July 2009 News Archive
 July 3rd - Although there were only 26 players at the old ball park, three teams were set up for competition. The sitting team filled in on defense to boost the the number of fielders to 11, so it worked out very well.
It was somewhat of a pitcher's duel this morning. George Radlein and Ron Thompson each allowed only four runs for the entire seven inning game. George received a win for his efforts but Ron had to settle for a tie. Team Two had the only two good innings. They scored five runs in the first and last frames. In the first, lead off batter Reg Barnes walked and Sam Lopez followed up with a walk of his own. The third man, Brent Alumbaugh, was safe at first when an outfielder camped 
under a high fly ball but let it slip out of his glove. With the bases loaded, George Radlein came through with a single as did Rich Moots. Les Wolff got aboard on a booted ball in the infield. Gene Baker, the last man in the lineup, reached base on a fielder's choice grounder but he also drove in the fifth run of the inning.
The number one and two punch for Team Three combined to go 7 for 8. Vassurl Bess was pefect at the plate as he went 4 for 4. He also scored three of the four runs for the home team. Bob Zelazny, hitting in the number two hole, went 3 for 4 with a triple. Team One ended the game with four runs in the total column. In all, the team scattered their runs in four 
separate innings. Lee Baker did his part. He went to bat only three times but accomplished
two base hits.
The second team finished the game with five runs in the seventh. Rich Moots walked to open the frame and Les Wolff reached base on a muffed ball in the infield. After the next batter flew out, lead off batter Reg Barnes was safe at first on an ground ball error. Sam Lopez singled in a run before Brent Alumbaugh walked. Clean up hitter Fred Dampier hit a line drive double toward rightfielder John Merritt to drive home another run and George Radlein knocked in two runs with a single. Rich Moots came to bat again in the seventh and had an RBI single. Les Wolff drove home the fifth and final run when he grounded into a fielder's choice. In the field on defense, first baseman Larry Wells made a nice stop on a hard grounder hit down the line by Brent Alumbaugh. Larry scooped up the ball and beat Brent to first for an unassisted putout. Chuck Duff, who patrolled left centerfield for his team, raced in to catch a low liner from the bat of Sam Lopez. Chuck initially was in position to back up right centerfielder Randy Lane but Randy couldn't quite make it to the ball in time. Sam Lopez was robbed of an extra base hit with that super catch. LEADING HITTERS: Vassurl Bess - 4 for 4. Don Witmer - 2 for 2 with 1 double, 1 walk, & 1 sacrifice fly. Chuck Duff - 3 for 4 with 1 triple & 1 double. Bob Zelazny - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. George Radlein - 3 for 4 with 1 double. The quote of the day came from Chuck Duff. While in the outfield, he noticed that umpire Joel Freedman first called a ball on batter Regis Finnegan but immediately changed his call to a strike. The batter begins with a 1-1 count and that was the first pitch to Regis. Sooooooooo, Chuck jokingly informed the fielders the count was 2-2. We all needed some softball humor in our low scoring game on this hot and humid day. July 7th - One team dominated with three players doing most of the damage, one team began slow and made a charge towards the end of the game, and one team spread their runs throughout most of the lineup.
The combination of Sam Lopez, Jim Laffoon, and Bob Zealzny for Team Two went 15 for 15 with 15 runs scored. That amount of runs was enough to win against each of the other two teams. Larry Wells also went 5 for 5 for the second team and had quite a few RBI this morning. Team One, with the help of players all through the scorecard, began the game with four runs. Vassurl Bess singled but was forced at second on a fielder's choice. 
Brent Alumbaugh tripled in the first run and scored when pitcher Larry Powell tripled down the leftfield line. The ball almost made it to the warning track while still in flight. Sam Harrell reached base on an infield error, which scored Larry. Sam eventually came home as
a result of two infield errors and a single by Jim McPartlan.
