Friday, January 30, 2015


In case you have not already “heard it through the grapevine”; Nick Matta hit a homerun over the fence, to help his team do some “dancing in the street”. In today’s game, it was the “same old song, one team was “as sweet as a honeybee, but like a honeybee stings, that team left the other teams heart in pain”. If you have not guessed it by now, today’s write-up is a tribute to the great Motown sound. It is in honor of the many players who played in today’s game from the Michigan, Detroit and Windsor area. (JD Davis, Danny Parker, Ed Gazarek, Terry Smith, Pat Drouilard, Mike Wiltshire, Don Ing and Scot Seguin, to name a few, played in our game today). They are all from the Motown area.  Although you, the reader, do not have to be from the Detroit area to appreciate the outstanding music that came from that region; you probably sang many of these songs while listening to them on the radio. Remember, “it’s the same old song but with a different meaning since you been gone” from that era. Many Motown hits will be covered in this article. Can you recognize all of them?

The Four Tops, Visiting Team: Benson, Drouilard, Brock, Matta, Erb, Reagan, Seguin, Osterreich, Dampier, Ing and Roy.
The Temptations, Home Team: Coffman, Gazarek, Doerbaum, Wiltshire, Toro, Smith, Parker, Hill, Fabian and Linton.
  
The Four Tops came out swinging in the first inning, they did not want to be “standing in the shadows of love” when the final score was tallied. They wanted the Home team to “get ready for the heartaches to come”. Brock started out the scoring by delivering a two out single, Matta tripled him in and Erb smashed a triple, to finish the scoring in the first inning. After 1 inning of play the score was Tops: 2- Temps: 0.
The Four Tops added a run in the second when Dampier scored on an Ing triple. Donny must have been singing “ sugar pie, honey bunch, you know that I love you” to his bat, after that big hit. The Temptations had enough of this “ball of confusion”; they knocked in 3 runs in the bottom of the 2^nd , to tie the game, 3-3. Wiltshire, Toro and Parker all had big hits that inning. Lionel Richie may be ready to go “all night long, all night” as his song implies, but these guys were ready to go all day long, to win this game.

“Mercy, mercy me”, would these two teams ever gain some separation in the score book, the game stayed close through the first few innings.  The Temptations told us to “get ready, cause here we come” in the bottom of the 3^rd. They scored 3 runs when Linton, Gazarek and Edwards crossed the plate. They were on “cloud nine” for just a little while as they took the lead 6-3. However, it would be the last time they would lead in the game.

After the 3^rd inning the Temps just “wished it would rain”. "Sunshine, blue skies please go away, their teams found more runs and our lead has gone away." The Four Tops regained the lead for good, in the 4^th inning. They hit like they “were going to a go-go.”  The inning started with a Reagen triple, as he smashed the ball deep over the left fielders head. Seguin added a double, Dampier singled him home. Ing walked and Roy finished the scoring with a two run double. At the end of 4 innings the score was Tops: 7- Temps: 6. The temps had "the tears of a clown" " Now if there is a smile on my face, It's only there trying to fool the public. But when it comes down to fooling you, now honey that's quite a different subject." 
The Tops were not finished hitting, in fact, they were just getting started. They hit like “super freaks”, in the 5^th inning, as they added 5 runs to their lead. Matta drove in Drouilard and Brock with his HR. Erb, Reagan, Seguin and Osterreich added hits, to drive in two more runs. After 5 innings the score was Tops: 12- Temps: 6.
The Tops had one more big offensive inning, scoring 4 more runs, it took place in the 6^th.  At this point the Temps thought “what’s going on”. Dampier lead off with a double and Ing singled him in. Benson then singled Ing to second. Next up, Big Money, Pat Drouilard, smashed a triple. Even though Pat had been injured earlier in the game, while running to first, he hit the ball hard and legged out a three bagger. It was like Pat was saying, “reach out, I’ll be there”.  After 6 innings, Tops:16-Temps:8

The last three innings of the game, JD channeled his inner Marvin Gaye and said, ”let’s get it on”. His team scored 5 runs, while holding the Four Tops to one score.  It was not enough, in the end there was “nowhere to run” for the Home team. “The function at the junction” was over and the Tops finished on top, by a score of 17-13. The two teams lined up to shake hands and show some" R-E-S-P-E-C-T".

As Jimmy Ruffin would sing, “what becomes of the broken hearted”, well in the case of senior softball players who lose a game, you live to play and enjoy another game.

MO-Town Stars: ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough", for these guys).
Winning pitcher Rick Brock for a great game on the mound.
Jack Benson for a shoe string catch on a sinking line drive in left field.
Bobby Reagan for a good catch at 2^nd base.
Don Ing for a good catch at 3^rd base.
Terry Smith for robbing Pat Drouilard of a base hit up the middle.

Four Top Hitting Stars:
Benson: 2/4 and a walk.
Brock: 3/5 with a double.
Matta: 3/5 with a HR and a triple.
Erb: 3/5 with a triple.
Reagan: 3/5 with a triple.
Seguin: 2/4 and a walk.
Dampier: 2/3 with a double and a walk.
Ing: 2/3 with a triple and a walk.
Temptation Hitting Stars:
Edwards: 3 / 4 with a double.
Doerbaum: 2/3 and a walk.
Toro:3/ 4 with a double.
Smith: 3/4 .
Write up by Nick Matta

Friday, January 30, 2015

Game started slowly on field B between Butler and the Taits.  A glaring sun made pitching difficult with the Taits leading 3 to 0 after 3 innings.  Butlers team took the lead with a 5 run 4th inning powered by an over the fence 3 run homer by Don Keller.  The Butler boys added 2 more in the 5th to take a 7 to 3 lead.  however, the Taints tallied with 16 unanswered runs to win 19 to 7.  Larry Wells 7 scoreless innings to get the win. Outstanding defensive plays were turned in by Keller, Hamilton, Wells, and Rivera.   

Great umpiring from Don Witmer  and great sportmanship from both teams.

