Membership

We are rapidly approaching the last day for returning members to register at the reduced annual rate. I am mentioning it at this time for a couple reasons. The first is that by taking action before the 15th of October you can save yourself $10 on your annual registration, Second is that it appears that we are behind in renewals at this point in the year and so this is a little nudge to renew sooner than later. Third is that we are getting close to the date we have to order uniforms for this year and we want to make an informed guess on the correct number we will need for the season.
 
The second part of membership is recruitment of new members. While we have had a number of new players come in over the summer, we will need to continue to bring in new members if we are to continue to grow as an organization. I have made two documents available to assist you in this effort. One is a sample article that can be placed in your community news letter. The second is a flyer that can be posted on your community bulletin board. If you have not picked one up for your community, please do so as they are available at the sign in desk on game days or just print one out from the links below.


Boys and Girls of Summer


Come Join Us

No Games Today

We're rained out today.  See you Friday.

A couple of videos worth seeing

Souza's been taking lessons from Freddy

and
Sean Smith hits a homer but tears his acl rounding first.  Reminds me of Nick or JD or Sammy

Perfectly Cool

The weatherman had it wrong again and we ended up with ideal conditions to play ball. With perfect conditions one would hope the games would be as good; and that proved to be the case with the game being close the entire way. Going into the last inning it was still anyones game to win.

The Hit Team was managed by Bob Hite and included Constantine, Reagan, Witmer, Benson, Zelazny, Hite, Duff Hill, Lopez, Mohan, LoPiccola, and Gene Baker.They started strong and scored often and early as the the first five hitters reached base and scored without making a single out. Bob Hite was the sixth batter and drove in Zelazny after he had tripled. This was followed by four innings that resulted in zero runs being scored. So over the course of the five innings they saw their lead evaporate and found themselves trailing the other teams at the end of five.

Nick Matta lead the Sit Team. His supporting cast included Coffman, Farinas, Jacobs, Laffoon, Giordano, Butler, Dampier, Matta, Thompson, Marino, Simon, and Holder. In the first they matched the Hit Team by scoring five in the first, Butler's triple providing the power. Unlike the Hit Team they managed to score  two in the second and another run in the third to take the lead.

Juan Toro's Field Team of Steve Hill, Herbie O,Toro, DeRidder, Edwards, Denny, Smith, Poke, Burns, Wells, Bess, and Lee Baker started slow but eventually took the lead in the fourth inning as they put up six runs in that inning. Greg Denny's triple provided all the power they needed.

Going into the sixth inning the score was Hit 5, Sit 8, and Field 8. After four scoreless innings the Hit team's bats actually came alive as they scored five runs on seven singles to retake the lead. Jim Laffoon lead off for the Sit Team and scored. Unfortunately six batters latter and with the bases loaded the side posted their third out. The Field Team's chances to take the lead looked good as the top of the order opened the inning. The inning came to a close with only one run being scored and with runners on second and third.

The ninth inning opened and closed with the score Hit Team 10, Sit Team 9, and Field Team 9. Seemed like no one wanted to win as no one scored. Only eleven batters even came to the plate. Pat LoPiccola was the winning pitcher.

Key Performances

Constantine    2 for 3

Reagan    2 for 3

Witmer    2 for 3

Benson    2 for 3

Zelazny    2 for 3 with a triple

Hite    2 for 3

D. Hill    2 for 3

Lopez 2 for 3

Coffman    3 for 4

Jacobs    2 for 3

Laffoon    2 for 3

Thompson    3 for 3

DeRitter    2 for 3

Edwards    3 for 3 with two doubles

Smith        3 for 3

Training Video

I've noticed that some of you guys don't slide properly which can lead to injury or worse yet, outs. 

So if you want sliding tips just ignore this video.

The Cliche's the Thing

The weather's getting at least somewhat cooler and the guys are slowly drifting back from northern climes as evidence by the turnout today.  We had enough players for 4 teams.  Way to go guys and gals.  Also Happy Birthday to Stevan Hill and Larry Wells!