The first four batters scored for Team Two and tied for the lead with the first team very early in the game. Randy Lane, Sam Lopez, Jim Laffoon, and Bob Zelazny each singled before Dick Sessink drew a free pass. Larry Wells singled in the last two runs for the team. Joel Freedman walked afterwards but did not advance beyond first base. The home team started off slowly but picked up steam later in the game. In the first, Ron Thompson singled and advanced to third when Wayne Mundy had a base hit to the opposite field. A sacrifice fly by Chuck Duff accounted for the only run for Team Three in the opening inning. The second frame for Team One witnessed a couple of extra base hits. Carl Luebking smashed a deep triple and scored on a double from the bat of Brent Alumbaugh. Brent raced home on a Larry Powell base hit. The top of the lineup was at it again for Team Two in the second inning. Randy Lane, Sam Lopez, and Jim Laffoon singled to set up a double by Bob Zelazny. Dick Sessink singled and Larry Wells doubled in the final two runs. One more run crossed the plate for Team Three in the second. Ken Ota lead off with a base knock, advanced two bases on a misplayed ball in the outfield, and scored on a fielder's choice play, which erased Richard Marino, who had reached first base on the outfield error. One hit and one run for the home team. At the end of two innings of play, the score was 6-9-2. The third team had the only productive offensive inning in the third. They scored three runs but did it on absolutely no hits. Bill Spring walked to begin this unusual scoring inning. The runner for Bill strolled to second on a one out walk to Ron Thompson. The next player got aboard on a costly error by the rover, scoring two runs before Chuck Duff stepped to the plate and hit his second straight sacrifice fly. One more batter reached base on an infield error but failed to score. The third team had closed the gap after three innings were in the books. The score stood at 6-9-5. Team One 
produced a couple of runs in the fourth. Carl Luebking had a two out single and scored when Brent Alumbaugh slammed an inside-the-park homer. At that point in the game, Brent had gone 3 for 3 with a double, triple, and a homer. All he needed was a single to hit for the cycle today. But his bat was hot this morning so a single may be out of the question.
The fourth through the seventh innings were more of the same for Team Two. The top of the batting order did all the damage. Sam Lopez, Jim Laffoon, and Bob Zelazny each went 3 for 3 and scored. In the meantime, Team Three went quietly in the fourth and fifth frames. Six up and six down for the hapless home team. But they were about to wake up. At the end of five innings of play, the score stood at 10-17-5. The first team kept chugging away. In the sixth frame, Dean Schapeler started with a double to right centerfield. He scored when Larry Powell singled. An infield error allowed John Merritt to get on base. The error proved costly as the next two batters walked. Jim McPartlan and Lee Baker did not see anything to hit in their turns at bat. A single by Vassurl Bess drove home a run. Team Three got their act together in the sixth inning with the help of the opposing pitcher. Reg Barnes and Ron Thompson both drew one out walks. After that, Chuck Duff singled home a run. A hit by Walt Leggett kept the merry-go-round spinning, too. Ken Ota had a base rap with an RBI as well. By the time the inning was over, the third team had scored four runs and had closed the gap a bit. The score was 13-17-9. The final frame for Team Three produced four more runs and they did it all after the first two batters made outs. Reg Barnes singled before Ron Thompson drew his third consecutive walk. Wayne Mundy singled, Chuck Duff doubled, and Walt Leggett singled. Four runs scored in the bottom of the seventh. Before the inning was complete, Bob Cooper walked but failed to score. The final tally was 14-21-13. As mentioned earlier, Brent Alumbaugh had the only inside-the-park home run on Fred White Field this morning. LEADING HITTERS: Bob Zelazny - 5 for 5 with 1 triple & 2 doubles. Jim Laffoon - 5 for 5 with 1 triple. Larry Wells - 5 for 5 with 2 doubles. Sam Lopez - 5 for 5. Chuck Duff - 2 for 2 with 1 double & 2 sacrifice flys. Ron Thompson - 1 for 1 with 3 walks. Brent Alumbaugh - 4 for 5 with 1 homer, 1 triple, & 2 doubles. Larry Powell - 4 for 5 with 1 triple & 1 double. July 10th - Team One appeared to be the squad to beat as they seemed to have to best hitters of the three teams. They did win but not by a wide margin.
