Game Day Gazette
May 26, 2026
Welcome to another edition of Tuesday morning softball at Krieg Field! Thanks to our partners at PARD, we were able to makeup last Thursday’s rainout with today’s games. I do apologize to those that are unable to play on Tuesdays due to work or other commitments. This is a rare opportunity for us to makeup games that would otherwise be lost, and Tuesdays seem to be the most viable option. For planning purposes, we are going to be playing on the day after the Labor Day holiday (Tuesday September 8th) so hopefully you can adjust your plans and join in the fun. Another hot and humid day but after Monday’s late-night monsoon (at least where I live), we were happily surprised that the games were on for the day.
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Gray (4-3-0) vs. Red (2-4-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Kudos for the men in Blue for showing up and showing out in the early game. Blue had five players in the first game while on their bye week and all made big contributions.
Gray- Scott Wright, comfortably back in his role as the preeminent leadoff man in the league, slapped a single to right to kick this one off. Mike Carroll reached on an infield single, and Gary Coyle walked to load the bases. Ray Pilgrim grounded to Jim Aaron at short and Jim easily turned a 6-4-3 double play as Scott crossed the plate with Gray’s only run. Phil Stanch bounced out to Jim to end the 1st inning. 2nd – P Tommy DeLeon held the potent Gray attack scoreless in the 2nd. Lynn Simpson grounded out to 3B to start the frame. Margarito Canava fouled out for the 2nd out. David Safely stayed hot at the plate with a ground single to right center. Larry Coons went down on strikes to end the inning.
Red– Doc Hobar lined a single to left center to open things for Red. Patrick Schimdt was retired on a flyball to left center for the 1st out. Terry Watts followed with a single to right center. At this point, Red decided to test Gary Coyle at 3B, and he came through with flying colors. Bobby Hawthorne and Sal Lopez grounded to 3B and in each case, Gary made the unassisted out by getting the force at the base to close out the scoreless 1st inning. 2nd – Mike Mordecai led off the 2nd with a hard grounder to 3B that Gary was unable to handle and resulted in an infield hit. Morris Carter drew a walk to set things up for the mercenaries. Jim Aaron doubled on a ball to short center field to drive in two runs. Tommy DeLeon bounced out to 2B for the first out. Tom Coles smoked a single to center to drive in the 3rd run. Don Roets slashed a single to right center, but Phil quickly reached the ball and his throw to 2B beat Don to the base for the 2nd out. Jim Maloy crushed a ball to left center for a run scoring triple as Red added a 4th run. Doc grounded out to short to end the inning leaving Jim M. stranded on 3B.
End of 2nd Score: Red 4 Gray 1
Third Inning Recap:
Gray– added Jack Spellman and Jack Adams to the lineup as mercenaries for this one. Jack Spellman led off the 3rd with a single to left center. Jack Adams flew out to left on a nice catch by Bobby Hawthorne for the 1st out. Scott and Mike followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Gary drove home the 1st run with an infield single to 3B. Ray bounced into a double play grounder (6-4-3) to retire the side.
Red- Patrick grounded back to the pitcher to start the 3rd inning. Terry and Bobby got things rolling with back-to-back singles for Red. Sal grounded sharply to 3B, but Gary gobbled up the ball, firing to 2B for the force and Scott completed the double play with a strong relay to 1B to end the frame.
End of 3rd Score: Red 4 Gray 2
Fourth Inning Recap:
Gray– Tommy pitched around some traffic but managed to hold Gray scoreless in the 4th to protect Red’s slim lead. Phil started the inning with a single to center field. Lynn bounded into a fielder’s choice out at 2B. Margarito hit a catchable fly to shallow left center, but Patrick was unable to secure the catch. However, he quickly recovered and fired the ball to 2B ahead of the runner to get a 10-4 forceout for the 2nd out. David reached on an infield single, but Larry popped out to 3B to end the inning.