Servicemaster Field

You, the reader, get to participate in a game, while reading about the game. See if you can identify and count the cliché’s used in this write-up; it’s as easy as pie. (Hint, that’s the first cliché). (As easy as pie is a popular colloquial idiom, this is used to describe a task or experience as pleasurable and simple. The cliché does not refer to the making of a pie, but rather to the act of consuming a pie, usually a simple and pleasurable experience). Hopefully, I made myself clear as a bell and you know how to play now, piece of cake, right? You can check your score at the end of this article.

 It was as plain as the nose on your face that the Visiting team’s line up was full of hitters. The batting order of Rivera, Herb O, Witmer, Toro, Giordano, DeRidder, Dampier, Torres and Wells eventually decided to make it rain, by getting hits all over the field, late in the game. When the hitting team started to hit well, it rained cats and dogs; it was a real gully washer, a frog strangler. However, that is not how the Visiting team started out the game, in the first four innings the Visiting team bats were as quiet as a mouse, scoring 1-1-2-0, in the first four innings.

 When the Home team came up to bat, in the bottom of the first inning, they were down 1-0. That deficit would not be difficult to overcome; it was just a drop in the bucket, a spit in the ocean. Save the drama for your momma, that one run surely would be answered by the Home team’s hitting machine. After all, the Home team’s line up had the following stars: Coffman, M. Gonzalez, Laffoon, Scarbrough, T. Smith, Hite, Constantine, Butler, Poke and Matta. (Welcome back Poke, we are all happy as a clam, to see you). One would think that with that lineup, the Home team had the skills, to pay the bills. However, when you get to be of the age to play senior softball, you know not to count your chickens before they’re hatched. The Home team put up a goose egg, in the bottom of the first.

 In the second inning, the Home team came out like their hair was on fire, they scored 5 runs, off big hits from Smith, Constantine, Butler, Poke, Matta, Gonzalez and Laffoon. In the third inning the Home team started to separate the men from the boys, they scored another five runs. This time Scarbrough, Smith, Hite, Constantine, Butler, Poke and Matta said, “show me the money”, as all seven players contributed to the scoring spree. The Home team added a solo run in the 4^th inning when Gonzalez hit a double, was singled to third by Scarbrough and then scored on a fielder’s choice.

After five innings the score was Visiting team: 4-Home team 11. The Home team was ready to stick a fork in them.

 It ain’t over, until it’s over. Good teams come in late, in big games. The Visiting team was not ready to accept the short end of the stick. Their bats were good as gold, the last four innings of play. The Visiting team scored 4-4-5-6 runs in their final four at bats. The sleeping giant woke up. Even though the Visiting team was hotter than Florida asphalt in the summer, in the 6^th, 7^th and 8^thinnings, the game remained close; the teams were like two peas in a pod.

 Score: Visiting team 20- Home team 18.

 It was the Visiting team’s big 6 run, ninth inning, that slammed the door shut on the Home team. The Visitors started off the ninth inning with a mammoth solo home run, over the center field fence, by DeRidder. Hits by Torres, Rivera, Herb O and Witmer fanned the flames for a big inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, it was Juan Toro who cleaned the clock, when he hit a grand slam to deep left field. That grand slam was the cherry on top, icing on the cake, the cat’s pajamas.

 The Home team tried to cowboy up, in the bottom of the 9^th inning. It was time to fish, or cut bait. They loaded the bases and scored 2 runs. However, it was too little, too late; they could not pull the game out of the fire. The Home team was a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

 Final Score: Visiting team 26- Home team 20.

 It all over, but the crying. You can’t win them all. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, that’s all she wrote, and as porky pig said, that’s all folks.

 WP: Wells.

Visiting team’s leading hitters:

• Rivera: 5/7.
• Witmer: 6/ 7 with a double.
• Giordano: 5/7 and a walk.

Home team’s leading hitters:

• Laffoon: 4 /6.
• Scarbrough: 6/6.
• Smith: 4/6.
• Hite: 4/ 6.
• Constantine: 4/5 and a SF.
• Poke: 5/5 with a double and a triple.
• Matta: 3 / 4 with two doubles and a SF.

