B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 8, Issue 58 – October 15, 2026
B League President George Brindley checks in:
We have assigned Rich Brendahl to the Red team.
October 19 PARD is moving our games back to K2.
October 26 we are having our B & C Division annual picnic luncheon.
Hopefully y’all have seen the email from Terry Thompson about the raffle. Purchase your tickets on the link below or bring cash or check to the field and give it to Terry Thompson, Mark Dolan, Greg Dalander.
CLICK HERE: https://forms.gle/
AkVConNSnyuVsG7T6 Our End of Season Tournament will be on November 16 and 17.
Games of Thursday October 15:
10:30 a.m.: Blue (5-5) at Red (6-5):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Blue 2 4 0 1 2 9 Red 2 2 0 2 4 10 Pitchers: Blue – Luis Sanchez; Red – Trent Peacock. Mercenaries: Blue – Steve Browne and Luis Sanchez; Red – David Schneider, Jack Spellman, and Peter Sundquist. Umpires: home – Tommy Deleon; bases – Scott Wright. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Tom Bellavia (3 for 3 with a double and a triple), David Brown and George Romo (both 3 for 3), and Larry Young (1 for 1 with two walks); Red – Jack Spellman (2 for 2 with a walk) and Peter Sundquist (3 for 3).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 81°, feels like 86°; humidity 91%; wind from the South at 6 MPH, partly cloudy – not bad!
A good, hard-fought game. Blue led 7-2 at one point, but Red came back and walked it off in the buffet.
Both teams scored twice in the first inning. Lawrence Page led off the game with a single and was forced out at second on J.C. Schmeil’s grounder to second baseman Jack Spellman, 4-6. Tom Bellavia then hammered a line drive to right field, right at the newest addition to Red team, Rich Brendahl, who moved a couple steps back and reached for the ball, only for it to tip off the top of his mitt and roll most of the way to the fence. But Rich hustled back, made a good relay in to Spellman, who relayed to shortstop Ralph Villela, who made a strong throw home to catcher Marvin Krabbenhoft, beating Tom by a step – J.C. scored on the hit, but Tom was denied a home run on the 10-4-6-2 relay. The next three batters, George Romo, Donnie Janac, and David Brown, followed with singles, George scoring.
Red got those runs back with four singles in the bottom half: Ralph Villela and Richard Battle hit safely to start the inning; Ralph scored on Trent Peacock’s one-out hit; and Richard came across on Rich Brendahl’s two-out knock.
Blue went ahead with four runs in the top of the second, on Larry Young’s lead-off walk and four singles, which makes it sound like a pretty pedestrian rally, leaving out as it does the inning’s drama. After Larry walked, Larry Shupe and Steve Browne singled, Larry’s pinch-runner coming around to score. A single by Luis Sanchez loaded the bases for the top of the order. Lawrence Page popped out, Trent Peacock making the catch after the infield fly was called, on a ball between the mound and first base, for out number one. J.C. Schmeil grounded a ball to shortstop Ralph Villela, who flipped to Spellman covering second; knowing I didn’t have a chance to double up J.C., I (ill-advisedly) threw home and past catcher Marvin Krabbenhoft. There was no way I was going to get Larry Shupe, and all my throw did was allow Steve to score and J.C. to take second.
But there was an initial bit of confusion, as Luis, who’d been forced out at second, was slow to leave the field, heading toward the visitors dugout by way of third base – someone thought Luis was a live runner and called for him to be put out at third after he’d returned to the dugout. Someone else – not naming names, but he’s a wise-ass and sometimes plays second base – said that Luis was out because he’d abandoned the baseline. And that prompted Larry Young to have a mid-level conniption, which was pretty funny. I’d been wondering who to honor as B League Grouch on National Grouch Day, and Larry stepped up:
Don Solberg approves this picture.
It was all sorted out soon enough: J.C. on second, two out. Tom Bellavia knocked a single to drive in J.C. George Romo followed with a single as well, but Trent Peacock got Donnie Janac to pop out to Ralph at shortstop to strand the potential fifth run at third.