Leading hitters were:

Hamilton  2-3  and 2 walks

Stier        3-4

Denny     4-4

Keller       4-4

Butler       3-4


Write up by Joe D'herin

NATIONAL LEAGUE 3 TEAM GAME ON FIELD E

The 3 teams playing today on Field E were the Nationals, the Marlins and the Cubs.  National’s manager Elmer Black posted this line up:  Waddell, Altemose, Crowe, Lopez, Wilcox, Ayers, Pelletier, Black, Straight, Bowley and J. Smith.  Manager of the Marlins lined his players this way:  D. Hill, Simon, Grabb, Remington, Zakrowski, Marino, Borrelli, Long, Sequin, Moots, L. Baker, and Gibson.  Manager of the Cubs went with this order for his batters.  Thompson, Taylor, Scarbrouugh, Evans, Ridley, Stepp, Mohan, Leggett, Michalski, DePalma, Yarletts and McPartlan.

In their first at bat Nationals had two hits but were held scoreless.  The Marlins leadoff hitter Hill drove a triple to deep right center, Simon tripled, and Grabb homered.  Remington then singled, Marino, Borrelli, and Long had hits and the Marlins post the max 5 in the inning.  Thompson leads off for the Cubs with a double to right, Scarbrough and Evans have hits and the Cubs end the inning with 2 runs.

The Nationals were kept off the scoreboard in both the 2^nd and 3^rd innings.  Marlins pushed across another 5 runs in the second and two more in the 3^rd.  Cubs managed one run in 2^nd and a 0 in the 3^rd.  After 3 innings the score was National 0 – Marlins 12 – Cubs 3.

In the top of the 4^th the Nationals found some hot bats and posted 3 runs on the scoreboard.  Marlins added 2 more and the Cubs were held to scoreless.  In the 5^th both the Marlins and the Cubs each added a run for the inning.  In the 6^th inning the Nationals made a move by scoring 7 runs with all 11 batters in the lineup batting.  Key hits in the 7 runs rally were by Ayers, Pellitier, Black with a double, Waddell, Altemose Lopez and Wilcox. The Marlins came to bat in the middle part of the inning and pushed across another 5 runs to take complete control of the game.  The Nationals started the top of the 7^th with two runs.

The final Score was Nationals 12 – Marlins 20 – Cubs 4

Leading Hitters Nationals

Waddell 4 for 5

Ayers 3 for 3

Pelletier 4 for 4

Marlins

Hill 3 for 4 w/3b

Simon 4 for 4 w/2b/3b

Grabb 4 for 4 w/2HR

Remington 5 for 5

Marino 4 for 4

Cubs

McPartlan 2 for 2

Write up by Don Lamay

The National game on Field D was between the Pirates and the Braves.

The Pirates scored one run in the first inning with Torres getting the key hit to score Don Hawbaker. The Braves scored 5 runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. The first five hitters scored on back to back to back doubles--Milo Macko. Russ King, and Bill McLellan.

The Pirates had two runs in the second inning and three in the third inning.

 The Braves scored four in the second and five in the third to take the lead.

The score after three innings was 14-6 Braves in the lead.

The Pirates did not score again until the eight inning with one run and three in the ninth. The Braves continued to add to their lead by scoring four runs in the fifth inning and five in the sixth.

Final Score was Braves 23 --Pirates 10.

Larry Powell was winning pitcher

Pirates leading hitters were:

Ed Guspyt 4-5 one double and one triple

Frank Miller 3-5 two doubles

Jerry Witter 4-5

Leading Braves hitters were:

Gary Turpin 5-5

Russ King 4-4 one double one triple

Bill McLellan 4-4 hit for the cycle-single, double, triple, home run

Harlan Lautenschlager 3-4 one double one home run

Augie Augenstein 4-4

Marshall Bloom 4-4

Sergio Ayala 4-4

Write up by Larry Powell

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire.

Ron Butler’s team started the game today “like a house on fire.” They torched the home team for 5 runs in the first inning to take an early lead. It seemed like every time the Firefighting team tried to combat the blaze, the fire just burned hotter. It was like we threw kerosene on the fire, instead of water. When the Fire team hit the ball it would spin past the infielder, for a base hit, or a line drive would fall just in front of an outfielder. We were caught in a black fire; (This describes a situation where heavy, dense, black smoke is being emitted by a fire. This smoke will be of high velocity, turbulent and high volume.) It was difficult to find our way out of this inferno.

Team Fire, Visiting team: Andrews, Laffoon, Keller, Busch, Zelazny, Butler, Poke, Hartley, Hite, Kallester, Wheeler and Walsko.

Team Firefighters, Home team: Benson, Drouilard, Brock, Held, Erb, Reagen, Matta, Seguin, Dampier, Oesterreich, Coffman and Ing.

 

The Fire team continued to burn hot in innings 3 and 4. They had a four alarm fire in the 3^rd inning, scoring 4 runs. They had a 5 alarm fire in the 4^th inning, scoring 5 runs. Andrews, Keller, Busch, Zelazny, Kallister, Wheeler and Walsko all had big hits and scored runs in those innings. Andrews and Keller had multiple hits and scored twice, in those two innings. You might describe their hitting by saying, “great balls of fire”. In the middle of the 4^th inning the score was Fire: 14- Firefights: 7. It looked like the Firefighters would get burnt in this game.

 

Before the fire got totally out of control and we lost the game, we the Firefighting team, “got fired up” ourselves, on offense and defense. We went to our emergency operations mode and answered back with 5-4-4 runs of our own, in the bottom of the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th innings. Oesterreich, Coffman, Ing, Benson, Brock, Reagen and Seguin all had their “irons in the fire”, getting big hits. At the end of seven innings of play the score was Team Fire: 15- Firefighters: 20. The Fire team’s once promising seven run lead had gone “up in smoke”.

Pitcher Rick Brock did a good job of stamping out the fire that once burned wildly. Rick only gave up 4 runs in the 5 innings that he pitched. He was aided by several good defensive plays. Herb Oesterreich caught two balls in right field that should have fallen in for hits. Scot Seguin made two good catches at 2^nd base and threw a runner out at the plate. Other strong defensive plays in the game were turned in by Bobby Reagen, who ran down a line drive, in deep left field. Don Erb pulled one out of the fire, when he caught a hot grounder at short and turned it into an out. For the Fire team, Bobby Hite “set the world on fire” making several great catches, while fighting the sun in right field.