Number of cliché’s used in this report: 44.

 If you scored 40 or more: Great job.

35-40, good job.

30-35, fair.

Below 30, go back until you find the ones you missed.

 List of clichés:

Easy as pie. Clear as a bell. Piece of cake. Plain as the nose on your face. Make it rain. It rained cats and dogs. It was a real gully washer. A frog strangler. As quiet as a mouse. Just a drop in the bucket. A spit in the ocean. Save the drama for your momma. Hitting machine. Happy as a clam. Had the skills, to pay the bills.

 Count your chickens before they’re hatched. Put up a goose egg. Came out like their hair was on fire. Started to separate the men from the boys. Show me the money. Stick a fork in them. It ain’t over, until it’s over. Good teams come in late, in big games.  Accept the short end of the stick.  Good as gold.

 The sleeping giant woke up. Hotter than Florida asphalt in the summer. Like two peas in a pod. Slammed the door shut. Fanned the flames. Cleaned the clock. Cherry on top. Icing on the cake. The cat’s pajamas. Cowboy up. It was time to fish, or cut bait.  Too little, too late. They could not pull the game out of the fire. A few sandwiches short of a picnic. It was all over, but the crying. You can’t win them all. That’s the way the cookie crumbles. That’s all she wrote. That’s all folks.

 submitted by Nick Matta

Gessler Clinic Field

Today's game  was a close nine inning affair with each team having nine players and borrowing a player on defense.  The visitors were managed by S. Hill and had Barnes, Marino, Zelazny, Thompson, Ayala, Strait, Kall and Holder.  The home boys were managed by Simon and had D. Hill. Schapler, Reagan, Lopez, Mohan, Bess, Leggett and Baker.  

In the top of the first inning the visitors scored three runs led by a S. Hill double.  The home team responded with two scores led by a Schapler HR.  The second frame had the visitors score three more and the home team tied the score at six apiece by having a big inning and adding 4 runs featuring a Reagan 3B.  

The visitors went scoreless in the third inning and the home team scored 5 times fueled by a Reagen grand slam.  In the fourth, fifth and sixth innings the visitors closed the score by scoring one run in each frame.  

The home team bats went cold and were scoreless in the fifth and sixth and only added a run in the seventh.  After seven innings the score was close with the home team leading 12 to 7.  

The visitors went three and out in the top of the eighth and the home team widened their lead by scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the eighth.  The visitors did not score in the ninth and the final score was 16-9 favor of the home team.  

The WP was  Walt Leggett and Ron Thompson pitched well for the losing team.  

Leading hitters for the visitors were: 

• S. Hill 3-5, 
• Marino 3-5,
•  Zelazny 3-5, 
• Thompson 3-5.  

The  home team leading hitters were: 

• Schapler 5-5 HR, 
• Reagan 4-5 and hit for the cycle, 
• Leggett 3-5 , 
• L. Baker 2-5, 
• Simon 2-5 
• Bess 2-5 

submitted by Jeff Simon

Happy Birthday, Commish!

That's right today was Bob Zelazny's Birthday.  We're not saying how old he is but for an old timer, he still plays a pretty good game.  

It is also Don Keller's Birthday.  We hope Don will be back in playing form this year.

Happy Birthday, Bob & Don!

We welcome back an old face, Pat Piccolo, who took several shots off his ankles before becoming today’s winning pitcher.  We also say hello to BJ (sorry I don’t have his real name) who began his playing days with Winter Haven Senior Softball with a 2 for 2 day.  I don’t know, maybe retiring with a 1.000 hitting percentage sounds good (just kidding). We also got to reacquaint ourselves with Richie’s friend, Ms. Holder.

