October 2008 News Archive
 October 3rd - Two pitchers recorded wins in the three team game this morning. Larry Powell pitched for the overall winning team. Rich Palmer was on the hill for the team that scored nine runs while giving up eight on defense. George Radlein threw for the team that scored eight but surrendered 13 while in the field.
Team Two showed potential to be the team to beat this morning as three runs crossed the plate in the opening frame. Jack Valliere drew a one out walk to start the rally. Don Witmer and Fred Dampier each singled to load the bases for Doug Chamlee. A base hit by Doug drove home two runs. Pitcher Geroge Radlein hit a sacrifice to leftfielder Jerry Noble to bring Fred home for the third and final run of the inning. The third team answered with two runs. A Freddy Gonzalez triple drove Jerry Noble home after he walked. Also scoring was Chris Constantine. Chris had reached base after he had grounded into a fielder's choice and erased Ron Thompson from the base paths. Ron was on base by way of a single to rightfield. The second frame was uneventful for all three teams as a zero was written on the dugout scoreboard for each team. The highlight of the top of the second came from a sparkling defensive play. Shortstop Chris Constantine stretched it out to make a diving stop on a Rich Palmer grounder. Chris made an accurate throw from his back to fill-in rover Doug Chamlee to force the runner out at second. Nice play Chris. Team Two scored again in the third. John Fulton singled to open the inning and advanced to third on a Don Witmer single. A base hit by Fred Dampier scored John. Once again, Team Three answered with three runs of their own. Jerry Noble got aboard with a single but was replaced when the next batter hit into a fielder's choice. Chris Constantine followed with a 
hit and Sam Lopez singled after the second out was in the books. Larry Powell drove in the third run with a base knock.
At the end of three innings of play, Team Three took the lead for good. The score at that juncture of the game was 0-4-5. Team One finally got ignited in the fourth frame. With one out, three straight singles came from the bats of Eddie Diaz, Rich Palmer, and Ron Butler. The hit by Ron drove in two runs. Tom Bonds walked to push Ron to second but the next batter grounded into a 6-5 fielder's choice to end the inning. Team Three burst out with four runs in the bottom of the fourth to add to their lead. Rich Moots and Gale Doty each singled to begin the frame. The last man in the lineup, Bill Spring, grounded into a fielder's choice for out number one. The leadoff batter followed with a fly out to leftfielder John Fulton for the second out. An infield error got the next batter on base so every run scored would be unearned. At that point, no runners had crossed the plate. Chris Constantine connected for a hit to drive two home and he advanced to second on the throw. That left first base open so Freddy Gonzalez was pitched around but he didn't bite. He walked to first while Sam Lopez left the on deck circle to bat. He singled in two runs and finished the game batting 4 for 4. The visiting fifth inning witnessed two more runs touching home plate. Gene Baker, who went 2 for 3 for the day, singled. After a pinch runner replaced Gene at first, Vassurl Bess singled. Two successive outs immediately 
followed the hit by Vassurl. Bob DiPietro and Eddie Diaz each connected for a two out single. The hit by Eddie drove the second run home.
