July 1st - More severe rain swept the area in the evening prior to the game. As a result, the only field that was dry enough for a game was the Polk Community College women's field.
| Thompson | 0 0 5 | 3 3 5 | 0 = 16 | ||||||||
| Diaz | 2 0 5 | 0 2 0 | 0 = 9 | ||||||||
| Dampier | 3 0 1 | 0 4 0 | 1 = 9 |
Team Two appeared to be the team to beat as they racked up seven runs over the first three innings. Jaime Rivera and Bob Zelazny each scored two runs although they only had one hit apiece. The hit by Bob in the third was the first of back-to-back gapper doubles. Jim Laffoon also doubled in that frame.
Only two more runs scored the remainder of the game for the second team.
Starting pitcher Fred Dampier shutout out Team One the first two innings but lost the strike zone in the
third as the bases were loaded with walks. Fred exited the mound and fill-in left centerfielder Jim Laffoon finished the inning. New member Joe Teach towed the rubber from the fourth inning until the completion of the game. Joe had pitched in the past and was ready to step up to the task at hand.
The fifth and sixth innings proved to be the fateful frames for Team One. Three scored in the fifth on one single by John Fulton, one ground rule double by Chuck Duff, and two gapper doubles, which came from the
bats of Ron Thompson and Jack Valliere.
Five more runs touched the dish in the sixth to insure a win for Team One. Bill Spring, Gene Baker, and Vassurl Bess got aboard on singles to load the bases. Don Witmer drove in two runs with a gapper double. Two fielding miscues allowed the other three runs to score.
Team Three managed to push a run across the plate in the final inning to equal the run production of Team Two. Dean Schapeler singled, advanced to third on a Doug Chamlee single, and socred on a hit by Gale Doty.
A triple play was turned in the infield this morning. With runners on first and second, the batter grounded to third baseman Jim Laffoon. Jim stepped on third and threw to rover Frank Acevedo, who was awaiting the relay at second. Pivot man Frank fired the ball to first baseman Joel Freedman for an around-the-horn triple play. Well done guys.
In the outfield, right centerfielder Bill Walker made the highlight reel when he charged in as fast as his legs could take him to rob Rich Moots of a Texas Leaguer base hit. Nice catch Bill.
LEADING HITTERS:
Doug Chamlee - 4 for 4.
Chris Constantine - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Jack Valliere - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Gale Doty - 3 for 4.
John Fulton - 3 for 4.
Sam Harrell - 3 for 4.
Rich Moots - 3 for 4.
Ron Thompson - 3 for 4.
All star little leaguer David, grandson of Lee Baker, kept score for all three teams and did a fantastic job. David knows how to keep score properly and deserves a big "Thank You" for his help.
As mentioned earlier, Joe Teach joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club. He is a friend of Dean Schapeler and plans to play on a regular basis. Joe is retired and lives in the area year round. Welcome aboard Joe.
The next game is scheduled on the morning of the July 4th holiday. The Winter Haven Parks Department has agreed to allow play on that day so come on out for a ball game. The head count from the players today indicate there will be almost enough for two teams. Sam Harrell will unlock the gates and relock them after the game.
Here is a Flo & Friends cartoon created by Jenny Campbell and shared by Rich Palmer. Oddly enough, the captions in the cartoon seem vaguely familiar, don't they?
A link has been added near the bottom of the main page to collect some of the cartoons depticting the lighter side of playing softball.
July 4th - The game was played on this Independence holiday. The system crashed as the game recap was being moved to the archive folder. As a result, the game recap for this day was lost in cyberspace.
July 8th - Larry Powell racked up the win in the three team contest. Team One, with George Radlein pitching, gave up 10 runs while on defense and scored eight runs. Dick Sessink pitched for the second team, which scored 10 and allowed 15 while in the field.
| Radlein | 3 1 0 | 1 0 0 | 3 = 8 | ||||||||
| Sessink | 0 1 4 | 0 4 0 | 1 = 10 | ||||||||
| Powell | 3 1 3 | 2 5 1 | X = 15 |
The third team scored in each of the six innings they batted and didn't need to come to the plate in the seventh. Freddy Gonzalez went 4 for 4 and scored each time to lead the offense. The most productive frame for Team Three came in the fifth.
Five runs scored on five hits and a fielding error. John Merritt, Gene Baker, Elvis Abney, and Freddy Gonzalez each singled while Fred Dampier doubled. The fifth run scored when the first baseman mishandled a throw after Chris Constantine grounded to the shortstop.
