June 2008 News Archive
 June 3rd - It was a very warm and still day but three teams of players weathered the heat for the game. Eddie Diaz received the win to move his off season won-lost record to 3-7. George Radlein was on the mound for Team Two, which scored four runs and gave up nine. George's record is now 1-3. Dick Sessink pitched for the team that scored nine and gave up 14 runs. Dick has amassed a 9-4-2 record since the season ended.
Team One had the two most productive innings in the three team contest this morning. They pushed across the maximum five runs in the third inning. The first five batters in the frame scored. Larry Powell started it off when he got aboard on a fielding error. A single from the bat of Wayne Mundy preceded a Chuck Duff triple. Bob Zelazny reached on a fielding error to drive 
Chuck home. Eddie Diaz followed with a double. Afterwards, Elvis Abney singled and a sacrifice fly by Gary Reed drove in the fifth run.
The four run sixth inning for Team One began when the last batter in the order singled. That hit was the second of the day for Gene Baker. Lead off batter Vassurl Bess and second hitter Larry Powell singled. Before the inning was over, Chuck Duff and Bob Zelazny had singles. Both Wayne Mundy and Chuck Duff each scored three runs in the game for Team One. The scoring for Team Three was spread throughout the lineup. Eddie Neumyer returned to the old ballpark and had an excellent hitting day as he went 4 for 5 and scored two runs. Fred Dampier and Ron Thompson also scored two runs apiece. Dick Sessink had a gapper triple that drove in one run. 
Nice hit Dick.
Team Two didn't fare too well this morning. They scored only four runs and lead off hitter John Fulton scored two of those four runs. Although Doug Chamlee wasn't hitting the ball as crisp as his is accustomed by his own admission, he still achieved a 3 for 4 game. Jim McPartlan was a good team player as he drew two walks in three trips to the plate but no one could advance him farther than first base. Although they scored only four runs, there were plenty of players stranded on the bases. The bases were left loaded on the fourth frame. After two outs in the books from the first two batters, George Radlein, Sam Lopez, and Rich Moots each singled. A bases loaded walk to Jim McPartlan accounted for the only run. In the field on defense, third baseman Chris Constantine made an excellent catch on a line drive by Frank Acevedo. Frank was robbed on that catch as Chris reacted quickly to take a step or two and reach hard in the direction of the shortstop area to make the grab. Second baseman Gary Reed made a similar catch on a line drive from the bat of Reg Barnes. It seemed to be a sure opposite field hit until Gary appeared from nowhere to make the catch. LEADING HITTERS: Wayne Mundy - 4 for 5 with 1 triple. Ed Neumyer - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Eddie Diaz - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Doug Chamlee - 3 for 4. Ron Thompson - 3 for 4. Rusty Landahl was at the old ball park this morning. He took batting practice but decided not to play in the game. He umpired behind the plate for the first four innings before he left for the day. Thank you for umping today, Rusty. A new player joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club this morning. Gene Benton is a familiar face to several of the ball players because he has played softball with and against some of the fellows in the past. Welcome aboard, Gene. June 6th - The high is predicted to reach 94° F but Florida is no exception since hot weather has swept most of the country. There was a slight breeze blowing from rightfield to leftfield this morning.
It took an extra inning to determine a winner in the three team contest. The least likely team battled for the win. Least likely only because they came from way behind to tie the game in the seventh.
Team One took an early lead with five runs in the first inning. Singles were hit by John Fulton, Doug Chamlee, Sam Lopez, Rich Palmer, Rich Moots, and Lee Baker while Jim Laffoon connected for a double. The hit by Sam was the first of his 4 for 4 day at the plate. Team Two was also hot out of the gates. They 
scored seven runs in the first two innings. The big hit of the four run first frame was a two run triple by Gary Reed, which sailed way over the head of defending leftfielder John Fulton.
