Game Day Gazette
April 13, 2026
After a weekend of heavy rain throughout the area, no one realistically thought we were going to be able to play on Monday. When I made my 6:00 a.m. inquiry of PARD, I was pleasantly surprised that the games were on. Kudos to the grounds crew for getting the field ready to play.
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Blue (3-5-0) vs. Orange (4-3-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Blue- several late arrivals (Daniel Baladez, Chris Hurst and Jim Maloy) resulted in lineup changes that I may or may not have picked up in this reporting. I apologize for any errors that may have resulted. Henry Flores led off the game with a line single. Mike Hill drove a fly ball down the right field line, but Rick Parker was positioned perfectly and made a good catch for the 1st out. Don Roets reached on an infield hit to put runners on 1B and 2B. Tommy DeLeon grounded into a fielder’s choice for the 2nd out and somehow Henry was able to score on the play (?). Donnie Janac then bounced out to short to end the inning. 2nd – Jeff Broussard led off the 2nd with a single to center. Leon Citoka followed with a liner to CF; Patrick Schmidt got to the ball quickly and his relay to 2B beat the runner from first for the first out of the inning. Lucky Hoffman grounded to Jim Aaron at shortstop, and he started an inning ending 6-4-3 double play.
Orange– picked up three mercenaries to help their cause in this one (Jim Aaron, Paul Rubin and Scott Wright). Terry Thompson led off with an infield single up the middle that Tommy knocked down but could not make the play to 1B. Patrick Schmidt continued to swing a hot bat as he ripped a single down the 1B line. Adam Gordon grounded to short and Mike Hill made the throw to 3B to get the force for the first out. Bubba Barnett, batting cleanup for the first time in a while, responded with a line single to center to drive in the 1st run. Greg Tolander followed suit with a single up the middle to bring Adam around to score. Jim Foelker grounded sharply to Mike Hill, and he was able to turn a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the inning. 2nd– Rick Parker led off with a single past 3B. Steve Kendig grounded out to short to open the inning. The mercenaries took off from there with consecutive singles from Jim Aaron, Scott Wright and Paul Rubin producing two runs. Terry brought in the 3rd run with a looping single to left. Patrick bounced into a fielder’s choice for the 2nd out ending a streak of ten straight hits to start the season. Adam and Bubba followed with back-to-back singles to drive in two more runs as Orange jumped out to a 7-1 lead.
End of 2nd Score: Orange 7 Blue 1
Third Inning Recap:
Blue- continued to struggle at the plate. Dave Berra flew out to CF to open the inning. Chris Hurst reached on a single, but Jim Maloy popped out to short and Henry went down swinging to quickly retire the side.
Orange- continued to pound the ball as they put up their 2nd consecutive five-run inning to push the lead to eleven runs. Greg singled past short to open the frame. Jim F. slapped a single up the middle and Orange was off and running. Rick singled to load the bases and Steve’s single to left center brought in the 1st run. Jim A. smashed a two-run single up the middle and Scott followed with another hit to center. Paul kept the hit parade going with a ground single past 2B to drive in the 4th run. Terry wrapped up the five-run inning with a base hit to left center.
End of 3rd Score: Orange 12 Blue 1
Fourth Inning Recap:
Blue– Mike and Don opened the inning with back-to-back singles to give Blue a glimmer of hope. However, P Terry Thompson closed the door on this mini rally getting Tommy and Donnie of back-to-back fielder’s choice outs. Final out is a bit of a mystery, but I believe it was a ground out to short just not sure who hit the ball that resulted in the end of the frame.
Orange– Patrick smacked a leadoff single to left center to open the inning. Adam followed with a single. Bubba grounded sharply up the middle as the ball ticked off Tommy’s glove and rolled directly to Jeff. He flipped to Mike who completed the relay to 1B for a 1-4-6-3 double play. Patrick moved to 3B on the play and scored on Greg’s infield single. Jim F. popped out to short to end the inning.
End of 4th Score: Orange 13 Blue 1
Fifth Inning Recap:
Blue– P Terry Thompson continued to baffle the Blue batters as he hurled his 4th consecutive shutout inning in the 5th. Jeff bounced to short to open the frame. Leon singled but was forced out at 2B on Lucky’s ground out. Dave ended the inning with a flyball to left.
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
At this point, the teams flip flopped and Blue continued at the plate…
Blue- finally broke through with a couple of runs in the buffet. Chris and Jim M. were both retired to start the inning, and it looked like Blue would go down without a fight. The top of the lineup stepped up as Henry and Mike produced back-to-back singles. Don followed with an RBI double to right center. Tommy slapped a single to right to score Mike with the 2nd run but Don was thrown out at the plate trying to score to end this one.
