Fall is Here

Three teams took to the field today in the first game played in the fall. The game was a lot of fun but the outcome never in doubt as Team Davis jumped out to an early lead and continued to build on it for the entire game. The final score was Team Davis 20, Team Matta 13, and Team Wells 8. 

Team Matta scored first with two runs in the top of the first when Bob Zelazny got one to the fence under Ron Butler's outstretched arms.. They were quickly overtaken when Team Davis scored five runs aided by Frank Jacobs triple. Team Wells hung in with two runs on a home run by Ron Butler. The second inning was the death blow to Teams Matta and Wells when they managed to score one run apiece while Team Davis crossed the plate four times after the first two batters made outs. The third saw some bright spots for the trailing teams in that both managed three runs. The down side was that Team Davis were more prolific and scored five with the rally getting started when Gene Baker and Dick Sessnink both got great base hits. 

The fourth inning saw Team Matta close the gap a little when they pushed four runs across the plate Team Davis was poised to respond but managed only two runs while leaving the bases full. Team Wells had a one two three inning. The fifth inning was a plus for Teams Wells and Matta with both scoring twice and shutting down the hot hitting Davis machine. 

The fortunes were reversed the following inning with Team Davis the only team to cross the plate and they did so three times to build on their lead. The last inning was rather uneventful with only two runs being scored...one by Team Matta and one by Team Davis. The highlight of the inning was Tommy Wise's home run over Ron Butler's head. Everyone was in total shock as the ball shot off his bat and carried to the warning track.  What a sight.

Again the final score: Team Davis 20, Team Matta13, and Team Wells 8. 

All star players today were Reggie Barnes on defense where he totally controlled his side of the field and thwarted every rally. and on offense was Tommy Wise with a home run while hitting three for four, and the first four batters on Team Davis (Coffman, Constantine, Jacobs, and Witmer that all managed four hits apiece. Freddie Dampier,  Nick Matta, Tommy Wise, and Bob Zelazny managed three hits for Team Matta. Ron Butler also had three hits for Team Wells with one homer.

As I was out last week it was great to see so many returning ballplayers. Marshall Bloom, Jonathon Byrd, JD Davis, Eddie Kline, and Dick Mahon. We want to welcome a new player as well....Duff Hill who played a solid second base for team Matta.

Duff Hill

Touchdown or Interception; Who Knew?

Da Pine Time Guys

After the scuttlebutt died away and we got the recap of Richie Marino's wedding toast, we settled into the usual summertime three team game. With 35 players we were just short of the 4 team number but we're getting close.

The Hitting squad with Larry Wells pitching got things going with 3 in the first on 4 consecutive hits by Scarborough, Kline, Witmer and Schapeller.  The Sitters also scored 3  (Nick Matta and Larry Powell shared the pitching duty) in the first but the Fielding squad (JD Davis pitching) failed to get a run across.

I think I finally understand the secret to softball!  More runs are scored at home plate than any other base!  Eureka!

In the second inning the Sitting team did all the scoring, posting 5 runs to zeros for the other two.

The third saw the Fielding team (Davis) finally get on the board with a 4 run rally while the Hitting squad posted a 0 to only one for the Sitting crew.

After three the score was 3-9-4.

Then in the 4th inning the Hitting team rallied to post their 5 run limit and it was the Sitting team's turn to post a goose-egg while the Fielding Team only managed a single run.

The 5th and 6th innings showed naughts for the Hitting and Fielding  squads while the Sitting team posted 2's in both innings.

After 6 innings we stood at 8-13-5.

Leading off the 7th the Hitting team managed a pair to move into second place at 10 runs.  The Sitting group added a run to their totals and then proceeded to give up 5 to the Fielding team so that the final tally ended up 10-14-10.  There's something unsatisfying in a tie however bracketed.

Defensively, excellent plays were turned in by Frank Jacobs with a great running catch in left field, Jeff Simon with a terrific leaping grab of a hot line drive at third and of course Jim Lafoon at shortstop who managed to turn two double plays by getting the runner at home with perfect throws from second base both times.  Talk about the zen of fielding. Nice work Jimmy!

