GAMES ARE ON FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2016

APRIL 12th, 2016

Today's game managers were Terry Smith and Larry Powell.

Members of Smith's Team were: Herbie, Chris C., Jack M., Terry S., Capozzi, Steve H., Denny S., B.J., Jerry R., Fabian, John M.

Members of Powell's Team were: Vandenberg, Coffman, Laffoon, Marino, Lopez, Boswell, Schapeler, Mahon, Yazz, Lee Baker, Powell.

Smith Team did not score many runs until the last inning--only 2 runs in second and third innings, one in the fifth, one in the seventh.

Powell's Team started out strong scoring 5 runs in both the first and second innings, then 4 runs in each of the third and fourth innings.

The score after seventh innings was Powell 25 --Smith 6.

Powell pitched most of the game. Jimmy Lafoon took over in the eight inning and Smith's Team woke up . They scored 6 runs in the eight inning and 4 more in then ninth inning ulitizing the flip rule.

Final Score was 25-16.

Leading hitters for Smith's Team: Jack McNiven 4-5, Steve Hill 4-5 , three home runs, Jerry Remington 3-4,one double,

Leading Hitters for Powell's Team: Vandenberg 4-5, one triple, one double, Coffman 3-5 one double, Jimmy Laffoon  4-5 one double, Richie Marino 4-5,

Sammy Lopez 5-5 one triple, one double , Larry Powell 3-4, Lee Baker 3-4

Larry Powell was winning pitcher and reliever.

Submitted by Larry Powell

Elinor Munday, Wayne Mundy's Wife, Passes Away

Elinor Munday, Wayne Mundy's wife, passed away on Wednesday, April 13 after a lengthy illness. Wayne has been playing softball in Winter Haven and Lakeland for many years and our hearts go out to him in this difficult time.

Services will be held on Monday, April 18 at Bethany Christian Church at 4224 Pipkin Creek Rd., in Lakeland. Visitation will be at 2:15 p.m., with a service at 3 p.m.

Please keep Wayne and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Friday April 15, 2016  Field B
Two teams took the field today.  Usually Field B the hitters are looking into the sun, but today was overcast after rain last night.  So the teams were managed by Don LaMay (Visitors) and Sam Lopez (Home).  Visitors batting in this order were: Marinacci, Scarbrough, D. Hill, Crest, Barnes, Kline, Moots, Ducham, Bloom, Gibson, LaMay and Simon.  Home team took the field and batted in this order:  Herb O., Miller, Bess, Hawbaker, Accetta, Yaz, Boswell, Minder, G. Baker, Merritt, L. Baker, and Lopez.
 
First inning and both team push across 3 runs, and the second had the visitors jump out ahead with 5 runs.  Home team came back with 2 runs to make the score 8 to 5 after two innings.  The next 7 innings the pitchers Lopez and Kline took charge.  The visitors tallied 9 runs in those 7 innings and the home team was held to 2 runs.  I know I’m going to miss some of the good fielding play for both team but there were many good ones.  Barnes knocking down a liner, and snagging a couple of liner.  Hawbaker making a running shoestring catch in left center field.  Duff and Marinacci on good infield plays.

Visitors Hitters:  Scarbrough 4 for 5 with HR and Dbl., Hill 3 for 5, Crest HR and Dbl., Barnes 3 for 4, Ducham 2 for 4.

Home Hitters:  Herb O., Miller, Yaz, Merritt, and Lopez all 3 for 5, Hawbaker and Accetta had 2 for 4.

Now this snow bird is heading north to Michigan.  Hope you all have a good summer and we will be looking forward to our return in the fall.  God Bless You All.

