"For lo , the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land"
{ The great Hall of Fame, radio broadcaster - Ernie Harwell - of the Detroit Tigers - - the annual opening sign on of MLB opening day } .
Commissioner Donnie Witmer , gave his opening speech to the group , Reverend Freddie Gonzalez , followed with the invocation , and the 2020 Winter Haven Senior Softball season began !
The All-Star loaded Solivita team strolled into Diamondplex , to take on the American League team of Quinones Team #3 , to a packed house , and the sensory aromas of KFC chicken.
It was a beautiful sunny day , and , promised to be a classic season opener. The Winter Haven boys were decked out in their new "Oregon Duck" green & yellows, and, ready for the challenge.
The first inning opening day nerves were evident , as the Winter Haven Boys , took a slim 1-0 lead after the 1st inning. With the adrenaline settling down, Team Quinones , extended their lead to 8-1 after the 3rd.
Things got even better for the home boys , as , the lead extended to 13-4 after the 5th , 18-8 after the 6th , and 21-9 after the 7th . Spear-heading the offensive attack were Home Runs by Eddie Hurn & Don Fee.
Multiple hits during those crucial innings were produced by Hurn , Fee, Tony Quinones, Scott Seguin, Manny Rios, Rob Reed, and Al Guzzo . Not to mentioned the masterpiece Dave Doerbaum was spinning on
the mound, thwarting the Solivita hitters , with a combination of curveballs and a selection of change of speed deliveries. Well Solivita is too good of a team to just lie down and quit , so they mustered their inner spirit
and came back with 6 runs in the top of the 8th inning , to cut the lead to 21-15 . But , Team Quinones, answered the call in the bottom of the frame , with 3 runs , to extend the lead to 24-15. Solivita picked up an
additional 3 runs in the top of the 9th inning , but , that was clearly not enough , as the Winterhaven American League prevailed , to win the inaugural 2020 opening day , with a decisive 24-18 victory .
Hitting leaders for the American League team , Quinones #3
4 Hits : Quinones, Fee
3 Hits : Guzman, Hurn, Reed
2 Hits : Hicks, Pcholinski, Doerbaum, Seguin, Rios, Guzzo, Brock
Written by Al Guzzo
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