Wounded Warriors team to play ball

May 23--The Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team is coming to town this weekend, several organizers said Friday.

The team of veterans and active duty soldiers who have lost limbs will be playing 4 p.m. on Saturday at Damaschke Field in Oneonta against a group made up of members of the Oneonta Police and Fire departments. It will be preceded by an event to honor high school students going into the military.

On Sunday, they will be playing a doubleheader at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown with ceremonies starting at 12:30 p.m. against the Cooperstown Fire and Police Departments and veterans. Games are at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Admission at each field is $5.

The team's mission is to inspire and educate others while enhancing the health and welfare of Wounded Warrior amputees, according to the organization's website. Some of the players are still in the service, while others are attending college or have moved on to new careers. They travel the country playing able-bodied teams in competitive, celebrity and exhibition softball games, "bringing their special brand of softball, courage and inspiration."

Oneonta Outlaws General Manager Stephen Pindar said he has wanted to have the team come to Damaschke Field for years. The stadium is the home of the New York Collegiate Baseball League team.

Pindar said when he saw the team was coming to Cooperstown, he realized this was the opportunity.

"We're thrilled and honored" to be able to host the team, he said. "People are very excited. I'm expecting a large crowd."

The Oneonta team is being organized by Oneonta fire fighter Josh Rumenapp, who said he was approached by the Outlaws organization a few months ago.

There are about 20 members of the team, Rumenapp said.

"It's a community event," he said. "We're just looking forward to everyone getting together and having a good time."

A previously planned salute to area high school seniors who are going into the military after graduation was rescheduled to precede the game, Pindar said.

The Our Community Salutes of Central New York event will take place at 1 p.m. Several local political figures are scheduled to attend. The Wounded Warrior team is scheduled to arrive at Damaschke before the ceremony has concluded. Representatives from all branches of the military will be in attendance, according to a media release.

Oneonta American Legion Commander Len Carson said the Wounded Warriors visit is important to the area.

"We usually don't talk about those who are wounded and how they have to reconstruct their lives," he said. The team shows what the soldiers and veterans are capable of doing, and the importance of community support, he said.

Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team executive director Dennis Wince said the team has been playing since 2011. It was established through the efforts of a Veterans Agency employee in Arizona.

It's more than just a softball team, Wince said. The team also runs a kids camp for children with missing limbs, which teaches them that they are not limited by their disability.

The organization also gives back to medical research, donating equipment to medical facilities that have limited budgets, Wince said.

This is the second time the team has played in Cooperstown, said resident Becky Davidson, who has helped arrange their appearance. She first saw the group play in 2012 when she met a few of the players, becoming friends. In the following months she and a friend saw them play at several locations, then decided to bring them back to the area.

Davidson said she hopes people who come to the game see that there is a positive way to work through life's problems.

Team members are "so giving to other people," she said, adding "we need a lot more of that."

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