Game Day Gazette
August 27, 2026
Today was a day of celebration as we honored our elder stateman, Red coach Morris Carter, who turned eighty-nine years young on Thursday. His team gave him the ultimate present with a stirring come-from-behind win in the opener. Thanks again to Johnny for keeping the score book in the first game. Summer heat is starting to take its toll on player attendance as both sides needed to draw five players in the first game. Opportunities remain for those that can show up early and play two!
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Game 1 : Red (1-3-0) vs. Orange (2-2-0) 8:00 a.m. 8/27/26 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Red |
0 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
X |
21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Orange |
5 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
X |
12 |
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Starting pitchers- Red- Tom Kelm; Orange- Jerry Mylius and Tommy DeLeon |
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Mercenaries: Red- Scott Wright, Jack Spellman, Tom Kelm, Dave Berra and Mickey Poole |
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Orange- Paul Rubin, Raul DeLeon, Donnie Janac, Ray Pilgrim and Tommy DeLeon |
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Home Plate Umpire- Peter Atkins and Mike Carroll on the bases |
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First & Second Inning Recap:
Red- a tale of two games within a game… Orange jumped out to a big lead after the first two frames and coasted the rest of the way. Red started slowly an. d fueled by their strong corps of mercenaries stormed back to give Morris a big win for his big day! John Flowers opened the game by grounding out to 2B. Butch Barber went down looking as P Jerry Mylius was dotting the corners in the early going. Terry Watts lined a single to right center, but Jerry came back to strike out Bobby Hawthorne for the final out. 2nd – Gene Nelson led off the 2nd with a clean single to right center. Morris Carter ripped a single to center to ignite the rally for the Red team. Scott Wright drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Jack Spellman smacked a single to right to bring in the first to runs for Red. Tom Kelm grounded into a force at 2B, but Scott was able to score the 3rd run on the play. Dave Berra singled to put runners on 1B and 2B. Mickey Poole grounded sharply to SS Adam Gordon, and he stepped on 2B and completed the ^u 5-3 double play to retire the side.
Orange– after struggling to score in Monday’s game against Green, Orange came out slugging in this one, putting up consecutive five-run innings to seemingly take control of this one. Jim Foelker popped out to 2B to open the frame. Steve Kendig followed with a double to left center. Barry McRee singled and Jerry Mylius dropped in a base hit to right to drive in the 1st run. Adam Gordon looped a single to center to load the bases. Bubba Barnett drove in the 2nd run with a single to right center. Paul Rubin grounded a single up the middle to drive in two more runs. Raul DeLeon chased home the final run with a fielder’s choice groundout to 3B. 2nd– Donnie Janac led off the 2nd with a sharp single to the right side. Ray Pilgrim went down swinging for the 1st out. Tommy DeLeon did what Tommy does and lined a single to right to advance the runner. Jim walked to load the bases and Steven stepped up with a two-run double. Barry’s ball to center was deep enough to bring in the 3rd run with his sacrifice fly. Jerry continued to stroke the ball well as his single to right knocked in the 4th run. Adam finished off the five-run 2nd with a line single to center to give the Orange an early seven-run lead.
End of 2nd Score: Orange 10 Red 3
3rd Inning Recap:
Red- got themselves right back in this one with a five-run uprising in the 3rd. John F. led off with a pop fly to 1B for the first out. Butch ripped a single up the middle before Orange’s backup pitcher, Jerry M., was unable to find the plate. Terry walked ahead of Bobby’s pop fly out to short. Gene drilled a two-base hit to right center to bring Butch around to score the first run. Jerry walked Morris and Scott to force in the 2nd run and bring up the always dangerous Jack Spellman. Jack delivered with a booming triple over the left fielder’s head to clear the bases as three men scored to complete the five-run 3rd.
Orange– Bubba led off the 3rd with a screaming line drive to right that easily got past the right fielder. Adam was running from home and easily completed the circuit for Bubba’s first round tripper of the year! Paul followed with a single, but P Tom K. was able to retire Raul on a fly to right and Donnie on a soft liner to shortstop for two quick outs. Ray singled up the middle but Tommy grounded sharply to 1B where Terry made an outstanding play to scoop up the ball and beat the pinch runner to the bag to retire the side.
End of 3rd Score: Orange 11 Red 8
Fourth Inning Recap:
Red– continued their uphill climb, adding two runs in the 4th to narrow Orange’s lead to a single run. Tom and Dave opened the frame with back-to-back singles. Mickey ripped a single through the 5/6 hole to drive in the 1st run. John was retired for the 3rd straight time on a flyball to left center. Butch doubled to right center to plate Dave with the 2nd run. Terry grounded out to 2B, and Mickey was gunned down at the plate on a nice throw from Bubba to Tommy to end the inning.
Orange– P Tom K. continued to quiet the Orange bats as he only gave up a walk in the shut-out 4th. Jim popped out to Tom to start the inning, Steven walked but Barry flew out to right and Jerry bounced back to the pitcher to close out the inning.