Three more runs scored in the second inning. The rally didn't begin until after the first two batters made outs. After that, Ed Neumyer singled and Fred Dampier walked for the second straight time. Overall, Fred walked all four times at bat and scored three runs. After the walk, Don Witmer doubled in two runs. Don ended the day with a 4 for 4 effort. A single by Ron Thompson drove Don home. At the end of two innings of play, Team Two had a 7-5-0 lead but Team One stormed back to tie the score at 7-7 in the third. Two runs scored after the first three batters each hit singles. Bill Walker and Sam Lopez singled and scored and Gale Doty had a base hit but was forced at second base when the next batter grounded into a fielder's choice. Meanwhile, Team Three was waiting in the wings for their explosive innings, which came late in the game. The sixth inning proved to be huge for that team. Randy Lane and Jaime Rivera began the frame with singles before Chris Constantine drove a ball deep over the head of John Fulton, the fill in player who was patrolling right centerfield. Chris rounded the bases for an inside-the-park homer. 
Bob Zelazny immediately singled after the homer and scored on a groundout to shortstop Don Witmer. Sam Harrell, who had reached on a fielder's choice, scored on a Joel Freedman single for the fifth and final run of the inning. The team was allowed to score eight runs to catch up to the leading team but managed five.
Three more runs scored in the seventh and final frame of regulation play for Team Three. They were down at one time 7-7-2 but fought to tie the score. A two RBI double by Bob Zelazny proved to be the big hit and a single by Sam Harrell tied the score. At the end of seven innings, the score was 10-9-10 so one more inning was played to try to break the tie. Team One was just too much to handle for the third team as they scored three runs on four hits. Bill Walker, Sam Lopez, and Rich Palmer all singled and scored. Rich Moots drove in the third run of the eighth. The last batter and then the top of the lineup were due up for Team Three in the bottom of the eighth. Two outs were recorded before a hit was in the books. Jaime Rivera, Chris Constantine, and Bob Zelazny each singled but only one run scored. The final score was 13-9-11. In the field on defense, several nice catches were made in the outfield. A deep hit by Bill Walker was chased down and caught by Bob Zelazny. Left centerfielder Bob had to run back and to his right to make the grab in the first inning. Later in the game, John Fulton, playing leftfield, charged in at full speed to make a catch on a ball hit by Randy Lane. Fill in right centerfielder Fred Dampier had to run back and towards centerfield to make a pick on a deep ball from the bat of Jim Laffoon. Ron Thompson made a nice running back catch on a potential extra base hit by Bob Zelazny. Nice catches, guys. LEADING HITTERS: Don Witmer - 4 for 4 with 1 double. Sam Lopez - 4 for 4 with 1 walk. Chris Constantine - 5 for 6 with 1 homer. Bob Zelazny - 5 for 6 with 1 double. Joel Freedman - 3 for 4 with 1 walk. June 10th - George Radlein pitched his team to victory with the help of a solid defense. The team scored 19 and allowed just four runs while in the field. Rich Palmer was on the mound for the team that scored 17 and gave up 19 runs. The third pitcher in the three team contest was Eddie Diaz. That team scored four and surrendered 17 runs.
Four of the first five batters scored in the top of the first inning for Team One. Lead off batter Sam Lopez walked and Reg Barnes singled. That set the stage for Wayne Mundy, who connected for an inside-the-park home run. With three runs already in the books, clean up batter Ron Thompson started the next rally. He singled and advanced to second when the next batter flew out to left centerfielder Bob Zelazny. Pitcher Rich Palmer 
singled and a base hit by John Merritt scrored Ron from third. The runner for Rich advanced to third on the hit by John. A single by Rusty Landahl completed the five run first inning.
After Team Two sent only four batters to the plate, they were donning their gloves and heading back in the field. Team Three looked good to begin the game. Little did they know that the two runs scored in the first inning would end up being half their offensive output for the entire game. Lead off batter Eddie Diaz began with a single but was doubled up when the next batter grounded out. Bob Zelazny cranked a double and Bob Christiansen followed with a triple to score Bob from second. A single by Dean Schapeler scored Bob for the second run of the inning. A Rich Moots single advanced Dean to second before the third out was recorded. The second inning for Team Two was impressive. Six runs touched home plate thanks to seven base hits. The team batted around and singles were hit by Frank Acevedo, Fred Dampier, Jim Laffoon, Jack Valliere, Doug Chamlee, George Radlein, 
and Gene Baker. Gene is coming around now and scored three runs today on two hits.
