Game Day Gazette
November 20, 2025
Well, Mother Nature almost got us again, but the weather forecasters were wrong, and it turned out to be a nice cloudy and breezy day without a drop of rain. So glad we could get at least one more game in as any day you get to play softball is a good day!
Given that the B division finished their season on Tuesday, we opted to play a full seven innings for today’s games. Hard to believe the season is almost over but in just over 100 days we’ll be starting the 2026 campaign, can hardly wait!
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Pioneers (1-7-1) vs. Sultans (8-2-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Mercenary report- Pioneers- (Paul Rubin, Ken Brown, Terry Watts, Bobby Hawthorne and Morris Carter); Sultans – (Jim Aaron, Jim Foelker, Greg Lloyd and Tom Kelm)
Pioneers– on paper, this one looked to be a mismatch as the team with the best record this session (Sultans) were taking on the team with the worst record (Pioneers) but they don’t play the games on paper, and this was a tightly contested game throughout. The Pioneers came out on fire and marched seven men to the plate without making an out on their way to a five-run 1st inning. Jack Adams led off the game with a line single to left. Tim H. singled up the middle to move to 3B. He scored on Scott Wright’s double to right center. Alex Valles beat out an infield hit to drive in Tim with the 2nd run. Sal Lopez ripped a single through the 5/6 hole to drive in the 3rd run. Art Monzingo kept the hit parade going with a run-scoring hit through the box. Paul Rubin finished off the inning with a single to center field to drive in the Pioneer’s 5th run. 2nd– Ken Brown led off the 2nd with a clean single to CF. Terry Watts fouled out for the 1st out. Bobby Hawthorne bounced into a fielder’s choice for the 2nd out. Morris Carter continued to swing a hot bat as he laced a single to left for his 4th consecutive hit over the last two games. Jack stepped up and smacked an RBI single to left to drive in the 1st run. Tim let a two-strike pitch go but umpire Dave Berra called him out to end the inning.
Sultans-looking to bounce back after Monday’s 16-4 shellacking at the hands of the Keystones, the Sultans wasted little time in showing why they won the last session. Donnie Janac ground out to short to lead things off. Gary Coyle and Peter Atkins followed with back-to-back singles. Jeff Broussard grounded into a fielder’s choice, and it looked like Sal would be able to get out of the inning unscathed. Not so fast my friend, Don Roets lined a double to right to bring in two runs. Adam Gordon singled to score Don, and the Sultans were off and running. Lucky bounced a single through the 5/6 hole to put runners on the corners. Jim Aaron capped off the five-run 1st inning with a bases clearing line drive double to right center. 2nd– The mercenaries came through in the 2nd as Jim Foelker, Greg Lloyd and Tom Kelm all singled to bring in the 1st run. Donnie reached on a pop fly to left to drive in the 2nd run. Gary bounced into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Peter grounded a single up the middle to drive in the 3rd run. Jeff lined a single up the middle to bring Donnie around to score the 4th run. Don ripped a line drive to CF that looked to be a sure hit if not extra bases, but Bobby Hawthorne got a great jump on the ball and made an outstanding catch on the run. The runners took off on the crack of the bat so when Bobby recovered from his tumbling catch, he threw to 1B to complete the inning ending double play.
End of 2nd Score: Sultans 9 Pioneers 6
Third Inning Recap:
Pioneers- Pioneers rallied back with three runs to tie the game. Scott drilled a ball down the 1B line for a single to get things started. Alex grounded to Jim Aaron at short and he turned it into a 6U 6-3 double play. Sal and Art sparked the Pioneer’s rally with back-to back singles. Paul lined a double to left center to get the Blue men on the board. Ken hit a hard single up the middle to score both runners before Terry flew out to right center to end the frame.
Sultans– Adam ground out to short to open the inning. Lucky got ahold of a two-strike pitch and floated the ball over my head in left center for a triple. Jim A. drilled a single to right center to bring Lucky home. Sal retired the next two batters to escape any further damage.
End of 3rd Score: Sultans 10 Pioneers 9
Fourth Inning Recap:
Pioneers- Greg Lloyd held the Pioneers in check in the 4th, only allowing a single in the scoreless inning. Bobby went down looking and Morris was finally retired on a grounder to short. Jack reached on his 3rd hot in as many at-bats before Tim flew out to CF to end the inning.
Sultans- extended their lead with a couple of runs in the 4th. Tom K. led off with a line single to left. Donnie popped out to short for the 1st out. Gary, Peter and Jeff followed with singles to produce two runs. Sal again worked out of a jam getting Don to pop out to 3B and Adam to hit into a fielder’s choice to limit the Sultans to just two runs.
End of 4th Score: Sultans 12 Pioneers 9
Fifth Inning Recap:
Pioneers- looked like the Pioneers were primed for a big inning after the 1st three batters reached base. Scotty led off with a single and moved to 2B on Alex’ walk. Sal singled to left to load the bases with nobody out. Art bounced one back to the box and Greg threw home to get the force for the 1st out. Paul grounded to 2B for the 2nd out as the runner from 3B came home on the play. Ken lined a smash up the middle, but Jim A. had him played perfectly and he caught the hot liner to close out the frame.
