Game Day Gazette
June 18, 2026
Today marked the start of the 3rd session of the 2026 season. Congrats to Tom Kelm and the guys in Green for taking the crown for the 2nd session! With forty-four (44) play dates remaining on the schedule, there is more than 60% of the season yet to be played.
The weather for today’s slate of games was “oppressive” according to fellow scribe Dave Berra and it looks like we are moving into the dry hot days of summer. Just a reminder that we will be adjusting the start times of our games effective July 2nd to 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. to hopefully avoid some of the sweltering heat.
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Red (0-0-0) vs. Gray (0-0-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Red- welcomed Ken Brown and Gene Nelson back into the lineup for today’s tilt. Gene has appeared in only one game this season, so it was a great to see him back at the ballpark. Red could not have asked for a better start to the game as they put up five runs in the opening frame. They were helped by P Ray Pilgrim having control issues in the inning resulting in free passes given to three batters. Doc Hobar popped out to short to open the game. John Flowers drew the first walk and moved to 2B on Patrick Schmidt’s infield single. Ken Brown smacked a single up the middle to drive in the 1st run. Bobby Hawthorne walked to load the bases. The 3rd walk of the inning to Terry Watts forced in the 2nd run. Butch Barber lined a single to right to drive in the 3rd run. Mike Mordecai went down looking for the 2nd out. Newcomer to Red, Chris Villareal, drilled a single to center to drive in two more runs to complete the five0run frame. 2nd – Ray settled in and shut down Red on one hit in the scoreless 2nd inning. Jack Kelly ground out to 1B with Mike Carroll making the play at the bag. Gene Nelson flew out to Peter Atkins in center for the 2nd out. Doc singled in his 2nd trip to the plate. John hit a ball that appeared to be headed for the hole between 1B and 2B but Scotty Wright made the first of a number of sparkling defensive plays in the game as he ranged to his left to scoop up the ball and make the play to 1B for the final out.
Gray– finding themselves in an early hole, Gray came out a little sluggish in this one as they failed to score in either of the first two innings. Scott bounced back to P Jack Kelly to lead off the frame. Mike Carroll lined a single to left center for Gray’s first hit. Peter Atkins grounded sharply to 2B, but Doc came up with the ball and got the force at 2B for the 2nd out. Gary Coyle popped out to short to retire the side. 2nd – Ray Pilgrim led off the 2nd with a sharp single up the middle. Lynn Simpson flew out to center field on a nice running catch by John Flowers for the first out. Larry Coons looped a single over short to move Ray up to 2B. Margarito Canava hit a routine fly to left center that Patrick brought in for the 2nd out. Ray was off with the hit thinking there were two outs and was easily doubled off for the final out.
End of 2nd Score: Red 5 Gray 0
Third Inning Recap:
Red– with his command of the strike zone back, P Ray Pilgrim held Red without a hit in his 2nd shutout inning. Patrick led off the inning with a comebacker to Ray for the 1st out. Ken reached on a walk. Bobby grounded to Jack Spellman at short and his relay to 2B just beat the speedy Ken to the base for the 2nd out. Terry fouled out to retire the side as Red was unable to build on their five-run lead.
Gray- it was the mercenaries’ turn to see if they could provide a little spark to Gray’s lineup as Jack Spellman, Paul Rubin and Mickey Poole were due up in the 3rd. Unfortunately, Jack fouled out and Paul ground out to 2B for two quick outs. Mickey ripped a ball down to 3B that eluded Gary Coyle’s outstretched glove for a single. Scott followed with a blast to right center that gapped Chris and Terry and rolled to the fence as he touched them all for a two-run homer. Mike reached on an infield single and Peter laced a single up the middle but Jack avoided any further damage by getting Gary to fly out to left center to retire the side.
End of 3rd Score: Red 5 Gray 2
Fourth Inning Recap:
Red– the bats remained cold as Red was unable to score for the 3rd consecutive inning. Butch went down swinging for the 1st out. Mike reached on an infield single. Chris grounded sharply to right and Scott made another sensational play to get to the ball. He fired the ball to 2B to get the force, and Jack completed the 4-5-3 double play to close out the frame.
Gray– broke open this one with a five-run outburst to take the lead for the 1st time. Ray reached on a pop fly over short that Ken just making a circus catch on. Lynn squibbed one just in front of the plate for an infield hit to put runners on 1B and 2B. Larry grounded into a fielder’s choice out at 3B for the 1st out. Margarito’s flyball to center dropped just in front of John for a single to load the bases. Jack stepped up a drilled an outside pitch to right field for a bases clearing three-run double. Paul singled past Ken at short to move Jack to 3B. He scored on Mickey’s single to center. Scott wrapped up the five-run frame with a booming double down the right field line as Gray took the lead.