Teams One and Two battled closely until the end. Team One scored three more runs in the fourth. Back-to-back doubles by Wayne Mundy and Ron Thompson accounted for the big hits of the inning. Larry Powell, Rich Palmer, and Rusty Landahl each singled during the fourth. Team Two scored twice in the bottom of the fourth. A deep triple by Fred Dampier began the inning. He scored on a Jim Laffoon single. George Radlein doubled in the second run. At the end of four innings of play, Team One lead 11-9-3. Team Two took 14-12 lead over Team One after five innings when five runs scored on five hits but Team One charged back in the sixth with four runs on five hits to take the lead again. Not to be denied, Team Two pushed five more runs across in the sixth to take back the lead. After it was all over, Team Two edged out Team One by two runs. Sam Lopez, Wayne Mundy, and Ron Thompson each scored three runs for the first team and Fred Dampier and Jack Valliere lead the second team with four runs scored. In the infield on defense, second baseman Wayne Mundy made a fantastic over-the-head catch when Eddie Diaz tried to bloop a base hit over the infield in the second inning. In the outfield, Doug Chamlee, patrolling leftfield, made a catch on a ball hit in front of him. He had to charge in at full speed to make the grab. LEADING HITTERS: Wayne Mundy - 4 for 4 with 1 homer & 1 double. Ron Thompson - 4 for 5 with 2 doubles. Rusty Landahl - 4 for 5 with 1 double. George Radlein - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Jim Laffoon - 4 for 5. Fred Dampier - 3 for 4 with 1 triple & 1 walk. June 13th - Ron Thompson was victorious over opposing pitcher Fred Dampier in the two team contest that took place on Field A. It took ten innings for the game to be official since the score was knotted at 15-15 after nine innings of regulation play.
The regular field, Fred White Field, was unavailable for play this morning. The grounds crew are preparing the four adjoining fields for a tournament beginning this afternoon and continuing throughout the weekend. The visiting team began with three runs in the opening frame and held the lead until late in the game. The bottom half of the line up came through with two singles to drive in the second and third runs in the first inning. Bill Walker, and Rusty Landahl each gathered an RBI on base hits. Five more runs touched the dish in the visiting fifth on hits and fielding errors. Chuck Duff, who ended the day with four walks, stepped into a pitch for a ground rule double to lead off the inning. Jack Valliere singled and advanced to third on a ground rule double by Bill Walker. Rusty Landahl followed with an RBI single. Before the inning was over, Vassurl Bess and Ron Thompson also singled. After fighting and fighting, the home team finally took a one run lead after the completion of seven innings of play. Four runs scored on three doubles and three singles. Reg Barnes, Bob DiPietro, and Fred Dampier each doubled in the frame. The hit by Bob sailed over the short fence for a ground rule 
double. Roger Edwards, Randy Lane, and Rich Moots each collected singles. At the end of seven, the home team lead 11-10.
The visiting team stormed back with five runs in the top of the eighth to gain back the lead but were held scoreless in the ninth. The goose egg in the visiting ninth allowed the home team to attempt a come from behind win. Two runs crossed the plate to tie the game but the bases were left loaded at the end of the inning. The tenth belonged to the visiting team as they scored five runs. All five scored before an out was in the books. Chuck Duff and Jack Valliere lead off with singles before Bill Walker doubled to right centerfield. Directly after that, Rusty Landahl doubled. Gale Doty walked and was the last to score in the inning. After the home team went down in order in the tenth, the visiting team finally breathed a sigh of relief to chalk up the "W". A fine defensive play was made by right centerfielder Rich Moots. It seemed that Bill Walker had directed a gapper hit towards rightfield but Rich raced to his left and reached out to make the grab. A game saving play in the ninth by left centerfielder Bob DiPietro was critical in the extension of the game to extra innings. He caught a fly ball from the bat of Don Witmer and threw a strike to third baseman Sam Lopez to get the runner trying to tag from second. That double play ended the inning for the visitors. LEADING HITTERS: Bob DiPietro - 5 for 5 with 2 triples, 2 doubles, & 1 walk. Gale Doty - 4 for 4 with 1 walk & 1 sacrifice fly. Chuck Duff - 2 for 2 with 1 double & 4 walks. Rusty Landahl - 5 for 6 with 2 doubles. Bill Walker - 5 for 6 with 2 doubles. A player from the Lakeland Senior Softball program joined in the game this morning. Bob DiPietro is semi retired and is considering joining the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club. One of our own softball players, John Smith, entered the Cleveland Clinic on June 2nd for a heart valve replacement. John reported that he now has a new mechanical mitral valve and a heart that has perfect rythmn. Get your strength back and we will see you in the fall, John. June 17th - Two of the three teams were tied after the seven innings of regulation play. The Winter Haven Senior Softball Club rules indicate that tied teams will play only one additional inning. Neither team could score a run in that extra inning. Ron Thompson pitched against Larry Powell for the tie. George Radlein was on the mound for the third team.