The Firefighters continued to “fight fire, with fire” in the bottom of the 8^th inning, to put the game away. Drouilard, Held, Erb, Matta, Seguin and Dampier all contributed to a 5 run inning. The Fire team was now only smoldering, they scored only one run in the top of the ninth. The game ended on a strong defensive play, when Seguin caught a smoking line drive and threw to first baseman, Matta, to complete a game ending double play.

Final Score: Fire: 18 – Firefighters: 27.

Practice fire safety, watch what you heat.

 

Fire Hall Of Fame:

Andrews: 4/5 with a double and a triple.

Laffoon: 3/5 with a double.

Keller: 4/4 with a double, HR and a SF.

Busch: 4/5 with a triple.

Poke: 3 / 4 with a double.

Hite: 3/ 4 with a double.

Firefighter’s Hall Of Fame:

Benson: 3/5.

Brock: 4/5 with two doubles.

Held: 3/4  with a SF.

Seguin: 3/5.

Coffman: 4/4 with a double.

Ing: 3/3 and a walk.

Write up by Nick Matta

We were graced with a cool, crisp, cloudless day for the highly anticipated rematch of the Angels and the T8's (Team 8 pronounced Tate's) on field B.  These teams played 10 innings in their first encounter ending in an unsatisfying  "Like Kissing Your Sister" tie.  The sun was a factor once again but it seemed it effected one team more than the other.  The Angels got off to a quick start with a 5-run 2nd and mounted a 6-2 lead in the 4th.   The sunglasses and defense kicked in from that point forward as the T8's ran off 15 unanswered runs while shutting out the Angels for 5 consecutive innings.  Final score T8's 17 - Angels 6.

Leading Hitters:

Angels:  Juan Toro HR 1B, Les Jacobson 2 1B, Mike Wiltshire 3B 1B

T8's:       Hamilton 4-4 , Wells 3-3, Essenmacher 3-3, Stiers 3-4, Gazarek 3-4, Farinas 3-4, 

Write up by Tom Hamilton

Todays game between the Braves and Nationals got off to a offensive start.

But ended with great defensive plays in the ninth inning.

The Braves quickly scored  5 runs in the first inning led by Bill McLellan's three run home run. The Nationals tied the game by scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the first inning led by Penny Pelletier's triple.

In the third inning the Braves took the lead by scoring  5 runs again led by Bill McLellan's three run home run. The seventh inning the Braves scored 5 runs on 5 straight hits with Bill McLellan and Harlan Lautenschlager both hitting back to back doubles. The Nationals didn't throw in the towel but tried to catch up by scoring 7 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Score was 17-14 going into the ninth inning.

The Braves added 3 runs in the top of the ninth to increase their lead to 20-14.

In the bottom on the ninth, the Braves defense really shined. Bill McLellan made a difficult catch at third base and Harlan Lautenschlager made a super catch up the middle on a hard hit ball by Steve Hill. Shortstop Russ King caught the last fly ball to end the game. Final Score was Braves 20-Nationals 14.

Larry Powell was winning pitcher. 

Leading hitters for the Braves:

John Fulton 3-4

Russ King 4-4 one double

Bill McLellan 4-4 two home runs & two doubles 

Gene Morey 2-2 one walk 

Leading hitters for the Nationals:

Jim Altemose 4-4 one walk

Penny Pelletier 4-4 one triple

Elmer Black 4-4 three doubles

Billy Crowe 3-4 

Write up by Larry Powell, Braves Manager

This game in the national league was a three team contest that would determine who would be the first place team based on the point system.  The hit team was the Cubs managed by Don LaMay.  Their lineup was Thompson, Taylor, Shaffer, Scarbrough, Michalski, B. Mohan, Leggett, G. Baker, Stepp, Yarletts and McPartlan.  The sit team was the Pirates and lead by Floyd Welton posted the following lineup:  Bess, Ducham, Mahon, Guspyt, Miller, Hawbaker, Witter, Kline, Barnes, Holley, Capozzi and Fabian.  The field team led by Jeff Simon had the following lineup:  D. Hill, Simon, Grabb, Gallagher, Remington, Marino, Zakrowski, Moots, G. Seguin, Gibson, L. Baker and Merritt.  In the first frame the hit team scored 5 runs featuring a Shaffer double.  The sit team responded with 3 runs on a F. Miller triple.  The  field team stayed in the game and scored five times on six hits and a walk.  After one inning the score was 5-3-5.  In the second inning the only team to score was the Marlins, the field team, with a four run outburst and a D. Hill HR to take the lead.  The third inning saw the hit team fail to score.  The sit team jumped back with a 4 run display powered by a Guspyt three bagger.  The Marlins, the field squad only scored a solo run led by a Remington double.  After three innings of play it was 5-7-10.  The fourth frame saw the hot hitting continue with the hit team scoring twice.  The Pirates scored three runs with a Guspyt double.  The Marlins increased their lead with a five run spurt on seven base hits.  After four innings the score was 7-10-15.  The fifth inning had the hit team, the Cubs, score one run.  The sit team scored three times and the field team scored one. After 5 innings the score was 9-12-16.  The Cubs scored one run in the top of the sixth.  The Pirates scored twice led by a Mahon triple.  The bottom of the sixth had the Marlins respond with five runs powered by a Grabb round tripper.  After six innings of play the score stood 10-15-21.  The Marlins were hoping their six run lead would hold up.  The Cubs, the hit team, failed to score in the seventh inning.  The sit team, the Pirates, refused to quit and  scored 8 runs to take a 2 run lead over the Marlins.  Their big hit  was a Guspyt grand slam.  The Marlins needed three runs to win in the bottom of the seventh.  Could they take advantage of being the field team with last licks.  They scored the three runs and had the winning run on a Remington base hit.  The final score was 10-23-24.  The Marlins earn two points and the Cubs get one point.  This was a close game and not decided until the bottom of the last inning of play.  The WP was G. Seguin.  Leading hitters for the Cubs: Shaffer 3-42B, Scarbrough 3-4 2B,  B. Mohan 3-3,  Leggett 3-3.  Leading batters for the pirates were Bess 2-4 BB,  Ducham 3-4,  Mahon 4-5 3B, Guspyt 4-5 HR, 3B, 2B,  Witter 2-3 BB, Kline 3-4, Barnes 3-3 BB, Holley 2-3 BB, Capozzi 3-4.  Leading hitters for the Marlins:  D. Hill 4-4 2B, HR, Simon 4-5, Grabb 4-4 BB, Gallagher 3-4, Remington 5-5 2B, 2B, Marino 4- Zakrowski 3-4, G. Seguin 3-3 BB, L. Baker 2-3 BB and Merritt 2-4.
Write up by Jeff Simon

