April 1st - Single game statistics were kept for each player according to the scoresheets.
Since the 2008 Winter Haven Senior Softball Club season has concluded, a list of the top three leaders by category has been compiled.
As always, the statistics are only as accurate as the score sheets.
| Batting Average | Jim Laffoon | .824 |
| Chuck Duff | .802 | |
| Danny Parker | .768 |
| At Bats | Randy Lane | 102 |
| Elmer Black | 101 | |
| Vassurl Bess | 98 |
| Runs Scored | Danny Parker | 60 |
| Don Witmer | 57 | |
| Tim Gallagher | 54 |
| Hits | Jim Laffoon | 75 |
| Danny Parker | 73 | |
| Chuck Duff | 69 |
| Doubles | Joe D'Herin | 21 |
| Fred Dampier | 18 | |
| Don Erb | 18 | |
| Danny Parker | 15 |
| Triples | Ed Lupiani | 12 |
| Chuck Duff | 11 | |
| Danny Parker | 9 | |
| Al Andrews | 9 |
| Home Runs | Chuck Duff | 10 |
| Don Witmer | 9 | |
| Fred Dampier | 7 | |
| Denny Shaffer | 7 | |
| Don Erb | 7 |
| Walks | Bill Spring | 20 |
| Chuck Duff | 16 | |
| Terry Feehan | 13 | |
| Tim Gallagher | 13 | |
| Ron Augenstein | 13 | |
| Don Witmer | 13 |
| Sacrifice Flies | Fred Dampier | 7 |
| Cal Leigh | 5 | |
| Sam Harrell | 5 | |
| Freddy Gonzalez | 4 |
| Pitching Wins | Elmer Wilcox | 13 |
| Jerry Witter | 12 | |
| Rich Palmer | 11 |
April 1st - The season is over now and everyone began readapting themselves to the sign in procedure. Joel Freedman arrived at the old ballpark early and divided out the players.
There were enough guys for four teams. Since the 2009 season will be split between age groups, this morning was a good time to give it a try. The players whose age is 70 and above played in the National League on Fred White Field and the younger fellows played on Field "D" in the American League. Everything worked out well.
| Thompson | 4 5 0 | 3 0 5 | 5 0 0 = 22 | ||||||||
| Sessink | 0 3 2 | 4 1 2 | 0 0 1 = 13 |
| Diaz | 5 0 0 | 2 5 3 | 4 5 2 = 26 | ||||||||
| Williamson | 0 0 5 | 0 5 2 | 1 8 4 = 25 |
NATIONAL LEAGUE LEADING HITTERS:
Fred Ducham - 5 for 6 with 1 homer.
Ron Thompson - 5 for 6 with 2 doubles.
Floyd Welton - 5 for 6 with 1 triple.
Ed Neumyer - 5 for 6 with 2 doubles.
Joel Freedman - 4 for 5.
Frank Miller - 3 for 4 with 1 homer & 1 sacrifice fly.
Ron Carrothers - 3 for 4 with 1 walk.
AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADING HITTERS:
Al Andrews - 6 for 6.
Ed Kline - 5 for 5 with 1 homer & 1 walk.
Joe D'Herin - 5 for 6 with 4 doubles.
Vassurl Bess - 5 for 6 with 1 double.
Inside-the-park homers were hit this morning by Eddie Diaz, Fred Ducham, Ed Kline, Frank Miller, & Jack Valliere.
Thank you to the volunteer umpires this morning. Chuck Duff and Don Witmer umpired the American League game and Wayne Mundy worked the National League game.
John Stewart played in his last game until the Fall. John is flying back to Canada in the morning and returning to Belleville, Ontario, Canada. Take care John.
Ed Sampson, a player who belonged to the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club several years ago, played this morning. Welcome back Ed.
April 8th - The league has dwindled down to just enough players to merit a three-team game.
Most of the snowbirds have headed home and the locals are gearing up for the summer.
Only one score sheet was kept, with the exception of one inning of one
score sheet for the other two teams. Joe D'Herin has continued to pound out extra
base hits and today he collected two doubles and one triple in four trips to the plate. Randy Lane had a fine hitting day, too. He batted four times and had three hits, including two triples.
The fifth inning was productive for the home team as five runs crossed the plate. Larry Powell began the frame with a double. Randy Lane followed with a single and Jim Laffoon doubled in Larry and Randy. The next batter flew out for the first out of the inning. Jim advanced to third on the fly out. Russ King singled Jim home, Joe D'Herin hit a double but Russ was thrown out at home. Al Andrews finished off the inning with an RBI single.