Team One began with a fury as the first five batters scored in the very first inning. Sam Lopez began the game with a gapper triple between rightfielder John Merritt and right centerfielder Vassurl Bess. Ed Neumyer then had an RBI single to the opposite field. Don Witmer tripled to the opposite field. At this point, every ball had been hit to the right side of the outfield. Lefthander Fred Dampier was the next batter. He walked. Lefty Ron Thompson got aboard on a fielding error before the next man in the line up whiffed. After that first out, Joel Freedman and Gale Doty produced singles with one RBI each. Of the eight batters sent to the plate, only Gale hit the ball towards leftfield. Team Two managed two runs in the middle of the first. A double by Bob Zelazny that was just out of the mitt of left centerfielder Fred Dampier proved to be the big hit of the inning. That double drove in 
both base runners since George Radlein and Jim Laffoon had reached base on singles.
With the score 5-2 and the third team coming to bat in the first, it was time for their offensive display. Vassurl Bess and Larry Powell began with singles. Chuck Duff blasted his first of three doubles for the game and Dean Schapeler sent Chuck home with a triple. The next batter, Bob Christiansen, connected for a double. Dean and Bob hit the ball hard all game. At the end of one inning of play, the score was 5-2-4. The second inning was productive for the first and third 
teams. Lee Baker began the frame with his first of three walks for the game. Sam Lopez singled, Fred Dampier doubled, and Ron Thompson and Sam Harrell had base hits. Three runs touched home in the top of the second inning.
Team Three needed four to tie but they added one for good measure. The three big hitters of that lineup came through again. Chuck Duff doubled, Dean Schapeler blasted a gapper inside-the-park homer, and Bob Christiansen hit a deep triple towards left centerfield. The bats cooled off a bit in the next couple of innings but they woke up again in the top of the fifth. Five runs scored on five hits and two walks as every batter in the line up came to the plate. Lee Baker and Sam Lopez led off the inning with back-to-back walks and they both scored. Ed Neumyer, Don Witmer, Ron Thompson, Joel Freedman, and Gale Doty all had singles in the mix. Going into the bottom of the sixth, the score was 14-3-11. Team Three needed three to tie but scored four - again for good measure. Powerful Chuck Duff hit a double and scored his fourth run of the game. Chuck would end up with five runs scored. Dean Schapeler singled and scored his third of four runs for the game and Bob Christiansen had a double. Although he hasn't been mentioned up to this point, Rich Kralik singled and would end up going 4 for 5 in the game. Bill Spring batted after Rich and guided a ball over the second baseman's head for a line single. A total of ten runs came home in the last inning of 
play for the three teams. Sam Harrell had the longest ball of the frame. He stepped into one and drove the ball over the leftfielders head for a double. Joel Freedman singled but Sam Lopez reached on a fielder's choice when the runner for Joel was forced at second. Before the inning was over, Sam would end up scoring his fourth run of the contest.