The unstoppable Team Three scored again in the bottom of the fifth. Gale Doty got another single, his third in three attempts at the plate, before Jerry Noble produced a two run double. Jerry scored on a Ron Thompson base hit. By this time in the game, Team Three extended their lead to 4-4-12. The first squad closed the gap in the sixth with two powerful at bats. Gene Baker, Vassurl Bess, and Regis Finnegan each singled after the first two batters grounded out to third and second respectively. Roger Edwards batted next and he really stepped into a pitch to drive a ball way over the head of defending leftfielder Jerry Noble for a triple. The hit was very impressive, considering the wind was blowing in from left centerfield. The ball slammed into the ground not far from the warning track. Roger scored on a timely Bob DiPietro double to finish off the scoring for Team One. The first team was now down by only four runs after stringing together three goose eggs to open the game. Team Two came alive again in the seventh but it was to the tune of too little and too late. They did almost catch the second place team, though. They missed a second place tie by one run. Les Wolff jump started the charge with a single. John Fulton also singled after the first out was recorded. Another out followed the single by John. Don Witmer, perfect at the plate with a 4 for 4 performance, singled and he scored when the next batter got on board with a missed fly ball that would have been a nice catch. A Doug Chamlee base hit drove home the fourth and final run of the last frame. Team Two cut down two runners at home in the contest this morning. The first occured when a gapper hit split leftfielder John Fulton and left centerfielder Fred Dampier. Fred picked up the ball and threw to cutoff man and shortstop Don Witmer. Don threw to third baseman Jack Valliere to try to get the runner out at third. The runner was safe but Jack fired home to catcher Joe DeForge to get the lead runner out without question. The second out at home was from a base hit to leftfielder John Fulton. John fielded the ball and promptly threw to shortstop Don Witmer. Don was alerted to throw home and the strike to catcher Joe DeForge got the runner out by a step. Nice plays, guys. LEADING HITTERS: Don Witmer - 4 for 4. Gale Doty - 3 for 3. Rich Palmer - 2 for 2 with 2 walks. Bob DiPietro - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Ron Butler rejoined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club. He last played in the summer of 2007. Welcome back, Ron. The cutoff date is quickly approaching for the annual fees to be paid to play softball. Please be sure to pay before the 15th of October so the late fee doesn't have to be applied. October 7th - The total number of ball players to show for the game this morning ballooned to 39. As a result of the strong turnout, two fields were allocated.
On Fred White Field, pitcher Rich Palmer was the benefactor of a come from behind victory over opposing pitcher Marvin Taylor. The other game took place on Field D. The sun was in the eyes of the shortstop, third baseman, leftfielder, and left centerfielder and it definately was a factor in the game. George Radlein picked up a rather easy win. Fellow pitcher Dick Sessink didn't get enough offensive help today. If the box score for Field D seems rather strange, that is because it is off kilter. The visiting team ran up such a high score in the seven inning affair that they forfeited their turn at bat in the top of the last frame. They remained on the field for the home team's final six outs. The visiting team had a line up of good sports. Thanks guys for making the game fun for all. Bob Zelazny banged an inside-the-park home run in the game on Fred White Field and Randy Lane matched that feat on Field D this morning.
LEADING HITTERS: George Radlein - 5 for 5 with 4 doubles. Don Witmer - 5 for 5 with 1 triple & 1 double. Al Andrews - 5 for 5 with 2 doubles. Don Scarbrough - 5 for 5. Regis Finnegan - 4 for 5 with 2 triples & 2 doubles. Chris Constantine - 4 for 5 with 1 triple. Rich Moots - 4 for 5. Ron Thompson - 4 for 5. Floyd Welton - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Rusty Landahl- 3 for 4. John Merritt - 3 for 4. Al Andrews returned from West Port Island, Maine and hit the ball well. He collected two doubles. Jack Donnelly has been in Winter Haven for two weeks but today marked his first time back on the field. Floyd Welton returned from Jefferson City, Tennessee. He smoked the left centerfielder in his last at bat this morning for a double so he hasn't lost his stroke. Welcome back, Al, Jack, and Floyd. October 10th - Upon arrival at the old ball field, there was a noticeable deluge on the four regulation softball fields. As a result, only one field was deemed playable. The grounds crew did a fine job in preparing the field that was available.
The Polk Community College women's fast pitch field was used and every ball over the short porch was ruled a double, except on April 20th of last year.
Two balls sailed over the 225' fence in the top of the first so that team was setting the tone for the game. Lead off hitter Randy Lane began with a single before Bob DiPietro and Roger Edwards each blasted ground rule doubles. Fred Dampier legged out a double to drive in Roger for the third run. With no outs logged yet, the next batter, Sam Lopez, walked and ended up being the last base runner of the frame. The first out was recorded when a potential "Texas Leaguer" was skied beyond shortstop Don Witmer. Don followed the 
ball into the outfield and made a super over-the-head catch near the third base foul line with his back to the infield. Sam was doubled off first when the next batter lined out.