Since Team Three lead at the end of the inning from the third frame on, teams One and Two battled for second place. Team Two took jumped well ahead of Team One when they sent four runners home in the fifth and even were tied with Team Three at that point. Jack Valliere began with a single and Dean Schapeler followed with a single after one out was in the books. Don Witmer drew a walk and Dick Sessink hit safely. Before the inning was over, all four guys scored.
Doug Chamlee and George Radlein each hit a perfect 3 for 3 on Team One. Reg Barnes and Jim Laffoon weren't far behind as they went 3 for 4 so there was plenty of offense for the team.
Wayne Mundy didn't bat today because he had to leave early so he elacted to play defense for two of the three teams. He made two sparkling catches at the rover position and both catches came back-to-back in the fourth frame. Lefty Vassurl Bess hit a Texas Leaguer popup into shallow right centerfield and Wayne ran out to make an over-the-head catch. On the very next batter, Reg Barnes, Wayne made a similar catch and covered approximately the same amount of ground. Nice grabs Wayne.
LEADING HITTERS:
Freddy Gonzalez - 4 for 4 with 3 doubles.
Doug Chamlee - 3 for 3 with 1 sacrifice fly.
George Radlein - 3 for 3 with 1 sacrifice fly.
Fred Dampier - 3 for 4 with 3 doubles.
Dean Schapeler - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Reg Barnes - 3 for 4.
John Fulton - 3 for 4.
Jim Laffoon - 3 for 4.
Larry Powell - 3 for 4.
Commissioner Ron Thompson made public a change that was recently approved by the Board of Directors for the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club. Pitcher shin guards are no longer mandatory since the pitching screen is now in use for every game.
The website reporter played his last game for a month this morning. Fred Dampier will be visiting relatives in Galveston, Texas and the surrounding area from July 12th until August 12th. Although the website may not be updated for that period of time, the games will go on as scheduled.
July 11th - While Ron Thompson recovers from an injury that has prevented him from batting, he has volunteered to pitch. He pitched for all three teams this morning. Ron injured his left hand in a Winter Haven Senior Softball Club game a week ago when a ball was hit back towards the mound. Ron's hand was split open between the thumb and index finger in a freak accident, since he wears his glove on the left hand.
| Team One | 0 0 1 | 0 1 0 | 0 = 2 | ||||||||
| Team Two | 4 1 3 | 0 0 2 | 0 = 10 | ||||||||
| Team Three | 4 0 0 | 0 0 1 | 2 = 7 |
Teams Two and Three each got four runs in the first inning in this low scoring event, in which only one team finished in double figures. Team Two began with singles by Chris Constantine and Sam Harrell. Speedy Freddy Gonzalez then hit an inside-the-park three run homer. One more runs scored when Dick Sessink reached base on a fielding error, advanced to second on a Reg Barnes single, and scored on a base hit by Gale Doty.
Four scored for Team Three from six consecutive singles. Bob DiPietro, Jim Laffoon, Bill Walker, and Frank Acevedo all singled and scored. John Merritt and Rich Palmer also connected for base hits.
Team Three cooled off for a few innings but Team Two continued their onslaught in the second and third frames. Freddy Gonzalez doubled in the second and crossed the plate when Jose Agosto banged an opposite field single.
As it turns out, the three runs in Team Two's third inning proved to be enough to win the game. The lower part of the lineup accounted for the production. Reg Barnes, who finished with a 4 for 4 game, singled, followed by hits from Gale Doty and Joel Freedman. Gene Baker got on base when Gale was forced out and ended up scoring from a Chris Constantine double.
The third team tried to catch up to the lead in the seventh but fell short. Frank Acevedo and John Merritt each had RBI hits after Bob DiPietro and Jim Laffoon singled.
There wasn't much good news to report for Team One. They just couldn't put it all together, although the team as a whole did hit well. Roger Edwards went 3 for 3 for the day and Ed Neumyer and Jack Valliere each went 2 for 3.
LEADING HITTERS:
Reg Barnes - 4 for 4.
Roger Edwards - 3 for 3 with 1 double.
Bob DiPietro - 4 for 5 with 1 double.
Jim Laffoon - 4 for 5.
Rich Palmer - 4 for 5.
July 15th - The bad weather during the previous evening prevented the game from being played on "Fred White Field". The Polk Community College womens fast pitch field was used this morning in the three team contest.
The scoresheets were not kept for Team Two so there is nothing to report for that team. Come on, guys, it isn't that difficult to help out and keep score.
Team One, with Eddie Diaz pitching, was victorious over Team Three by the score of 13-11. Rich Palmer was on the mound for the third team.