The game hit the ground running when Bobby Reagan smacked a lead off home run. The Hit Team, managed by Juan Toro (Reagan, Constantine, Toro, Zelazny, Steve Hill, Hite, Mohan, Moots, Piccolo, Lee Baker) put up 3 more runs with 5 singles.   The Sit Team, managed by Sammy Lopez (Coffman, Dampier, Butler, DeRidder, Smith, Lopez, Duff Hill, Simon, Marino, Wells, Holder) came out just as hot.  The first five batters reached base, the big blasts, triples by Ron Butler and Terry Smith.  They ended the inning with 5 after a sacrifice fly by Sammy Lopez.  Tough acts for the Field Team, managed by Angel Farina(Bess, Laffoon, Shappler, Jacobs, Herbie O., Farina, Matta, Giordano, Thompson, Ayala, BJ) to follow. 

After the first inning, it seemed like it was going to be one of those days when each team would score 20 or more runs. But, good defense shut down several rallies.  Richie Marino’s running grab of a Nick Matta line drive.  Terry Smith’s “diving” catch that kept Dino Shappler from getting 2 RBI’s.  BJ hauling in a Bobby Reagan fly ball with bases loaded.  And no one could overlook the play of the 3 shortstops; Toro, Laffoon and Butler or the 3 middle infielders; Constantine, Farina and Lopez.  Those guys seem to snare every ground ball and line drive put into play today. 

At the end of the game the Hit Team with 14, outlasted both the Sit Team with 8 and Field Team with 12. 

Top Hitters:

• Constantine 2 for 3, SAC
• Steve Hill 4 for 4
• Hite 3 for 4
• Piccolo 3 for 4
• Lee Baker 2 for 3, BB
• Laffoon 3 for 4
• Jacobs 3 for 4
• Farina 3 for 3, 3B, SAC
• Thompson 4 for 4, 3B
• BJ (new player) 2 for 2
• Coffman 3 for 4
• Dampier 3 for 4, 2B
• Smith 2 for 3, 2B, 3B
• Lopez 1 for 2, SAC
• Duff Hill 2 for 3, 2B

submitted by Bob Hite

John Beilman Update

JOHN PETER
BEILMAN, Jr., 71

LAKE WALES - John Peter Beilman, Jr., of Lake Wales, Florida, passed on to be with the Lord on September 13, 2014. 

He is survived by his beloved wife of 50 years, Sandra Kay Beilman, his two sons: John Peter Beilman, III, and his wife Bunny, and Daniel David Beilman and his wife Jennifer, and his seven grandchildren: John Peter, IV, Emily, Charlotte, John Worthy, William, Calvin and Christian. 

John will long be remembered by his family and his many friends for his kindness, his generosity, his boundless optimism, his love for his sons, and his trust in God. He had a passion for working hard in his jobs as a Naval airman, an engineer, an entrepreneur, and an orange grove owner. He was eager to share his enthusiasm for hunting, fishing, camping, and softball, and he leaves behind a legacy in Annapolis, Maryland, of mentoring dozens of boys and young men through Christian Service Brigade.

The memorial celebration for John will be held on September 20, 2014, 2:00 p.m. at Cypress Ridge Church, 6230 Cypress Ridge Boulevard, Winter Haven, Florida, 33884. In lieu of sending flowers, the family requests that John's friends make a donation to Good Shepherd Hospice, 1110 Hammock Road, Sebring, Florida 33870.

Published in Ledger from Sept. 16 to Sept. 17, 2014 forwarded by Russ Winner

A Little TV History

I thought it would be fun to incorporate a little TV nostalgia when naming the teams today. When I looked at the teams performances, I linked them with TV shows from yesteryear. First, let’s take a quick look back on the early evolution of television in the United States. Here are some important dates in television history.

1928: On September 11, 1928, W2XB (video) and WGY (audio) broadcast American first television drama, a 40 minute one-act melodrama titled "The Queen's Messenger." Because the TV screens were small, only the actor's face or hands were shown. Three cameras were used, two for the actors faces and a third for the actors hands or stage props. The play had only two characters. A female Russian spy and a British Diplomatic Courier. Four actors were used. Two for the character's faces and two for their hands.