The middle team made a dent in the score books in the first. Al Andrews hit one just in the perfect place and got credit for a triple after the lead off batter grounded out to second baseman Les Wolff. Chris Constantine doubled in the first run but was out at third when the next batter grounded up the middle to Jack Valliere. Jack noticed that Chris was heading to third and alertly threw to Sam Lopez for the out. Singles by Eddie Diaz and Rich Palmer ended the offensive output for Team Two. With Team Three coming to bat for the first time, the score stood at 3-2. The home team logged only one out in the frame and pushed across five runs. Don Witmer and Bob Zelazny each poked balls over the short fence after Jose Agosto singled 
and Regis Finnegan had a liner double. A Rusty Landahl single drove home the fifth run.
At the end of one inning of play, the score was 3-2-5. Two more runs scored for the fist team in the third. Roger Edwards singled and Fred Dampier doubled home Roger before Sam Lopez clocked one over the fence to drive Fred home. Team Three starting pitcher Marvin Taylor exited the game with his team tied for the lead in the third. Team Two scored three in the third frame when the first batter, Al Andrews, singled and scored on a Freddy Gonzalez double. Eddie Diaz drove Freddy home for a run and then advanced to third when Rich Palmer singled. A hit by Floyd Welton drove in the tying run. Floyd finished the game going 2 for 3. An exciting game was taking place as the score was 5-5-5 after three innings were in the books. Larry Powell took over the pitching duties for Team Three in the fourth and held the opposition scoreless in his first inning of work. Five batters stepped in the batter's box in the middle of the fourth and one scored a run. Ron Thompson singled with two outs and scored on an Al Andrews double that stayed in the park. The home team scored a run on only two hits in the fourth. Regis Finnegan singled and made it to third on an infield error. A base hit by Ron Butler scored Regis. The game was still available for any team that wanted it bad enough. The score after four innings was 5-6-6. The new look on the mound ignited Team One in the fifth. After the first batter grounded out to third baseman Ron Butler, Joe DeForge drew a walk. Three straight singles were produced from the bats of Randy Lane, Bob DiPietro, and Roger Edwards. The 
fourth and final run of the frame scored on a two run double by Fred Dampier.
The score was 9-6-6 after Teams Two and Three put up goose eggs in the fifth frame. The highlight of the middle part of the inning occured when Eddie Diaz came to the plate. He hit a foul ball toward the deep end of the first base dugout. First baseman Sam Harrell gave chase and made a fantastic catch up against the fence. He had to reach high to grab the ball before it scraped against the chain link fence. The top of the sixth was the second consecutive and productive inning for Team One. The bottom of the lineup came through in a big way. Sam Harrell, Ed Neumyer, and Les Wolff each singled to load the bases for Joe DeForge. Joe was patient at the plate and walked for the second successive time, but he got credit for an RBI in this plate appearance. Roger Edwards hit his second ball over the fence before the inning was over. Team One was racing away from the competition and now the score was 14-6-6 going into the middle of the sixth. Something had to be done to make this a close game. Team Three answered the call when they came to bat in the sixth. Regis Finnegan singled and Don Witmer, who went 2 for 3 today, got a base hit with one out. Both Regis and Don advanced one base on the errant throw to the infield on Don's single. That set the table for a Bob Zelazny sacrifice fly ball to right centerfielder Rich Moots. Rich made a nice catch on a ball that was hit to the fence. Three two out singles scored the final runs. Larry Powell, Ron Butler, and Rusty Landahl all had base hits before the final out was recorded. Ron and Rusty each ended the day with a 2 for 3 performance. The seventh frame saw a nice over-the-head catch made by rover Jack Valliere. He ran into centerfield to make a grab on a pop up from the bat of Al Andrews. Nice catch Jack. He played a flawless rover position this morning. He fielded every grounder hit his way, although two were in the hole so deep that he didn't have a chance to throw each of the two runners out at first. Team One added an insurance run in the seventh and came away the victor in the contest today. LEADING HITTERS: Roger Edwards - 4 for 4 with 2 doubles. Fred Dampier - 3 for 3 with 3 doubles & 1 walk. Al Andrews - 3 for 4 with 1 triple & 1 double. Bob DiPietro - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Regis Finnegan - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Eddie Diaz - 3 for 4. Rich Palmer - 3 for 4. Bill Ravo dropped by the old ballpark and watched some of the game. He has returned from his summer home in Saunderstown, Rhode Island. Welcome back, Bill. A new player joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club. Jim Reid, a friend of Bob Zelazny, hit a grounder single between second base and the shortstop in his inaugural at bat and racked up a 2 for 3 game. Welcome aboard, Jim. October 11th - Saturday - Eddie Diaz organized a team and travelled to Nalcrest for a doubleheader. The Bad Boyz won 12-8 in the opening game against the Nalcrest Eagles and was victorious again in the second game by a score of 17-2.