Don LaMay

Friday April 15

Gamed are on.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID

LOONEY TUNES
We are men, old men, playing a kid’s game. There is nothing wrong with that, we are blessed to be able to come out and play ball. It's one of the ways we keep young. Keeping up with the youth theme, I decided to frame todays AL game, (4/12), in the cartoon genre of my childhood.
Visitors, Team Bugs Bunny: Rivera, Witmer, Doerbaum, Matta, Hamilton, Gazarek, Hicks, Crowell, Reagen and Wells.
Home, Team Daffy Duck: Rad, Gonzalez Shirer, Held, Jacobson, Pep, Parker, Zelazny, Letourneau and JD.
Team Bugs came out in the first inning and took the lead, Dave Doerbaum came out and knocked in the first two runs with a HR, to left field. "What’s up Doc?"
Team Daffy had a “suffering succotash” inning, scoring only one run, Sylvester the putty cat style. Freddy G reached base and after a throwing error, he scored. In the second inning, Team Daffy tied the game when Jacobson, Pep and Letourneau delivered hits. Team Daffy delivered a catch phrase upon tying the game at 2 runs apiece, “Of course, you realize this means war", (Daffy Duck).
After the 2^nd inning, Team Daffy disappeared down the rabbit hole. Team Bugs out hit and out fielded him at every turn. Team Bugs scored runs like they were grabbing carrots out of Elmer Fudd’s garden. “Carrots are" (so fine)... "You get a dozen for a dime, It's maaaa-gic," (Bugs Bunny)!
By the 9^th inning Team Bugs Bunny held a commanding 16-8 lead. Due in large part to the Pink Panther, Dave Doerbaum. In the cartoon world, The Pink Panther was a smooth operator, just like Dave’s softball swing, very smooth. Dave had 3 homeruns in the game and knocked in 8 runs.
In the bottom of the 8^th inning, Team Daffy turned into the Roadrunner, while Team Bugs played the part of the Wile Coyote. The Visitors dropped balls, while the Roadrunner sped over the bases. It was like being hit with an Acme anvil. Team Daffy batted through their lineup and scored 7 runs. I’ll describe the ending of the game with a line from “Baseball Bugs”, (1946), a cartoon where Bugs takes on the “Gas-House Gorillas”.  With the tying run on base and two outs, Team Bugs closed out theWHSS game by pasting “this pathetic palooka with a powerful paralyzing perfect pachydermus percussion pitch", (Bugs Bunny). In other words, Josh Wells got the last batter he faced to fly out to left field. Team Bugs won the game, 16-15. "That’s All Folks!"
THE LOONEY TUNE’S STARS OF THE GAME
Team Daffy:
Rad: 4/6 with a triple.
Held: 3/5.
Jacobson: 3/5.
Letourneau: 4/5.
Team Bugs:
Rivera: 4/5.
Witmer: 3/5.
Doerbaum: 5/5 with 3 HRs and a double.
Hamilton: 3/5.
Gazarek: 3/5.
Crowell: 4/5.
Wells: 3/5.
WP: Wells.
Golden Glove Plays: Matta and Witmer.
Special thanks to Joe D'Herin for umpiring the game.

Written by Nick Matta

Friday April 8, 2016   Field D

There is a song with a title of Things that Matter and Things that Don’t.  I don’t know the words to the song but there are things that matter and things that don’t.  Yesterday in a game with Dodgers and Giants, Dodger’s rookie pitcher getting his first major league start pitched 7 and 1/3 innings of no hit ball.  After he pitched 100 pitches he was removed from the game.  Things that Matter.

Things that Don’t.  Game played on Field D.  Two teams matched up to play today with Larry Powell managing the visitors and Jeff Simon skippering the home team.

Powell’s team had Aufiero, Mahon, D. Hill, Miller, Bloom, Fabian, Taylor, Remington, Merritt, Kline, Powell, Gibson, Bowley and S. Hill.  Simon’s team took the field with Simon, Aceetta, Scarbrough, Mohan, Boswell, Waddell, Holder, Moots, Ducham, Straight, Hawbaker, L. Baker and LaMay.

This game see-sawed back and forth for 8 innings and after 8 it was tied at 17 each.  Visitors batted all but one player in the top of the 9^th and scored 9 runs to take the lead.  Home team went down 1 2 3 in the bottom of the inning.  Final score 26 to 17. 

Things that Matter.  Every player on each team had at least one hit.  Things that Don’t.  Who won the game.  Everyone went home after having a good time with good friends.  See you all Tuesday.

 

Don LaMay

Celebrity Chefs

Two master chefs took the field to compete against each other in the American League, on 4/8. By the time the game was over one chef had prepared a delicious feast, the other cooked up soufflé of nothin’.

Visitors, Muppet’s Swedish Chef Team: Shirer, Reagan, Pepin, Jacobson, Laffoon, Zelazny, Constantine, Marino, Capozzi, JD and Wells.

Home, Team Wolfgang Puck: Gonzalez, Essenmacher, Held, Matta, Crowell, D’Herin, Hite, Vandenberg, Coffman, LeTourneau and BJ.