The first team scored the maximum five runs in the opening frame and had two outs to spare. Chris Constantine tripled right off the bat and scored when Freddy Gonzalez doubled up the middle. A single by Jim Laffoon drove the second run home. After the next batter flew out to rightfielder Walt Leggett, both Eddie Diaz and Vassurl Bess singled. Vassurl ended the day batting 1.000 as he went 4 for 4. A double by Jose Agosto knocked in the last two runs. The second team sent just three batters to the plate. Two grounded out and one struck out. The home team fared better. The first batter flew out to leftfielder Wally Granger before Doug Chamlee and Brent Alumbaugh each 
had base hits. A triple by Roger Edwards produced two runs and Roger scored when Walt Leggett singled to the opposite field. Walt took a base runner from first and the pinch runner sped to third when Randy Lane singled. An RBI single by Rusty Landahl was the last productive hit of the inning. Rusty has been swinging a hot bat lately and today was no exception. He went 3 for 3 to raise his off season average to .725. Rusty is currently fourth in batting through 24 games. Joltin' Joe DeForge missed the game today. He was the last player to miss a contest this off season. The third inning went well for the first team. Chris Constantine and Freddy Gonzalez began with base hits before Jim Laffoon tripled both runners home. A double from the bat of Fred Dampier followed. Fred scored when Vassurl Bess doubled. Team Two got on track in the third frame. Regis Finnegan, Sam Lopez, Ron Thompson, and Wally Granger each connected for base hits. The hit by Wally was misplayed in the outfield allowing Wally to score. At the end of three innings of play, the score was 9-5-4. Team One extended their lead in the fifth after scoring three runs. Jim Laffoon doubled to begin the inning followed by a double from the bat of Fred Dampier. Afterwards, Eddie Diaz and Vassurl Bess singled. Eddie was the last base runner to score in the top of the fifth. The single by Vassurl pushed him to second and a fielder's choice grounder by John Merritt brought him home. The bottom of the fifth began when Les Wolff reached base on in infield 
error but the hustle by Les running down the first base line started the rally for the home team. Singles by Doug Chamlee, Brent Alumbaugh, and Roger Edwards scored two runs. The third and final run crossed the plate when Dick Sessink smashed a double.
The middle team mounted a serious come back attempt in the sixth inning. Rich Moots lead off the frame with a single. He strolled to second when Gale Doty walked. The second free pass of the day to Skip Morrison loaded the bases for dangerous hitter Regis Finnegan. The pitcher wisely pitched around Regis and walked him, too. The next batter grounded out but drove a runner home. Ron Thompson and Wally Granger each singled for one RBI apiece. After the dust had settled in the middle of the sixth, the score stood at 13-12-7. Team One scored a much needed insurance run in the final frame. Vassurl Bess singled and advanced to third when Jose Agosto had a base hit up the middle. A base rap by Lee Baker sent Vassurl home for the last run of the game. Two superb fielding plays took place in the contest this morning. In the opening inning, first baseman Jose Agosto fielded a hot grounder down the first base line. Jose scooped up the ball and beat Ron Thompson to the bag for an unassisted putout to end the inning. In the sixth inning, Reg Barnes, playing rover, positioned himself in the dirt behind second base. One runner was on first base when Gene Baker hit a line drive up the middle but towards the third base side. Reg broke for the ball the second it was hit and made the grab with his glove arm fully extended. No inside-the-park homers were hit on Fred White Field today. LEADING HITTERS: Vassurl Bess - 4 for 4 with 1 double. Rusty Landahl - 3 for 3. Fred Dampier - 3 for 4 with 2 doubles. Chris Constantine - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. Jim Laffoon - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. Wally Granger - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Chuck Duff and Don Witmer did not play ball today and graciously volunteered to umpire. Chuck worked behind the plate and Don umped the base paths. Thank you, Chuck and Don. July 14th - For the first time since the website creator began playing softball in the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club in April of 2004, there were enough players to merit two fields and four teams. Nine players comprised each team. One man from the batting team filled in for the defensive team so 10 were in the field. There was no rover position this morning (with one exception).