Russ King and Wayne Mundy connected for inside-the-park homers this morning.
LEADING HITTERS:
Joe D'Herin - 3 for 4 with 1 triple & 2 doubles.
Randy Lane - 3 for 4 with 2 triples.
Russ King - 3 for 4 with 1 homer.
Jim Laffoon - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Al Andrews - 3 for 4.
Vassurl Bess - 3 for 4.
April 9th - Wednesday - Freddy Gonzalez put together a Puerto Rican team by combining the Hispanics from the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club along with Lakeland Senior Softball. In addition, Freddy invited several players who aren't associated with either morning leagues. The team challenged a team assembled by Russ King. That team consisted of members of the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club.
The Kings opened the home first with three runs. Leadoff batter Don Witmer walked and Jim Laffoon singled. The third
batter, Chuck Duff doubled in both base runners. After the first out was made, Denny Shaffer rapped out a base hit to drive in Chuck from second base. At the end of the first inning, Puerto Rico lead 5-3.
Going into the bottom of the third, Puerto Rico had a 11-5 lead but after all the dust had settled, the game was tied 11-11. The Kings banged out singles from the bats of Bob Zelazny, Al Andrews, Doug Chamlee, and Russ King. A two-out base hit by Wayne Mundy tied the score.
The Kings again were down late in the game. With Puerto Rico ahead 20-15, another charge was mounted by the Kings in the home eighth. Doug Chamlee, Russ King, and Wayne Mundy began the frame with back-to-back-to-back singles before Ed Kline walked. Bob Christiansen singled, Sam Harrell hit a sacrifice fly to drive in a run, and Larry Williamson and Don Witmer singled.
The Puerto Rican team was held scoreless in the ninth. Kings player Jim Laffoon opened the bottom of the frame with a double and the next batter, Chuck Duff, hit a game winning RBI double. The Kings won the game 21-20.
Denny Shaffer had an inside-the-park homer for the Kings and Freddy Gonzalez hit one for Puerto Rico.
LEADING HITTERS FOR THE KINGS:
Russ King - 3 for 3 with 1 walk.
Chuck Duff - 4 for 5 with 1 triple & 2 doubles.
Bob Christiansen - 3 for 4.
WHSSC HITTERS FOR PUERTO RICO:
Eddie Diaz - 4 for 5.
Angel Merced - 4 for 5.
Freddy Gonzalez - 2 for 5 with 1 homer & 1 double.
Frank Acevedo - 2 for 5.
Jose Agosto - 1 for 4 with 1 walk.
Hank Gomez - 0 for 5.
April 11th - Once again, the ball players were divided between the National League (players aged 70 and over) and American League (below age 70). Both games were competitive and each game was decided by one run.
| Thompson | 1 5 5 | 3 0 2 | 5 0 0 = 21 | ||||||||
| Harrell | 4 1 0 | 1 0 4 | 6 5 1 = 22 |
The home team jumped out to a lead in the National League game as four runs crossed the plate. Leadoff batter Bob Lewis opened with a single but was forced out at second when the next batter hit an infield grounder. Wayne Mundy, Sam Harrell, Glenn Holland, and Rich Moots all connected for consecutive singles. Gene Morey drove in the
final run of the frame with a single.
The visiting third saw five runs score. Reg Barnes, Rusty Landahl, Rich Kralik, and Lee Baker each connected for base hits. Joe DeForge walked and a double by John Fulton finished the scoring for the visitors.
The starting pitcher for the home team, Sam Harrell, was relieved in the fifth inning by Jack Valliere. Jack took the ball with the team down 14-6. As it turned out, Jack received the win as the visitors came on strong in the late innings and won it in the home ninth.
The visiting seventh and eighth innings proved productive as 11 runs stepped on home plate. The first five batters each scored twice in two at bats. Bob Lewis singled and walked, Jack Valliere had two singles, Wayne Mundy hit a triple and reached on an error, Sam Harrell singled and reached on an error, and Glenn Holland singled and reached on an error. Bill Spring scored the other run on a single.
| Powell | 3 5 0 | 1 0 0 | 2 0 3 = 14 | ||||||||
| Williamson | 3 1 0 | 0 0 5 | 1 0 3 = 13 |
The visiting team looked strong in the first couple of innings. Three runs were scored in the first and five in the second. After the completion of two innings of play, the visitors were
leading 8-4.
