Seminole Tire Rolls Over Schooni's

Tom Walsh went 5-for-5, Gary Vann went 4-for-5 with a home run and Cluff Brumel, Max Hehn, Fred Moore, Gary Steeves and Glen Minnick each went 3-for-4 on Wednesday as the Seminole Tire team put tire tracks all over Schooni's Family Restaurant for a 20-5 victory in Lake Placid Senior Softball league play on Wednesday at the Lake June ball fields.

The Tiremen scored four runs in the first inning and kept their foot on the throttle for the rest of the game.

Minnick, a 69-year-old Pennsylvania native, seven-year Marine Corp veteran, former baseball player in the Dodgers organization and Waterbury, Connecticut Continental Baking Company (Wonder Bread) retiree who could barely walk from 1991 to 1995 due to numerous knee operations, had two home runs among his hits for the victors.

The crafty manager of the Seminole Tire team, Carol Walsh, shifted her defense to take away the strong left handed hitting of Schooni's. With the defensive setup, it appeared that almost every time the Schooni's players hit line shots, they were right at a fielder while many of the Seminole Tire teams hits were just barely out of reach of the Schooni's fielders.

Brumel, in particular, made several outstanding catches in right field on well hit balls that would normally go for doubles and triples. He was not alone in his fielding prowess, as teammates Hehn, Moore, Harley Smith and Jeff Stanley also made excellent fielding plays for Seminole Tire.

This fielding and excellent pitching by Smith limited times at bat for the Schooni's team: 10 of the Schooni's batters managed one hit each in their three times at bat with only Mike Jurmu getting two hits in the less-than-stellar offensive effort.

Play on the other field saw Lake Placid Marine pull out a 27-15 victory over Michelle Yates Insurance.

The high powered offense of the Mariners was led by Duke Hensley with three doubles, a triple and a home run, Larry Lane with two singles, a double and a home run, Moe Pier with 3 singles and a triple, Paul Smith with 4 singles and Bert Rologg with 2 singles and a double.

Fred Cooper was 3 for 4 with a pair of four-baggers, and Ray Heissenberg, Harlan Newby and Ray Wilson had three hits each, while Dusty Hensley and George Lavoie had inside the park home runs for the Insurance team.

On Monday, Manager Dusty Hensley was 4-for-4 with three triples and a double, Fred Moore was 4-for-4, Ray Heisenberg was 4-for-5 and Frank Hedges had a home run as the Michelle Yates Insurance team pounded out a 19-11 victory over Seminole Tire in Lake Placid Senior Softball league play at the Lake June ball fields.

The win broke a five-game losing skid for the Insurers, while Gary Van, Tom Walsh, Ed Engler, and Jeff Stanley were all 3-for-4 for Seminole.

Play on the other field saw Lake Placid Marine knock Central Security team out of first place with a 24-18 win.

The offense of the Mariners was led by Duke Hensley, who knocked an inside-the-park home run, a double and two singles, while Larry Lane also had an inside-the-park homer and four singles. Tom Gaiownik finished with a three RBI double and three singles and Manger Glenn Wearsch knocked three singles.

Al Chips celebrated his 91st birthday with two hits and a walk in the losing effort. The multi-talented, timeless wonder served as a Navigator in the Canadian Air Force Training Command during WW II (yes II, not I!), worked with a major construction firm as a plumber, electrician, and all around handyman in the Canadian Arctic for several year. He also worked on Baffin Island for six years, was a tobacco farmer, and is a certified automobile mechanic, the field he worked in for many years and still tinkers with.

Central Security team was led by manager Charlie Quinn, who had a home run, while Cal Bready and Dick Harmick had three singles each and John Miller knocked a double and triple, while Richard Rivera had 2 doubles and Jim Hensley had a single and double.

As the mid- point of the season approaches Schooni's and the idle Central Security team lead the league with records of 5-3 followed by Lake Placid Marine at 5-4, Seminole Tire at 4-5 and Yates Insurance at 3-7.

The 20-game season will continue through March.