B League news for Thursday July 17, 2025

B League Picayune

Often in error, never in doubt.

Volume 7, Issue 35 – July 17, 2025

Games of Thursday July 17:

10:30 a.m., Green (3-3) at Red (2-5):

		1	2	3	4     BUFFET  FINAL
Green		2	2	0	3	0	 7
Red		0	0	1	2	0	 3

Pitchers: Green – Chunky Wright; Red – Donald Drummer. Mercenaries: Red – George Brindley, Tim Coles, Jim Foelker, Steve Sandall, Jimmy Sneed, and Jeff Stone. Umpires: home – Spike Davidson; bases – Rick Jensen and Richard Battle. Perfect at the plate: Green – Ralph Villela (3 for 3 with a double); Red – Tim Coles (2 for 2 with a double and a triple) and Steve Sandall (2 for 2). Home run: Mike Garrison (inside the park) (3).

Dave Berra’s weather report: 83 degrees, feels like 88. 70% humidity. Partly sunny. Breeze from SSW 9 miles per hour. Nice.

When I opened up Dave Berra’s email containing the scoresheet for this game, I first looked at the visitor’s sheet, saw that Red had held the very tough Green lineup to just seven runs, and thought, “Sweet, a win for Red!” Only to then look at Red’s sheet and be truly shocked that a lineup stocked with top-grade mercenaries only managed to score three runs, all thanks to Tim Coles, who for the second time in a row filled in for Red with a perfect day at the plate: he tripled and scored Red’s first run in the bottom of the third; then doubled home Steve Sandall with the team’s second run in the bottom of the fourth and proceeded to score Red’s last run on Anthony Galindo’s triple. Otherwise, Chunky Wright blanked Red, allowing only six hits to batters other than Tim and Steve. He got defensive help along the way, with Ralph Villela ranging from shortstop all the way into foul territory to run down Jim Foelker’s foul pop behind third base for the first out in the bottom of the second, and Phil Stanch making a good catch on Jeff Stone’s fly to right-center to end that frame.

Green got all the runs it would need in the first two innings, in each one scoring two runs on four hits, all singles after Ralph Villela led off the game with a double. Mike Garrison extended Green’s lead to 7-1 with a three-run inside-the-park home run, his third of the season, in the top of the fourth. That came after a sequence in which Donald Drummer retired seven out of ten batters, including the first two in the fourth. I wasn’t wrong with my off-the-cuff interpretation that Donald pitched well. He was aided by good defensive plays in the second, when George Brindley ran down Buddy Gaswint’s drive to right-center for the third out, stranding two runners, and in the top of the buffet, when Jimmy Sneed turned an inning-ending 6u., 6-3 double play.

Here’s a file photo of Mike Garrison receiving a Pluckers coupon from Green skipper Chunky Wright. Mike hit his third home run of the season in Green’s July 17 game.

Chasing four runs to tie in the bottom of the buffet, Red couldn’t get anything going. Donald Drummer drew a one-out walk. Jim Foelker squared up on a pitch, but third baseman Johnny Wimpy snagged the liner for the second out. Jimmy Sneed’s single extended the inning, but Mike Garrison caught George Brindley’s fly to left field for the final out. Final score: Green 7, Red 3

11:30 a.m., Purple (4-1) at Maroon (4-2):

		1	2	3	4     BUFFET  FINAL
Purple		1	0	0	5	4	10
Maroon		2	1	5	5	X	13

Pitchers: Purple – Spike Davidson; Maroon – Jeff Stone. Mercenaries: Purple – Tom Brownfield; Maroon – Adam Reddell, Jimmy Sneed, and Johnny Wimpy. Umpires: home – Anthony Galindo; bases – Donald Drummer. Perfect at the plate: Purple – Tom Brownfield, Spike Davidson, and Fritz Hensel (all 3 for 3); Maroon – Adam Reddell (2 for 2 with a double), Jeff Stone (3 for 3 with a double), Johnny Wimpy (2 for 2), and Scott Wright (3 for 3).

Dave Berra’s weather report: 86 degrees, feels like 92. 62% humidity. Wind from the South 7 MPH. Sunny.

A well-played game between two teams contending for first for the session. Jeff Stone held Purple to just one run over the first three innings, scored by the game’s first batter, Matt Levitt, who led off with a double and scored on Richard Battle’s single. After that, though, Jeff induced double plays in each of the first three frames: he started a 1-6-3 double play in the first; got Henry Flores to line into an L-4, 4-3 double play to end the top of the second; and Scott Wright turned a 5u., 5-4 double play after the first two batters singled in the second.

Maroon took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the second, on a pair of double-and-run-scoring-single combinations by, first Tony Garcia and Scott Wright (Scott thrown out 9-4, Matt Levitt to Tom Brownfield, trying to stretch his hit into a double) and Don Solberg and Jeff Stone. Another double, by Adam Reddell with one out, resulted in a single run, on Johnny Wimpy’s single, in the bottom of the second. Maroon then took a commanding 8-1 lead with five runs in the third, four scoring with two out, on five singles, Ivan Budiselic’s sacrifice fly, and Tommy Langa’s two-base hit.