Eight of the eleven batters in the lineup for Team Three scored one run,
so the offensive production was spread throughout the entire team. Five of those runs came in the second inning. Dean Schapeler began the inning with the first of his two doubles in the game. Dick Sessink was patient at the plate and drew a walk before Bill Walker singled. After Rich Palmer popped up to third base, Jim McPartlan got a single. Jim ended the day batting 1.000 as he went 2 for 2 this morning. Sam Harrell drove in the fifth run with a base hit. At the end of two innings of play, Team Three lead 5-2.
Only one out was recorded in the top of the third as five runs crossed the plate. Wayne Mundy was really pounding the ball and doubled to begin the frame. He ended the day with three extra base hits. Randy Lane doubled and Eddie Diaz tripled in the inning. Bill Spring got into the hitting mode, too. He singled in the fifth run. The five runs gave Team One a 7-6 lead after three innings were complete.
Team One inched toward victory in the fourth. Two runs touched the dish. Wayne Mundy and Freddy Gonzalez each doubled and scored. The Randy Lane single drove Freddy home. At the end of four frames, Team One had increased their lead to 9-6.
The final output for Team Three occured in the fifth when five runs scored. Dean Schapeler banged out a double, while singles were accomplished by Jim Laffoon, Bill Walker, and Rich Palmer. At the end of five frames, Team Three creeped into the lead by one run. The score - 11 to 10.
Wayne Mundy tripled and Freddy Gonzalez doubled for the two runs for the Team One sixth. That gave them a 12-11 lead. It was still anyone's game to win.
Rich Kralik got his third hit of the day in the critical seventh and ended up scoring the insurance run for Team One.
LEADING HITTERS:
Jim McPartlan - 2 for 2 with 1 walk.
Wayne Mundy - 4 for 5 with 1 triple & 2 doubles.
Freddy Gonzalez - 4 for 5 with 2 doubles.
Jim Laffoon - 3 for 4 with 2 doubles.
Randy Lane - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Sam Harrell - 3 for 4.
Rich Kralik - 3 for 4.
Bill Walker - 3 for 4.
July 18th - The three team game proved to be a duel between two teams and a one run win.
| Diaz | 0 0 2 | 0 0 3 | 0 = 5 | ||||||||
| Ayers | 5 3 1 | 0 0 1 | 0 = 10 | ||||||||
| Palmer | 5 3 0 | 1 0 0 | 0 = 9 |
Teams Two and Three battled it out in a close game this morning while Team One didn't quite fare as well, although they did give it their best shot. In the first, five scored for both the second and third teams. Only one out was recorded in the middle of the first. The deciding hit that drove in the final run was a single from the bat of Bobby Ayers. Bobby hasn't played at all in the
morning games since the past winter and was eager to make a good impression. He pitched for his team and received the "W" and hit well. He went 3 for 4 on
the day.
In the bottom of the first, Team Three came charging back with five runs of their own. The first five batters in the order touched home and one upped Team Two because no outs were logged. A Randy Lane double was the final blow of the inning.
Team Three matched Team Two in the second frame as three runs scored for both teams. Don Witmer scored in both innings for the second team and Wayne Mundy and Jim Laffoon did the same for the third team.
Meanwhile, Team One went scoreless in the first two innings. They did open up in the third as a couple of runs scored on hits by Eddie Diaz, John Merritt, and Chris Constantine along with a walk to Roger Edwards.
Team Two took a one run lead in the third but Team Three tied the score again when they got one in the fourth. Rusty Landhal drove in the one run for Team One when he connected for a double and Jim Laffoon's triple scored Wayne Mundy for Team Three. At the end of four innings of play, the score was 2-9-9 and that ended the scoring for Team Three.
Hits by Ron Thompson, John Fulton, Bill Walker accounted for the final and deciding run for Team Two in the sixth.
The fist team pushed across three in the sixth on hits and walks. Joel Freedman and Rich Kralik singled and Bill Spring walked. Roger Edwards received his second walk of the game and Chris Constantine drove in a run with a double. At the end of six frames, the score was 5-10-9 and that was the final score since no one scored in the seventh.
LEADING HITTERS:
Jim Laffoon - 4 for 4 with 1 triple & 1 double.
Bill Walker - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Dean Schapeler - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Bobby Ayers - 3 for 4.
Rich Kralik - 3 for 4.
John Merritt - 3 for 4.
Wayne Mundy - 3 for 4.