Lowly Team Two put together a string of hits and came up with as many runs in the seventh as they collected in the first six innings. George Radlein singled, Jim Laffoon tripled him home, and Jim scored on a Bob Zelazny double. Doug Chamlee reached base on a throwing error and Jack Valliere singled Bob in for the third run. Team Three needed three to tie but failed this time to score that extra run for good measure. At the end of regulation play, the score was 18-6-18. That was the final score after the the two teams played out another inning. In the outfield on defense, leftfielder Frank Acevedo made a very nice shoestring catch on a ball that was pulled near the line by Doug Chamlee. Nice grab Frank. In the eighth inning, left centerfielder Fred Dampier ran back to make a catch on a drive by Chuck Duff. The next batter, Dean Schapeler, tried for a line single but Fred charged in to make a low catch on the ball for the third and final out of the game. Both catches had a reasonable degree of difficulity. Senior Softball quote of the day: Shortstop Jim Laffoon said to Fred Dampier when he had pulled up at second base after his second double off the handle of the bat: "You must be saving the barrel of the bat for later in the game". Runner up quote of the day: Rover Wayne Mundy threw the ball back to pitcher Ron Thompson, noticed the ball was an errant throw, and said while the ball was heading for the ground about 15 feet in front of and about 10 feet to the side of Ron: "Time!" Both baserunners returned to their respective bases. That one was a classic, Wayne! LEADING HITTERS: Jim Laffoon - 4 for 4 with 1 triple. Dean Schapeler - 5 for 6 with 1 homer & 2 triples. Chuck Duff - 4 for 5 with 3 doubles & 1 walk. Sam Lopez - 4 for 5 with 1 triple & 1 walk. Larry Powell - 4 for 5 with 1 walk. Ron Thompson - 4 for 5 with 1 walk. Rich Kralik - 4 for 5. Bob Christiansen - 3 for 4 with 1 triple, 2 doubles, & 1 sacrifice fly. Bob Zelazny - 3 for 4 with 2 doubles. George Radlein - 3 for 4. A new player joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club this morning. Max Meinel moved to the area two years ago upon retiring from the Monroe, Louisiana area. Welcome aboard, Max. June 20th - Don Witmer received the win in the three team contest this morning as that team came back to win in the bottom of the seventh. Larry Powell was on the mound for the team that scored 10 and allowed 18 runs. Rich Palmer pitched for the team that scored 17 and gave up 10 while on defense. Frank Acevedo made his pitching debut in Winter Haven. He relieved Don Witmer in the last inning and threw shutout ball. Frank also received the win in relief, since that team pulled out the victory in the bottom of the last inning. Way to go Frank.
The major news in this game is the tremendous comeback win that was orchestrated by Team Three. Going into the bottom of the sixth inning, they were the lowest scoring team of the three in the 17-10-7 game. By the time the inning was over, Team Three was trailing the leading team by just one run. All nine run scored in the frame crossed the plate before an out was made. Three walks were intermingled among four singles, but the two huge hits were inside-the-park homers by Don Witmer. He lead off the inning with a solo shot in the direction of right centerfield and scored the ninth run with a three run homer gapper to centerfield. Gale Doty hit two singles in the frame. Bob Christiansen and Lee Baker also singled. Walks were issued to Reg Barnes, Frank Acevedo, and Vassurl Bess. Two runs were needed to pull out the victory 
from the jaws of defeat in the seventh and last inning after the first two teams went down without scoring a single run. Reg Barnes singled up the middle for the game winning hit as Bob Christiansen scored from third and Don Witmer raced home from second.
Teams One and Two did have their moments in the sun during the game. Sam Lopez, the lead off hitter for Team One, did his job in that spot in the lineup. He scored four out of the six times he reached base and finished the day with a 4 for 5 effort. Jose Agosto absolutely crushed the ball in his fifth trip to the plate. He stepped into a pitch and drove it way over the head of defending left centerfielder Bob Christiansen. Although Ron Thompson only had one hit in the ball game, he scored four times in the contest. Joe DeForge had a good day. He got two hits and scored both times, although he did take advantage of the pinch runner rule. The top four batters for Team Two were the only ones who scored for that team. Roger Edwards batted third and scored four 
times on two hits. John Merritt hit well in the two hole. He ended the day going 4 for 5 and stepped on home plate three times. Clean up hitter Fred Dampier jacked a ball over rightfielder Jack Valliere for a three run inside-the-park homer, drove in two more with a triple, and hit another triple when he lead off the seventh.