Bad Boyz players included Chris Constantine, manager Eddie Diaz, Bob DiPietro, Roger Edwards, Regis Finnegan, John Fulton, Freddy Gonzalez, Wally Granger, Rusty Landahl, Sam Lopez, Rich Palmer, & Bob Zelazny. Winter Haven Senior Softball Club members on the Nalcrest Eagles were Fred Dampier, Tim Gallagher, and Sam Harrell. Hot dogs and drinks were available for the players to puchase between games and after the second game. As always when Nalcrest hosts an event, many fans were in the stands to support their Nalcrest Eagles and the ball park had a festive atmosphere. Click HERE to view a picture of the Bad Boyz team and individual photos of some of the players and fans. October 14th - The showers that hit before sign in time didn't discourage the masses away from the old ballpark this morning. The clouds sprung a leak during the game and watered the fields with a small shower that lasted only a matter of minutes.
Two fields were used for the games. Dick Sessink recorded the win on Fred White Field. The opposing pitcher was Marvin Taylor. The final score was 20-10. Rich Palmer picked up the victory on Field D. The home team pitcher was George Radlein. With victory close at hand, George turned the ball over to closer Jerry Witter with a one run lead heading into the ninth inning. Jerry threw nothing but heat and recorded a strikeout but the lead slipped away and the visitors won 14-13. Ron Butler connected for a solo inside-the-park shot to right centerfield and Fred Dampier blasted a two run inside-the-park homer to centerfield in the top of the third on Field D this morning.
LEADING HITTERS: Al Andrews - 5 for 5. Sam Lopez - 6 for 7 with 2 doubles. Randy Lane - 6 for 7. Don Witmer - 6 for 7. Rich Palmer - 4 for 5. Bob Lewis returned from Cheshire, Massachusetts. Bob had a single and a double in five plate appearances. Bill Ravo played in his first game since returning from Saunderstown, Rhode Island. He went 3 for 5 in the game. Jerry Witter returned from Addison, New York. He had three hits in five trips to the plate today. Welcome back, Bob, Bill, and Jerry. A new player joined the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club this morning. Tom Snider was referred to the softball program by Gale Doty. Tom was born in Lowell, Massachusetts and is retired. Welcome aboard, Tom. October 17th - The league is still going strong in the Fall of 2008 as there was another excellent turnout at the old ballpark. Two fields were used for the games this morning.
Larry Powell picked up a rather easy victory on Field D as the home team stomped the competition by a score of 16-5. George Radlein toed the rubber for the visitors. It took until the bottom of the ninth inning to determine the winner on Fred White Field. The home team pulled it out by a score of 8-7. Jerry Witter was victorious over opposing pitcher Dick Sessink. Eddie Diaz crushed an inside-the-park homer way over the head of defending fill in rightfielder Rich Moots. Eddie hit the ball hard every trip to the plate today. In an earlier at bat, he hit a triple over rightfield fill in Al Andrews.