End of 4th Score: Gray 7 Red 5
Fifth Inning Recap:
Red– trailing for the 1st time in the game, Red tried to rally back but again were thwarted by Ray’s ability to get groundball outs at just the right time. Jack’s groundball to 1B hit the bag and caromed off for a leadoff single. Gene bounced into a fielder’s choice out at 2B for the 1st out. Doc grounded to 3B and Gary was able to get the force at 2B for the 2nd out. John grounded to right and Mike C. made the play but was unable to get back to 1B for the out as John beat it out for a hit. Patrick lined out to Peter in center to end the threat as Ray finished off his 4th consecutive shutout inning!
Gray– unable to extend their lead in the last five-run inning. Mike led off with a single to right. Peter hit a flyball to deep left center, but Patrick tracked it perfectly and made the catch for the 1st out. Gary lined out to left on another nice running catch by Butch for the 2nd out. Ray ended the frame by popping out to short.
End of 4th Score: Gray 7 Red 5
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Red– chasing two runs, Red was finally able to break up the streak of scoreless innings but it was not enough. Ken led off the inning with a single to center. Bobby hit a flyball to left center and Lynn just missed making a shoestring catch for the 1st out. The ball slid under his outstretched glove for a run-scoring double. Terry fouled out for the 1st out. Butch hit a blooper to shallow right that Larry initially had some trouble bringing in. Bobby decided to go for broke and attempted to score from 2B on Butch’s base hit. Larry got the relay in to Scott and his perfect one-hop throw to the plate was caught by Margarito ahead of Bobby for the 2nd out. Mike was retired for the final out as Red came up just short in this one.
Final Score: Gray 7 Red 6
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Blue (0-0-0) vs. Orange (0-0-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Blue-Manger Johnny Neville decided to shake up the batting order for today’s game, and not all of the players were happy with the changes resulting in a late scratch of Tim Coles from the starting lineup. Johnny opted to pick up Gary Coyle to replace Tim, but we should have gone back and done a draw of all players in the bucket rather then late Johnny have his pick. With that controversy over, the ball game got underway. New leadoff man, Tommy DeLeon lined a single to right to get things rolling. Mike Hill laced a single to center to move the runner to 2B. Raul DeLeon was retired on a flyball to center on a nice catch by Barry McRee as both runners advanced on the play. Henry Flores hit a well struck ball to right center to bring in the first run of the game. Chris Hurst lined a single up the middle to move the runner to 3B. Mike scored the 2nd run on Don Roet’s single to right. Jim Maloy popped out to short to retire the side. 2nd– Dave Berra opened the 2nd with a pop fly to 1B. I may not have picked up the latest lineup changes for Blue so either Johnny Neville popped out to 2B or Donnie Janac singled after Dave’s at bat. In either case, Daniel Baladez grounded into a fielder’s choice out at 2B to end the frame.
Orange- Terry Thompson led off the bottom half of the inning with a clean single to center. Jack Adams followed with an infield single. Jim Foelker, with his own personal cheering section (family) in attendance, singled to center to drive in the 1st run. Steven Kendig went down swinging for the 1st out. Barry McRee grounded to short and Mike flipped to 2B for the force. Jim was coming hard into the base and failed to run through and was called out for interference to complete the inning ending double play. 2nd– P Tommy DeLeon retired the side in order in the 2nd getting Adam Gordon on a grounder to 3B, Bubba Barnett on a fly to left center and Greg Tolander on a pop to 3B.
End of 2nd Score: Blue 2 Orange 1
Third Inning Recap:
Blue- erupted for four runs to take a commanding lead in the game. Mercenary Gary Coyle led off the 3rd with a single to center. Tommy hit a flyball to center and Barry appeared to have a bead on the ball for the 1st out. However, Jim was charging hard from right center (seeing a pattern here?) and collided with Barry resulting in the ball falling in for a hit. Mike ripped a single to right center to drive in the 1st run, Raul followed with a hit to almost the d=same spot to bring in the 2nd run. Henry grounded a single just inside the 2B bag to drive in the 3rd run. Chris singled to load the bases. Don drove in the 4th run on his fielder’s choice groundout to short. Dave flew out to right center on a nice catch by Jim for the 2nd out. The inning ended with Donnie grounding into a fielder’s choice at 2B.
Orange- now facing a five-run deficit, Orange failed to score in the 3rd. Luther Elmore went down swinging to open the frame. Mercenary, Chris Villareal, singled to right to get things rolling. Fellow mercenary, Tom Kelm, hit the ball well but it went to Barry in center for the 2nd out. Terry Thompson grounded to short and Mike got the force at 2B to retire the side.