At bat, Dean Schapeller went 4 for 4, Fred Dampier turned in his usual 4 for 4, Ron Butler went 3 for 3 with a sac-fly rbi. Richie Marino went 3 for 4, Nick Matta did the same 3 for 4. In addition to great fielding, Frank Jacobs had a 4 for 4 day with an itp home run on a drive over the right fielder and Wayne Mundy went 3 for 3.  If I missed someone blame the score keepers.

Today also saw several returning players for the first time since the weather turned hot, welcome back JD Davis, Doug Chamblis, Ed Kline, Dick Mahon and if we didn't mention it last week Bernie Mohan.  Welcome back guys it's always nice to rendezvous with old friends.

Dick & Bernie

JD

Bernie, Doug & Fred

Ed & Wayne

Last Day of Summer

Ken's Back in the Game!

Well the boys of summer mustered 31 players today just ahead of the autumnal equinox.  The weather seemed a bit cooler although it was hard to tell and the outfield grass was certainly as wet as usual. Three teams contested a defensive gem under partly cloudy skies.

The hitting team (Larry Wells pitching) started off booking a pair followed by three for Ron Thompson's (Sit) squad led by a triple off Jose Rivera's bat. The field nine led by Nick Matta scored one to close the inning.

The second frame saw zeros across the board.

Larry's team started the 3rd inning by posting 4 runs on 5 hits while Ron's team added 4 of their own on 6 hits.  Team Nick couldn't capitalize on Don Witmer's double and left him stranded at third. The score stood at 6-7-1 after 3 innings.

The lead-off team posted one in the 4th to tie the game while gooseggs were recorded for the other two teams.

Team Wells posted another run in the 5th to zero for the Thompson nine but Team Matta posted 5 runs on 7 hits when the rally was cut short by an inning ending double play.

After 5 innings we stood at 8-7-6,  nice and symmetrical.

The sixth had the hit team add another run, while the sit team scored 4 times on six hits. The field team again posted a naught.

In the unlimited frame the hit team failed to score as their big hitters went down 1-2-3.  The sitting team also failed to score with only one runner reaching base. So it came down to the field team but they need 4 to tie and only scored once to end the three team game at 9-11-7

Defensively, Sam Lopez made a nice play to snag a hot liner, pretty usual for Sammy. John Merritt also made a fine catch on a drive down the right field foul line.

Leading hitters included Jose Rivera with 4 hits in 5 trips to the plate including a pair of triples. Jim Lafoon went 3 for 4.  Fred Dampier had a 4 for 4 day including 3 doubles. Bill Miller went 3 for 4. and Don Witmer had a 4 for 4 day with 3 doubles just to match Fred.

With the arrival of Fall, we expect to start seeing a few of our northern friends any day now.  In any case, we're just happy to see old friends whenever they show up.  (note that guys our age don't have many young friends)  Ken Ota joined us today for his first game since shoulder surgery sidelined him.  Welcome back Ken!  Also Big Russ King made it to the board meeting last Tuesday so that's terrific news as he appears to be making a speedy recovery.  Keep it up big guy.

Also worth mentioning, Richie Marino's a happy guy.  He set his sister up with Ritchie Moots and guess what, they hit it off, in fact they hit it off so well that they're getting married tomorrow.  Congratulations Ritchie!  Oh Yeah and a note to R.Marino;  Try to keep the toast short will ya!

See you next week.

Just a Few Notes

1. If you haven't paid your dues yet, the deadline is fast approaching.  Get the form and write that check!

2. We are still looking for sponsors.  A mere $250 gets a sponsorship with logo on the team shirts.

3.If you are so inclined, we're looking to share the work of writing up the games for the web page.  Please contact me or Ron Butler if you have an interest in taking on an occasional write-up.  Exercise those sportswriter talents!

4. Let's have some fun out there!  Let's not argue with umpires or anyone else for that matter. We're out there to enjoy playing ball with like minded seniors.  We're all friends and members of the same club, let's just have some laughs and enjoy what time we have left on the diamond.