 1939: President Franklin Roosevelt's opening of the 1939 New York World's Fair is broadcast live from NBC's experimental station -- W2XBS -- in New York City. In 1939 W2XBS was on the air 4 hours a day (2:30-4:30 and 8:30-10:30pm EST), 5 days a week, Wednesday through Sunday.

 1941: In July, both NBC (WNBT on channel 1) and CBS (WCBW on channel 2) come on the air with a commercial station, in New York City. Both stations still exist. They are now WNBC (Channel 4) and WCBS (Channel 2). Further development is halted by World War II.

 1948: Four television networks, (NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont), broadcasting over 128 stations, begin a full prime-time schedule (8 to 11pm, Eastern Time), seven days a week.

In the early days of television news, a reporter covered the birth of Richie Marino and warned that there would be troubling days ahead..... true story.

The Hitting team’s cast of characters: Dampier, T. Smith, Denny, Duff, Giordano, Hite, Simon, Moots, Ayala, Witter and L. Baker. (Welcome back Jerry Witter). This team gets the Lost In Space, TV show, label. They were solid on offense, but on defense it was: “warning, warning, alien approaching”, when a ball was hit to the fielders. There were a few misplayed ground balls and a pop fly that was lost in space, when it fell between two fielders. Although the space team had their share of trouble in the field, they did, however, have a star cruiser, in Chuck Duff. Chuck made a great catch on a ball hit in the center field gap, by Miguel Gonzalez (Sitting team).  Richie Moots, also crossed the sea of space, to haul in a sinking line drive, hit by Jimmy Laffoon, (Sitting team), good catch, Richie. Lost in Space, (1965 – 1968), was a science-fiction television series that followed the adventures of the Robinson family as they try to find their way back to Earth after a disastrous accident.

The Sitting team stared today in the hit TV series, Bonanza. This television western series started as an NBC show, it ran from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series (behind Gunsmoke), and within the top 10 longest running, live-action American series. The show centers on the Cartwright family, who live in the area of Virginia City, Nevada, bordering Lake Tahoe. The list of characters: Coffman, Laffoon, M. Gonzalez, Finnegen, Butler, Lopez, Marino. Bess, Mohan, Merritt, G. Baker, and Matta.

 The title, "Bonanza", is a term used by miners in regard to a large vein or deposit of silver ore. The Sitting team hit the “mother lode” as they dug deep with their bats. They only had one dry inning, the second inning, in every other shift in the mine they struck silver. “Hoss” Finnegen, was 3/3, with a double and a triple. “Adam Cartwright” Laffoon, had a HR when he hit a sinking liner into the corner in right field, just inside the line. “Pa Cartwright” Butler had a triple that was the key hit in a big 4 run inning in the sixth. “Little Joe” Marino had one of the best defensive plays of the day, when he caught a sinking line drive, hit to right field.

 The Fielding team reminded me of the hit TV series, “Leave It To Beaver”. The series was centered on an all American family, living in Ohio, the Cleavers. There was never any situation that was too earth shattering, that came along for the Cleaver family. Whenever trouble did occur, Ward, (the father), or June, (the mother) would see to it that the proper advice was given and the proper steps were taken, to set the situation right. The series ran from 1957-1963, 234 episodes. The WHSS, Leave It To Beaver team starred: Reagen, Witmer, Toro, Deridder, King, Schappler, S. Hill, Thompson, D. Hill and Barnes. (I will let you, the reader, decide who plays Wally, the Beaver, June, Ward  Eddie Haskell and Lumpy). This team was steady, but never did anything too exciting on offense, or defense, to earn the win. Reminiscent of a scene from the show, depicted in the dialogue below, this team will have to wait for another game, to start over with a clean slate.

"Leave It to Beaver: Substitute Father (#4.39)" (1961)

Wallace 'Wally' Cleaver: [at the bottom of the staircase, calling out to his mother upstairs] Hey, Mom!

June Cleaver: Yes, Wally.

Wallace 'Wally' Cleaver: Could Eddie spend the night here?