One other inside-the-park homer was hit this morning. Sam Harrell circled the bases with a three run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning. Joel Freedman made a sparkling play at his first base position. Ron Thompson drilled a sharp grounder down the line but Joel scooped up the ball with no problem and beat Ron to first for an unassisted out. Nice play, Joel. First baseman Sam Harrell turned an error into an out and even got credit for an assist and putout on the play. A hard grounder was hit his way and Sam made a clean pickup on the ball but the ball flew out when he lifted his glove. Pitcher Don Witmer was on his way to cover the first base bag and the ball sailed right into his mitt. Don threw it back to Sam for the out. As strange as it seems, official scoring procedures gives an assist and a putout to Sam. Had the ball not gone into Don's glove, Sam would have been given credit for an error. Woooooo . . . . . . a 3-1-3 out instead of an E3. Right centerfielder Rich Moots charged in to make an unbelievable catch on a sinking fly ball from the bat of Bob Christiansen. No one figured the ball would be caught so the runners from first and second broke for the next base on the hit. Rich did make the catch and relayed to ball to rover Wayne Mundy, who threw to second for the double play. There was time for a triple play had the throw first gone to the first baseman. At any rate, that play was remarkable all the way round. LEADING HITTERS: Fred Dampier - 5 for 5 with 1 homer & 2 triples. Don Witmer - 5 for 6 with 2 homers. Sam Lopez - 4 for 5 with 1 double & 1 walk. John Merritt - 4 for 5. Jack Valliere - 4 for 5. Gale Doty - 3 for 4 with 1 walk. On behalf of the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club, a big "Thank You" is extended to Wayne Mundy and Chuck Duff. Neither of the two batted during the game and they both played defense for all three teams. Excluding Wayne and Chuck, there were eight players in the batting lineup for each of the three teams. Without Wayne and Chuck playing defense, there would have been a two team contest this morning with 12 players per team. Kentucky Fried Chicken dinners were delivered to the old ballpark after the game. The Board of Directors voted for the picnic as an appreciation to all the ball players who come out and play in the summer. June 24th - George Radlein pitched his team to victory but the margin of victory was narrow, since Team Two attempted a come-from-behind win. Ron Thompson was on the mound for Team Two, which scored 13 and allowed eight while on defense. Rich Palmer threw for Team Three. That team scored eight and gave up 18 runs.
Team One took charge in the top of the first with five runs and scored in every inning except one throughout the rest of the seven inning contest. The first two batters, Reg Barnes and Bob Zelazny, combined for nine hits in 10 trips to the plate. Bob scored all five times he reached base and Reg scored three runs. Both players have been hitting very well the past few games. Reg went 2 for 2 in the first inning as Team One batted around and started again with Reg. The second hit in the inning by Reg drove in the fifth run. Nine batters in the lineup helped this team. The third team also scored five runs in the first. No outs were recorded and the first five batters scored. Jack Valliere, John Fulton, 
and Frank Acevedo each singled to begin the bottom of the first. Freddie Gonzalez doubled and Rich Palmer reached on a fielding error. A double by Dean Schapeler drove in the fifth run.
Three more runs scored in the top of the second inning. Bob Zelazny began with a single and advanced to third on a Wayne Mundy double. Chuck Duff walked to load the bases before a single by George Radlein drove in two runs. A double play ball scored Chuck, who had advanced to third on the hit by George. Team Two quietly scored five runs in the first two innings but was the low team on the totem pole for the first six innings of the game. Don Witmer hit a two run, gapper homer in the first and scored again in the second on a single by Ron Thompson after advancing to third on a Fred Dampier single. The first team continued to score and they added four more in the sixth frame. Rich Kralik singled to begin the inning and Rich Moots followed with a double. 
After the first out was made, Reg Barnes singled and Bob Zelazny doubled. A base hit by Wayne Mundy scored a run and the fourth and final run of the sixth came from a sacrifice fly to rightfield by Chuck Duff.