End of 3rd Score: Blue 6 Orange 1
Fourth Inning Recap:
Blue-Johnny led off the 4th by grounding out to short. Daniel followed with a wicked grounder down the 1B line that stayed in fair territory for a double. Gary smacked a single to left center to bring in Daniel’s pinch runner. Tommy looped a ball to right center and Jim made an outstanding catch just inches above the turf to get the 2nd out. Mike was retired on a grounder to 2B for the final out.
Orange- now facing a six-run deficit, Orange failed to score in the 3rd. Jack led off with a single, but Jim was retired on a flyball to center for the 1st out. Steve grounded to Mike and he made an unassisted put out at 2B for the 2nd out. Barry followed with another grounder to short as Mike flipped to 2B to get the force to end the scoreless inning.
End of 4th Score: Blue 7 Orange 1
Fifth Inning Recap:
Blue- failed to extend their lead despite getting a one-out triple from Henry. Raul was retired on a comebacker to Terry T. to start the inning. Henry smoked a ball to right center over Jim’s head for a standup triple (no sliding in our league but he made it easily to 3B). Chris was retired on a grounder to 3B for the 2nd out. Don lined a ball to right center and Jim came up with another great catch to end the inning leaving Henry stranded at 3B.
Orange- finally got the bats going to make this competitive. Adam walked to open the frame. Bubba reached on an infield single. Greg popped out to short for the 1st out. Luther slapped a single up the middle to drive in Orange’s first run since the 1st inning. Chris lined a single to right to drive in the 2nd run. Tom drove a ball to left center that was deep enough to bring in the runner from 3rd for the 3rd run of the inning. Terry lined out to short on a nice grab by Mike to close out the frame.
End of 5th Score: Blue 7 Orange 4
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Blue– with their lead cut to three runs, Blue need to bounce back to keep the Orange team at bay. Helped by some leaky fielding from Orange, Blue was able to extend their lead back to six runs by putting up a three-spot in the buffet. Jim M. led off with a pop fly in the infield between the pitcher’s mound and 3b that Terry was unable to secure. Dave lined out to short for the 1st out. Johnny went down looking for the 2nd out. Donnie extended the inning with a line single to left. Daniel grounded to 3B and it looked like the inning would be over but the throw to 2B was dropped to extend the inning as the runner scored from 3B. Gary completed his perfect 3-3 day at the plate with an RBI single to left. Tommy drove in the final run with another textbook single to right. Mike flew out to right center to retire the side.
Orange– chasing six runs, Orange need a minor miracle to pull this one off. Jack and Jim led off the buffet with back-to-back singles. Steven reached on an infield hit to load the bases with nobody out. So, you’re telling me there’s a chance… not so fast my friend! Barry grounded sharply to 3B, and Gary made the unassisted put out at the base for the 1st out as Jack scored on the play. Adam lined a single to center to drive in the 2nd run. Bubba bounced into a fielder’s choice at 2B for the 2nd out. The game ended as Greg grounded to 3B and Gary got the force at 2B to give Blue the victory.
Final Score: Blue 10 Orange 6
Current Session Standings:
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Gray |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
– |
|
Blue |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
10 |
6 |
4 |
– |
|
Green |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.50 |
|
Red |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.000 |
6 |
7 |
-1 |
1.00 |
|
Orange |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.000 |
6 |
10 |
-4 |
1.00 |
Season-to-date Standings:
|
|
ASSL C league 2026 Season to-date Standings |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Gray |
16 |
7 |
1 |
0.667 |
287 |
229 |
57 |
– |
|
Green |
12 |
6 |
0 |
0.667 |
240 |
172 |
68 |
1.50 |
|
Orange |
9 |
10 |
1 |
0.450 |
212 |
197 |
19 |
5.00 |
|
Blue |
8 |
11 |
0 |
0.421 |
144 |
226 |
-86 |
6.50 |
|
Red |
4 |
15 |
0 |
0.211 |
174 |
233 |
-58 |
10.00 |
Only six- and one-half games separate the top four teams with thirty plus games still to be played. Red is on the outside looking in but in this league, anything is possible.
Next Games: Monday June 22, 2026
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Blue (1-0-0) vs. Green (0-0-0)
Gray has umpiring duties for this one.
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Gray (1-0-0) vs. Red (0-1-0)
Rematch of Thursday’s narrow win by Gray. Will Red get revenge and start their climb back into contention? All will be revealed on Monday.
Blue will be taking on the umpire responsibilities in this game.
Orange will have a bye on Monday so their players (along with the unassigned players) will have priority in the draw.