Friday, February 25th

Our first day at Poinciana Community Park was a great day to play softball. The weather was perfect. No snow on the ground. Rob Reed showed me a picture of the lake in front of his house in Michigan and it was frozen solid with plenty of snow on it. 

We had 54 ball players show up today but a few of them decided not to play because of a tournament on Saturday. The American League played a 5-6-5 game with their players and the National League had a three-team game with their players. I didn't get the score from the American League game but the National League score was 17-16-10. We need a few more players to show up and we could have four teams in the National League.

We will be at Poinciana Community Park for at least three more weeks.   A big thanks to Polk County Parks and Recreation for letting us use this park.

Saturday, February 26th.

The Polk County Senior Games took place on Saturday in Lakeland. There were six teams from Winter Haven in this tournament. Lou Guzman had his Winter Haven Blue Knights 60's team, JD Davis had his Mustang 65's team, Don Witmer had his Mustang 70's team, Steve Hill had his Vet Sports 70's team, Bob Vandenberg had his American Legion 70's team and George Vanderhyde has his Johnnie's Automotive 70's team in this tournament. Lou Guzman won his 60's bracket, JD Davis won his 65's bracket and Don Witmer won his 70's bracket. There were three other people from Winter Haven that were an important part of this tournament, Volunteer Umpires. Bob Hite, Alf Gibbons and Ken Myer were there all day umpiring games. Good Job Guys. 

See you tomorrow in Poinciana.        

 Tomorrow at Poinciana Community Park

We start playing ball tomorrow in Poinciana. We will be having pickup games You will need to sign in no later than 9:00 AM. Games will begin as soon as possible after that. The address for the ballpark is: 5109 Allegheny Rd, Poinciana, FL 34759. 

See you there. 

Yankees v. Nationals

Today was supposed to be a fun day at the old ballpark, and it was except for one misfortune. Steve Hicks, one of the Nats star players dove for a ball hit to the outfield and landed on his right shoulder and broke his collar bone. His wife took him to the hospital and having just talked to her, Steve was just about to come out of surgery. It was a very bad break and he is finished playing for the year. We wish him a speedy recovery and our Prayers go out to him and his family.

On a brighter side we were treated to pizza and drinks supplied by our Board of Directors.

On another note it was good to see Sammy Lopez, the Yankees Manager, back, not playing but with his arm in a sling after his surgery. The game was a close one for 4 innings with the Nats leading 14-13. The Yankees were held scoreless for the next 3 innings while the Nats scored 5 in the in the 6th. to lead 19-13. The teams traded 3's in the 8th and the Yankees could only muster 2in the 9th. Final score 22-18. Good friendly games as always between these two teams.

Hitters Yankees

Dale Johnson 3/5 T

Fred Stevens 4/5 D

Jose Rivera 3/5

Fred Gonzalez 3/5

Ken Gelinas 3/5

Fred Dampier 3/5

Larry Wells 4/5

Chris Constantine 2/2

 

Nationals Hitters

Steve Hicks 2/2

Bob Hite 4/5

Ron Pepin 4/5 T

Jerry DeJongh 5/5 HR, D

Tom Kniery 3/5

Steve Gelesky 3/4 HR

Pat Lopiccolo 1/2 2BB

 

Submitted by: Elmer Black

 Tuesday, February 22, 2022

The American Legion Post 8, hosted the Dukes on Field C today, Pizza day. 

The Dukes were hitting on all cylinders and played very good defense while Post 8 struggled until the end of the game. The final score was 24-6 Dukes.

Top Hitters - Dukes, Charlie Sykes, Larry Larson and Frank Jacobs 4-4 , 7 players 3-4.

                      Post 8 George Knox 4-4, Rich the Hammer Marino 3-4, Don Torok and Chris Lynch 2-4.

Defensive stand outs, Dukes, Larry Larson and Charlie Skyes

                                     Post 8, George Knox and Giselle Seguin

Great pitching by Steve Pinnick and Jerry Witter

Submitted By Steve Hill

 Getting to Know You

Rad Pcholinski call him Rad.  Rad's home state is Michigan and he has been in Winter Haven 7 years with his wife Dianne.

Rad plays in the American League.  His favorite sports are Softball and the NHL.  His favorite Non Pro player is Richie Marino.  His hobbies and Pastimes are Golf and Camping.  

Rad is a retired Engineer.

 Getting to Know You

George Knox, Nick Name Knoxi.  George is from Ontario Canada and is a Snow Bird.   His wife is Teresa and they have a son and two daughter's.

Knoxi Plays in the National League for the Legion Post 8.  His favorite sport is Hockey.  George's favorite Pro players are Connor McDavid, Joe Morgan and Pete Rose.  Knoxi's hobbies are Softball and Hockey.  His occupation was a Glazier.

 Getting to Know You

John Gibson, Call him John.  John is from N.C. and lives in Winter Have with his wife Jean.  They have two boys.

John plays in the National League.  His favorite sports are Baseball and his Favorite Pro player is Tom Brady.  Senior softball is his hobby. He enjoys going to the gym.  John is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.  John works at being retired.

 Getting to Know You

Hal Ridley call him Hal.  Hal is from Ontario Canada.  He and his wife Janattee have two daughters and a son.  

Hal plays in the National League for the Duke's.  His favorite sports are Fishing, Basketball and Softball.  Hal's favorite Pro player is Fred Van Fleet from Rockford, Illinois and played Pro basketball for the Toronto Raptors.  His hobbies and pastime he spends watching sports on TV.  Hal is a retired Physical Education Teacher.

 Tuesday, February 22nd

Loren Fabian's Flyers played The Fighting Coconuts today and there was plenty of good offense and defense.  Leading hitters for the Flyers were Jimmy Laffoon at 4 for 4 and Larry Grabb, Al Andrews and Alf Gibbons going 3 for 4.  On defense, Al Andrews made some stellar plays in left field for the Flyers. Rick Brock and Jim Reed pitched a good game for the Flyers.

B.J. Kallister and Les Jacobson were outstanding hitters for the Coconuts going 5 for 5. Also hitting very well were Tom Capozzi, Gary Burtner, Joe LeTourneau, Bob Zelazny, Julian Puma and Robert Spitaleri. Kathy McDonald and John Gibson contributed several key hits each. Tim Gallagher made good catches in left center field.

B.J. Kallister and Ron Thompson combined to pitch a good 9 inning game.

We were happy to have Bobby Reagan and Les Jacobson with us as pool players.

Final score:  Fighting Coconuts 31 - Flyers 18

Games are on. Pizza today. Lets have fun.

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