National League Game 1-23.2015   Nationals VS Cubs

The Nationals and Cubs matched up for the umpteenth time this season.  The Nationals posted this line up for Manager Elmer Black:  Waddell, Altemose, Peterson, Lopez, A Andrews, Ayers, Pelletier, Black, Crowe, Strait, Smith and Bowley.  Don LaMay’s Cubs were in this order:  Thompson, Taylor, Scarbrough, Evans, Stepp, Michalski, Leggett, Baker, DePalma, Yarletts, and McPartlan. 

Nationals had two walks and a single in the first and Cubs leftfielder Michalski made a great running catch to cut that inning short.  Cubs in the bottom of the inning first 5 batters had hits and scored the max 5 runs for the inning.  Nationals posted another 0 in the second.  Cubs Baker, DePalma, Yarletts and McPartlan started the 2^nd with base raps then Thompson, Taylor and Scarbrough drove them in for another five run inning.  Black’s team said enough of that, Smith leads off with a base hit, Waddell and Altemose, followed with hits, and a Peterson walk.  Lopez triples Andrews and Ayers have singles and the Nats are on the board with 4 runs.  Cubs come back with base hits from Evans and Stepp followed with a long blast to left center off the bat of Michalski for a homerun netting 3 runs for the inning.  After 3 it was Cubs 13 and Nationals 4. 

The Nationals were held scoreless in the fourth and the Cubs added 2 more runs.  Top of the 5^th and Bowley draws a walk, Waddell and Altemose also walk, Peterson doubles, Lopez singles and Andrews drives a one hopper to the fence in deeeeepp center to clear the bases and ends up with a homer.  After two outs Black, Crowe and Strait have base hits and the Nats end the inning posting 7 runs.  After they hold the Cubs scoreless in the bottom of the inning the score is now:  Cubs 15 – Nats – 11.

Cubs add one run in the 7^th after holding the inspired Nats scoreless.  In the 8^th the Nats tally 2 more runs to bring the score to 16 – 15.  Andrews leads off the 9^th with a liner up the middle, and scores on a base rap from Ayers, Pelletier but a double play held the Nats to one run but the games was tied at 16. McPartlan leads off the 9^th with a liner to right center, Thompson's single moves the runner to third and a liner down the right field line off the bat of Taylor drives in the winning run for the Cubs.

Final Score Cubs 17 – Nationals 16.

Outstanding play was made in right field by McPartlan as he raced in to make the catch.

Leading Hitters for Nationals – Waddell 3 for 3 with 2 walks, Altemose 3 for 5, Andrews 3 for 5 w/HR, Ayer 4 for 5, Black 3 for 5 w/3B

Cubs – Thompson 4 for 5 w/DBL, Taylor 4 for 5, Scarbrough 4 for 4 w/DBL, DePalma 3 for 4 w/DBL

Everyone seem to agree that this was quiet a game with Cubs getting off to a big lead and the Nats making a gallant come back to tie the game in the top of the 9^th. 

Written by Don LaMay

Fortune cookie say “ you really crack me up”.

I started out today’s game by reading my team fortune cookies in our dugout. In our case, the way we played, it was more like misfortune cookies. Someone must have tainted our Chinese food, because we played like we had a severe case of food poisioning. Here is an ancient Chinese proverb that applied to today’s game. “It’s more fun being the hammer than the nail.”

Visiting Team, Hung Won Unem: Rivera, Denny, Stier, Finnegen, Levesque, Pepin, Essenmacher, Vandenberg, Farinas, Vandenhyde and Wells.

Home Team, Sum Tim Wong: Benson, Drouilard, Brock, Seguin, Erb, Matta, Reagan, Dampier, Osterreich, Roy and Ing.

Hung Won Unem, spread the ball all over the field. They scored 10 runs in the first 3 innings, all those runs were scored with two outs. Their fortune cookie read, “If opportunity is not knocking, build a door.”

The Sum Tim Wong team answered back with 7 runs in the first three innings. That is as close as we would get. After 3 innings the score was Visitors: 10- Home: 7.

Our fortune cookie read; “he who throws dirt, loses ground.” We must have been shoveling dirt in the air, because Sum Tin Wong fell way behind. Credit team Hung Won Unem for their excellent hitting. The Final Score was Visitors:31- Home: 18.

Playing softball is like eating Chinese food, in an hour you’re ready to do it again.

Thanks to Joe D’Herin for umpiring the game. Joe was a bit under the weather, so he could not play today for his team (Visiting Team). I am sure their performance made him feel a little better.

 

Outstanding plays:

Bobby Reagan for his catch of a sinking liner, at 2^nd base.

Josh Wells, for pitching an excellent game. (WP)

Leading Hitters for the Visiting Team:

Rivera: 4/6 with a double.

Denny: 4/6.

Stier: 4/6 with a triple and a double.

Finnegen: 5/5 with two HRs.

Pepin: 2/3 with two walks.

Essenmacher: 3/3 with two walks.

Vandenberg: 1/1 and two walks.

Farinas: 3/5 with a triple.

Vandenhyde: 2/2 with a triple and 3 walks.

Wells: 3/5 with a double.

