hit a long ball toward leftfielder Cecil. The ball was hit within a foot or two of the foul line. Elvis ended up with a triple on that shot.
Ed Guspyt was perfect at the plate with a 5 for 5 performance. Every one of his hits were line drive singles in the directio of right centerfield. Shannon Steinmetz had
a good day at the plate too. He went 3 for 4 and was on base every time, since a grounder was booted, allowing Shannon to reach first base. Larry Powell began the day with hits in his first three trips to the plate.
Three double plays were turned in the game this morning. With runners on first and second, third baseman Doug Chamlee fielded a grounder and tagged third, then threw across the diamond to first baseman Hank Gomez for the second out.
In a situation with the bases loaded, shortstop Chris Constantine picked up a grounder, tagged the runner going to third, then tossed to second baseman Sam Harrell for the inning ending double play.
Pitcher Bob Swartz gloved a hard grounder hit right back at him, turned and threw to rover Richard Moots for the first out. Richard stepped on 2nd base & fired to first baseman Hank Gomez for the twin killing.
Carl Luebking, patrolling second base today, made a nice catch on a low liner hit by Hank Gomez. After the catch, he threw to first and almost got the runner doubled off the base.
Shortstop Cecil Vasquez leaped high into the air to snag a line drive from the bat of Carl Luebking. It appeared that Carl had surely gotten a hit from that at bat, but Cecil robbed him.
In the outfield, fill in left centerfielder Freddy Gonzalez raced in quickly to catch a "Texas Leaguer" that was hit by Floyd Welton.
On a single by Chris Constantine, fill in right centerfielder Larry Powell relayed the ball into shortstop Don Witmer, the cut off man on the play. Don fired to catcher Shannon Steinmetz to get the runner out at home.
August 21st - The high today is predicted to reach 97° F in Winter Haven & the temperature in Tampa yesterday was a record high. But no one can complain because we all are aware the heat is part of the Florida summer. The first hurricane of the season, Dean, is headed to Mexico so we are blessed so far.
Along with the temperature, the scores today were rather high. Two teams tied at 15 and the third team scored 13 runs. Dick Sessink pitched for one of the teams that scored 15 and that team allowed 13 runs while on defense. Fred Dampier threw for Team Two, which scored 15 and gave up 15 runs. Bob Swartz pitching for Team One, allowed 15 runs while the team scored 13 runs.
Through four innings, it seemed that Team
One would run away with the game, since the score was 10-3-3. But baseball, or softball in this instance, is a funny game. A comment was made that it was a contest for second place. Little did anyone know that the two low scoring teams would charge back and tie for first place today.
The winning run was on second base in the bottom of the seventh inning and two outs already logged into the books. Jim McPartlan stepped to the plate and came through in the clutch with a single towards right centerfielder Jack Valliere. Jack picked up the ball and threw to catcher Gale Doty to nail the potential winning run, who was attempting to score on the hit.
The standing rule for the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club is that one inning will be played if the socre is tied after regulation play. However, the heat won because the majority were satisfied to settle for the tie.
Some deep balls were hit in the game but the defensive players were able to hold the runners short of inside-the-park homers. Triples were
hit by Cecil Vasquez, to leftfield over fill in Don Witmer, and Fred Dampier, who hit one over right centerfielder Richard Moots. Two long doubles were hit in the game. Doug Chamlee hit one to leftfield over Randy Lane & Randy connected for a deep double over fill in leftfielder Don Witmer.
Some players were almost perfect at the plate. Reg Barnes went 4 for 5 and so did Bob Swartz. Cecil Vasquez & Dean Schapeler also hit very well.
In the field, pitcher Dick Sessink had to run directly back of the mound to make an over-the-shoulder catch on a pop up hit by Don Witmer. Nice catch Dick.
Pitcher Bob Swartz gloved a bullet hit right back at him and caught the runner off first with an inning ending
double play. First baseman Rusty Landahl took the throw from Bob.
Shortstop Wayne Mundy recorded a putout and an assist on a nice double play. He had to run to his left towards second base to field a grounder. He continued to the bag then threw to first baseman Jose Agosto.
In the outfield, fill in leftfielder Don Witmer had to run way back to catch up to a shot hit by Randy Lane. Don kept his eye on the ball all the way & reached high to make the grab.
Cecil Vasquez was assigned to leftfield this morning. He tracked down a hard line drive from the bat of Elvis Abney. The catch was attributed to the speed of Cecil and the quick jump on the ball when it was hit.
