Attention Members

Members, please keep Robert Spitaleri in your prayers as he is scheduled to undergo surgery on the 17th. Please pray for a successful surgery, a smooth recovery, and peace and strength for Robert and his family. Thank you for keeping him in your prayers.

🥎 09.04.26 The Final Score Is… Well, It Depends Who You Ask

 If the team names look a little different today, there’s a good reason. We’re recognizing the sponsors who support Winter Haven Senior Softball by using their names in our recaps.

Trucke Carpet — coached by Hill (Visitors/Hitting): 9
Richard’s Coffee — coached by Davis (Middle/Sitting): 13
The Tax Lady — coached by Wally (Home/Fielding): 13???

Yes, those question marks are intentional. 

This game ended with one of those wonderfully confusing only-in-senior-softball finishes where everyone left the field and we’re still not entirely sure what the final score was.

Richard’s Coffee came into their final at-bat trailing and battled back to tie the game—or did they?

On the final play, the runner headed for second. Did he touch the base?

Ask the runner: Absolutely.

Ask the umpire: Absolutely not.

And since the umpire’s call is the one that counts, the third out was recorded at second.

But did the run score?

Yes. No. Maybe. Depends who you ask. 

And then… that was it. The Tax Lady never got its final at-bat. Maybe the time limit had expired. Maybe everyone was still discussing second base. Maybe senior softball had simply provided enough entertainment for one morning.

Whatever the official explanation, it really doesn’t matter. We’re out there to have fun, and the umpire is always right. Even when half the field is convinced otherwise. 

And speaking of our umpires, Laren and Don deserve some recognition. These two guys come out game after game, stand out there in the heat, and do their very best to keep all of us under control—which, as most of you know, is not always an easy assignment.  A huge thank-you to both of them for everything they do for Winter Haven Senior Softball.

Second base wasn't the only place providing a little controversy. We also had two runners called out at third for failing to veer off.

So here's today's friendly rules reminder: Third base is treated just like second base. If there's a play coming to the base, the runner must veer off. Running straight through the base can turn what looked like a perfectly good trip to third into a very quick trip back to the dugout.

Somewhere between all the debates, we actually played some pretty good softball, too.

Richard’s Coffee and The Tax Lady came out swinging, each putting five runs on the board in the first inning. The Tax Lady kept the bats going with another five in the second, then added one in the third, one in the fourth and two in the fifth before being shut down in the sixth.

Trucke Carpet got on the board with three runs in the second, then went cold for the next three innings. Their bats came back to life with five runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh, but the late rally left them just short with nine.

Richard’s Coffee followed its five-run first inning with another run in the third, three in the fourth and two in the sixth. That brought them into their final at-bat trailing The Tax Lady 13–11.

And that’s when things got interesting.

Richard’s Coffee pushed across two runs to apparently tie the game at 13—but that second run came on the play at second base that started our whole “Did he touch it or didn’t he?” debate. The runner says he did. The umpire says he didn’t. The third out was called, the inning was over, and depending on who you ask, we either had a 13–13 tie… or we didn’t. 

Meanwhile, The Tax Lady was waiting with the top of its order due up for what should have been the final at-bat—an at-bat that never came.

Could they have broken the tie? Maybe. Could Richard’s Coffee have held them? Maybe. Will we ever know? Nope. 

So we'll put this one in the books as Richard’s Coffee 13, The Tax Lady 13-ish, and Trucke Carpet 9.

Another perfectly normal morning of Winter Haven Senior Softball. 

Oh, and Bob Vandenberg, bring that daughter, Liz, of yours out any time. The guys will be fighting to have her on their team. What did she catch, like 5 or 6 balls out there in left center AND a double!!! She definitely gets it honest!

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Friday Games

Games are on.

Attention Members

Games are on!…… Swing batter. LGG

########## Welcome Back! #########

I'm Excited to welcome back for the 2027 season

Rhonda Dorman, EA, NTPI Fellow

The Tax Lady & Associates, Inc

560 S Lake Shore Way

Lake Alfred, FL 33850

863-956-1120 office

863-508-7412 fax

www.thetaxladyea.com

Enrolled Agent (EA) Rhonda Dorman provides complete tax accounting, tax preparation, and tax resolution for individuals and companies. With more than 25 years of experience, Rhonda can help with all of your personal and business tax issues, including representing you during IRS audits. Tax laws change constantly, and if your accountant doesn’t continually educate herself about these changes, it’s time to change accountants.