Both teams took the field armed with spatulas, in this case bats, and were ready to use them. The first two innings were mirror opposites for each team. The Swedish Chef Team scored 2 runs in the first and 5 runs in the second inning. Team Puck scored 5 runs in the first and 2 runs in the second inning. Things changed after the 2^nd inning and as they say, “the proof is in the pudding”. After the second inning, Team Puck continued to bring the heat, while Swedish Chef team was on a low simmer. The Visitors were outscored 15-3, over the remainder of the game. One team could roast and boast, the other team had a bar of soap, fall in their pot of soup. Next week in WHSS, it might be the other way around; another team may cook up a masterpiece, while your team burns the roast. Final Score: Swedish Chef Team: 10- Wolfgang Puck Team: 22.

What do you say to someone who runs off with your nachos?

“Hey, that’s nacho cheese.”

Golden Fork Award Winners:

Visitors:

Shirer: 3/4 with a HR.

Reagan: 3/ 4 with a HR.

Constantine: 2/4 with a triple.

Home:

Essenmacher: 2/4 with a HR and SF.

Held: 5/5 with a double and a triple.

Matta: 3/3 with a HR, double and 2 walks.

Crowell: 2/3 with a walk and a SF.

D’Herin: 3/3 with a triple, a HR and two SFs.

Hite: 3/4 with a double.

Vandenberg: 2/3 with a triple.

Coffman: 2/3 with a double.

BJ: 3/4.

WP: BJ

Writeup by Nick Matta

Tue. 4-5-16. Field C. - - Three team game by King's Kruisers, Lamay's Lightning and Fabian's Flames. The Kruisers started off with 3 runs in the first with back to back HRs by Mahon and King. The Lightning and Flames both answered with 4 runs. Lamay's team put up 5 in each of the 3rd and 5th and another 9 in the open 7th for a total of 23. Fabian's Flames could only muster a total of 10 more for a total of 14. King's Kruisers was held pretty much in check till the 7th when they scored 6 for a total of 12.    The Flames made quite a few good plays around 2nd base which might have made ESPN's top 10.
Lamay's

Schappler.       4-4

Kline.               4BB

Taylor.              3-4

Withrow.          4-5

Ducham.          3-4

Mahon.            2-3

Fabian's

Schaffer.           2-2

McNiven.          2-2

Thompson.       4-4

Zakrowski.        3-4

Accetta.            3-4

King's

Grabb.              2-3

King.                 4-4 HR

Miller.                 3-4

Bess.                 3-3

Burtner.            3-4.            SEE Y'ALL FRIDAY!!!!!!

Write up by Loren Fabian

FRIDAY APRIL 1st.

All fools day game was played one field D today.  No fooling.  Before the game Board of director Reg Barnes gave a nice little talk about how to speed up the game. Everyone (almost) agreed with the new arrangements. Play ball.  The three teams manages by Barnes, Kline and Simon.  One team bats, one team sits and the third team takes the field. 

Most players say they do not like to play a three team game.  Well from what I’ve seen the last two times we played with 3 team, that the players seem to enjoy the time that two teams are on the bench at the same time.  What happens in a three team game is that everyone has a good time and a few at bats with a lot of good people.  This program was started to play ball and have fun.  We are doing that.

Thanks to Bob Hite for umping the game today.  Only the scoreboard that Bob kept score on knows who won or who lost.  We all won.

Leading hitters for Simon team:  Simon 2 for 4, Thompson 3 for 4, King 3 for 3 w/W, Mahon 2 for 4, Moots 1 for 2 with 2/W, Burtner 2 for 2 w/W

Leading hitters for Kline’s team:  Spitaleri 2 for 4, Andrews 3 for 4, Lopez 4 for 4 3B, (had to have oxygen at 3B) Rutan 3 for 4, Bess 2 for 4 w/2- 3B,  Mohan 2 for 4, Duff Hill 3 for 4 w/3B, LaMay 2 for 4

Leading hitters for Barnes team:  Steve Hill 4 for 4 w/HR, Laffoon 3 for 4, LeTourneau 4 for 4, Taylor 3 for 4, Hector 3 for 4, Waddell 2 for 3 w/W, Yasz 2 for 4

Oh did we speed up much, no the game ended after 11:30 but we all had a good time.  One thing more I only put on the web what the score sheets say.  Maybe once in a while I expand a little. 