The first two batters scored four runs in the first two frames. Leadoff hitter Fred Dampier banged out two doubles and scored each time. The second batter, Al Andrews, hit a double and a single and scored twice.
As the visiting team went dry in the middle innings, the home took advantage and racked up five runs in the sixth. Tim Gallagher began with a single. After the second batter flew out to leftfielder Jerry Noble, Freddy Gonzalez and Don Witmer doubled. An inside-the-park homer by Chris Constantine scored two runs. Pitcher Larry Williamson singled and a base hit by Vassurl Bess and a game tying single by Ed Kline ended the inning. After six innings of play, the score was tied 9-9.
The visiting team got back on the scoreboard in the seventh and ninth frames. The top of the lineup scored the five runs. Fred Dampier scored once on two singles, Al Andrews scored twice on one base hit and one fielder's choice ground out, and Jim Laffoon scored twice on one double and one fielder's choice grounder.
NATIONAL LEAGUE LEADING HITTERS:
Rich Moots - 6 for 6.
Rusty Landahl - 4 for 5 with 1 homer.
Bob Lewis - 4 for 5 with 1 walk.
AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADING HITTERS:
Chris Constantine - 4 for 5 with 1 homer.
Tim Gallagher - 4 for 5.
Fred Dampier - 3 for 4 with 2 doubles & 1 walk.
Vassurl Bess - 3 for 4.
Another player will be heading back home for the summer tomorrow morning. Lloyd Hopper lives in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Have a safe trip and we all will be looking forward to seeing you again in the fall, Lloyd.
One new player joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club this morning. Sam Lopez will be playing in the American League. Welcome aboard Sam.
April 15th - A bit of cold weather for this time of year welcomed the ball players as they walked into the DiamondPlex. The temperature at sign in time was about 48° F. The sun did warm things up but there was a stiff wind around 20 MPH blowing in from leftfield.
| M.Taylor | 4 3 0 | 5 1 4 | 0 = 17 | ||||||||
| Sessink | 5 0 4 | 0 5 0 | 1 = 15 | ||||||||
| Diaz | 0 6 1 | 3 1 0 | 3 = 14 |
Team One started well with four runs in the first. The leadoff batter, Glenn Holland, walked to begin the game. Statistics have proven the batter will almost always score if he leads off the inning with a walk, and this batter was no exception. The second batter, Freddy Gonzalez hit a ball and legged it into second for a standup double. Now was the time for Jim Laffoon to work his magic with the bat.
He hit an opposite field, inside-the-park homer. The last run that scored was from an inside-the-park single by Sam Harrell. Sam was ruled out for missing second base. Tough luck Sam.
Team Two responded in their first at bat with five runs. Leadoff hitter Ted Taylor singled and Fred Dampier advanced him to third with a double. Ron Thompson flew out to rightfield for a sacrifice fly first out, followed by a double from the bat of Dick Sessink. The pinch runner for Dick scored on a single by Fred Ducham. The scoring was rounded out with a single from Reg Barnes, a single from Frank Miller, and the last batter reached base on an error from the first baseman.
Team Three waited until the second inning to explode onto the scoreboard. Hector Marinacci started
the rally with a single. Eddie Diaz doubled and new player John Merritt singled in his very first at bat to drive in two runs. The next batter, Sam Lopez, walked before the opposing pitcher recorded a strikeout for the first out of the frame. Terry Feehan walked and Joe DeForge reached base on a fielding error. An RBI double by Bob Zelazny completed the scoring for Team Three in the second. A total of six runs touched home in the inning.
Team One kept chipping away, scoring in five of the seven innings. Five runs scored in the fourth. The big hit was a long double by Jim Laffoon.
Teams Two and Three couldn't string together enough hits to catch up with Team One but the final score indicated that Joel Freedman did an excellent job once again of putting three evenly matched teams on the field.
Besides the inside-the-park homer by Jim Laffoon that has been mentioned, Fred Ducham banged out two inside-the-park homers. His favorite part of the field, the leftfield line, was the location of the first one. Fred hit his second homer to rightfield! Way to go Fred. Fred Dampier and Jack Valliere also hit inside-the-park homers this morning.
LEADING HITTERS:
Jim Laffoon - 4 for 4 with 1 homer & 2 doubles.
Hector Marinacci - 4 for 4 with 1 double.
Fred Ducham - 3 for 3 with 2 homers.
Freddy Gonzalez - 3 for 3 with 2 doubles & 1 sacrifice fly.
Ted Taylor - 3 for 3 with 1 walk.