Over 25 years of accounting and tax experience managing businesses and trusts, including:

• Real Estate: Investors & Realtors
• Agriculture
• Attorneys
• Medical Professionals
• Auto Repair
• Retail Stores
• Truck Drivers

Feel free to browse our website to see the services we offer as well as the many helpful resources we provide. When you are ready to learn more about what we can do for you, we encourage you to contact us.

 

Field Update

I just wanted to keep everyone updated on the progress of the field renovation.

At this time, it appears that we will not be moving to our field anytime soon. The dugouts are still not completed and do not yet have benches. They are adding the backstops behind home plate this week.

The building itself is also not completed. Although the roof was finished earlier this summer, the interior renovations have not yet begun. Work on the restrooms has also not started.

Our storage unit has not arrived yet.

I will continue to keep everyone informed as I receive more information and updates. 

For now, we will continue playing at:

Reuben Williams Sports Complex
711 Ave O NE
Winter Haven, FL 33881

Thank you for your support.  

        

🥎 09.01.26 Two Teams Came to Hit… and Then There Was the Other One

    Winter Haven had three teams on the field today.

Technically.

One of them shall remain nameless, mostly because apparently their bats would like to remain anonymous as well. 

The visiting Nameless Team scratched out one run in the first and another in the second. Then came an impressive stretch of three straight innings of 3-up, 3-down. In the sixth, they mixed things up a little and went 4-up, 3-down, before eking out one final run in the seventh.

Hey, nobody can accuse them of being inconsistent. 

But in fairness, we can't put ALL the blame on those missing bats. Rabideau had a lot to do with keeping them quiet. His pitching kept the Nameless hitters off balance all game and gave them very little to work with.

And while their offense may have taken the day off, Team Nameless definitely showed up on defense.

Vandenberg made an AMAZING catch on the mound — and this wasn't some little dribbler back to the pitcher. That ball was SMOKING! Somehow Vandenberg got a glove on it and made one heck of a play.

Then there was Pete Gelesky at home plate, making not one but TWO heroic catches to stop Team Wally runners from scoring. Those two plays saved a pair of runs and gave the Nameless Team something besides their batting average to talk about after the game. 

Meanwhile, the real offensive battle was taking place between Team Hill (Sitting/Middle) and Team Wally (Fielding/Home).

Team Wally came out swinging and scored in every inning they batted except the fifth:

5 in the 1st, 5 in the 2nd, 4 in the 3rd, 4 in the 4th, a little rest in the fifth, and then 5 more in the 6th on their way to 23 runs.

And check out the top of that lineup:

Nestor — 3-for-4
Rusty — 3-for-4
JD — 4-for-4 with a HOME RUN

Michl - base hit and a HOME RUN
Griffin — 4-for-4
Pablo — 3-for-4

In fact, the top six batters accounted for 19 of Wally's 23 runs.

Which does make you wonder...

Who the heck set up these teams? 

But Team Hill wasn't about to quietly go away.

After scoring just one run over the first two innings, their bats suddenly woke up in the third. And with two outs, they exploded for 6 runs.

They weren't finished.

Team Hill piled on 7 more in the fourth, closing the gap on Team Wally. They followed that with 4 more in the fifth and another run in the sixth.

What had looked like a runaway was suddenly turning into one heck of a comeback.

And here's where Team Nameless gets to take a little more credit. 

With Team Hill threatening to complete an amazing rally, the Nameless defense held them to just 2 runs in the final inning, putting an end to the comeback.

Team Hill certainly wasn't hurting for hot bats:

Testa — 5-for-5 
Woodsby — 4-for-4 with a HOME RUN 
Williamson — 4-for-4
Tutrani — 4-for-4
Cruz — 3-for-4
Gil — 4-for-4

And then there's Amy.

She sent two balls DEEP into center field today. Both were caught, but don't let that fool you — she was ON FIRE! 

Boys, you might want to start backing up. Once Amy gets her game fully back, those balls aren't staying in anybody's glove. 

So the final takeaway from today's Winter Haven action:

Team Wally brought the runs.
Team Hill brought the comeback.
Team Nameless brought the defense... and apparently left their bats in the parking lot. 

Although after the way Rabideau pitched today, maybe those bats deserve a little less of the blame.

Another fun day of Winter Haven Senior Softball — see you on the field!