Submitted by Don LaMay

Redneck Softball

Many of you guys live and play ball in the south, I know that does not necessarily make you a redneck, but there might be a little bit of redneck tendencies hanging in the far temporal lobes of your brain. Other ballplayers just live in the south for a season, believe me, we are happy to have you playing ball with us. Some of you may have a little bit of redneck in you, even though you live up north for most of the year. In truth, we probably all have a little redneck in each of us, maybe it’s only 2%, but there is something there. Here is the Jeff Foxworthy test, to gage your percentage of redneck.

You might be a redneck if:

Jack Daniels makes your list of "most admired people".

Motel 6 turns off the lights when they see you coming.

Your Christmas tree is still up in February.

You left an empty Slurpee cup in your car for a few days.

You've ever been kicked out of the zoo for heckling the monkeys.

You have a very special baseball cap, just for formal occasions.

You think that beef jerky and Moon Pies are two of the major food groups.

When a sign that says "Say No To Crack!" reminds you to pull up your jeans.

You collect all your expired license plates.

Your favorite song is “Friends In Low Places”.

Taking your wife on a cruise means circling the Dairy Queen.

Directions to your house include "turn off the paved road."

Most of us love the game of softball, that is why we play the game so much. I have put together a little softball junkie test, so you can gage your intensity for the game.

You might be a softball junkie:

If you ask your wife if you can purchase a new bat for your birthday, or Christmas present.

If you have more than 7 softball, or, baseball caps.

If you open your trunk to put in groceries, you have to push your softball gear to the side to make room for the bags.

If your closet has a combination of Winter Haven, Lakeland, and tournament shirts that date back in years.

If it pours down rain the night before and you’re still “hoping to get the game in tomorrow”.

If you know that Trump is not only the name of a political candidate, but also the brand of a softball.

If you use batting gloves more often than you use any other type of gloves, (Winter or garden).

If the only rest you can get, on a given weekend, is in between tournament games.

If you have to work to get out the dirt stains from most of your socks.

If you ask your wife, “do you want to stay at a hotel next weekend”, and she automatically knows you have an out of town tournament to play in.

If you talk to yourself after you have hit a pop fly for an out.

And the best self-check for being a softball junkie is this: you might be a softball junkie if you show up to get in the game because you cherish the time playing ball with friends, even when you are 55 years old, or older and your knees, shoulder or other body parts hurt. The fun of playing ball out weights the pain.

Now for the softball review for the American League game on 4/1.

Team “Fixin’ to”, Visitors: Rivera, Rad, Gazarek, Held, Jacobson, Shirer, Zelazny, Parker, Coffman, Cappozzi, Marino, Kallister and Vandenberg.

Team “Leaky Cow”, Home: Hicks, Witmer, Doerbaum, Matta, Gonzalez, Essenmacher, Smith, D’Herin, Crowell, Denny, Accetta, Wells and Holder.

In the first inning the “Fixin’ To” team jumped off to an early lead, scoring 5 runs off of hits by Rivera, Rad, Gazarek, Held, Shirer and Zelazny. They were fixin’ to give us a woop’n. They lead after the first inning, 5-1. But for the rest of the game they were as frustrated as a mosquito trapped in a mannequin storage shed. They only managed to score 8 more runs, in the last 8 innings of play. The Visitors team’s bats fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. To sum up the game, the Home team found a way to “get r done”. Turning 3 double plays, on defense, certainly helped us. The front four guys, in the batting order, for the Home team, had 13 hits, in 16 at bats, including two homeruns and a double. That hitting lead to a few rallies as runners skedaddled around the bases. That made us happier than a kitten under a leaky cow.  We scored a total of 20 runs, to win the game, 20-13. Both teams had a “right good” time.

Fixin’ To, Leading Hitters:

Rad 3/ 4 with a double.

Gazarek: 4/4 with a double.

Held: 3/ 4.

Jacobson: 2/3 and a SF.

Zelazny: 3/ 4.

Capozzi: 3/ 4.

Leading Hitters For Team Leaky Cow:

Hicks: 3/ 4 with a HR.

Witmer: 3/ 4.

Doerbaum: 4/ 4 with a HR.

Matta: 3/ 4 with a double.

Smith: 3/ 4 with a double.

D’Herin: 3/ 4.

Denny: 3/4.

Acceta: 3/3 with a double.

Written by Nick Matta.