Play ball: Diamonds are forever for senior softball in Howard County

Walt Hooper strode to the plate, swung the bat and lifted a soft fly ball past second base. Why praise a pop-up? Hooper, of Ellicott City, is 90 years old. Others on the practice field were codgers, too. All play in Howard County’s senior softball program, a weekly outing for those too stubborn to act their age. Each Saturday, several dozen athletes — most in their 70s — gather at Centennial Park North, in Ellicott City, to choose up sides and strut their stuff. For them, diamonds are forever. “Our...