It wasn't until the last frame that Team Two got extremely hot with the bats. Sam Lopez, Don Witmer, Ron Thompson, and Ed Neumyer all got aboard on singles. Fred Dampier and Gale Doty reached base on fielding errors. When the inning was over, Team Two scored six runs and overtook second place from Team Three. The third team threatened in the bottom of the seventh but failed to push anyone across the plate. In the infield on defense, Rich Moots made a nice catch on a sharp liner while patrolling the first base position. For left handed batters, first base is the mirror image of the hot corner and reaction time has to be quick. The combination of Wayne Mundy at shortstop, Frank Acevedo at rover, and Joel Freedman at first pulled off four of the team's five double plays in seven innings of work. One double play was accomplished unassisted. With runners on first and second bases, Frank Acevedo fielded a grounder, tagged the runner at second, and stepped on second for the DP. LEADING HITTERS: Bob Zelazny - 5 for 5 with 1 double. Chuck Duff - 2 for 2 with 1 triple, 2 walks, and 1 sacrifice fly. Sam Lopez - 2 for 2 with 3 walks. Rich Moots - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Reg Barnes - 4 for 5. Dean Schapeler - 3 for 4 with 1 double. John Fulton - 3 for 4. Wayne Mundy returned to the lineup after taking time off from batting due to a collision with Chuck Duff in the infield about three weeks ago. Wayne has been playing defense for the teams but not batting because of a sore shoulder and chest. The pain in his shoulder hindered his batting swing so he decided to shut it down for a while to allow for the healing process. Wayne went 3 for 5 with a double upon his return to the batter's box. June 27th - Since the Winter Haven area was the recipient of a major downpour the previous evening, enough ball players kept away from the old ballpark that there was a two team contest this morning. Four of the five diamonds had standing water spread over the infields. The only playable field was the Polk Community College women's fastpitch field with the 225 feet fences. Every ball parked over the fence was a ground rule double this morning.
The game was a bit one-sided. The visiting team scored five runs in the first and held the lead the entire game. Vassurl Bess lead off the game with a misjudged fly ball that resulted with an inside-the-park homer. He can fly around the bases, and when the ball sailed over the fielder's head, it was a no doubter that he would score. Everything went downhill for the home team after that first batter. The next four scored and no outs were in the books at the end of the inning. Four of the five players who scored in the first also 
came home in the top of the third. Vassurl Bess reached on a fielder's choice and scored for the second time. Jose Agosto went 2 for 2 and scored twice. Ron Thompson scored two times - once on a double and once after getting on from a fielder's choice. Bob Zelazny singled and doubled for two runs scored.
Every player, with the exception of the last two batters, scored at least one run for the visitors. The last two batters were on base five of 10 times at bat but were stranded every time. Strange as it may seem, nine different players scored of the 11 total runs in the game for the home team. Of all the big hitters in both lineups, only one player cranked the ball over the fence for a ground rule double. In fact, Don Witmer hit two over today. In the field on defense, shortstop Roger Edwards tied a record held by many when he recorded three assists in the eighth inning. All three throws were to first base. One play is worth a mention. On a pitch that was deemed illegal, Rich Kralik swung anyway and singled. The ball dropped between first baseman Jose Agosto and second baseman Sam Harrell. Sam bent down to pick up the ball just before Jose reached down. Jose ended up with his hand on Sam's head and Sam's cap in his hand. It was funny! You had to be there to appreciate it. LEADING HITTERS: Chuck Duff - 4 for 4. Vassurl Bess - 4 for 5 with 1 homer. Don Witmer - 4 for 5 with 3 doubles. John Fulton - 4 for 5. Ron Thompson - 3 for 4 with 2 doubles & 1 walk. Roger Edwards - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Doug Chamlee - 3 for 4. Rich Palmer went down just before reaching first on a single. He thinks that he pulled a hamstring in his right leg. He had to leave the game and was replaced on the mound by Ron Thompson. We all hope Rich will not be out of commission for too long. Cecil Vasquez returned from Puerto Rico to play this morning. He picked up right where he left off and went 2 for 3 with one double. Welcome back, Cecil. |
May 2008