July 22nd - There were too many players for a two team game but not quite enough for a three team game. A
total of 12 players were in each lineup for the two team game this morning. Incidentally, this particular two team game had only a seven inning duration
rather than nine innings.
| Diaz | 3 0 0 | 1 0 2 | 0 = 6 | ||||||||
| Radlein | 0 1 5 | 1 5 1 | 2 = 15 |
The teams appeared evenly matched on paper before the game began but it just didn't work out that way. The home team took an early lead when they put up a three spot in the opening frame. Reg Barnes started off with a single and Jim Laffoon tripled Reg in after the second batter popped up to shortstop Wayne Mundy. The next batter, Bill Walker, doubled in Jim and Bill scored on a Jack Valliere single.
The visitors showed off their team unity when five runs
crossed home in the top of the third. Gene Baker opened the frame when he drew a walk. He scored after John Fulton singled. The next batter reached base on a dropped fly ball and both players scored, too. A base hit by George Radlein completed the five run inning.
Five more runs came home in the visiting fifth. Six straight hits accounted for the runs. Sam Lopez, John Fulton, and Wayne Mundy each singled, followed by a double from the bat of Freddy Gonzalez. Doug Chamlee got a base hit and requested a pinch runner. The runner scored on a double by George Radlein.
With many players batting only three times in the abbreviated game with 12 players in each lineup, some hitters had decent batting games but just didn't appear in the batter's box enough to be recognized as leading batters. Chris Constantine went 2 for 3 with a triple and a double, Bill Walker went 2 for 3 with a double, Sam Lopez went 2 for 3 with a walk, and Rich Kralik went 2 for 3 this morning. Rich has been swinging a hot lately. Keep it up, Rich.
LEADING HITTERS:
George Radlein - 4 for 4 with 1 double.
Jim Laffoon - 3 for 3 with 1 triple.
Bill Walker - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Doug Chamlee - 3 for 4.
John Fulton - 3 for 4.
July 25th - The morning league was back to three teams again this morning. With more ball players joining the
Winter Haven Senior Softball Club in the past three years, our total numbers seem to be increasing a bit at a time.
| Palmer | 5 0 0 | 3 5 1 | 0 = 14 | ||||||||
| M.Taylor | 0 3 0 | 1 0 0 | 0 = 4 | ||||||||
| Sessink | 4 0 5 | 2 0 5 | X = 16 |
The pitchers were on display today as two of the three teams sported a couple of hurlers during the game. Rich Palmer was on the mound for Team One. That team scored 14 runs and allowed only four while on defense. Marvin Taylor began the game for Team Two. Marvin gave way to relief pitcher Larry Wells. The third team started lefty Dick Sessink. After a number of innings, Dick turned over the ball to George Radlein. Of the five pitchers this morning, Marvin Taylor and Dick Sessink are regular pitchers on Florida Half Century teams and Rich Palmer pitches for his New Jersey team in that state's
annual Senior Games.
Shortstop and Florida Half Century 50s and 60s player, Jim Laffoon, had his third straight perfect batting game. He went 4 for 4 this morining. Four other players also batted 1.000 today. Roger Edwards went 3 for 3 with a triple and a double. He also walked in his third trip to the plate. Bob DiPietro batted 3 for 3 with a double for the lowest scoring team. Rusty Landahl went 3 for 3 and he walked in his last at bat. Rich Moots also had his hitting shoes on as he went 3 for 3 and was in the on deck circle when the last out was made for his team.
Team One began the game with five runs. The first four players in the lineup scored and six singles were banged out in the top of the first. A bases loaded single by Don Witmer began the scoring as two runs crossed the plate on that hit. Singles by Jack Valliere, Rusty Landahl, and George Radlein completed the inning. That offensive output was enough to lead the game until the third frame.
Six hits and a costly error allowed Team Three to take the lead after three innings of play. Jim Laffoon, Bob Zelazny, and Roger Edwards began with base hits before an out was logged into the books. Afterwards, George Radlein and Dick Sessink singled followed by a fielding error. Two runs scored after the error and that allowed Team Three to take the lead. Joel Freedman drove in a run with a single after the miscue. At the end of three innings of play, the score was 5-3-9.
The home team added two more runs in the fourth and another error helped extend the inning. Sam Lopez doubled and scored. Bob Zelazny was issued a free pass and was pushed home on an array of semi productive at bats, which included fielder's choices, walks, and fly outs - not necessarily in that order.
Team One took the lead one more time when they managed five runs in the fifth. A two run triple by Wayne Mundy was the huge hit in that frame. Rich Moots drove in the final run with a single. At the end of five innings, the score read 13-4-11.
The home team rose to the challange in the bottom of the sixth to pull out a victory in the game. Two infield errors allowed the final two runs to score. Before that, Bob Zelazny and Roger Edwards smashed out back-to-back gapper doubles.