Frank Miller - 3 for 3.
Ron Thompson - 2 for 2 with 1 double, 1 walk, & 1 sacrifice fly.
Glenn Holland - 2 for 2 with 2 walks.
Fred Dampier - 3 for 4 with 1 homer & 2 doubles.
Bob Zelazny - 3 for 4 with 2 doubles.
Al Andrews - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Eddie Diaz - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Sam Harrell - 3 for 4.
John Smith returned to Ithaca, New York and Terry Feehan is leaving for Deshler, Ohio. Drive carefully, John and Terry. Please return for the 2009 season.
Two new players joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club this morning. John Merritt was born in San Diego, California. He transferred to Florida during his working years and has now retired here. Marvin Taylor plays Florida Half Century tournament ball with some of the guys. Welcome aboard John and Marvin.
April 18th - Two fields were allocated for the games today. Not sure who pitched on Fred White Field but the home team won 21-18. Dick Sessink picked up the victory on Field D against Eddie Diaz. The home team won 27-22.
| Visitors | 1 0 6 | 0 4 5 | 2 0 1 = 18 | ||||||||
| Home | 4 4 0 | 2 0 3 | 3 5 X = 21 |
The middle of the lineup did most of the damage for the visitors during this game. Chris Constantine slammed a double among his three hits and John Fulton banged out three hits while scoring three times. Each batter drove in several runs on the timely raps. Larry Powell followed John in the batting order and produced well, too. He ended the day with four hits in five trips to the plate.
With the exception of two runs, all the runs for the home team were scored in the top half of the batting order. Chuck Duff had a stellar day, as he connected for one double and two triples. Chuck also scored five times.
Larry Powell had an inside-the-park homer for the visitors and Don Witmer and Chuck Duff equaled that feat for the home team.
| Diaz | 5 3 0 | 0 2 2 | 4 5 1 = 22 | ||||||||
| Sessink | 3 0 3 | 5 5 5 | 5 1 X = 27 |
Although the visiting team scored six runs to tie the game in one of the innings, the score sheets do not indicate that occurrence. However, the home team did win by five runs.
The visitors did put together two five run innings. They opened the game with five on singles by Sam Harrell and Vassurl Bess, a triple by Freddy Gonzalez, singles by Ted Taylor and Randy Lane, and a double by Bob Zelazny.
Five more scored in the visiting eighth. Consecutive singles were punched by Vassurl Bess, Freddy Gonzalez, Ted Taylor, and Randy Lane. Afterwards, another double came from the bat of Bob Zelazny. Gale Doty drove in the fifth run with a base hit.
The home team put together four five run innings in-a-row. Jerry Noble scored six times and hit three inside-the-park homers. Jim Laffoon scored five times in his 5 for 6 performance in the game.
Pitcher Dick Sessink hit the ball well this morning. Besides picking up the complete game win, Dick also went 5 for 5 with two doubles.
Besides the three homers by Jerry Noble, Randy Lane also hit an inside-the-park homer on Field "D".
LEADING HITTERS:
Dick Sessink - 5 for 5 with 2 doubles.
Bob Zelazny - 4 for 4 with 3 doubles.
Freddy Gonzalez - 5 for 6 with 1 triple & 3 doubles.
Jim Laffoon - 5 for 6 with 2 doubles.
Hector Marinacci - 5 for 6 with 1 double.
Ted Taylor - 5 for 6 with 1 double.
Jerry Noble - 4 for 5 with 3 homers & 1 walk.
Larry Powell - 4 for 5 with 1 homer, 1 triple, & 1 walk.
Frank Miller - 4 for 5 with 2 triples.
Fred Dampier - 4 for 5 with 1 double.
Wayne Mundy - 4 for 5 with 1 double.
Bill Walker - 4 for 5.
Glenn Holland - 3 for 4 with 2 walks.
Gale Doty - 3 for 4.
Check the SSUSA link below to see if the Spring National Championships will be played at the DiamondPlex on Tuesday, April 22nd or Friday, April 25th.
The tournament is a six day affair and will take place in Auburndale and Winter Haven next week. Depending on the number of teams entered in the tournament, the DiamondPlex fields may or may not be used.
Frank Miller played his last game in Winter Haven until the fall. He is returning home to Byron Center, Michigan. Have a safe trip Frank.
April 20th, Sunday - The Winter Haven Senior Softball Club games will be played on Tuesday, April 22nd. The SSUSA Spring National Championships will not use the DiamondPlex fields on that date.