The Board of Directors are seeking applicants to vie for the position of team manager for the upcoming season that begins in January. Anyone interested should contact one of the Board of Director members. Some of the managers from last year want to return and are already included in the list of probable managers.
One of our ball players will drive to Daytona this Thursday and pilot a stock racecar. Elvis Abney signed up for the Richard Petty Driving School. After a few warm up laps to get accustomed to the car, he will then be in an eight-lap race. The speeds are expected to reach upwards to 165 MPH. Elvis has stated that he has taken his Harley Davidson motorcycle to 175 MPH so he should be fine. Have fun Elvis.
August 24th - Although the sun was shining brightly during the game, there is a 40% chance of rain in the area today. The weather forecaster is predicting afternoon showers but the sprinkler system on Fred White Field decided to sporadically rain down on leftfield and sometimes on rightfield. The outfielders seemed to take it all in stride because it was a refreshing break from the heat.
None of the regular pitchers played in the game this morning. Dick Sessink showed up but is favoring a sore and swollen ankle. He should be ready to return to action by next Tuesday.
The winning pitcher in the three team contest was Ron Thompson, whose team scored 16 runs and allowed seven. Team One sent Fred Dampier to the mound. That team scored eight and gave up 16 runs while on defense. Don Witmer pitched for the third team, which scored seven and surrendered eight runs.
Although the second team ran away with the game, it didn't begin that way. But it could have if not for some slick fielding plays. With the bases loaded and zero
outs, shortstop Wayne Mundy caught a hot line drive that was hit to his left. Each base runner was still frozen to his respective base so Wayne couldn't double anyone off the base. The next batter hit a hard grounder to the left of Wayne, who scooped up the ball and continued to 2nd base for the out, and then threw to 1st baseman Joel Freedman for the inning ending double play. No runs scored even though the bases were loaded with no outs. As they always say in baseball circles, "double plays are a pitchers best friend". Thank you Wayne.
Following that very first inning, Team Two scored in every frame afterwards and coasted to an easy victory. Cecil Vasquez was perfect at the plate today and his best hit was an opposite field triple that scored two runs. Fill in rightfielder Don Witmer retrieved the hit and returned it to the infield.
Besides Cecil, Richard Moots, Jim Laffoon, Chuck Duff, Ed Neumyer, & Rusty Landahl were all productive at the plate.
In the infield, shortstop Jim Laffoon made a nice catch when he reacted quickly to nab a line drive from the bat of Randy Lane.
A very odd double play was executed during the game. Chris Constantine, playing third base, caught a hard line drive. He didn't notice until his arm was halfway in motion to throw back to the pitcher that the runner from first base had broken for second and stumbled when trying to return to first. As a result, the throw to the pitcher was a bit weak. Ron Thompson, the pitcher, took the throw and fired it to first baseman Rusty Landahl. In summary and in jest, the ball was relayed from the third baseman to the pitcher, who threw to first for the out.
In the outfield, leftfielder Cecil Vasquez fielded a base hit and made a perfect throw to second baseman Larry Powell to get the batter out. The hitter was trying to stretch a single to a double.
August 28th - Team One, with Don Witmer on the mound, started strong and didn't let up throughout the game. They scored ten runs in the first two innings only because the limit is set to five runs per inning. The first inning ended when John Fulton hit a ball over the head of right centerfielder Ron Thompson for a double, driving in the fourth and fifth runs after only one out had been recorded. In the seventh and final frame, Team One pounded the ball to the tune of 10 runs and the final score was 29-9-5. While on defense, the team gave up nine runs.
Fred Dampier pitched for the second team, which scored nine runs and gave up five
and Bob Swartz hurled for Team Three. That team scored five and allowed 29 runs.
There were numerous long hits in the contest. Chuck Duff lead all hitters with three deep triples as he went 4 for 4 in the game. One of the triples sailed over defending leftfielder Cecil Vasquez and the other two were driven over right centerfielder Larry Powell.
Don Witmer had two power hits. His first was a triple in the direction of rightfielder Ed Neumyer. Don, who prefers to hit the ball to the opposite field, fooled everyone when he stepped into an inside pitch and hit a line drive over leftfielder Dean Schapeler. While Dean gave chase, Don circled the bases for a two run homer.
Walt Leggett hit a gapper triple between right centerfielder Larry Powell and rightfielder Jim McPartlan. Jack Valliere, normally a middle-of-the-field hitter, cranked a ball over left centerfielder Chuck Duff. Jack ended up with a triple on that hit.
