Dunleavy innovative at Ipe Field

From a distance, the lone man on the pitcher's mound at Ipe Field looked like a caretaker.
It appeared that he was raking the mound while leaving his wheelbarrow parked at home plate.
Upon closer inspection, he turned out to be a man throwing pitches toward a tarp-covered park bench that acted as his catcher.
Clever.
Dan Dunleavy of Struthers was practicing for his old-timers baseball league games with the Springfield team from New Middletown.
Dunleavy, 66, was only trying to stay sharp because the competition is such. It's especially tough when he's up against players in their late 40s and 50s.
Two-teamer
Dunleavy has been with Springfield's over-50 team for a half-dozen years and with Canton's over-60 team for two years.
He previously played for the Youngstown Old-timers and Hubbard Old-timers, whose jersey he still wears.
The retired Republic Rubber and Becker/Gold Cross Limousine worker is no stranger to softball either.
He said he helped organize the first slo-pitch team in the area in 1958 when it was called "blooper ball."
His one-man practice at Ipe illustrates the importance of local facilities, although the baseball diamond's use in the summer is limited to practice by permit.
"Some days you have it and some you don't," the 6-3, 165-pounder said. "As you get older, you can feel it," he said of trying to maintain a respectable playing level.
Since taking the field against players 10 to 15 years younger, Dunleavy's average that once hovered around .500 has dropped to .320.
Defensively, turning a double play can be difficult.
"You don't have the arm to first," he said. "Plus, some of these guys run like a deer."
He said he'd like to see some birth certificates.
Numbers better
"A few years ago, we were lucky to have 10 guys," Dunleavy said of the minimum on the field. This year's Springfield team has 13 or 14.
"Some guys are pushing 80 mph," Dunleavy said of the speed of some balls.
He admitted that he uses shinguards, especially when he's playing third base against teams that have good line-drive hitters.
Youngstown, Poland, Jamestown, N.Y., and Penn Classic are the top regular-season teams, Dunleavy says, with Girard his favorite as a darkhorse.
Come tournament time, games resemble the minor leagues, Dunleavy said. "They're tough, especially the infield and pitching."
Some of the better players worked in the professional sector and some are former teachers who retired at a relatively young age.
"I've got to believe that some of the guys have the time to go to Sluggers to get ready," he said.
Dunleavy, a 1998 inductee into the Youngstown Old-timers Assn. Hall of Fame, says he swims 11/2 miles a week and walks about three with his wife.
Springfield's next game is Saturday against Jamestown behind Springfield Local High School.
Little Leaguer
Another individual getting the most from public grounds is Jarrod Seech of Hubbard. With the help of his family, the 11-year-old gets extra batting practice at Jones Field for his Patton's IGA Little League team.
At the Cardinal Mooney "Football Camp of Champions" earlier this week, Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Mark "Bo" Pelini was busy working his specialty.
Pelini, a former Mooney and Ohio State player, was trying to teach the art of shedding a blocker.
The main points of his lesson to a defensive player were to stand low, then use the hips to help thrust the arms and body upward. He emphasized that extension of the arms and hands into a blocker's chest creates distance.
"Ninety percent of your strength comes from the hips," Pelini barked to campers prior to their exercise during the drill.
XJohn Bassetti is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write to him at bassetti@vindy.com.