5. If you have not turned in your ballots for the new commissioner and board members please do so before October 1, 2012. Also, turn in the survey that was sent with your ballot. We want you to have a voice in the way the league will be structured next year.  

Trying to Beat the Rain

Bernie's happy to be back

Twenty-nine players braved cloudy skies and managed to get in a very exciting game before the weather set in. 

With our numbers we were able to get in the game because Donnie Witmer volunteered to play middle infielder for all teams.It proved extremely beneficial as his play was spectacular against all three competing teams.

The game started strong with Team Well's getting three early runs in the first. Team Radlein  responded with two runs off a hot liner that reached the fence. Team Matta  wasn't as lucky and failed to cross the plate.

The second inning was just the opposite as Team Wells and Team Radleing were held scoreless while Team Matta got back in the game after the first three hitters reached base and ultimately scored two runs. 

The third inning was pretty uneventful with only one run crossing the plate between the three teams.

The fourth inning saw some interesting offense with runners being stranded after the early batters got on base and were unable to score many runs. 

The fifth inning was more of the same and the score was knotted at six for Team Wells, four for Team Radlein, and two for Team Matta.

There was an offensive explosion in the sixth inning with twenty-three batters coming to the plate.Team Wells extended their lead by scoring four times. Team Radlein tried to stay close and scored three.  Team Matta ended up leaving runners on the bases and only managed one run.

Going into the last inning, Team Wells enjoyed a three run edge over Team Radlein and a comfortable seven run lead over Team Matta. Team Wells added their lead by scoring three runs highlighted by a round tripper by Richie "Mr October" Marino.(Gene Baker had to remind him it was only September). Team Radlein answered with three of their own but fell short stranding two runners on base Team Matta failed to mount a charge and were only able to muster one run.

The final scores were Team Wells 13, Team Radlein 10, and Team Matta 4.

Players of the day were as previously mentioned Donnie Witmer who caught everything hit in his direction and Frank Jacobs who had to have made at least eight catches while roaming the left center field sector. Great catches were made by Ron Butler, Wayne Mundy, and John Merritt. 

Outstanding hitting was pretty much limited to Team Wells where the first six batters managed three hits (Dampier, Marino, Mundy,Jacobs, Lopez, and Bess. Jose Rivera did get four hits for Team Radlein and Bob Zelazny manged three triples. Power hitters include Bill Miller and Richie Marino with a home run apiece and Frank Jacobs with a triple.

The real highlight was the return of Bernie Mohan who has returned to Florida for the season. In my opinion he was the spark that ignited Team Wells.

Batting Around

Wayne on two Sammy on one  Note the clean shoes

Ok guys, with just 27 players, everybody bats 4 or 5 times.  Can't argue with that but it would be nice to have a pair of two team games going on.  Oh well, that's summer ball here in Winter Haven

Larry Wells took the mound? (would you believe rubber?) after batting first and scoring 3 runs on consecutive hits by Constantine, Butler, Scarborough, Byrd, and Moots.  Sounds like a law firm.
Larry Powell's team (sit)  responded but only posted 1 run while Nick Matta's team (field) managed to get a runner to third and no further.

The next frame added 4 runs for the Wells squad, one again for team Powell but team Matta came through with the maximum 5.

After 4 innings the score stood at 8-5-7.   Then in the 5th, team Wells put up 4 and team Matta added 3 to make it 12-5-10 after 5.  Then the sixth was a wash out as nobody scored.

Team Wells then challenged the field in the 7th, racking up 10 runs in the first third of the unlimited inning, sending 14 batters to the plate and setting the mark to beat.

Team Powell could only muster a single run. But then, not be out-done, Team Matta, only sent 4 to the plate and did not score in the final frame.  

Final Scores
Wells (Hit)      22
Powell (Sit)      6
Matta (Field)  10

Leading Hitters (beyond runs scored, the sheets leave much to be desired)
Dampier 4 or 5 for 6
Constantine 5 for 6
Butler 4 or 5 for 5 and a sac fly
Scarborough 5 for 6
Moots 4 for 5
Barnes 3 for 4
Lopez 3 for 4

Need your thoughts and prayers

Guys,

We have a few team mates that we need to keep in our thoughts and prayers.  It seems like lately it's been about us old guys losing sons or having children in trouble.