End of 4th Score: Orange 11 Red 10
Fifth Inning Recap:
Red– grabbed the lead for the 1st time since the 2nd inning. Bobby walked and Tommy D. came in to pitch for the Blue man group. Gene greeted him with a single. Morris drew his 2nd walk of the contest to load the bases. Scott clobbered a drive to left center that rolled to the fence as he circled the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam homer! Jack flew out to right for the 1st out. Tom hit a grounder up the middle that caromed off Tommy’s glove to Adam and his snap throw to 1B beat the pinch runner. Dave and Mickey kept the inning alive with back-to-back singles, but John popped out to short to end the threat.
Orange– P Tom retired the first two batters before Paul doubled down the left field line. He scored on Raul’s base hit to right center before Donnie bounced out to short to retire the side.
End of 4th Score: Red 14 Orange 12
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Red– looking to play add-on to build on their slim two-run lead, Red exploded with seven runs to put this one out of reach. Butch led off with a single and moved to 3B on Terry’s double. Bobby lined a single to left to bring in the 1st run. Gene completed a perfect 4-4 day at the plate with an RBI single. Morris was retired for the 1st time on a pop fly to short. Scott flew out for the 2nd out as the runners moved up to 2B and 3B. Jack continued to display his prodigious power at the plate with a three run inside the park homer to right. This brought Jack’s RBI total for the game up to eight (8). Nice pickup Morris! But since this was the buffet, the onslaught continued. Tom grounded sharply to 3B and after I absorbed the shot to my chest, Bubba was unable to handle the throw to 1B and Tom reached base. Dave and Mickey followed with back-to-back RBI double to bring leadoff man, John Flowers up for a 5th time. This was likely something John probably would have been happy not to occur as he bounced back to the pitcher to complete a miserable 0-5 day at the plate (he did perform well in the outfield so at least there’s that!).
Orange– went out with a whimper in the scoreless buffet as Orange was only able to put up two runs on six hits after posting a ten-spot in the first two inning frame.
Final Score: Red 21 Orange 12
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Game 2: Blue (1-3-0) vs. Gray (2-2-0) 9:00 a.m. 8/27/26 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
Total |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blue |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gray |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
X |
X |
10 |
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Starting pitchers- Gray- Ray Pilgrim; Blue-Tommy DeLeon |
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Mercenaries-Gray- Jim Foelker, Tom Kelm, Barry McRee and Bubba Barnett |
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Blue- Jack Spellman and John Flowers |
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Home Plate Umpire- Steven Kendig |
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First & Second Inning Recap:
Blue– gets the award for best attendance among their regulars as Blue only drew two players out of the bucket for this game. After a breakout performance on Monday vs. Red, it looked like Blue had turned the corner and were looking to build on Monday’s victory. Gray had a different thought, and P Ray Pilgrim dominated this one with help from slick fielding shortstop, Scotty Wright. Mike Hill, back in the leadoff spot, slapped a single to right center to open the game. Donnie Janac bounced one up the middle that Scotty gloved, stepped on the bag and threw to 1B to complete the first of four double plays on the day for Gray. Tommy DeLeon grounded out to 1B to end the frame. 2nd– things did not get much better for the Blue lineup in the 2nd. Raul DeLeon worked a walk to lead off. Henry Flores lined out to short for the 1st out. Daniel Baladez grounded into a 6U 6-3 double play to quickly close out the 2nd inning.
Gray- the off day seemed to rejuvenate the Gray squad as they came out slugging on their way to a five-run 1st inning. Scott Wright led off with a double and Mike Carroll’s double brought him in with the first run. Louis Caputo’s single moved Mike to 3B. Both runners scored on Peter’s home run ball (sorry I don’t have more details as I missed the first two innings while on a cupcake run to HEB for Morris’ B-day). Back-to-back singles by Ray and Lynn put runners on 1B and 2B. Larry Coons reached on an infield single to load the bases. Jim Foelker smacked a single to bring in Ray with the 5th run. 2nd– P Toomy DeLeon recovered and shut down the Gray batters in order in the 2nd. Tom Kelm bounced out to 2B to start the frame. Barry McRee popped out to short, and Bubba Barnett lined out to 1B to close out the inning.
End of 2nd Score: Gray 5 Blue 0
Third Inning Recap:
Blue-P Ray faced the minimum number of batters (3) for the 3rd consecutive inning. Lucky Hoffman walked to open the inning. Dave Berra had the honor of hitting into the 3rd double play in as many innings as he bounced into yet another 6U 6-3 twin killing. Johnny Neville hit the ball well, but it was hauled in by the center fielder for the final out.
Gray- Scott led off the 3rd with a deep drive to right that went to the fence for an inside the park home run. P Tommy D. retired Mike on a liner to short and Louis on a grounder to short for two quick outs. Peter singled but was erased on Ray’s fielder’s choice grounder to end the inning.