LEADING HITTERS: Marshall Bloom - 5 for 5. Regis Finnegan - 4 for 5 with 2 triples. Vassurl Bess - 4 for 5. Eddie Diaz - 3 for 4 with 1 homer & 1 triple. Bob Zelazny - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. Jack Valliere - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Roger Edwards - 3 for 4 with 1 sacrifice fly. October 21st - One team dominated until the last two innings on Fred White Field. Home team pitcher Marvin Taylor allowed a single run in the first inning and shut down the opponents for the next six frames. The visiting team came alive in the last two innings as seven runs crossed the plate. Bob Zelazny banged out a double in the eighth and another two bagger in the ninth. Lead off hitter Ron Butler scored in each of the last two frames. He singled and reached on an infield error in his last two plate appearances.
The game on Field D was a slugfest. After the home team jumped off to a quick start, the game was tied at 10-10 after four innings of play. The visitors were way behind when they came to bat in the seventh. Seven runs crossed the plate to bring them within one run of another tie score in the game. The three spot in the home eighth proved to be the deciding runs. All three scored on an inside-the-park homer by Randy Lane. Besides Randy, Don Witmer also hit an inside-the-park in Field D.
LEADING HITTERS: Dick Mahon - 5 for 5 with 1 double. Al Andrews - 4 for 4.with 1 triple & 2 doubles. Eddie Diaz - 4 for 4 with 1 double. George Radlein - 4 for 4 with 1 double & 1 walk. Randy Lane - 4 for 5 with 1 homer & 1 triple. Doug Chamlee - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Walt Leggett - 4 for 5. Sam Lopez - 4 for 5. Bob Zelazny - 3 for 4 with 1 triple & 2 doubles. Larry Wells - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Vassurl Bess - 3 for 4 with 1 walk. Rich Palmer - 3 for 4. Marvin Taylor - 3 for 4. Doug McLellan returned from Keswick, Ontario, Canada and Fred Ducham arrived from Sanford, Michigan. Welcome back, Doug and Fred. Quote of the day: "Only when you pitch". Several of the Winter Haven members also participate in the Lakeland Senior Softball program so they will know the players mentioned. In the game yesterday in Lakeland, winning pitcher Zane Warner noticed that his shortstop was carrying a mouthpiece that is used to protect his teeth, so he asked Ron Lloyd if he always wore it in the game. Ron made that witty reply. Good one, Ron!  October 24th - The game today was a complete and thorough washout. A steady rain began in the local area late last evening and it continued this morning. It was still sprinkling at the
sign in time so we will have to wait until Tuesday to try again.
One player in particular was probably disappointed about the weather. New player Bernie Mohan had a good hitting day in the last game and is on the way to getting his swing back. He had two hits in four trips to the plate and was looking forward to the game this morning. Bernie was the target among teammates in the last game as he took some friendly kidding after making four outs in back-to-back innings. He grounded out in his last two at bats after getting two hits to start the game. Directly after grounding out, the next batter needed a runner from home so Bernie was elected. In each of the two times that Bernie pinch ran from home, the batter achieved a hit and Bernie made it to first. However, the following hitter forced Bernie out at second both times so he had to walk back to the dugout with his head hung low. In summary, he took some heat from his teammates because he made two outs in two consecutive innings for a total of four outs. He was a good sport about it though, and he took it all in stride. Have a good weekend everyone. Be sure to support the Tampa Bay Rays as they head to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies in the 2008 World Series. The Series is tied at 1-1 and game three will begin tomorrow night, weather permitting. October 28th - B-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r with a capital "B"! A cold front blew in this week and the temperature was hovering around the 45° F mark at sign-in time this morning. There was a stiff wind blowing to make it seem even colder. Enough players braved the weather to occupy two fields, and there were two teams on each field.