Leading Hitters for the Home Team:

Benson: 4/5

Drouilard: 4/6 with a triple.

Brock: 2/4 with a walk, double and HR.

Reagan: 3/5 with a HR.

Oesterreich: 3/ 4 with a double.

Ing: 3 / 4 with a double.

 

Write up by Nick Matta

Sun in the Batter's Eyes

Field B can be a trial some mornings.  The idea is for the pitcher to get the ball up into the bright sun where the batter can't see it. Of course the batter must raise a paw before the ball hits the plate to get a "no-pitch call" from the umpire.  Now then with the pitches moving at their peak speed of 4 mph the batter could just wait until the ball emerges from the bright spot and pound out an opposite field hit.  Hmmm.

Anyway Freddy's "Angels" (yes in quotes) played JD's Budweisers in a game that was unfortunately decided by attendance.  JD's squad could only muster 7 players by the 9am deadline and so the point goes to Mr Gonzales who as you may know, lost several games last year by the same measure ... so karma?  

Anyway we had enough pool players to play the game with fill ins from Ron Butler's BYE team to make a Home Team roster for substitute captain, Kirk Coffman to manage. 

Captain Kirk's boys took the early lead with a Dave Doerbaum three run homer into the 25 knot wind after the visiting Angels posted 2.  But that's about as close as Freddy's boys would get.

After 5 innings the score was 4 - 12 in favor of the Substitute JDs.  

The Angels made a run at them though after coming up with 5 runs in the 7th to close the gap to 9-12 thanks to some solid hitting by Borrelli and Lopicollo followed up with a Constantine double and a series of base hits.  Unfortunately, they left a couple of runners on when the rally died. 

In the 8th the Home team posted 4 more on another 3 run Dave Doerbaum homer into the stiff wind.  Dave hit the ball hard enough to travel 400 ft  but into the wind it almost blew back into the park, falling just over the left field fence and out of the reach of Raul Torres.

The Angels went down with another zero frame in the ninth.

Final Score: Angels 10 - JDs 16.
Winning Pitcher:  BJ Kallister

Big Hitters

Angels

• Constantine  3 for 5 2 2B
• Witmer  5 for 5
• Gonzalez  3 for 5
• Lopiccolo  3 for 5

JDs

• Gazarek  4 for 5
• Lafoon 3 for 5 2B
• Doerbaum  4 for 5 2 HR
• Hill 3 for 5
• Fabian 3 for 4

submitted by Ron Butler

Field C National League

Today's game on field C was a three team competition.  

The hit team, the Marlins, were managed by Simon and the  lineup was D. Hill, Simon, Marino, Hite, Gallagher, Zakrowski, Moots, G. Seguin, Gibson, L. Baker, and Merritt.  The sit  team, managed by Powell, inc. Fulton, Turpin, Macho, King, McLellan, Lautenshano, Augenstein, Ragonese, Ayala, Bloom, Podbielski, Mordy and Powell.  The field team, managed by Welton inc. F. Miller, Copozzi, Kline, Guspyt, Mahon, Bess, Hawbaker, Mohan, Witter, Holley and Barnes.  With three teams this was a seven inning game. 

The first inning started slowly with the field team, the Pirates scoring only one run.  The second inning the Marlins scored 3 runs and the sit team followed with 3 runs of their own. The third inning started with a five run rally for the Marlins keyed by round trippers from Marino and Hite.  The sit team, the Braves, added 3  runs.  After 3 innings of play the score stood at   8-6-1. 

The Braves kept up the pressure with a strong 5 run 4th inning powered by a Tim Gallagher HR.  This was the Braves third HR of the game.  The sit team did not score in the fourth frame and the Pirates, the field squad ended a 2 inning drought by pushing across 2 runs with a Bess double being the key hit.  The fifth inning saw the Marlins score three times to take a 10 run lead.  But not so fast.  The sit team, the Braves, responded with 5 runs on doubles by King and McLellan.  The field team decided to join the party and scored 5 times keyed by a Mahon triple.  The score after five innings was 16-11-8.  

The Marlins scored only one run in the top of the sixth on a sac fly by Duff Hill.  The Pirates failed to score in the bottom of the sixth.  The score after six frames was 17-14-8.  

The Marlins added two runs in the top of the seventh to take a 5 run lead over the sit team, the Braves.  The sit team made a game effort to overtake the Marlins by scoring three runs inc a triple by Lautenshano but fell 2 runs short.  The field team showed a lot of heart by scoring 4 runs  on a triple by Gusypt and a double by Hawbaker. 

The final score was 19-17-12  

The WP was Giselle Seguin.  

Leading hitters for the Marlins: D. Hill 3-5, Simon 3-5, Hite 3-3 HR, 2BB, Gallagher 3-5 HR, Zakrowski 4-5, Moots 4-5, L. Baker 4-5 Merritt 4-4.   

The Braves  leading batters were Fulton 2-3  , King 3-4, McClellan 3-4 HR, Lautenshano 3-4 3B, Augenstein 2-3 BB, Mordy 2-3 BB.  

Leading hitters for the Pirates: Hahon 3-4 3B, Bess 3-3 BB  2B, Hawbaker 3-4 2B, Mohan 3-4, and Barnes 2-3.  

The points were  Marlins 2 points and the Braves 1 point.

submitted by Jeff Simon

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

A grey, gloomy, cold overcast day on the Sunshine field (Field B).  The National League game between the Capitals, Braves and Pirates ended as a struggle between the Braves and Pirates.  Elmer Black’s Capitals were forced to forfeit when only eight rostered players were available at game time.  Supplemented with pool players Blacks team scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back, scoring five in the sixth inning and six in the seventh for a total score of 21 runs in seven innings. Big hitters for the Capitals were Peterson, Lopez and Ayer, all 4 for 5 at the plate.  Angel Farinas was four for four.