Final Score: Orange 13 Blue 3
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Green (5-2-0) vs. Gray (7-2-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Green– looking to bring down the front-running Gray squad, Green’s first four batters reached base. Jack Spellman walked to start the inning. Paul Rubin singled to left center and Luis Sanchez singled to right center to load the bases. Ken Mockler drilled a single to center to score two runs. Tom Brownfield hit one off the end of the bat as the ball squibbed to 2B for the first out. Dean Hector went down on strikes for the 2nd out. Tom Kelm bounced a ball up the middle that P Ray Pilgrim could not handle as Luis came around with the 3rd run. William Powell grounded to 3B for the final out. 2nd– Green continues to deal with injuries and as a result had to draw four players for this game (Jim Aaron, Jim Foelker, Barry McRee and Morris Carter). Jim Aaron led off the 2nd with a line single up the middle. Jim Foelker grounded to 3B, and Scott made the throw to 2B to get the force and the 1st out. Barry McRee bounced back to the pitcher and Morris popped out to 2B to end the frame.
Gray missed Tim Coles and Gary Coyle from the lineup, Gray still managed to put up four runs in the 1st to grab an early lead in this one. The first six batters in the lineup reached base as Gray came out swinging. Scott Wright singled to center to get things started. Mike Carroll rapped a single to right center and Peter Atkins singled home the 1st run. Ray Pilgrim grounded sharply to left center to drive in Mike. Lynn Simpson followed with an RBI single to left center. Phil Stanch hit a perfectly placed shot between 1B and 2B to drive in the 4th run. Art Monzingo, back in the lineup after missing the last few games, lined a sinking liner up the middle that Paul came up with. Lynn was off with the hit and was easily doubled up at 2B for the 2nd out. Margarito singled but Nick Roberts popped out to 2B to end the inning. 2nd– Gray failed to score in the 2nd despite hits by David Safely, Terry Thompson and Scott. Ken Brown did fly out to right on a nice catch by Barry and Mike was retired on a fielder’s choice but the third out remains a mystery…
End of 2nd Score: Gray 4 Green 3
Third Inning Recap:
Green- top of the order came through again. Jack singled to lead off the frame. Paul singled up the middle to keep things percolating. Luis grounded a single to right center just out of Terry’s reach as Jack scored and Paul moved to 3B. Ken smacked a single up the middle to score Paul with the 2nd run. Tom B. singled but P Ray Pilgrim retired the next three batters to avoid any further damage.
Gray- Peter opened the inning with a double to left center. Ray ground out to short for the 1st out. Lynn singled sharply to score Peter with the 1st run. Phil followed with a double to right center as he lifted the ball over my head and drove in Lynn with the 2nd run. Art and Margarito both grounded out to short to end the inning.
End of 3rd Score: Gray 6 Green 5
Fourth Inning Recap:
Green-Jim A. ground out to short to open the inning. Jim F. singled but was forced out at 2B on Barry’s fielder’s choice groundout. Morris went down looking to end the inning.
Gray– extended their lead to three runs as they tacked on another two runs in the inning. After one out, David and Ken had back-to-back singles. Terry looped a single to shallow left to bring in the 1st run. Scott followed with a deep flyball down the right field line that Barry was able to grab for the 2nd out. Mike came through with a clutch hit to drive in the 2nd run before the inning ended with Peter grounding into a fielder’s choice out.
End of 4th Score: Gray 8 Green 5
Fifth “Open” Inning Recap:
Green– needing three runs to tie the game, Green came up just short in the buffet. The top three batters came through again (reached on all nine plate appearances) as Jack singled, Paul walked and Luis singled to bring in the 1st run. Ken M. grounded sharply to 2B but Terry caught the ball cleanly, flipped to Ken, who completed the 4-6-3 double play. Paul scored on the play to narrow the lead to one run. Tom B. stroked a deep fly to left center but Lynn was well positioned to make the grab to end the game.
Final Score: Gray 8 Green 7
Session 1 Standings:
|
|
ASSL C league 2025 1st Session |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Gray |
9 |
2 |
0 |
0.818 |
147 |
93 |
54 |
– |
|
Green |
5 |
3 |
0 |
0.625 |
103 |
82 |
21 |
2.50 |
|
Orange |
5 |
3 |
0 |
0.625 |
98 |
78 |
20 |
2.50 |
|
Blue |
3 |
6 |
0 |
0.333 |
60 |
112 |
-52 |
5.00 |
|
Red |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0.000 |
79 |
122 |
-43 |
7.00 |
Next Games: Thursday April 16, 2026
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Red (0-8-0) vs. Green (5-3-0)
With only two more games to be played in the 1st session, will Red finally break through and get that first win?
Orange has umpiring duties for this one.
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Orange (5-3-0) vs. Gray (9-2-0)
The last time these two teams met (3/26) Gray narrowly defeated Orange by a single run. Can Orange show they belong among the contenders for the crown by taking down the Big Dawgs?
All will be revealed on Thursday!
Red will be taking on the umpire responsibilities in this game.
Blue will have a much-needed bye on Thursday so their players (along with the unassigned players) will have priority in the draw.