Jim Laffoon got a hit in every at bat this morning. His best hit was a double over
the head of right centerfielder Ron Thompson.
Practically every batter on Team One hit well today. The lead off batter, Sam Harrell, went 5 for 6 and was on base every at bat, since one hard grounder was booted by an infielder. Besides the players already mentioned for their extra base hits, Reg Barnes and Dean Schapeler hit well for Team Three and Wayne Mundy hit well for Team Two.
The second basemen stood out on some notable fielding plays this morning. When Richard Moots hit a popup in the infield, Jack Valliere charged hard and made a shoestring catch on the elusive ball.
Ron Thompson thrives on hitting
the ball extremely hard down the rightfield line. The shift was on and Walt Leggett gloved a rocket liner. Walt was not far from first baseman Joel Freedman when the ball was hit. Joel gave it a stab and missed, but second baseman Walt came into the picture for the catch.
Jim McPartlan hit a "Texas Leaguer" popup for a potential base hit. Second baseman Jose Agosto ran back and reached high to make an over-the-head catch.
An inning ending double play was turned when Team Three was threatening to score a few runs in the third frame of the game. Shortstop Wayne Mundy scooped up a grounder to his left, tagged second base, and threw to first baseman Joel Freedman to dampen the hopes of the offensive team.
Two players who haven't stepped across the white lines in a few months came to the old ballpark today. Joe DeForge took some batting practice and stayed to watch most of the game. His doctor hasn't given him the release to pursue strenuous activities yet so Joe is taking it easy.
Rich Palmer, one of the premier pitchers for the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club, made an appearance, too. He will be undergoing knee replacement surgery on September 7th. Rich stated that he may try to get in a game or two before he goes under the knife.
Gale Doty will miss the next few games. He has an appointment to clean out his carotid arteries. Good luck Gale and get well soon.
August 31st - Today is the beginning of a long weekend, since the Labor Day holiday is on Monday. Oddly enough, only 18 guys showed up at the old ballpark for a game. It is odd because every day is a holiday for the retired ball players, but something kept many of the players away from the complex.
Don Witmer was on the mound for the winning team and benefited from the team's offensive onslaught. The final score was 21-8 in the nine inning affair. Bob Swartz was the opposing pitcher. Bob did a admirable job this morning, though. He collected four strikeouts in the contest.
The game began as a pitchers duel with two fine defensive plays in the first inning. In the top of the first, Wayne Mundy got a single with one out but the next batter lined out sharply to pitcher Don Witmer. After a snap throw
to first baseman Rusty Landahl, the side was retired. The minimum of three batters stepped up to the plate.
The bottom of the first frame duplicated the top of the inning. Elvis Abney punched a single to the outfield with one out. Bob Swartz caught a line drive on the first pitch to the third batter. The throw to first baseman Joel Freedman completed the double play and ended the first inning. After one inning in the record books, the score was 0-0, six batters had stepped into the batter's box, and six outs had been recorded.
Three up and three down resulted in the top of the second inning. The stage was then set for the home team to take charge of the game. Three runs crossed the plate and the runaway game began.
The home team scored more than two runs before an out was made for several innings to follow.
Three inside-the-park homers were recorded. Jack Valliere hit a solo shot over the head of defending left centerfielder Ed Neumyer and Cecil Vasquez burned right centerfielder Richard Moots for a two run homer.
Also, Wayne Mundy blasted a two run homer over right centerfielder Kenny Duell.
Left centerfielder Ron Thompson was caught unaware of the power of Frank Acevedo. Frank cranked a ball over over Ron's head for a stand up double. Pitcher Don Witmer lead the team in hitting and his best hit was a long triple over the head of leftfielder Fred Dampier.
The eldest of all, Bill Spring, covered the second base area today. He drifted back and made an over-the-head catch on a ball hit by Jack Valliere.
The opposing second baseman, Frank Acevedo, copied that catch made by Bill when Ed Neumyer tried to sneak a hit to the opposite field. Frank faded back and gloved the ball.
The ballplayers who also participate in the morning league in Lakeland on Mondays and Thursdays are urged to play on Labor Day. One of the Lakeland grounds crew members volunteered to unlock the park on Monday so the game will be played on the holiday. Winter Haven Senior Softball Club commissioner Ron Thompson invited the group of players today who aren't members of the Lakeland Senior Softball organization for a free softball playing date this Monday.