First Dick Mahon lost his son to cancer.

Now we learn that Chuck Duff's son is also very ill with complex cancer.

And then this past Saturday Jim Lafoon got a call none of us want to get but his son is in the hospital with a brain aneurism.

It's just not the natural order of things.  Us old guys are supposed to go before our kids.

Then last Friday after the game, Big Russ King went into the emergency room and is scheduled for major surgery on Sunday morning.  Get well soon Russ, we miss your bat.

Anyway, please keep our friends and their families in your thoughts and prayers and please enjoy your time with your family, life is all too short.

Another Day In Paradise

Chris & Dick

There has been quite a bit of rain for the past several days and three fields had standing water on them this morning. However, Field C was in good shape for the 29 ball players that showed up to play ball. There were two teams with nine players and one team with ten players. Don Witmer played defense for all three teams so we could play 11 players on the field. The result was a low scoring event unlike the games from this past Friday where 80 runs were scored in seven innings.

Team Wells started off the game with the first three batters reaching base. The defense for Team Sessink rose to the occasion and got the next three batters out while allowing two runs to score. Team Thompson managed to get one run in the middle of the first inning and Team Sessink followed with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Things remained pretty quite for the next four inning with the defense for all the teams putting on the show. Great plays in the infield were made by Sam Lopez, Chris Constantine and Stevan Hill at 3rd base, Bill Miller, Ron Butler and Jose Rivera at Shortstop, Don Witmer at Rover, Vassurl Bess and Don Scarbrough at 2nd base.

In the sixth inning, Team Wells started their hitting streak again with the last two batters, John Merritt and Lee Baker, getting on base. The top of the lineup provided the hitting power to move the runners to home plate and three runs were scored. Team Sessink was not to be outdone in the sixth inning and they scored four runs while batting the complete lineup.

As the seventh inning began, the score was 7-2-7. The first batter for Team Wells grounded out and the second batter was walked. Pitcher Dick Sessink decided to let Larry Powell come in to pitch to Freddie Gonzalez. Freddie hit into a fielders choice which left him on first base. Chris Constantine got a nice hit which allowed Freddie to score the go ahead run. The next batter grounded out to shortstop. Team Thompson, who struggled at the bat all day, went three up, three down. At the bottom of the seventh, Team Sessink had the hammer but could not do anything with it.

Final Score was Team Wells 8, Team Thompson 2 and Team Sessink 7.

Leading Hitters in this low scoring game were:
Chris Constantine 4 for 5
Bill Miller 3 for 4 with a SAC
Freddier Dampier 3 for 4 

Scoring Big

Gene Lines One Up

Only 28 players made it to the ballpark today. It was decided to field three 10 man teams (10-9-9) and float two players as needed. Many of our regulars were missing, so a lot of the players weren't playing at their normal positions. Substitute Runner Rules were suspended. If it sounds like there were a few holes on defense, lets just say when the game finally ended at noon, 80 runs had scored.

Team Wells (hit) got things rolling, leading off the game with four runs, and we were off to the races. Team Thompson (sit) got five in their at bat.  The fifth run was scored after a great throw by center fielder, Fred Dampier, and grab by catcher Gene Baker that just missed getting Ron Thompson at the plate. Team Matta (field) managed three in the bottom of the 1st. The totals after he first inning, 4-5-3 .

This pattern continued and after two the score stood at 9-9-7. Russ King had a chance to put his team ahead but only managed a bases loaded triple rather than the grand slam homer that everyone except Russ thought he had hit. 

In the bottom of the third, Team Matta needed and got seven runs to catch up . Thanks in part to John Merritt's two hits in the inning as they batted around. At the end of three the score was 14-9-14.