Red– P Ray Pilgrim retired Mike on a groundball to short to start the frame. Morris reached on a flyball to center field that Jack A. narrowly missed making a sliding catch for the 2nd out. Round II of the mercenaries started with a walk to Jim A. and a single by Tommy to load the bases. Tim brought home the 1st run with his fielder’s choice out at 2B. Don roped a ball down the right field line that skipped past the fielder as he cruised around the bases for a huge three-run home run. Jim M. singled to right and Doc walked but Patrick was retired on a flyball to right center on a nice running catch by Phil to retire the side.
End of 4th Score: Red 8 Gray 2
Fifth Inning Recap:
Gray– Gray’s slumbering bats woke up in the 5th with the mercenaries leading the way. Jack S. blasted a double to dead center field to open the frame. Jack A. followed with a drive over Tim’s head in right center for an RBI triple. Scott drilled a single up the middle to drive in the 2nd run. Mike bounced into a 6U 6-3 double play as Jim Aaron continued to play flawless defense for Red. Gray rallied with two outs starting with a single through the 5/6 hole by Gary. Ray followed with a line single to center. Phil grounded one back up the middle that Tommy got a glove on but was unable to make the play to load the bases. Lynn delivered with a drive in the gap between left center and center field for a bases clearing three-run double to cut the lead to a single run.
Red– looking to extend their one run lead, Red went down quietly in the final five-run inning. Terry flew out to right center to open the frame. Bobby reached on a single to left. Sal lined a shot to right center, but Scott was in the right place and speared the ball for the 2nd out. Bobby started to advance to 2B and was unable to scramble back to 1B ahead of Scott’s throw to completed the inning ending double play.
End of 5th Score: Red 8 Gray 7
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Gray- needing one run to tie and two to move ahead, Margarito started the frame with a clean single to left center. David bounced into a fielder’s choice out at 2B for the 1st out. Larry looped a single to shallow left center to keep things rolling. Tommy was able to secure a big 2nd out by getting Jack S. to ground to 2B for a fielder’s choice. Jack A. was Gray’s last hope to keep this one going. He lined a ball to right center and Jim M. got a good jump on the ball and made a nice running catch for the 3rd out to end the game.
Final Score: Red 8 Gray 7
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Orange (4-2-0) vs. Green (4-2-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Orange-P Tom Kelm shut down the Orange bats without a run in the first two-inning frame. Terry Thompson popped out to short to get things started. Jack Adams lined a single to left center but was erased on Steven Kendig’s grounder to short. Adam Gordon reached on an infield hit, but he was also erased on a very close play at 2B for the final out. 2nd– Luther Elmore looped a single to left to open the 2nd inning. Patrick Schmidt (first of Orange’s five mercenaries for this one) was retired on a pop up to short for the 1st out. Donnie Janac bounced into a fielder’s choice out for the 2nd out. Phil Stanch lined out to 2B for the final out as Orange failed to put up any runs in the first two frames.
Green- failed to jump on the opportunity to take an early lead as Green only managed to come up with a single run in their first two times at the plate. Paul Rubin fouled out to open the inning. Jack Spellman and Luis Sanchez followed with back-to-back singles. Dean Hector and Mickey Poole were retired on groundball outs to quickly end the threat and keep the game scoreless. 2nd– Tom Kelm led off the 2nd and drove a ball over the left center fielder’s head allowing his pinch runner (me) to easily reach 3B for a leadoff triple. Denny Malloy laced a single to right center to drive in the first run of the game. William Powell grounded into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Larry King was retired on a nice catch by Bobby Hawthorne in left for the 2nd out. Jim Aaron (one of two mercenaries along with Scott Wright) flew out to right center to end the inning.
End of 2nd Score: Green 1 Orange 0
Third Inning Recap:
Orange- finally broke through and put up a couple of runs to take the lead. Bobby Hawthorne grounded out to 3B to start the frame. Jim Maloy singled and scored on Terry T.’s double to left. Jack smacked another double to right center to score Terry with the 2nd run. Steve grounded out to 1B for the 2nd out. Adam grounded to short and Jack, taking off with the hit, was caught between 2B and 3B. He got into a lengthy rundown but was finally called out a t 3B to end the inning.