 

The game between the Braves and Pirates appeared to be going all the Braves way, leading 11 to 4 after 5 innings, however the Pirates were not giving up.  After the Braves were held scoreless in the 6th the Pirates answered with 4 runs all scored by the bottom of the order.  In the 7th inning the Braves were again held scoreless.  The Pirates are down three runs with one more chance at bat.  Kline singled, Guspyt tripled and Mahon tripled.  With two out Witter walked, Hawbaker doubled and Holley singles.  PIRATES WIN 13-11. Braves big hitters were Fulton 4 for 4, McLellan a home run and 2 doubles, Lautenschlager a triple, double and single, Augenstein 3 for 3.  For the Pirates Miller had a game starting triple and a single, Guspyt a triple, double and a single, Hawbaker 2 singles and 2 doubles.

Write up by Reggie Barnes

Marlins VS Cubs -  Tuesday, Jan.20, 2015      Field E

The Marlins face the Cubs in a two game contest on field E this morning.  Manager Jeff Simon places his team in this order:  Simon, Grabb, D Hill, Remington, Marino, Zakrowski, Long, Moots, Sequin, Merritt, L. Baker and Gibson.  Cubs manager Don LaMay lined up his players in this order:  Thompson, Shaffer, Scarbrough, Evans, Stepp, Michalski, Leggett, G. Baker, DePalma, Yarletts, McPartlan and Vandenburg. 

Manager Simon leads off with a deep fly out to right center, Grabb reaches base and D. Hill lines a rope to center but the Marlins could not push a run across the plate.  For the Cubs Thompson also hits to deep right center that was caught.  Shaffer lines a double and Scarbrough follows with another double, Evans and Stepp and Leggett hits a home run to bring in the 5^th run of the inning.  Both teams post 0’s in the second.  In the third Cub pitcher Leggett was on the mark as he held the Marlins scoreless in the first 3.  Cubs added another 5 spot in the bottom of the 3^rd.  10 to zip after 3 innings.  In the fourth after one out Grabb walks, and D. Hill drives one in the gap to the fence for a homer.  Marino and Zakrowski follow with base raps but were left stranded on the bases.  Cubs add 3 in the bottom of the inning.

In the fifth after holding the Marlins to another 0 the Cubs added another 5 runs to take charge of the game.  Or so they thought.  Marlins came out in the 6^th with Gibson leading off with a liner to left, Simon homers, Grabb doubles, Hill, Remington, Marino, and Long have base hits and the Marlins are back in the game.  So, the Cubs Vandenburg leads off with a triple down the left field line, Thompson & Shaffer single and Scarbrough triples and Evans and Stepp have singles and Stepp's hit drives in the 5^th run of the bottom of the 6^th.  The never give up Marlins come to bat in the 7^th with another 6 run inning and then hold the Cubs scoreless in the bottom of the inning.  After 7 innings the score is Marlins 14 – Cubs 23.  Both teams were scoreless in the 8^th inning.  Marlins hitter L. Baker reaches on an error leading off the 9^th, Gibson walks, Simon doubles and Hill lines his 5^th hit of the game to drive in the 3^rd run of the inning.  Cubs defense tightens and get the final two outs of the inning.  Great try Marlins.  Final score was Marlins 17 – Cubs 23.

Notable plays, Merritt made a running grab of a liner hit in the gap.  Scarbrough made a running catch from shortstop in shallow center field, and McPartlan made a great catch to cut the ninth inning rally by the Marlins.

Leading hitters:  Marlins – Simon 4 for 6 w/2HR, Grabb 3 for 6 w/2dbls, Hill 5 for 5 w/HR

Cubs – Thompson 3 for 4 w/3b, Shaffer 3 for 4 w/HR, Scarbrough 4 for 4 w/dbl/3b, Evans 4 for 4/dbl, Leggett 3 for 4/HR, and Vandenburg 3 for 3 w/HR/3b.

 

Write up by Don LaMay

The Tale of Two Kingdoms

Once upon a time there were two kingdoms, a Blue kingdom and a Grey one. These two kingdoms met in a meadow lined with chalk, to battle for the princess, Victory. Both teams had brave and skilled knights who brought clubs and other weapons to win Victory. The Blue teams coat of arms were crossed bats with a lightning bolt splitting them. The Grey team had a bat hitting a ball with wings on it.

Visiting team, Blue kingdom: Benson, Drouilard, Brock, Held, Erb, Seguin, DeRidder, Matta, Reagen, Dampier, Osterreich and Ing.

Home team, Grey kingdom: Witmer, Constantine, Toro, Jacobson, Humphrey, Giordano, Deemie, Torres, Thiry, Pennick, Borrelli and F. Gonzalez.

The Blue kingdom started off the battle throwing everything they had at the Grey team. Benson and Brock shot arrows deep into the outfield, they tripled in the first inning. Drouilard and Held rode their horses into second base for doubles. Then Erb and Seguin reached base, that's the first 6 batters in the lineup who contributed to start the game. Scot's hit knocked in the 5th run of the inning.

 

Although the Grey kingdom had been clubbed hard in the first inning, they showed that they were ready for a battle. With two outs and a runner on first, Jacobson and Humphrey singled to drive in a run and put runners on the corners. Giordano walked to load the bases. Deemie then came to the plate with a catapult and slayed the dragon deficit the Blue team was facing. He launched a ball deep over the left field fence for a game tying Grand Slam. After one inning the score was Blue kingdom: 5- Grey kingdom: 5.

 

The Blue kingdom continued to circle the meadow like a knight wanting to win over the princess, at any cost. They scored 4-4-5-5 runs in the next four innings. The Blue team feasted on hits at the expense of the Home team. The Grey kingdom had been left behind, to be eaten by the wolves. After the top of the 5^th inning the score was Blue team: 23- Grey team: 11.

 

However, the Grey team was not about to be eaten by the wolves that circled them. They scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 5^th to tighten up the game, 23-17. Over the next three innings the battle was intense. The Blue team scored 2 runs in each of those innings. The Grey knights answered back with flaming arrows shot all over the field. At the end of eight innings of a hard fought war, the score was Blue kingdom: 29- Grey kingdom: 25. That’s a lot of runs and a lot of pounding the ball. Both teams were using everything from teeth, to claws, to pull out a win.