Sultans- came through with three runs to give themselves a little breathing room heading into the late innings. Jim A. led off with a single and was forced out at 2B on Jim F. infield pop-up that Sal could not catch in the air but alertly pounced on the ball and made the throw to 2B to get the out. Greg walked and Tom K. grounded out to 3B for the 2nd out. The top of the Sultan’s lineup came through as Donnie, Gary and Peter all singled to bring in three runs.
End of 5th Score: Sultans 15 Pioneers 10
Sixth Inning Recap:
Pioneers- continued to struggle at the plate and failed to score in the 6th. Terry flew out to right center to open the frame. Bobby singled but was forced out on Morris’s fielder’s choice grounder to short. Jack completed his perfect 4-4 day at the plate with a line single to left but both runners were left stranded as Tim popped out to 3B.
Sultans– added one more run in the inning to extend their lead to six runs. Don flew out to left center to start the inning. Adam singled but was forced out at 2B on Lucky’s grounder to short. Jim A. blasted a pitch to deep right center for an RBI triple. Jim F. squared up a pitch but hit the ball right to me in left center to retire the side.
Seventh “Open” Inning Recap:
Pioneers– down six runs, the Pioneers could not mount a comeback and went down in order as Scotty flew out to right (nice catch by Jim F.), Alex bounced back to the box and Sal ground out to short to end the game.
Final Score: Sultans 16 Pioneers 10
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Senators (4-5-0) vs. Braves (4-5-1)
Special thanks to Brian Rider for keeping the scorebook for this game. I have decide to elevate Brian from cub reporter to assistant sports editor based on his fine work. Thanks.
Mercenary report- Senators- (Peter Atkins, Jack Adams, Gary Coyle, Donnie Janac, Sal Lopez and Art Monzingo); Braves – (Ken Brown, Scott Wright, Don Roets and Lucky Hoffman).
First & Second Inning Recap:
Senators- this one was a battle for 3rd place in the session and both teams needed lots of help from their mercenaries in the game. Denny Malloy led off the game with a single as Lucky Hoffman could not handle Paul’s wide throw to 1B. Henry Flores followed with a single to CF. Jerry Mylius bounced to 2B, and Doc Hobar made the 1st of his many outstanding plays in the field for the game as he ranged to his left and threw to 2B for the out. Greg Lloyd drew a walk to load the bases. Terry Watts fouled out, and it looked like Tom Kelm might be able to wriggle his way out of the jam. Roger Geras reached on an infield hit as the runner from 3B scored. Peter Atkins ripped a two-run single to CF. Jack Adams grounded one up the middle and Paul was able to reach the ball and tag 2B just ahead of Peter for the final out. 2nd– Tom Kelm held the Orange men scoreless in the inning. Gary Coyle led off the 2nd with a single. He was forced out at 2B on Donnie Janac’s grounder to short. Sal Lopez flew out to left for the 2nd out. Art Monzingo hit a grounder towards 2B, and Doc somehow reached the ball and flipped to 2B to get the inning ending force out.
Braves– leadoff man, Doc Hobar, launched a high two-strike pitch over Henry Flores in right center for a triple. Paul Rubin grounded sharply to short, but Peter Atkins made a nice play on the ball and his throw to 1B “allegedly” beat me to the base. For some reason, we only had an umpire behind the plate (Jeff Broussard) and he did the best he could (Keith Kreitman later came out to help but not until the middle innings). Tom Brownfield skied a ball to right center for a run-scoring double. Dave Berra lined a single to Cf to score Tom with the Braves 2nd run. Billy Hill grounded into a fielder’s choice and Brian struck out to end the inning. 2nd– Jim Foelker and Tom Kelm started the inning with back-to-back hits. After that, the mercenaries took over as Ken Brown, Scott Wright and Don Roets all contributed RBI singles. Lucky Hoffman would have had a hit, but he ran past the commit line at the same time as his pinch runner and was called out. Doc singled in the 4th run before I grounded weakly to Sal to retire the side (somehow missed the 1st out, oh well!)
End of 2nd Score: Braves 6 Senators 3
Third Inning Recap:
Senators- managed to scratch out a run on three hits in the frame. Denny and Henry led off the inning with back-to-back hits and Greg drove in the only run with a single to right.
Braves- extended their lead to seven runs with a five-run outburst in the inning. Tom B. and Dave singled to open the frame. Billy flew out to CF. Brian smacked a single to left to drive in the 1st run. Jim followed with an RBI single. Tom K. came up with the big hit as his scorching line drive up the middle split the fielder’s and his pinch runner reached 3B for a two-run triple. Ken lined a single to CF to bring in the 5th run.