End of 3rd Score: Gray 6 Blue 1
Fourth Inning Recap:
Blue- finally broke through and put a run on the board in the frame. Somewhat disappointing after loading the bases with nobody out for the top of the order. Alex Valles and Jack Spellman opened the 4th with back-to-back singles. John Flowers managed to sneak one through the right side for his first hit of the day to load the bases and the crowd went wild! Mike flew out to center to bring in the runner from 3B and snap the string of shut out innings. Donnie hit into a fielder’s choice out at 3B for the 2nd out. Tommy’s walk loaded the bases again, but Scotty snagged Raul’s vicious liner to short to end the inning.
Gray- Lynn singled to open the 4th, but Larry bounced into a 5-4-3 double play to snuff out the rally. Jim ripped a double to right but was left stranded as Tom lined out to 3B to close out the frame.
End of 4th Score: Gray 6 Blue 1
Fifth Inning Recap:
Blue- P Ray continued to dominate from the mound setting down all three batters (Henry, Daniel and Lucky) in order in the frame.
Gray– broke open this “pitcher’s duel” with a four-run outburst in the 5th. Barry singled to start the inning but was forced out at 2B on Bubba’s grounder. Scott grounded out to 2B and it looked like another scoreless inning, Mike ignited the two-out rally with an RBI single to right. Louis followed with a sharp single to left. Peter blasted a drive down the left filed line that initially looked to be catchable, but it whistled past Henry to the fence. With Peter’s speed, he scored easily for his 2nd three-run homer of the day! Ray followed with a single but Lynn flew out to right center to close out the inning.
End of 5th Score: Gray 10 Blue 1
Sixth Inning Recap:
Blue- loaded the bases after two men were out but failed to come up with the clutch hit and were held without a run for the 5th out of six innings. Alex and Jack provided back-to-back two out singles. John drew a walk to load the bases, but Mike grounded to short to end the threat.
At this point, the two teams flip flopped and Blue remained at the plate.
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Blue- Donnie opened the buffet with a clean single. Scotty then turned his 4th double play of the game as he fielded Tommy’s grounder, flipped to 2B and the relay throw beat the pinch runner to 1B. Raul and Henry followed with back-to-back hits as Blue refused to give up. Daniel hit a flyball down the right field line. The ball drifted towards foul territory, but Larry kept tracking the ball and somehow made a circus catch to end the game. Unfortunately, his momentum carried him into the fence, and he suffered some cuts and bruises to the face but reported after the game that he was ok (also did not remember making the catch!). Kudos to Tom Kelm for helping to patch him up on the sidelines after the game ended.
Final Score: Gray 10 Blue 1
Current 4th Session Standings:
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ASSL C league 2026 4th Session Final Standings |
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Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Green |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
60 |
29 |
31 |
– |
|
Gray |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0.600 |
62 |
49 |
13 |
1.50 |
|
Red |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0.400 |
60 |
60 |
0 |
2.50 |
|
Orange |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0.400 |
38 |
66 |
(28) |
2.50 |
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Blue |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0.200 |
32 |
48 |
-16 |
3.50 |
Season-to-date Standings:
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ASSL C league 2026 Season to-date Standings |
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Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Green |
21 |
11 |
1 |
0.636 |
430 |
327 |
68 |
– |
|
Gray |
23 |
14 |
2 |
0.590 |
452 |
400 |
57 |
0.50 |
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Orange |
18 |
16 |
1 |
0.514 |
369 |
358 |
19 |
4.00 |
|
Blue |
13 |
22 |
0 |
0.371 |
305 |
402 |
-86 |
9.00 |
|
Red |
11 |
23 |
0 |
0.324 |
316 |
385 |
-58 |
11.00 |
Gray pulled within .50 games of the lead with their win over Blue. Orange, currently on a two-game skid, falls four games behind the Greenies.
Next Games: Monday August 31, 2026
Game 1 8:00 a.m. Green (4-0-0) vs. Gray (3-2-0)
Another instant classic on the horizon as the two top teams in the league go head-to-head. Green is undefeated in the session and leads Gray by a scant .50 games, so this is a toss-up. May come down to the number and quality of the mercenaries drawn for this one.
Red has umpiring duties for this one.
Game 2 9:00 a.m. Red (2-3-0) vs. Blue (1-4-0)
Rematch of last Monday’s contest between these competitors. Blue looking to bounce back from their anemic offensive performance vs. Gray and Red looking to build on their come-from-behind win against Orange.
All will be revealed on Monday!
Green will be taking on the umpire responsibilities in this game.
Orange will have a bye on Monday allowing their players to have priority in the draw and thereby potentially impact on the outcome of the above games!
Other C Division News & Notes:
· PARD has requested that we move to field K6 to allow the fields at K1 and K2 to rest and recover. The move will be effective September 8, 2026.
· We are not scheduled to play on Labor Day (9/7/26) but PARD is allowing us to “make-up” that lost day and play on Tuesday September 8th. I know several people that have standing commitments that prevent them from playing on Tuesdays. We are trying to determine if we will have enough guys to play so please let your manager know if you will be available to play on that date. Thanks.