Elvis Abney cracked a rib in a softball game in Nalcrest yesterday morning, so he volunteered to umpire the game this morning. He worked behind the plate for five innings. Thank you Elvis. The visiting team never had the lead after the completion on any inning but they came within one run after the game was in the books. The home team took the lead early in the game and kept it. Reg Barnes opened the bottom of the first with a single up the middle and 
Dean Schapeler advanced Reg to third with a double. Brent Alumbaugh walked to load the bases for clean up hitter Chuck Duff. Chuck responded with a two run single. Frank Acevedo had an eagle eye this morning. He walked after the hit by Chuck and proceeded to take the stroll to first base on his next two at bats as well. He ended the day with three walks.
Walt Leggett hit a sacrifice fly to drive home the fourth and final run of the first. Four more runs scored in the home third. Chuck Duff and Frank Acevedo drew free passes and Chuck scored but Frank was erased on the base paths when John Merritt hit into a fielder's choice to third baseman Sam Lopez. Joel Freedman knocked in the fourth run with a base rap. The visiting team rallied for five runs in the fifth to go ahead by two runs but relinquished the lead in the bottom of the frame. In the top of the fifth, Larry Powell began with a single toward leftfielder Dean Schapeler. Two outs followed the hit by Larry. No runs had scored yet but the top of the lineup took their turn and changed things. Carl Luebking, Jose Agosto, and Jim Laffoon each banged out singles, with the hit by Jim driving home the first two runs. When the next batter reached base on in infield error, another player crossed the plate. Sam Lopez tripled home the last two runs. Nice two out rally, fellows. The tying run was on second base for the visiting team when the final out was made. Winning pitcher Walt Leggett fielded a grounder and threw to first baseman Joel Freedman to close out the 19-18 game. LEADING HITTERS: Sam Lopez - 4 for 4 with 1 triple & 1 walk. Larry Powell - 4 for 4 with 1 walk. Chuck Duff - 3 for 3 with 1 double & 2 walks. Walt Leggett - 3 for 3 with 2 walks & 1 sacrifice fly. Carl Luebking - 5 for 6. Jim Laffoon 4 for 5 with 1 triple. Brent Alumbaugh - 3 for 4 with 3 doubles & 1 walk.
The visiting team had their game in the bag from the first inning. Their lead off batter, Larry Wells, found himself all the way around the bases on four different occasions. Two doubles helped his cause, too. The opposing team's lead off batter also fared well. Vassurl Bess managed a 5 for 6 day at the plate but his team only pushed him home two times. In the first three innings, 
the visiting team scored 11 of a possible 15 runs. The top of the lineup scored early while the lower half did their job in the latter part of the game.
Ron Thompson went 3 for 3 through three frames and was driven home every time. The two batters following Ron, Don Witmer and Bob Zelazny, each scored twice. Don was also perfect at the plate through three innings, with two doubles under his belt. The home team did have some bright spots. Sam Harrell broke out of his batting funk with a 4 for 5 performance. Regis Finnegan, who also was in a self declared slump lately, batted before Sam and went 4 for 5. Both players combined accounted for 5 of the 13 runs for the home team. In the bottom of the third inning, Regis and Sam each singled and ended up scoring on fly outs and an infield error. The fourth frame was more productive for the home team. After Vassurl Bess popped up to first baseman Rusty Landahl for his only out of the contest, Freddy Gonzalez doubled and then scored when Wayne Mundy connected for a base hit. Two straight singles followed the hit by Wayne. Regis Finnegan and Sam Harrell had singles before George Radlein doubled home a run. Bob Cooper and Gale Doty also knocked in a run apiece. Winning pitcher Dick Sessink has continued to rack up victories and improved his off season record to 9-3. LEADING HITTERS: Vassurl Bess - 5 for 6. Dick Sessink - 5 for 6. Ron Thompson - 4 for 5 with 1 triple & 1 walk. Regis Finnegan - 4 for 5. Sam Harrell - 4 for 5. The Board of Directors met after the games. At this time, three sponsors for the upcoming season have been gathered. Players - please try to find sponsors for 2010. An official letter to a potential sponsor can be obtained from a BOD member or can be sent out by Joel Freedman. The players may want to read Rule 13 in the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club Rules. The high today is predicted to reach 91° F and the temperature at game time was hovering around 88° F. The heat index was probably about 92° F or so. Everyone should expect that sort of weather around this time of year. Don't give up the ship, guys. July 17th - Two of the three teams had a close game while the middle team of the three was left in the dust.
