Winter Haven Senior Softball News
Winter Haven All-Stars played in the SSUSA Oktoberfest Classic National Tournament this past weekend. Games were played in Polk County’s Walker Road complex on October 24-25.
The boys were in the 55/60+ bracket. On day one, they played four games, playing #6 ranked RedHawk Nation, 50s Misfits, Silver Ray 50s, and closing out with Team Florida, ranked #1 in the state.
WHAS lost Games One and Four, however won both middle games giving them a #2 seed going into Sunday.
On Sunday, Winter Haven lost Game One to RedHawk Nation, then won Game Two against RedHawk nation on a walk-off hit by Lou Guzman.
The All-Stars lost by one run in the championship game against Team Florida.
Outstanding play by Dave Deorbaum, who pitched 6 1/2 games and hit 6 HRs and with an average of .750 led the team despite having a backache and hurt knee. What a warrior!
The offensive attack continued with home runs by Eddie Hurn and Mike Vaccaro. Manny Rios, Dana Ferrande, Steve Sole, and big John Davis aka JD helped keep the team in the games. Notable defensive play by Johnny Ojeda and Joey Santos demonstrated that the team belonged there. Even Radley Pcholinski and Al Guzzo contributed to the team’s success by running at key times in games.
Batting:
- Ojeda, Juan #0
- Vaccaro, Mike #4
- Deorbaum, Dave #5
- Guzman, Luis #21
- Hurn, Eddie #11
- Rios, Manny #27
- Ferrande, Dana #16
- Quinones, Tony #7
- Sole, Steve #8
- Santos, Joey #22
- Lopez, Juan #24
- Davis, JD #42
- Radley Pcholinski #3
Coach’s Note: Special thanks to Tony Quinones and John Davis (JD) for helping out with the team. I couldn’t have done it without you guys.
The team qualified for the tournament of champions that will be held January 20-24, 2021 in Polk County.
Write up by Lou Guzman