Please remember that the start time for the games have been moved back to 9:00 AM so the ball players are obligated to sign in by 8:30 AM at the latest.
April 22nd - A total of 29 ball players joined in on the game this morning. One team was running away with the game but another caught up and won in extra innings.
| Dampier | 4 3 0 | 4 1 0 | 2 0 = 14 | ||||||||
| Witmer | 1 4 0 | 3 0 1 | 5 1 = 15 | ||||||||
| Valliere | 0 0 5 | 0 2 0 | 0 X = 7 |
Team One started fast and had scored 11 runs by the completion of four innings of play. The lead off batter, Bob Zelazny, hit a perfect 5 for 5 and scored four runs. Oddly enough, all but two of the 14 runs scored by Team One came from the first four batters. The middle of the lineup did well and recorded the runs batted in for the team.
Team Three had too many dry innings to threaten for the lead.
They did have one good inning as five runs scored in the third frame. Chuck Duff pounded
out a double and a total of six singles were spread out in the inning. Rich Kralik recorded one of the singles. Rich scored in that frame and went 2 for 3 in the contest.
Going into the last inning, Team Two needed five runs to stay in the battle. The first batter in the seventh, Hank Gomez, knocked a single but was forced at second on a fielder's choice by the next hitter. Afterwards, Erv Szewczuga drew a walk and the batter who followed flew out to leftfield. Hector Marinacci walked to load the bases. Don Witmer then hit a misplayed grand slam homer to right centerfield and Jim Laffoon hit a solo shot the same way. Bob Lewis singled but was stranded at first to end the inning. Five runs crossed the plate to tie the score.
Gene Morey singled for Team One to start the extra inning but was doubled off second on a grounder to first. Team One only sent three batters to the plate in the eighth.
Team Two needed only one run to pull out a nice comeback win. Glenn Holland walked to begin the inning. With two outs, Hector Marinacci singled to rightfield to win the game.
Inside-the-park homers were accomplished by Doug Chamlee, Freddy Gonzalez, Jim Laffoon, and Don Witmer.
LEADING HITTERS:
Bob Zelazny - 5 for 5 with 2 doubles.
Don Witmer - 5 for 5 with 1 homer.
Fred Dampier - 4 for 5 with 2 triples & 1 double.
Hector Marinacci - 4 for 5 with 1 triple & 1 walk.
Chuck Duff - 3 for 4 with 2 doubles.
The Winter Haven Senior Softball Club will have games on Friday, April 25th but we will use Field "A", the field with the 225' fences. Every ball hit over the fence will be a ground rule double.
The SSUSA Spring National Championships are scheduled for Field "B", Fred White Field, Field "D", and Field "E" on Friday.
April 25th - There were enough players for a three team game this morning. Alongside the "morning crew" was a SSUSA national softball tournament on the other four fields.
| Sessink | 2 3 0 | 0 2 6 | 1 = 14 | ||||||||
| Witmer | 2 2 1 | 0 3 0 | 1 = 9 | ||||||||
| Dampier | 5 5 0 | 3 0 5 | X = 18 |
Since the game took place on the 225' Polk Community College Women's Softball field, every ball hit over the fence was declared a double. Several balls took flight over the fence throughout the game.
Team Three took charge early as they scored five runs in each of the first two innings. The first five batters each scored in the first and second frames. Between the five batters, they went 9 for 10 with seven doubles. Those five players were Jaime Rivera, Fred Dampier, Freddy Gonzalez, Denny Shaffer, and Doug Chamlee.
Team three battled back and was able to tie the score in the sixth
inning as six runs touched home plate. All that was done with no outs recorded in the score sheet. Randy Lane, Bill Walker, and Bob Zelazny each singled. Jim Laffoon doubled over the fence, followed by a free pass to Ted Taylor, and a gapper double by Dick Sessink. A single by Rusty Landahl drove in the final run.
Team Three bounced back with five runs in the bottom of the sixth to seal the victory. Fred Dampier lead off with a single and advanced to third when Freddy Gonzalez hit a line drive over the leftfield fence. Afterwards, singles were hit by Denny Shaffer, Doug Chamlee, Vassurl Bess, Jack Valliere, Rich Moots, and Gene Morey.
Team Two was the low team on the totem pole but they weren't without their own hitting stars. Russ King and Hector Marinacci lead that pack with three hits in four plate appearances.
Fred Dampier hit two ground rule doubles and the following players each hit one: Doug Chamlee, Freddy Gonzalez, Jim Laffoon, Jaime Rivera, and Denny Shaffer.