LEADING HITTERS:
Jim Laffoon - 4 for 4.
Roger Edwards - 3 for 3 with 1 triple, 1 double, & 1 walk.
Bob DiPietro - 3 for 3 with 1 double.
Rusty Landahl - 3 for 3 with 1 walk.
Rich Moots - 3 for 3.
Bob Zelazny - 3 for 4 with 1 double.
Reg Barnes - 3 for 4.
Jack Valliere - 3 for 4.
Larry Wells and Mike Tomasso joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club this morning. Welcome aboard Larry and Mike.
July 29th - One team scored as much as the other two teams in the game this morning. Marvin Taylor pitched for the team that scored 14 runs and gave up five. Larry Powell was on the mound for the team that scored five runs and surrendered nine and George Radlein took the ball for the third team. They scored nine runs and allowed 14 while on defense.
| M.Taylor | 1 4 1 | 2 1 5 | 0 = 14 | ||||||||
| Powell | 0 0 0 | 5 0 0 | 0 = 5 | ||||||||
| Radlein | 2 0 4 | 0 0 0 | 3 = 9 |
A total of 32 ballplayers showed up for the game today. It will only take just a few more players and two fields will have to be allocated. Not all of the "regulars" were there today, so a two field game day may not be in the distant future.
Team One put it all together this morning and scored in every inning except one. They did begin rather slowly, since one run scored and only five batters came to the plate. Lefty Vassurl Bess began with a single. He couldn't advance as the next batter popped up to second base. Wayne Mundy followed with a fly out to allow Vassurl to tag up and reach second. An RBI double from the bat of Chuck Duff accounted for the lone run.
After the second team went three up and three down, Team
Three took the early lead on a two run inside-the-park homer by Don Witmer. Ed Neumyer reached first on a second baseman's fielding error before the blast. Before the inning was over, Ron Thompson and George Radlein had singled but were unable to score.
The first team got uncorked in the second. Big Rusty Landahl walked to begin the inning. When the lead off batter walks, it is a high percentage risk that he will score and this incident was no exception. Four straight singles came after the walk. Eddie Diaz, Marvin Taylor, Rich Moots, and Joltin' Joe DeForge accomplished that feat while Rusty and Eddie scored runs. A fielder's choice erased Marvin from the base paths for the first out and Rich was thrown out trying to advance after the next batter got on base from an infield error. By the time the inning was over for Team One, two more runs had scored for a total of four in the second frame.
Team Three had their most productive inning in the third as they tied the first team for the lead. Gene Baker, who ended the day going 2 for 3, singled as did Ed Neumyer. After
the next batter got aboard on an error, hot hitter Don Witmer tripled with the bases juiced. At this point Don had a homer and a triple en routh to attempt hitting for the cycle. Don scored the fourth run on a ground out from the batter in the fifth hole. At the end of three innings of play, the score was 6-0-6.
Team One began gaining the lead for the eventual win after they racked up two more runs in the fourth but that inning belonged to Team Two. The second team, which had been shutout up to that point in the game, exploded for five runs. Jim Laffoon started the onslaught with a double and Freddy Gonzalez slammed a triple. Freddy scored from a Bill Walker single. Two quick outs were made before Dick Sessink walked. Three of the five runs scored with two outs in the books. Gale Doty singled and elderly Bill Spring received a bases loaded walk. Chris Constantine got a crucial two out single to drive in two runs. After four innings, the score was 8-5-6. It was anyone's game at this point.
The fifth was relatively quite for all three teams. Eddie Diaz cranked a solo shot for an inside-the-park homer for Team One. That hit increased the Team One lead to 9-5-6.
The back breaking frame that assured Team One the victory came in the sixth. The first five batters in the lineup scored. Vassurl Bess lead off with a walk. Reg Barnes and Wayne Mundy each singled before the next batter reached base on a misplayed ball in the outfield. Frank Acevedo singled and a base hit by Rusty Landahl drove in the fifth run. Six batters came to the plate and no outs were recorded.
Team Three tried hard to make a valiant comeback in the last inning but came up short. Gene Baker singled and scored his second run of the game and Ed Neumyer topped Gene when he singled and scored for the third time. Don Witmer singled and was pushed home on base hits by Bob Zelazny and Ron Thompson.
After all the dust had settled, Team One scored 14 runs and Teams Two and Three had scored 14 runs combined.
LEADING HITTERS:
Don Witmer - 3 for 4 with 1 homer & 1 triple.
Ron Thompson - 3 for 4.