June Cleaver: Not while your father's away.

Edward 'Eddie' Haskell: [dejected] Boy. Everybody around here is wise to me. I might just have to move to a new town and start all over.

 Final Score: Lost In Space: 12- Bonanza: 17- Leave It To Beaver: 10

Life is good on the Ponderosa.

Leading Hitters.

  Hitting team:

•  T. Smith  4/ 4.
•  Denny  3 / 4.
•  Giordano 2 / 4, with a triple and a HR.

 Sitting team:

• Laffoon: 3 / 5 with a HR.
• Finnegen: 3/3 with a double, triple and a walk.
• Lopez: 4 /4.
• Matta 2/3 and a walk.

Fielding team:

•  Witmer: 3/4 with a HR.
•  DeRidder: 3/ 4.
•  King 3/ 4.

  WP: Finnegen in relief  of  Matta  (closed by Lafoon)

submitted by Nick Matta

Sad News

It is with great sadness that we must announce that John Beilman passed away today.

 

We all share in the sadness over the loss of our friend and teammate. John played softball with us in Winter Haven and Lakeland.   Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family. 

Memorial services will be held This Sat. Sept 20th at Crypress Ridge Church 6230 Crypress Blvd. which is just West of Legoland. - Ron Thompson 

submitted by Ron Thompson photos from Fred Dampier

Curiouser and Curiouser

Life can be a curious thing; life can take some unusual twists and bends. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but when I look at the news I seem to always find a story that amazes me.

In the news today, a New York property developer is offering the uber-wealthy the opportunity to buy a condo parking spot for a cool $1 million - merely six times the value of a typical American home. The 10 parking spaces are for sale at 42 Crosby Street, the luxury apartment building under construction in the SoHo neighborhood, in Lower Manhattan. Based on the $1 million price tag, the spots are probably the most expensive residential car spaces in the country.

 A manatee called, “Little Joe”, now has a home at Disney. Joe was rescued in 1989 along the Halifax River, near Daytona. Kept in captivity, Lil Joe would be bottle-fed by President George H.W. Bush at Sea World in Orlando and sent to wow audiences in San Diego, Cincinnati and Tampa. After being released again into the wild, it was determined that the 1,900 pound, 10 and a half foot long sea cow could not survive on his own. He now makes Epcot his home.

A groom narrowly avoided death on top of a cliff after an apparent stumble. The happy couple almost experienced “until death do us part”, way too soon. As the couple took their vows at the top of a precipice, the groom slipped and almost fell. His bride quickly grabbed his arm and saved him from falling over the side of the mountain.

Softball games can be like a microcosm of life, full of twists and turns and unexpected story lines. Just like life, softball can be curious thing. Just look at today’s WHSS action; first let’s start with the teams.

The Hitting team had these players: S. Hill, Laffoon, Zelazny, Edwards, Giordano, Reagan, Mohan, Moots, Thompson, G. Baker and Ayala. We will call this team the SoHo Millionaires, because they had a million dollar line-up and parked quite a few hits in the outfield.

The Sitting team gets the “Little Joe, the Manatee” moniker, mainly, because one of our players works at Epcot, also, because our bats rescued us in today’s game. This team had the following players: Gonzalez, Farinas, Witmer, Denny, Coffman, Hite, Marino, Matta, Simon and L. Baker. (Bob Hite is our Epcot rep).

The Bride and Groom team was the Fielding team. Their bats must have been on a  honeymoon, because they were not used in the game today. This team’s batting average fell off the cliff, there was no saving them in today’s game. The Fielding team consisted of Dampier, Chrest, Constantine, Jacobs, Butler, Herb O, D. Hill, Wells, Bess and Merritt.

Here are the funny twists and story lines from today’s game.

Ron Thompson started off the game pitching a no hitter for the first two innings, (for the Hitting team). He mowed down six, of the first seven batters, he faced. Ron struck out two batters and allowed a walk, in the first two frames. He did not win the game though, as the Sitting team’s bats came to life, late in the game.