End of 3rd Score: Braves 11 Senators 4
Fourth Inning Recap:
Senators– continued to struggle to score against Tom’s pitching and the strong defense by the Braves middle infielders. Peter led off the 4th with a sharply hit groundball up the middle. Jack followed with a grounder to short; I was going to go to 2B but didn’t think my throw could beat the speedy Petey to the base, so I opted to go to 1B for the out. Gary walked to put runners on 1B and 2B. Donnie singled to load the bases. Sal grounded one just out of Tom B.’s reach at 3B but I was able to get to the ball and make a back handed catch and threw to 2B to get the force and retire the side.
Braves– pretty much put this one out of reach with their 2nd five-run inning of the game. Scott and Don led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Lucky grounded into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Doc singled to drive in the 1st run. Paul followed with an RBI single up the middle. Tom B. followed with a well-placed drive down the right field line that resulted in a three run inside the park home run.
End of 4th Score: Braves 16 Senators 4
Fifth Inning Recap:
Senators- shutdown inning for Tom K. as he retired the Senators in order to maintain the twelve-run lead.
Braves- failed to score as Sal got two groundouts and a strike out to retire the Braves in order in the scoreless 5th inning.
End of 5th Score: Braves 16 Senators 4
Sixth Inning Recap:
Senators– Tom twirled his 3rd consecutive scoreless inning as his pitches continued to baffle the Pioneer hitters. Jerry reached with a leadoff single but was erased at 2B on another fine play by Gold Glove 2B Doc Hobar. Doc went far to his right to rob Gerg of a hit and got the force at 2B for the 1st out. Terry singled to right to put runners on 1B and 2B. Roger hit a slow roller to short, and I tossed the ball over Greg’s head to Ken to get the force at 3B for the 2nd out. Peter grounded sharply to short, and I made a clumsy one-hop throw to 2B that Doc gloved for the final out.
Seventh “Open” Inning Recap:
At this point with the Senators down by twelve, we invoked the flip-flop rule:
Senators– Jack walked to open the final frame. Gary followed with a single to put runners on 1B and 2B. Donnie grounded one to 3B and Ken touched the bag for the force and the 1st out. Sal lined a ball to short but since I was playing him to hit in the 5/6 hole, I was only able to get a glove on the ball. As the runners were frozen waiting to see if the ball was going to be caught, I had plenty of time to throw to 3B to get the force, but my throw was wide, and everyone was safe on the play. Art grounded one up the middle and I gloved it and touched the bag for the 2nd out. A run did score from 3B on the play. Unfortunately, my throw to 1B pulled Don off the bag and the runner was safe. Denny followed with a hard grounder up the middle and Doc made yet another impressive play just to get to the ball. He tossed it to me for the game ending force at 2B.
Final Score: Braves 16 Senators 5
Session Five Standings:
|
|
ASSL C league 2025 5th Session |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Sultans |
9 |
2 |
0 |
0.818 |
144 |
110 |
34 |
– |
|
Keystones |
6 |
4 |
0 |
0.600 |
118 |
103 |
15 |
2.50 |
|
Braves |
5 |
5 |
1 |
0.455 |
142 |
126 |
16 |
3.50 |
|
Senators |
4 |
6 |
0 |
0.400 |
98 |
126 |
-28 |
4.50 |
|
Pioneers |
1 |
8 |
1 |
0.000 |
103 |
140 |
-37 |
7.00 |
Full Session Standings:
|
|
ASSL C league 2025 Season To-date Standings |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Braves |
35 |
20 |
1 |
0.634 |
772 |
629 |
143 |
– |
|
Keystones |
28 |
26 |
0 |
0.519 |
642 |
627 |
15 |
6.50 |
|
Sultans |
26 |
26 |
3 |
0.500 |
647 |
665 |
-18 |
7.50 |
|
Senators |
23 |
28 |
2 |
0.453 |
629 |
680 |
-51 |
10.00 |
|
Pioneers |
19 |
31 |
4 |
0.389 |
553 |
642 |
-89 |
13.50 |
Next Monday’s Games:
Watch the weather as the chance of rain is very high (currently at 90%) so games may be cancelled, I will let you know as soon as I know anything!
As we have shared previously, we are going to take a different approach to playing ball on Monday (again, weather permitting). Rather than playing for your current teams, we are going to do an on the field random draft of players to select teams. Therefore, no teams are technically on a bye. Based on how many guys show up, we will pick two or three teams and have a mini-tournament format for bragging rights (sorry no T shirts!).
Once we get closer to Monday and we know whether we will be playing or not, I will send out more information regarding the C division Banana Ball rules for the games.
News & Notes:
In case you missed it, we honored Bruce Barnett for his years of service to the Austin Senior Softball league. Bruce received a beautiful plaque from Roger Geras along with a chef’s apron for next season Bobby Fund cookout and a $100 HEB gift card to get some meat for his own grill! We appreciate all Bruce has done and continues to do for our league.
The Braves were awarded their C division championship T shirts (this is what it’s all about after all!) after the late game. See the attached photo of their smiling faces minus a few guys (Bobby Miller, Joe Dayoc, Robert Steckler and Earl King). Congrats to Tom Kelm and the Braves for a fine season!