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Schooni's Holds Off Yates In Slugfest

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Special to Highlands Today

Published: January 29, 2009

LAKE PLACID - In a game where the lead see-sawed over the last four innings, Schooni's came out on top of Michelle Yates Insurance by a score of 23-20 in Lake Placid Senior Softball league play on Wednesday at the Lake June ball fields.

Manager Dusty Hensley did about all he could do to try to get the win for Yates, making five outstanding plays at the rover position in the field and going 4 for 4 with a triple at bat. He was supported by Fred Cooper and Dave Holloway with some great fielding plays and 3 for 4 each at bat with Cooper getting a three-run home run.

However, that did not prove to be enough as the Schooni's Family Restuarant team had a well-balanced offense with Manager Dorin Quigg, Howard Cunningham, Mike Jurmu, Sean Kilduff and Paul Stephenson all getting three hits each. Two of Jurmu's hits were home runs, while Bob Fox also added a home run for Schooni's.

Play on the other field also saw outstanding defensive plays as Central Security squeaked out an 11-10 victory over Seminole Tire.

The Tiremen's manager, Carol Walsh, said it seemed every where Seminole hit the ball, Richard Rivera was there to make a diving catch and throw runners out. Playing six different positions and with his speed and the uncanny way of being in the right place for most batters, he was there to make the plays. At bat, manager Charlie Quinn, Jim Hensley and Dana Hurlbut had three hits each for the Security men. For Seminole Tire, Ed Engler made a pair of great run saving catches in the field and, along with Tom Walsh, had 3 hits each at the plate.

In Monday's action, Central Security was light on lumber, but outstanding defensive plays led to a 9-2 victory over Lake Placid Marine at the Lake June ball fields.

Don Thomas, a 74-year-old Korean conflict Army veteran, led the defensive effort with a catch of a line drive and two other fielding plays that started double plays, squashing scoring efforts by the Lake Placid Marine team.

The busy Thomas, who in the winter is the official scorer for South Florida Community College and umpires a Senior League in Sebring, is a Michigan native who retired from Grand Valley State University. He works for the Detroit Tigers as a scorer for the Western Michigan White Caps and also was a past scout for the Cincinnati Reds.

Dana Hurlbut led the Central Security men at the plate with four hits, followed by Charlie Quinn, John Miller, Larry Oser and Richard Rivera with three hits each. Hurlbut, Miller and Rivera also made some excellent catches in the field to take away hits.

The hard-luck Mariners managed only nine hits - all singles - with Tom Giownik, Larry Lane and Victor Rodriquez knocking two hits each.

Play on the other field saw a little higher-scoring event, but it was still close game as Seminole Tire held on for a 17-13 win over Michelle Yates Insurance on a sun-drenched field which frequently causes mis-plays in the outfield.

Jeff Stanley led the offense for the Tiremen with four hits including a three-run home run. Ed Engler, Jess Hathaway, John Ladensack, Glenn Minnick and Tom Walsh also chipped in three hits each for the winners. Fred Cooper and Paul Brand were 3 for 3 and Ray Heissenberg was 2 for 3 with a home run for the Yates team.

The Central Security and Schooni's teams lead the league with records of 4-2 followed by Lake Placid Marine at 3-3, Seminole Tire at 3-4 and Yates Insurance at 2-5. The 20-game season will continue through March.

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