Here is another bizarre story concerning today’s game. With the bases loaded in the 6^th inning, Jimmy Laffoon hit a sharp ground ball to first, where Greg Denny was positioned for the Fielding team. (Greg was a substitute first baseman). Greg cleanly fielded the ball and tagged out Jimmy, at first base. The force play was now off.  Ron Thompson was the base runner on third base trying to score, since he was no longer forced, Ron tried returning to third, after coming very close to the home plate commitment line. However, there was another base runner who had already advanced to third. The catcher tried making a play at third base, but the ball was thrown into left field and Ron scampered home safe.

Rich Marino was involved in the longest hit of the day. Rich hit a ball to deep right, however, Rich was thrown out at home, trying for an inside the park home run. Rich also had the shortest hit of the day, tipping the ball off his bat just a few feet in front of the plate and running it out for a single.

We had a few star fielding plays to jazz up our game today. Bob Hite, (Sitting team), made a pair of nice catches, while battling the wind in left center field.

Don Witmer, (Sitting team), caught a sinking line drive at shortstop.

Lee Baker, (Sitting team) caught a towering pop foul behind the plate.

Freddy Gonzalez had the hardest hit ball all day, only it did not fall in for a hit. Freddy hit a screaming line drive to deep left field where Bobby Reagan made a nice grab for the out.

As for the scoring, the Sitting team won a close game when they came from behind and scored 5 runs, in both the 5^th and 6^th innings. Batting at the bottom of the line-up, Simon and Matta went a combined 8/8 to help lead the charge.

That's senior softball for you.

Final score: Hitting team 10- Sitting team 13- Fielding team 3.

 WP: Matta

Leading Hitters:

Hitting team:

• S. Hill: 3 / 4.
• Laffoon: 3/ 4.
• Zelazny: 3 / 4.
• Moots: 2/ 3 and a walk.
• Thompson: 3/ 4.
• G. Baker: 2 / 3.

Sitting team:

• Gonzalez: 2/3 and a SF.
• Denny: 3 / 4.
• Coffman: 2 / 2 and two walks.
• Matta: 4 / 4.
• Simon: 4/ 4.

Fielding team:

• Chrest: 3 / 4.
• Constantine: 3 / 4.
• Bess: 1/ 2 and a walk.

submitted by Nick Matta

Rules of the Game

In this past weekend's tournament, there were several instances where in my opinion, the umpires failed to make the correct call. The following discusses one such instance. 

The situation was as follows; with runners on 1st and 2nd base and one out, a line drive was hit right at the middle infielder who then dropped the ball (should have been an easy out), picked it up and then tossed to the shortstop at second, forcing the runner from first, and completing the double play by throwing to first to get the batter out.  All of the base runners had stopped when they saw the easy liner hit right at the middle infielder.  

I questioned the umpire and asked for an appeal but to no avail. The umps awarded the double play.  In my opinion, it should have been treated as an intentionally dropped ball, a call we saw made in a MLB video posted here recently.  I checked the ISA rule book and found the following excerpts. 


FLY BALL- A fly ball is any fair or foul ball batted into the air. 

LINE DRIVE- A line drive is a fly ball that is batted sharply and directly into the playing field. 

INTENTIONALLY DROPPED FLY BALL – A batted ball that is intentionally dropped, whether it be touched or untouched, for the purpose of deceiving the base runners.


Rule 10: Section 3 - The ball is dead and not in play 
A. When no pitch is declared.  

B. When a base runner is called out for leaving a base too soon on a pitched ball. 
C. When an illegal pitcher’s action is declared. 
D. When, in SP play, a batter swings at a pitched ball and fails to make contact. 
E. When a pitched ball touches any part of a batter’s person or clothing. 
F. When a batter bats illegally or hits with an illegal bat. 
G. When, in SP play, a batter bunts or intentionally chops downward on the ball. 
H. When the batter-runner is hit by the batted ball while outside of the batter’s box. 
I. When a foul ball is not caught on the fly. 
J. When a batter steps completely across the plate while the pitcher is in the pitching position. 
K. Intentionally dropped fair fly ball or line drive by an infielder. 
L- X deleted

Section 9; The batter is out: 

A. When the 3rd

 strike is struck at, missed and touches any part of the 

batter’s person. 