After a quiet 4th, things heated up. Team Wells scored five, keyed by Don Scarborough smacking the 4th of his six hits. Team Thompson got seven to catch up, led by Freddie Gonzalez getting a triple and a double. Team Matta took the lead after posting 5, with Jose Rivera getting his 5th straight hit. After five we stood at 19-19-21.

The 6th started with a bang,Team Wells four, Team Thompson seven, Team Matta three. At the end of six we had scores of 23-20-24 .

By the 7th everyone was getting hot and tired. Two players had to leave and the defense was getting a little porous. Team Wells got two, Team Thompson sent 15 men to the plate and scored eleven runs to take a commanding 25-31-24 lead. Team Matta did not score in the bottom of the 7th, and finally the game was over . 

Final score 25-31-24

Stars 
Defense Clair Auchey, Chris Constantine, Fred Dampier, Jose Rivera, Don Scarborough

Offense Don Scarborough 6-6, Fred Dampier 5-5-w, Jose Rivera 6-7, Juan Toro 5-6, Ron Thompson 5-6, Rich Moots 5-6

Clair Auchey played his last game with us today at Winter Haven . Clair is moving to the Villages, where he will be among old friends and playing a lot of golf as well as softball . After the game Clair addressed the group, saying that he will miss playing softball with us but will miss the comradeship more. Clair had his usual good day, going 5 for 7 and playing a very good right center-field. We will miss you Clair ! Good luck.

Claire

New  player Larry Young joined us today. Welcome Larry!  

Larry is 68 and just retired Friday from Juice Bowl in Lakeland . He lives in Winter Haven and is originally from Davenport, Iowa . After not playing ball for twenty years, Larry showed signs of rust but had two hits and made a nice catch in right field. When Larry gets a few  more games under his belt he will be a fine player. 

Noticeably Cooler Today

Chuck & Don sort out the teams

The day started with 38 players and three teams ,two players from team Matta ( sit ) left , requiring a player trade of Bess from team Radlein ( hit ) to fill the void.

The game started with team Radlein going 1,2,3. Team Matta managed two runs on three hits. Team Wells ( field ) busted out with three runs on three hits and an error , with left fielder Kurt Coffman recording all three putouts. However,  team Wells only scored two additional runs in the 4th to finish their scoring.

After having only one hit through the first two innings, team Radlein in the top of the third scored three runs on Freddie Gonzalez's three run homer .( His team mates had rode him pretty hard after striking out  leading off the game )  With team Matta rolling along with four runs in the 2nd and three more in the 3rd, the score after 3 was 3-9-3.

The middle innings were pretty quiet. With team Radlein inching back to make a game of it. At the end of 5 it was 7-10-5.

Team Radlein started the 6th with a 5 spot to take a temporary lead 12-10-5. The big blow was a two run single by Bill Bowley.Team Matta answered with four runs in their half of the inning keyed by John Merritt's 3rd hit of the day. After the 6th the score was 12-14-5.

In the top of the 7th team Radlein got two runs on Bob Zelazny's two run homer to tie the game at 14 and looking to go ahead with no outs in the inning.  After a double by Chris Constantine ,Steve Hill lifted a fly ball to Jose Rivera who fired a bb to 3rd baseman ,Sam Lopez, to catch the sliding Chris at third.It was the 2nd time  Chris was put out at third today.George Radlein was thrown out by right fielder Bob Reagan at 1st to end the threat.

Team Matta looking to take the lead had runners on 1st & 2nd with one out. After Jeff Simom hit a sharp single to center fielder Freddie Gonzalez,Freddie threw in toward 2nd base but Juan Toro was safe as no one coverd the bag. Quick thinking Jim Laftoon threw a strike to catcher Gene Baker just ahead of Bill Miller for the 2nd out. Rover Chris Constantine made a diving stop and flip to 2nd to take a hit away fom Bess and preserve the tie.

In the bottom of the 7th team Wells needed nine to tie but could not score.

Final score 14-14-5

Stars:  Defense - Kirt Coffman , Don Witmer, Chris Constantine , Gene Baker

          Offense   Juan Toro 4-4, John Merritt 3-3, Jose Rivera 3-4, Freddie Gonzalez 3-4