LEADING HITTERS:
Freddy Gonzalez - 4 for 4 with 3 doubles.
Jim Laffoon - 4 for 4 with 2 doubles.
Doug Chamlee - 4 for 4 with 1 double.
Fred Dampier - 3 for 3 with 2 doubles & 1 walk.
Bill Walker - 4 for 5.
Russ King - 3 for 4 with 2 doubles.
Denny Shaffer - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Chris Constantine - 3 for 4.
Hector Marinacci - 3 for 4.
Gene Morey - 3 for 4.
Jack Valliere - 3 for 4.
Congratulations to the Lakeland Angels. The team is managed
by Jose Agosto and won the 65-AAA division in the SSUSA Spring National Championships.
Herb Oesterreich dropped by the park to say his farewells. Herb is transferring to Colorado for two years and plans to return to the area after that time period. Take care Herb.
Carl Luebking visited the dugouts during the game this morning. Carl is recovering from knee surgery. He went under the knife after the season ended and plans to be back on the field in June. Hang in there Carl.
Several players are headed back home and today marked their last day at the old ballpark. Glenn Holland is returning to Windsor, Michigan; Gene Morey is returning to Howard City, Michigan; Denny Shaffer is returning to Akron, Ohio; and Ted Taylor is returning to Markham, Ontario, Canada.
See you in the fall Glenn, Gene, Denny, and Ted.
April 29th - The first three innings belonged to Teams One and Three in the three team contest, but Team Two came on strong in the final two frames to pull out an incredible comeback victory.
| Palmer | 4 5 2 | 0 0 0 | 1 = 12 | ||||||||
| Sessink | 0 0 2 | 2 3 7 | 8 = 22 | ||||||||
| Thompson | 5 0 6 | 0 3 5 | 1 = 20 |
Jose Agosto lead off the game for Team One with a double and scored on a Don Witmer single. Chuck Duff singled but was injured on a snap throw to first after he rounded the bag. The throw hit Chuck in the back but apparently the ball grazed a nerve because his arm went numb for a time. His arm continued to bother him so he left the game with an injury. After the first out was recorded, George Radlein hit
his first of three consecutive doubles. A single by Rich Palmer advanced George to third and a single by Reg Barnes drove in the fourth and final run of the top of the first.
Team Two went quietly in the middle of the first but Team Three charged out of the gates. Lead off hitter Wayne Mundy singled but was out at second when the next batter grounded to second for a fielder's choice. Freddy Gonzalez doubled and Hector Marinacci & Sam Harrell singled
before Ron Thompson hit his first of two inside-the-park homers to rightfield.
After Team One scored five in the second and two in the third, Team Three needed six runs to tie the game. Only one out was in the books by the time the team scored the six runs. Ron Thompson capped off the rally with his second homer of the game.
Team Two finally came alive in the sixth, scoring seven runs to tie the game with Team Three. Two fielding errors helped the cause but there were also some timely hits. Bob Lewis, Chris Constantine, Bill Walker, Rich Kralik, and John Meritt each singled and Sam Lopez homered.
Eight more runs crossed the plate in the final inning for Team Two. In two innings of play, Team Two scored 15 runs to come from behind and pull out a fantastic victory from the huge jaws of defeat.
Besides the injury to Chuck Duff's shoulder, Wayne Mundy sustained an injury to his leg while running from third to home. He had to remove himself from the game.
LEADING HITTERS:
Freddy Gonzalez - 4 for 4 with 2 doubles.
Hector Marinacci - 3 for 3 with 1 walk.
Bob Lewis - 4 for 5.
Bill Walker - 4 for 5.
Ron Thompson - 3 for 4 with 2 homers.
Sam Lopez - 3 for 4 with 1 homer.
George Radlein - 3 for 4 with 3 doubles.
Al Andrews - 3 for 4 with 1 triple.
Dick Sessink - 3 for 4 with 1 double & 1 sacrifice fly.
Don Witmer - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Jack Valliere - 3 for 4.
Rich Palmer returned to the old ballpark after some health issues. He pitched for one of the teams and banged out two hits this morning. Welcome back Rich.
Dick Wilhelm dropped by to show off the championship trophy that was earned in the SSUSA Spring National Championships. The team was managed by Jose Agosto. Team members from the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club included John Fulton, Wayne Mundy, Ron Thompson, and Dick Wilhelm. Check out their team picture on the OTHER TEAMS link.