Team Three batted a combined .634 as they went 26 for 41. With the exception of Bill Spring, who had one single, everyone on the team collected at least two hits. Six of the eight leading hitters for the day were team mates on the third team. Chris Constantine lead his team with four hits in five trips to the plate. Roger Edwards hit a 
three run, inside-the-park homer. The line drive down the third base line rolled to the fence as defending leftfielder Larry Powell chased the ball. Roger circled the bases behind Chris Constantine and Jim Laffoon, who had singles prior to his hit.
Sam Harrell stayed hot as he went 3 for 4. He was followed in the batting order by Gale Doty and John Merritt. They also had three hits in four at bats. John scored every time he reached base, mainly because of timely hitting by lead off batter Don Witmer. Freddy Gonzalez proved to be a valuable commodity as a lead off hitter during the game this morning. He achieved four doubles in five at bats and he scored all four times. Wayne Mundy, batting in the number three hole, connected for three hits. Joe DeForge was the last batter in the lineup for Team One. He did his job by walking three times and he crossed home plate each time. Team Two just couldn't get jump started with any kind of offense. Clean up hitter Wally Granger scored the only two runs for the squad. He walked once and scored on a single by Pat Accetta in the fourth frame. In the sixth, Wally reached base on a misplayed fly ball. A single by Dick Sessink drove Wally home. In all, opposing pitcher Walt Leggett held the second team to only five hits. Way to go Walt. LEADING HITTERS: Freddy Gonzalez - 4 for 5 with 4 doubles. Chris Constantine - 4 for 5. Sam Harrell - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. Jim Laffoon - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Wayne Mundy - 3 for 4 with 1 walk. Don Witmer - 3 for 4 with 1 walk. Gale Doty - 3 for 4. John Merritt - 3 for 4.
Quote of the day: "It's going to be warm the rest of the summer." After he took notice of the Florida heat, Bill Spring made this prediction. You just have to admire him. Elderly statesman Bill is a wise man. July 21st - Instead of four teams of nine with one player from the batting team filling in on defense, three teams of 12 were set up for the game this morning. That seemed to work better for the ball players.