 

In the top of the ninth inning, Canadian Prince, Don Ing, got the Blue squad rolling with a leadoff single. Benson, Drouilard and Brock all reached base and the Blue knights were storming the Grey teams castle. Erb added a big double and then DeRidder brought down the castle with a mighty swing. In his last at bat before an operation, (Gerry is having some work done on his heel), DeRidder hit a homerun over the center field fence. The Grey team ran out of ammunition in their half of the ninth inning and the Blue team kissed Princess Victory.

 

Final Score: Blue team: 35- Grey team: 25.

Thanks to Joe D’Herin for umpiring the game.

 

Knights Ring Of Honor:

WP: Held.

Hit for the Cycle: Rick Brock, including a Home run over the left-center field fence.

Dampier: HR.

DeRidder: HR.

Deemie: HR.

Constantine: HR.

Thiry: HR.

Outstanding defensive plays: Thierry, Torres, Dampier, Benson, Held, Seguin and DeRidder.

Leading Hitters for the Blue team:

Benson: 5/6 with a triple.

Drouilard: 5/6 with 4 doubles.

Brock: 4/6, hit for the cycle.

Erb: 4/6  with a triple and a double.

Seguin: 4/6 with a double.

DeRidder: 5/6 with a HR.

Matta: 4/5 and a SF.

Reagen: 5/6.

Dampier: 3/ 4 with a HR and SF.

Osterrich: 3/5

Ing: 2/4 and a walk.

Leading Hitters for the Grey team:

Constantine: 5/5 with 2 doubles and a HR.

Jacobson: 3/5 with a double.

Humphrey: 3/ 4 and a walk.

Giordano 2/4 and a walk.

Deemie: 3/5 with a HR.

Torres: 5/5 with two doubles.

Thiry: 4/5 with a HR.

Battle of the Under Achievers

Today the two teams in the American League still looking for their first win, battled it out on Field C.

JD Davis's visiting squad of  Coffman, Gazarek, Doerbaum, Wiltshire, Pepin, Denny, Smith, Gonzalez, Hill, Fabian and Linton took on Ron Butler's home team Line-up featuring Zelazny, Lafoon, Keller, Busch, Parker, Andrews, Rodriguez, Hartley, Hite, Kallister, and Wheeler.

The JD's started out posting 2 in the first followed by the RB's taking the lead with a 5 run first inning for the second game in a row.  The JDs caught up in the second with 3 runs to the home teams zero (also a repetition of last Tuesday's game).

After that the JD's scored in every inning but the 6th and ninth to take a commanding 20 to 7 lead into the 9th. It seemed like the home team hit the rock well but just where the JD's defense could make a play.  The home boys posted 5 scoreless frames. 

In the ninth the home squad mounted a rally posting 8 runs to threaten, 5 runs after 2 outs, but still 5 runs short of tying things up.

Final Score Visitors 20 to the Home's 15.  

Key Hitters:

JD Davis' Visitors

• Gazarek      4 for 5 2B
• Denny         4 for 5 3B
• Gonzales     3 for 4
• Hill             4 for 4 HR

Ron Butler's Home

• Zelazny      3 for 4
• Busch         3 for 4 3B
• Andrews    3 for 4
• Butler         3 for 4

Winning Pitcher JD Davis

Submitted by Ron Butler

Friday Jan 16, 2015  National League Three Team Game

On this damp cloudy morning both the National League games were played on the only playable fields due to the heavy overnight rains.  The three team game was played on Field E at the Diamond Plex Field in Winter Haven.  The Cubs were the first team to bat and manager Don LaMay went with this lineup.  Thompson, Shaffer, Scarbrough, Ridley, Dampier, Evans, Stepp, Mohan, Michalski, Leggett, and McPartlan.  The Nationals led by manager Elmer Black batting in this order:  Altemose, Peterson, Burns, S. Hill, Capozzi, Taylor, Ayers, Straight, Black, Waddell, Bowley and Pelletier.  The home team and the last team to bat was manages by Larry Powell, and his players were lined up in this order by first names: Bobby, John, Milo, Russ, Bill, Harlan, Augie, David R, Larry, Sergio, Marshall, Dave P. and Gary. 

The first inning started with a bang.  Leading off for the Cubs was Thompson with a single, Shaffer followed with another base rap.  Ridley, Dampier, Stepp, Mohan and Michalski all had singles with Big Stan driving in the fifth run of the inning.   The Nats came out swinging their bats Altemose triples down the left field corner, Peterson doubles, Burns triples and so does Hill, Taylor reaches on an error and Ayers drives one up the middle to drive in the 5^th run of their inning.  Now the Braves come to bat with Bobby leading off with a hit and after one out Milo singles, Russ hits a double in the gap, Bill drives one between the outfielders to the fence for a HR and the Braves tally 4 for the inning.  After on the score was 5 5 4.

In the second the Cubs added 2, the Nats 1 and the Braves 2.  In the 3^rd only run was recorded by the Nats.  All the pitchers were hitting the corners and the fielders were making the plays.  A fine fielding play in the second inning by Ayers was the infield play of the game.  The 4^th had one run from the Cubs and the Nats rallied for 3 to take the lead.  After 4 innings Cubs 8 – Nats 9 – and Braves 6.

The Cubs bats came alive again in the 5^th with 4 runs as both the Nats and Braves were held scoreless. In the 6^th both the Cubs and Braves each recorded 2 runs.  Cubs put together a 6 run inning in the 7^th to put this game in the books.  Final Score Cubs 20 – Nats 9 – Braves 8.

Another great fielding play was made by Elmer Black on a running play in Right Field.

Leading hitters for the Cubs: Shaffer 4 for 5 w/ HR, Scarbrough and Ridley 4 for 5.

For the Nationals;  Burns 3 for 4, Capozzi 2 for 2 w/walk and Bowley 1 for 2 w/2 Walks.

For the Braves Russ 3 for 3, Bill 2 for 3 w/ HR and Dbl, Harlan 3 for 3.

Another note:  By the end of the game the sun was out and the weather was perfect.