The run production was high and, oddly enough, the score sheets indicated scores of 23-22 on both fields. Plenty of players had excellent days in the batter's box on this cold and windy morning. Inside-the-park homers were accomplished by Al Andrews and Bob Zelazny on Fred White Field. Incidentally, Bob hit for the cycle today. Mike Stepp missed an inside-the-park homer on Field D. His run would have been the sixth run of a maximum five run inning because his team was leading at the time. Since the fifth run was on second, Mike got credit for a double instead of a homer.
LEADING HITTERS: Bob Zelazny - 6 for 6 & hit for cycle with 3 doubles. Al Andrews - 6 for 6 with 1 homer & 5 doubles. Mike Stepp - 5 for 5 with 2 doubles. Dean Schapeler - 5 for 5.with 1 triple. Dick Mahon - 5 for 5 with 1 double. Bill Ravo - 5 for 5. Ed Kline - 5 for 6. Frank Miller - 5 for 6. Bernie Mohan - 4 for 5 with 2 doubles. Larry Powell - 4 for 5 with 1 double & 1 walk. Fred Ducham - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Jim Laffoon - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Floyd Welton - 4 for 5 with 1 double. Jack Valliere - 4 for 5 with 1 walk. Walt Leggett - 4 for 5. Dick Sessink - 3 for 4 with 1 walk. Mike Stepp returned from Clinton, TWP, Michigan and Ed Kline returned from Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Both players hit very well today. John Smith arrived from Ithaca, New York but will not have his doctor's release to play until some time in December. Welcome back, Mike, Ed, and John. October 31st - Happy Halloween! Two fields are the norm for this time of year. The game on Fred White Field was close but the visiting team held on for a 17-15 victory. Marvin Taylor picked up the win against opposing pitcher Rich Palmer. Rich has been very consistent during the off season, compiling a record of 22-12 and is the only 20 game winner at this point. Marvin improved his record to 7-8. The final score for the game on Field E was so high that it merited some research. The final tally was 38-17. Since the beginning of January in 2004, the highest recorded off-season score was a 34-23 game played on December 5, 2006, so today's game topped it by four runs. The overall highest score before this game was a 36-11-6 game played on September 16th of this year. That still is the most runs for any one team in a three team contest. The highest score during a season game is 35-21, when Elvis' HoudDawgs Red outlasted Trustco Bank Purple on March 18, 2008. Two inside-the-park home runs were hit this morning and both were on Field E. Bob DiPietro and Larry Powell each accomplished the feat in a losing effort.
LEADING HITTERS: Ron Thompson - 7 for 7 with 4 doubles. Elmer Black - 7 for 7 with 1 triple & 1 double. Frank Miller - 7 for 7 with 1 double. Chris Constantine - 5 for 5 with 2 doubles. Doug McLellan - 5 for 5 with 1 double. Freddy Gonzalez - 6 for 7 with 1 triple & 3 doubles. Randy Lane - 6 for 7 with 1 double. Bob Zelazny - 4 for 5 with 1 triple & 2 doubles. Gene Baker - 4 for 5. Sam Lopez - 3 for 4 with 1 sacrifice fly. Doug Chamlee - 3 for 4 with 2 triples. Two 
snowbirds returned to Winter Haven. Elmer Black returned from Howick, Quebec, Canada and Gene Morey arrived from Howard City, Michigan. Welcome back, Elmer and Gene.
Larry Powell accompanied a prospective Winter Haven Senior Softball Club member to the old ballpark this morning. Don Pitts was one of the pitchers on Field E. Also, two new prospects read about the senior softball program in the newspaper. Pat Accetta and Dave Podbielski played on Fred White Field. Please return and join, Don, Pat, and Dave. Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies for winning the 2008 World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Phillies won in five games and gathered their second world championship. The Phillies won the final game of the series on their home field in front of their fans at Citizens Bank Park on October 29th. The first championship came in 1980 at the expense of the Kansas City Royals. |
September 2008