The third team was unstoppable but they ran into a road block in their final offensive inning. The first three batters got on base but the next three could not push any base runner home. Larry Wells connected for his second double of the day to begin the sixth before Dick Sessink had a swinging bunt that he beat out for an infield single. With runners on first and second, Mike Tomasso hit a sharp line drive single to left centerfield. The bases were loaded for the next batter, who popped into an infield fly rule when first baseman Sam Harrell camped under the lazy fly and made the grab. Afterwards, Rusty Landahl hit a fly ball to rightfielder Vassurl Bess but the runner from third chose not to tag up and score. In the base runner's defense, the ball was not hit very deep. With two out, the next guy popped up to third baseman Doug Chamlee. The defensive team dodged the bullet as no runs scored after the bases were loaded with zero outs. The other five frames were more prosperous for Team Three. Five runs scored in the first and fourth innings. Lead off batter Don Witmer ended up scoring all four times he reached base although he had just one hit. Dick Sessink and Mike Tomasso each made it all the way around the bases. Only one player in the 12 man lineup failed to score although he had three hits for the day. Team Two had their best inning in the opening frame. The first five batters scored and only one out was recorded by the time the fifth run crossed the plate. Wayne Mundy banged a two run triple in the first and Doug Chamlee singled Wayne home. The fifth run scored when Larry Powell hit into a fielder's choice for the only out of the first inning. The first team had a very potent lineup but just couldn't put enough hits in a string to win the game. In all, the team went 14 for 35, hitting at a .371 clip. That would be enough to win a batting title in baseball but softball is another story. Some team mates on the squad did go 2 for 3 though. Lead off batter Chris Constantine had two hits and so did Jim Laffoon, Wally Granger, and Tim Gallagher. There were some nice defensive plays during the game this morning. With Tim Gallagher running from first after hitting a single up the middle, Rich Moots hit a hard grounder to first baseman Rusty Landahl. Rusty scooped the ball and tagged Tim out with one smooth motion. Rusty was not able to get back to first for an unassisted double play to put more icing on the cake of a slick fielding play. Chuck Duff, playing left centerfield for Team Two, ran back to make an over-the-head catch on a deep fly ball hit by Larry Wells. Chuck had to reach as high as he could with his back to the infield to haul in the ball. With Chris Constantine on first after a base hit, Ron Thompson singled toward right centerfielder Fred Dampier. Chris rounded second and headed to third. Fred made an accurate throw to third baseman Mike Tomasso, who applied the tag to the sliding Chris. 
LEADING HITTERS: Dick Sessink - 4 for 4. Mike Tomasso - 4 for 4. Fred Dampier - 3 for 3 with 2 triples, 1 double, & 1 walk. Walt Leggett - 2 for 2 with 2 doubles & 1 walk. Wayne Mundy - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. Reg Barnes - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Freddy Gonzalez - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Rusty Landahl - 3 for 4.
It was all in fun and Eddie Diaz chimed in that big Sam looked like Baby Huey. Don Scarbrough has not played lately while he heals his aching legs, but he came to the old ball park and umpired behind the plate. Thank you, Don. Mike Tomasso is vacationing from Harleysville, Pennsylvania and played in the game today. He plans to participate Friday as well. Good to see you, Mike. Quote of the day: "He looks like a toddler leaving the nursery wearing his booties." The Mesh Turf II softball shoe, manafactured by Boombah, has been on sale at the website for about three weeks at a super price of 2 for $30.00. But as time goes on, the choice of the great array of colors has been narrowing down to hues that do not look quite manly for the rugged and weathered ball player. Nevertheless, the guys have been purchasing all kinds of colors during the sale. Sam Lopez bought a Colombia Blue pair with Brown, but the shoes are mainly Colombia Blue. After Sam finished taking batting practice, he walked out into the field to the comment of Brent Alumbaugh. July 24th - There were not enough players this morning to merit a three team game. Commissioner Don Witmer had chosen not to play but ended up filling in at shortstop for all three teams, thus allowing the league to have three teams of eight players per squad. Three guys from the sitting team filled in on defense to bring the number to 11 players in the field.
The low scoring game was filled with double plays and runners being cut down at the plate. In the second inning, Roger Edwards hit a line drive down the line that shot past defending leftfielder Randy Lane. Randy never gave up and chased the ball to the fence. A perfect relay throw to shortstop Don Witmer allowed Don to get a quick release to catcher Joe DeForge. Joe caught the ball before Roger reached home for the out. Sam Lopez, who had singled before the hit, scored just before Joe caught the ball. The first double play happened in the the bottom of the second frame. Rich Moots got aboard on a single but the following batter grounded to shortstop Don Witmer. Don threw to rover Carl Luebking, who finished the DP with a throw to awaiting first baseman Joel Freedman. A nifty double play occurred in the top of the third inning. With one out in the books, Tom Snider singled. The next batter hit a grounder to third baseman Chris Constantine. Chris fielded the ball cleanly and threw to rover Sam Harrell. Sam completed the play with a strike to first baseman Larry Wells. Another double play was pulled off in the middle of the third frame. Joel Freedman had a one out RBI single, driving in Carl Luebking, who had a base hit earlier in the inning. With pinch runner Walt Leggett on first, the next batter hit a grounder to shortstop Don Witmer. Don flipped the ball to rover Pat Accetta, who, in turn, threw to first baseman Rusty Landahl to complete the twin killing. In the top of the sixth, Pat Accetta singled but was forced at second when Tom Snider grounded into a fielder's choice. With Tom standing on first and one out, the next hitter grounded to third baseman Chris Constantine. Another Constantine to Harrell to Wells double play was logged into the score book. Several outs were made at home, too. Joe DeForge caught two relay throws for outs at the dish. Gale Doty, playing catcher this morning, caught one after third baseman Sam Lopez tagged his base for the first out then threw home. Skip Morrison, the catcher for the third team, caught two fouls for outs. 