Green- Scott Wright led off the 3rd with a single to right. Paul followed with a single to left center. Jack S. ripped a single to right center to score Scott as Paul moved to 3B. He scored on Luis’ sacrifice fly to medium deep right center for Green’s 2nd run. Dean flew out to Phil in right center and Mickey went down swinging to retire the side.
End of 3rd Score: Green 3 Orange 2
Fourth Inning Recap:
Orange- your intrepid reporter must apologize as somehow I missed this entire at bat and failed to capture much of the detail in the following inning. I do recall that Orange put up a single run in the 4th to knot the game at 3-3.
Green- took back the lead with a five-run outburst in the 4th. Tom Kelm led off with a single to center and his pinch runner (me) scored on Denny’s double to shallow left center that neither fielder went after. William reach on an infield single to short and Larry walked to load the bases. Jim Aaron drove in two runners with a single to center. Scott followed with a wicked grounder to 2B that caromed off Patrick’s glove or leg and bounced into center field. This allowed two more runners to score as Scott ended up at 3B with a bases clearing triple.
End of 4th Score: Green 8 Orange 3
Fifth Inning Recap:
Orange- down by five, Orange rallied back to tie the score heading into the bottom of the 5th. Again, I apologize for not having more details, but I do recall that seemingly every batter for Orange that inning hit the ball up the middle off new Green pitcher, Luis Sanchez.
Green- took back the lead with another five-run outburst in the 5th. Paul led off with a bloop double down the left field line. He scored on Jack’s single to right. Luis walloped a ball over Phil’s head in right center for a two-run homer to build Green’s lead. Dean singled but was forced out at 2B on Mickey’s grounder to 2B. Tom K. reached on an infield hit to extend the inning. Back-to-back singles by Denny and William produced two more runs as Green pushed their lead to five runs.
End of 5th Score: Green 13 Orange 8
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Orange– P Luis Sanchez was able to quiet the Orange Crush in the buffet. Phil led off with a liner up the middle that Luis snagged for the first out. Back-to-back singles by Bobby and Jim M. gave Orange a glimmer of hope but Luis retired Terry on a foul out for the 2nd out. Jack A. lined out to right field to end the game and put Green in the lead in this session.
Final Score: Green 13 Orange 8
Current Session Standings:
|
|
ASSL C league 2026 2nd Session |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Green |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0.714 |
94 |
67 |
27 |
– |
|
Orange |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0.571 |
82 |
67 |
15 |
1.00 |
|
Gray |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0.500 |
89 |
90 |
-1 |
1.50 |
|
Red |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0.429 |
66 |
66 |
0 |
2.00 |
|
Blue |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0.286 |
51 |
92 |
-41 |
3.00 |
With their victory over Orange, the mean Green take over the top spot in the Session #2 standings. Only three games separate the five teams so competitive balance seems to be at play.
Season-to-date Standings:
|
|
ASSL C league 2026 Season to-date Standings |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Gray |
14 |
6 |
0 |
0.700 |
248 |
189 |
59 |
– |
|
Green |
11 |
5 |
0 |
0.688 |
212 |
157 |
55 |
1.00 |
|
Orange |
9 |
7 |
0 |
0.563 |
186 |
157 |
29 |
3.00 |
|
Blue |
5 |
11 |
0 |
0.313 |
111 |
204 |
-93 |
7.00 |
|
Red |
3 |
13 |
0 |
0.188 |
153 |
203 |
-50 |
9.00 |
The gap between the front running Gray Ghosts and Green Machine has closed to one game. Orange is still only three back and very much in the race for the championship T shirts.
Next Games: Thursday May 28, 2026
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Red (3-4-0) vs. Blue (2-5-0)
Can the new look Red squad reach the .500 plateau or will Blue pull them down to the bottom of the standings with an upset win?
Orange has umpiring duties for this one.
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Orange (4-3-0) vs. Green (5-2-0)
Rematch of Tuesday’s battle between the session leaders. Can Orange rebound and get into a first-place tie with a win or will Green start to pull away with a victory on Thursday? All will be revealed come game time!
Red will be taking on the umpire responsibilities in this game.
Gray will have a bye on Thursday so their players (along with the unassigned players) will have priority in the draw.