Both teams scored five times in the fourth, all ten of the runs coming after two were out. Raul Deleon led off the top half with a double, but, after Tim Coles popped out to shortstop, was thrown out 8-6-2 (Jimmy Sneed to Tony Garcia to Steve Hamlett) trying to score on Mark Hernandez’s single. Didn’t matter: the next six batters all hit safely, five runs coming across, two on Henry Flores’s double. In the home half, Johnny Wimpy and Jimmy Sneed led off with singles. Spike Davidson retired Tom Kelm on a fly to left field and Tony Garcia on a grounder to first baseman Mark Hernandez, but the next four batters came through with hits, Jeff Stone’s two-run double the big one.

So Maroon led by seven entering the buffet. Richard Battle singled leading off, but was erased on a 4-6-3 double play, Tommy Langa to Tony Garcia to Tom Kelm. The next seven batters, Purple’s four-through-ten, all singled, four runs scoring, with Fritz Hensel, Spike Davidson, Rick Jensen, and Tom Brownfield all completing 3-for-3 days at the plate. That cut Maroon’s lead to three runs with the bases loaded, but Jeff Stone finally got the final out, getting Matt Levitt to ground back to the box to end it. Final score: Maroon 13, Purple 10

12:30 p.m., Orange (4-2) at Gray (3-3):

		1	2	3	4	5    BUFFET   EXTRA   FINAL
Orange		1	5	3	2	1	2	1	15
Gray		0	0	5	0	5	4	0	14

Pitchers: Orange – Jeff Stone; Gray – Mike Malay. Mercenaries: Orange – Anthony Galindo and Jeff Stone; Gray – Mike Garrison, Mark Hernandez, and Scott Wright. Umpires: home – Fritz Hensel and Tom Kelm; bases – Dave Berra (also kept the scorebook). Perfect at the plate: Gray – Mike Garrison (3 for 3 with a walk).

Dave Berra’s weather report: Wispy cirrus clouds, lot of sun. 89 degrees, felt like 95.

The only reason this isn’t taking even longer to reach you is that Orange manager David Brown has once again provided a splendid recap, saving me hours of work:

It was a game of two halves. Orange dominated the first half with plenty of hitting and defense and went to half time with a 9-0 lead. Interim manager Jack Crosley lit a fire under his team at intermission and Gray came roaring back to tie the game at the end of the second half. For the second time in a week, Orange got to do the 1-pitch extra inning thing.

Mike Malay was the pitcher du jour for Gray and he opened the game with a BB-K-BB-BB sequence that loaded the bases. Terry Thompson was the first Orange hitter to put a ball in play and his infield single to 3B plated a run. David Brown then hit a line drive that 3B Adam Reddell caught and turned into two outs by stepping on the bag before the runner could get back. Mercenary Jeff Stone took the mound for Orange and threw fewer than ten pitches to induce a 6-3 ground out, single up the middle, F10, and F9. In the top of the second, Orange plated five runs on six singles and a walk. Jeff Stone returned to the mound for a second time and induced three outs on four pitches with a line out to 2B Clint Fletcher and ground outs to 2B and pitcher.

Quote of the Day: Field umpire Dave Berra after Mike Malay grounded a ball just beyond the reach of David Brown: “Spellman woulda dove for that…”

Orange started the third inning with a lined single by Terry Thompson. After a fly out to Morgan Witthoft in RCF, Marvin Krabbenhoft had a line drive single to left field, Boo Resnick walked, and Anthony Galindo had a line drive single that drove in a run. Jeff Stone hit a sacrifice fly to right field that Jack Crosley made a nice play on to record the second out of the inning. With runners on first and second, Clint Fletcher hit a single to RCF which allowed Boo to score on a relay throw to home that skipped past catcher Hal Darman. Boo being the nice fellow that he is, picked up the ball to hand to Hal without realizing that Anthony had made the turn at 3B and was headed home. Home plate umpire Fritz Hensel called Boo for interference and called Anthony out on the play.

Gray’s offense got rolling in the bottom of the third with singles by mercenaries Mike Garrison and Mark Hernandez and the first five hitters in the Gray line-up – Morgan Witthoft, Mike Malay, Adam Redell, George Romo, and Johnny Lee. The Gray onslaught produced five runs. Orange recovered with two runs in the top of the fourth with a single by Ray Pilgrim, doubles by Peter Atkins and David Brown, and sacrifice flies by Daniel Carvajal and Terry Thompson. Gray then had their third scoreless inning of the game as Jeff Stone induced ground outs to pitcher and shortstop to start the inning before Scott Wright hit a line drive to center field that Peter Atkins initially bobbled and then threw to David Brown who threw on to Clint Fletcher at 2B just before Scott could get his foot down on the line.