National League Field D

Today's game on field D pitted the Pirates vs the Marlins.  The Pirates were the visitors and led the game from beginning to end.  The Marlins  were the home team and agreed to a flip flop in the eighth and ninth innings.  

The final tally was 21-12.  

The leading hitters  for the Pirates:

• Miller 3-5, 
• Ducham 4-5, 
• Gusypt 5-5 2HR,  
• Mahon 4-5 2B, 2-3 BB, 
• Torres 3-4, 
• Holley 4-4.  

Leading  batters for the Marlins: 

• D. Hill 4-5 HR, 
• Marino 3-5, 
• Simon 3-5, 
• Grabb 3-4 2B,  
• G. Sequin 3-4 BB, 
• L. Baker 2-4.  

Witter was the WP.  

Both teams felt fortunate that their field was playable after yesterdays rain.

Submitted by Jeff Simon

Partial Rainout

Don reports that Fields B & C are under water and NOT playable today.  That means that the American League games scheduled for B&C are canceled.  

Fields D&E are playable however so the National League games will be played as scheduled.

The American League teams rained out today will play 7 inning double headers the next time these teams meet.  If I read the schedule correctly that will be February 3rd.

See you Tuesday.

In Memory of Bob Hawley


Bob began playing senior softball in Winter Haven and went on to start the Lakeland Senior Softball program. Bob was inducted into the Polk County Senior Softball Hall of Fame in 2003.  Bob passed away on Dec. 22 at his home in Lakeland. He was 91.

Please remember Bob and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

 

The National League game between the Braves and the Pirates was moved from Field C to

Field A due to field conditions result from the heavy rain of 1/12/15.  The first inning ended with a 5-5 score but from there on the Braves scored many runs and often with a variety of sluggers hitting the ball over the shorter fences.  In the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th innings the Braves scored 5 runs in each inning on their to a convincing 29-13 victory.  For the Braves Russ King went 5 for 5 and McLellan and Bloom going 4 for 5.  For the Pirates Bess and Welton each collected 3 hits in 4 times at bat.

Write up by Floyd Welton

I like a good prize fight. Experts rate these heavyweight fights as some of the best matches ever:

Joe Louis vs. Billy Conn. June 18, 1941. New York. Result: Louis KO 13.

Rocky Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott. Sept. 23, 1952 Philadelphia. Result: Marciano KO 13.

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier 1. Mar 8, 1971. NY. Result: Frazier W 15.

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier 3, Oct 1, 1975 Manila, Phillipines. Result: Ali TKO 14.

 

In the “Thrilla In Manila”, Joe Frazier proclaimed, “I hit him with punches that would have brought down the walls of a city." On Tuesday, at the WHSS games we had the “Shaven at the Haven”. Both teams were as sharp as a razor and the hitters cut right through the defense. It was a softball brawl.

Team Frazier, Visiting team: Coffman, Gazarek, Duff, Doerbaum, Wiltshire, T. Smith, M. Gonzalez, S. Hill, Deano, Davis, Fabian and Linton.  

Team Ali, Home team: Benson, Drouilard, Brock, Held, Seguin, Erb, Matta, Reagen, Parker, Osterreich and Ing.

 

Round 1: Smokin’ Joe came out on fire, scoring 5 runs to put Team Ali on the ropes. Coffman, Gazarek, Duff, Doerbaum, Wiltshire and Smith all reached base. Doerbaum delivered the haymaker, a rocket launch that went deep over the left field fence. It even had its’ own splash down, in the rain created lake that was on the other side of the fence. Pitcher JD Davis used his jab from the pitcher’s mound to neutralize team Ali, for the first three rounds of the fight. He only allowed one run to score. After 3 rounds the score was Team Frazier: 8- Team Ali 1.

 

In Round 4, the “rope a dope” was over, Team Ali came out throwing bombs. They scored 8 runs when Drouilard, Brock, Held, Erb, Matta, Parker, Osterreich, Ing and Benson reached base. Actually, Drouilard had two hits in the round. After 4 rounds the score was Team Fraizer 9- Team Ali 9. “ Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” Muhamad Ali.

 

Team Ali were not through delivering a beating, after pounding Team Frazier in the 4^th round, they came out delivering more blows in rounds 6-8. The Home team scored 5-5-and 4 runs in those three rounds to leave Team Frazier face down on the canvas. After 8 rounds of softball/ fight action, the judges had the score Team Frazier 12- Team Ali 23. “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them—a desire, a dream, a vision”, Muhamad Ali.

 

Team Frazier got up from the canvas before the referee counted to ten. One player after another, they came out to the center of the ring, bruised and bleeding, to fight in the 9^th and final round. It was as if the visiting team echoed the fighter, Joe Frazier, when he said, “Life doesn't run away from nobody. Life runs at people.” Team Frazier took a hard run right at Team Ali in the 9^th. They scored 7 runs, giving it all they had, trying to knock the Home team through the ropes. To quote the great Joe Frazier again, “I wanted him like a hog wants slop.” The desire was real, but it was not enough to overcome a huge lead. When the final bell rang Team Ali won the game, by a score of 19-23.

 

Tale of the tape:

WP: Held with relief help from Brock.

Osterreich and Parker, both threw runners out at 3^{rd base.}

 

Outstanding defensive play: Jack Benson for a running catch over his shoulder in deep center field. The visiting players even came out of the dugout and applauded Jack for his spectacular catch.

Leading hitters for the Visitors:

Coffman: 2/4 and a walk.

Gazarek: 3/5.

Duff: 3/5 with a triple.

Doerbaum: 2/4, with two homeruns over the fence and a walk.

Wiltshire: 4/5 with two triples.

M. Gonzalez: 4/5.

S. Hill: 5/5, with a triple and a double.

JD: 3/4.

Fabian: 2/3 and a walk.

Leading Hitters for the Home team:

Benson: 4/5.

Drouilard: 4/5

Brock: 3/ 4  with a walk, a double and a triple.

Held: 4/5 with a double.

Erb: 3 / 4 with two doubles.

Matta: 3 / 4.

Parker: 3/ 4 with two doubles.

Write up by Nick Matta