Winter Haven Senior Softball

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.