Orange managed to score one run in the top of the fifth with a single-F8-BB-single combo, but Mike Malay got a fly out to right field and a fouled third strike to strand runners at second and third. Trailing 12-5 with no time left on the clock, Gray had their second big inning of the game with a walk, six singles, and a double that George Romo delivered on a line drive to the fence in left field. The fifth run of the inning scored on a line-drive single to right center by Mike Garrison.

Orange opened the buffet with three singles and a walk that extended the lead to 13-10. Boo Resnick worked a full count before Mike Malay hit the very front of the mat for a strikeout and the first out of the inning. Anthony Galindo grounded a ball to SS George Romo, who flipped to Mark Hernandez at 2B for the second out of the inning. Anthony hustled down the line and barely beat Mark’s throw to 1B which allowed the second run of the inning to score. That proved to be a huge play as the half-inning ended with a fly out to RCF.

Gray needed four to tie in the buffet and mercenaries Scott Wright and Mark Hernandez got the inning started with a walk and a single. The next two hitters grounded out – a 6-4 fielder’s choice that put runners at the corners and a 3U ground out that plated a run and left a runner at 2B. Down to their last out and trailing 14-11, Adam Reddell tripled to drive in a run and then George Romo, Johnny Lee, and Jack Crosley singled to tie the score at 14-14. With runners on 1B and 2B, Hal Darman worked a full count before grounding into a 6-5 fielder’s choice and securing the second extra inning game of the 2025 B League season.

The extra inning started with one out, Jeff Stone on second base, and Clint Fletcher looking to complete a perfect game at the plate. Clint swung at his one pitch and hit a high popup that George Romo caught for the second out of the inning. Ray Pilgrim then hit a long drive to center field that scored Jeff. Mike Malay got the third out of the inning on a come-backer that he fielded and threw to 1B. Gray started the extra inning with Adam Reddell at 2B since Adam had pinch run for Hal at the end of the previous inning. Mike Garrison led off with a one-pitch walk. Scott Wright hit a hard ground ball to Clint Fletcher who flipped the ball to 2B to force out Mike for out number 2, but Scott beat the throw to 1B to keep the inning alive. With runners at the corners, Mark Hernandez hit a ground ball to Jeff Stone who turned and threw to 2B for the final out of the game. Orange won their second extra inning game in a week by a final score of 15-14 over Gray.

Final score: Orange 15, Gray 14

Session 3 standings:

2025 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):

2025 season home run leaders:
Tim Coles – 4
Tommy Gillis – 4
Bobby Miller – 4
George Brindley – 3
Anthony Galindo – 3
Mike Garrison – 3
Jack Spellman – 3
David Brown – 2
Tim Bruton – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Doc Hobar – 2
Rex Horvath – 2
Matt Levitt – 2
Terry O’Brien – 2
George Romo – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Jim Aaron – 1
Peter Atkins – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
Gary Coyle – 1
Donald Drummer – 1
Tony Garcia – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Mike Malay – 1
Ken Mockler – 1
Ray Pilgrim – 1
Jeff Stone – 1
Mike Velaney – 1
Ralph Villela – 1
Chris Waddell – 1
Chunky Wright – 1
Scott Wright – 1

Hit for the cycle:
Scott Wright – June 5

www.beebesports.com

Schedule for Monday July 21:
10:30 a.m.: Maroon (5-2) at Blue (1-5), Red umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Red (2-6) at Gray (3-4), Blue umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Purple (4-2) at Orange (5-2), Gray umpiring
Green has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.

Preview: Orange moved into a tie for first place with its extra-inning victory over Gray today, but faces a challenge at 12:30 Monday from Purple, which can leapfrog into first with a victory. Maroon, the other team atop the standings, at 10:30 faces a Blue team coming off the bye and, before that, its first victory of the session. Gray, somehow under .500 despite being in a tie for the second-best run differential for the session, faces a Red team sporting the session’s worst run differential and coming off a rough week, but with players returning from vacations and injury. A dozen dates remain in the session, I’ll be here for all of them, and I’m hoping to play in each and every one of the 36 games coming up between now and Labor Day. Is that even possible? Only one thing is certain: time will tell.

Keggy’s Korner:

Been eating and IPA-ing my way through New England this week, should be wicked fat and slow on my return to play Monday. Here are the seafood-heavy highlights:

Got a cold lobster roll at Willy’s Ale Room in Acton, Maine. Acton’s about 20 miles from the coast, 40 miles from Portland, and I had low expectations, but it was an outstanding roll – lots of meat, the roll well toasted and dry. Paired it with an Allagash IPA. Rating:

Was hoping for a cold lobster roll at Rye Harbor Lobster Pound in Rye, New Hampshire, but they were sold out, so I got the hot roll. The Pound has a reputation as the best lobster roll in New England, but I’m here to tell you that this is a lie. It was a bit short on the meat and the bun was soggy. I’ve had better, and at a lot better price, at a number of places (shout out Matunuck Oyster Bar!). Rating: