Aluminum Discount Pulls Off Victories

Elwood Black and Tony Caristo were 3 for 4 with home runs and Jim Strietzel was 4 for 4 with a triple and double as Aluminum Discount pulled off its fourth win with a 13-12 nail-biter over the Rebels during Sebring Senior Sofball league action last week.

Jack Grosso went 3 for 3 with a double and Don Matthews was 3 for 3 to lead Aluminum Discount, which won its third game of the young season when Robert Fahnestock and David Wagner each had two hits and a home run and Rudy Pribble was 4 for 4 with a double to lead Aluminum Discount to a 16-6 victory over Highlands Ridge.

Highlands Ridge was down on luck, but they had positives frpom Doug Ebeling, who went 2 for 4 with a home run and Walker Spence, who went 4 for 4.

Royal Palms and the Blue Jays (formerly the Klingons) kept a close game until the eighth inning when the Palms scored five runs and kept the lead. Jays' Dick Schiltz contributed with a two run triple.

Royal Palms' Bob Weiss was 4 for 4 with a triple and credited with four RBI and Jim Longman hit 3 for 4.

Ridge Merchants gave Highlands Independent Bank quite a walloping with a 24-2 score. Building their total was Bobby Fulcher with two homeruns and Carl Saunders three hits and a homer. Ryan Lewis had four hits, including a double, while Brian Pluta had three hits and Ross McMinn tripled.

The Silent Salesman worked their way back into the win column with a 10-3 victory over the Rebels. After a small lead of 5-3 through seven innings, the Salesman forged to a more comfortable lead by scoring five runs in the eighth. Stepping up big at the plate for the winners were Don Cunningham going 3 for 3 including a triple, Julian Vanisacker with 3 for 3 including two doubles, and Mike Jurmu with two doubles. Good defense again kept the Rebels from scoring more than three runs.

The Rebels showing the most support were Diz Jones and Jim Striezel, both hitting 3 for 3. Jerry Mattis and Tony Caristo went 2 for 3 and Don Purdy and Rollie Carlton had 2 for 2.

Thursday's games were played on a cold morning, but that didn't slow down Highlands Merchants from bombarding Royal Palms 19-3. Ryan Lewis was the pitcher who allowed the Palms to score only three runs. Ron had three hits including a homerun. Kyle Saunders went 4 for 4, Victor Rodriquez had 3 for 4. Bobby Fulcher and Bill Yeager each had 3 hits for 5 at bats. Defensively the Team executed several double plays.

The Silent Salesmen showed up for Thursday's game with their hitting shoes on. Thirteen of the 14 men who batted had at least one hit in the 12-9 win over the Blue Jays. Leading the barrage were Don Cunningham going 2 for 4 including a double, Mike Jurmu scored a home run. Jerry Johnston had 3 for 4 including a triple and Ray Concepcion hit three singles. Four others had four hits each.

The Jays tied the score at nine in the top of the seventh inning to make for an exciting finish. In the bottom of the seventh the Salesman got the leadoff man on, only to be doubled off by a hard line drive to the first baseman. Then Mike Jurmu boomed a long homer to be followed by two more hits to give the Salesman a 12-9 lead. The Jays' went peacefully in the eigth to end a well-played game.

Aluminum Discount and the Rebels had a real nail biter game with Aluminum inching a 13-12 win. The score teetered back and forth until the eighth inning. Aluminum was down by two runs in the bottom of the 8th when they scored three runs to win the game. Winning pitchers sharing the credit were Rudy Pribble and Van Webb. Their top hitters were James Gilbert and Larry Solomon both going 3 for 4.

Rebels' Notable hitters were Elwood Black hitting 3 for 4, including a home run and triple, while Tony Caristo finished 3 for 4 with a homer, and Jim Strietzel was 4 for 4 with a triple and double. Jim Monroe went 4 for 4, Jack Grosso went 3 for 3 with a double and Don Matthews was 3 for 3.

Highlands Ridge had the upper hand on the Highlands Independent Bank for the whole game. Top hitters for the Ridge were John Bielman going 4 for 4 and being credited with five RBI. Curt Brown shined by hitting three homeruns, and Doug Ebeling hit 2 for 4 including a homerun. Walker Spence was responsible for five RBI, Dennis Berkholz and Dave Majick each had three hits. Kenney Stanek was the winning pitcher.

SEBRING 50+ SENIOR SOFTBALL RECORDS: Anderson Animal Clinic 3-1, Reflections 3-1, Lake Wales 0-4.