LEADING HITTERS: Bobby Ayers - 5 for 5. Pat Accetta - 4 for 5. Mike Tomasso - 4 for 5. Carl Luebking - 3 for 4 with 1 triple. Ron Thompson - 3 for 4 with 1 double. Larry Powell - 3 for 4.
Chuck Duff did not play this morning and umpired behind the plate. Thank you Chuck. He manages the All Star Grill 50s team in the Florida Half Century tournament softball. The tournament for this month takes place at the softball fields in Auburndale tomorrow and Sunday. The All Star Grill team plays their first game at 10:20 AM tomorrow. Come out and support them. July 28th - The league is holding steady at three teams now. Team Two ended up scoring more runs than Teams One and Three combined. On paper, it all looked even but this is a funny game.
For the second successive game, Dick Sessink, the league leader in wins with 10, was placed with a team that could muster only four total runs. With the loss, Dick has an off season record of 10-6. Also, for the second game in-a-row Walt Leggett was on the mound for the team that outscored everyone. Walt now has an off season record of 7-2. Larry Powell was on the mound for Team One, which scored seven runs but allowed 16 while on defense. With the loss, Larry has a record of 2-5. Jim Laffoon and Dean Schapeler lead their team to an easy victory. Both players hit well and with power. Jim was perfect at the plate as he went 3 for 3. He connected for two opposite field doubles. Dean ended the day batting 4 for 6 with a double and a triple. Lead off hitter Randy Lane sparked Team One with his 3 for 4 performance. Number two hitter Larry Wells also went 3 for 4. The first batter for Team Three was Vassurl Bess. He finished going 3 for 4 and scored one of the four runs for the team. 
LEADING HITTERS: Jim Laffoon - 3 for 3 with 2 doubles, 1 walk, & 1 sacrifice fly. Vassurl Bess - 3 for 4. Randy Lane - 3 for 4. Larry Wells - 3 for 4.
Gene Baker took the day off from playing ball and umpired behind the plate for the entire game. Thank you, Gene. Don Witmer couldn't play because he had an appointment with a VA doctor in Tampa so he umpired at first base for half the game this morning. Fred Dampier had a VA appointment in Lakeland and he came to the park and umpired at first base for the last two innings. Thank you, Don and Fred. After the next game, pizza and soda will be served to the ball players compliments of the Winter Haven Senior Softball Club funds. The BOD voted and approved the pizza and pop party.  July 30th - The games for tomorrow, Friday, July 31st, have been cancelled. The fields are too wet now and more rain is expected in the area before tomorrow morning.
The pizza and pop party will be rescheduled. So the month of July ends on a wet note. July 31st - The games were cancelled due to wet fields yesterday afternoon along with more rain during the evening hours. The director of the fields reported the cancellation to Joel Freedman.
Now is an ideal time to report the off season leaders. There have been a total of 29 games played.
* Must have played over one half of the games. Note: The statistics are only as accurate as the score sheets. Since the score keeping class was administered about a month ago, the score sheets are much more precise. Kudos to the score keepers. You guys are doing a great job. |
June 2009