B. When a batter appears in the batter’s box with or is discovered 

using an altered or an illegal bat. The batter is also ejected from the 

game for using an altered bat. See Rule 2, Section 2, for penalty. 

C. When a fly ball is legally caught. 

D. Immediately when they hit an infield fly and the umpire has 

declared “Infield Fly”. 

E. If a fielder intentionally drops or lets drop a fair fly ball, including a line drive, which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort with;

1st, 1st & 2nd, 1st & 3rd, or 1st, 2nd, & 3rd  bases occupied with less than 2 outs. 

EFFECT: The ball is dead, the batter is out and base runners must 

return to the last base touched at the time of the pitch. This does not 

apply to an infield fly, the dropped ball remains alive on an infield fly. 

NOTE: A trapped ball shall not be considered as having been 

intentionally dropped.

I think I was right assuming a 65+ player could think that quick.

submitted by Ron Butler

Birthday Week

This writer was having trouble thinking of something funny or inspiring to say today, so I thought I would tell you something that inspires me every Tuesday and Friday.  This weekend the Yankees threw a party for one of the best players of the game of baseball, Derek Jeter.  A thought occurred to me: we all are like Jeter.  Not the money thing, that would be nice but twice a week we come to Diamond Plex because we love to play softball.  Every guy out there is could stay in bed a couple hours longer, play golf or do a few chores around the house.  But, something keeps them coming out and that inspires me and makes this writer want to be there every day possible.   Thanks guys!

Also this week a couple of players passed the next milestone and recorded another birthday.  Happy Birthday to Lee Baker, Bob Hite and Frank Miller.

To the game:  the Hit team, managed by Freddy Gonzalez(Gonzalez, Butler, Laffoon, Zelazny, Giordano, Herbie O, Schapler, Duff Hill, Wells, Mohan, Bowley and Lee Baker) came out of the gate fast.  Gonzalez started the game with a triple, scored easily on a sharp single by Bulter who then moved to third on a Laffoon hit.  Bulter then scored on a fielder’s choice.  The Sit team, managed by Bob Hite (Damplier, Rivera, Witmer, Steve Hill, Hite, Matta, King, Chrest, Ayala, Simon, Moots, Merritt, Gene Baker) was almost as quick out of the gate, getting a Home Run from Rivera, then three more singles to score their second run of the inning.  But the hottest team was the Field team, managed by Juan Toro (Coffman, Denny, Toro, Jacobs, Gonzalez, Reagan, Thompson, Marino, Barnes, Bess, Strait, Constantine).  They got Home Runs from Coffman and Denny before 2 doubles from Toro and Jacobs before an out was recorded.  At the end of the first the score was 2 to 2 to 4.

No team could sustain the momentum; the Hit team relied on the bats of Gonzalez, Butler, and Laffoon to take the lead in the 7^th.  The Sit team, mounted a comeback in the 7^th but it was too little and too late to be a real factor.  The Field team came to bat trailing by 2 in the last of the 7^th.  After a quick out Denny, Toro and Jacobs all singled to plate one run.  With the tying run on second, and the winning run on first up steps Angel Gonzalez.  He hit a ball to the left field warning track that everyone knew that even if the ball had been caught that the runner on second was going score.  As a result the final score was 13 to 6 to 15. 

Top Hitters:

Gonzalez 3 for 4, 3B, 2B

Butler 4 for 4, 3B, 2 2B

Laffoon 4 for 4, 2 2B

Zelazny 3 for 4, 2 2B

Rivera 3 for 3, HR

King 3 for 3, 2B

Chrest 3 for 3

Jacobs 3 for 4, 2 2B

Reagan 2 for 3

Thompson 2 for 3

Bess 2 for 3

submitted by Bob Hite