Red got two runs back in the home half. Jack Spellman drew a lead-off walk and, after Dave Schneider flied out to Steve Browne in right-center, took second on Peter Sundquist’s base hit. Ralph Villela lined out to shortstop David Brown; Spellman was a couple steps off the bag, and David snapped a throw to J.C. Schmeil; I got back to the bag ahead of the ball, but the throw sailed past J.C., and I was able to score while Larry Young was retrieving the ball behind first base; Larry’s throw home got past catcher Larry Shupe, and Peter was able to score as well. Cheap runs, arguably the best kind.
Neither team scored in the third. Blue put runners on first and second with one out in the top half, on David Brown’s lead-off single and Larry Young’s one-out walk, but Trent Peacock stranded them, getting Larry Shupe to swing through a two-strike pitch and Steve Browne to pop up back to the mound. Trent singled with one out in the bottom half, but Luis Sanchez retired both Johnny Lee (force-out grounder to shortstop David Brown) and Rich Brendahl (pop to second baseman J.C. Schmeil).
Blue extended its lead to 7-2 with a single run in the top of the fourth. Ralph Villela made a nice grab to his left of Luis Sanchez’s liner to start the inning. Lawrence Page singled. J.C. Schmeil grounded to shortstop; Ralph made the play at second unassisted for the force there, but J.C. beat the relay to first. Tom Bellavia then smacked a double, I believe to right-center, J.C. scoring from first. George Romo beat out an infield single, Tom holding, but Trent Peacock stranded them both by snagging Donnie Janac’s liner back to the box.
Red wound up winning the inning, scoring two runs on singles by its first five batters. A big inning seemed to be in store, with two runs in, the bases loaded, and none out, but Blue’s infield turned a terrific double play: Rich Brendahl grounded sharply to shortstop David Brown, who moved a step to his right to field the ball and pegged a throw to third baseman George Romo for the force there; George then made a strong throw home to catcher Larry Shupe, beating David Schneider by a step to complete a 6-5-2 double play. Every time the bases are loaded with none out I think about this play in the abstract; David, George, and Larry brought it beautifully to life. Luis Sanchez then got Marvin Krabbenhoft to ground into an inning-ending 5-4 force, George to J.C. Schmeil.
Blue led by a run entering the buffet, and added two more. David Brown, Daniel Baladez, and Larry Young opened the inning with singles, David joining George Romo and Tom Bellavia with 3-for-3 outings, Larry also reaching for the third time in as many plate appearances, his hit driving in David. Larry Shupe grounded into a 4-6 force, Spellman to Ralph Villela, Larry beating the relay, Daniel’s pinch-runner scoring on the play. Steve Browne walked. Luis Sanchez drove a ball to left-center, but Peter Sundquist was well positioned to make the catch, Larry tagging and taking third on the play. Lawrence Page squared up on a pitch, but his liner was hit right at Ralph, who caught it for the third out.
Red came up needing three to tie, four to win, and proceeded to put together its best inning of the day. Trent Peacock flied out to Tom Bellavia in left-center to open the frame. Johnny Lee and Rich Brendahl both singled, Johnny Lee’s runner (Ralph Villela, I think?) taking third on Rich’s hit. Donald Drummer flied out to Lawrence Page in left field, deep enough for the runner at third (Ralph?) to score easily. Red was down to its last out, still trailing by two, but did not make another out. Jack Spellman singled to right-center and Dave Schneider singled up the middle, loading the bases. Peter Sundquist’s single to right-center brought in Rich and Spellman, tying the score and turning the lineup over. Lead-off hitter Ralph Villela came up and smacked a clean single, I believe to left center, Dave scoring the winning run.
Final score: Red 10, Blue 9
11:30 a.m.: Orange (3-8) at Green (4-5):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Orange 4 5 4 0 X 13 Green 1 4 0 1 1 7 Pitchers: Orange – Tommy Deleon; Green – Spike Davidson. Mercenaries: Orange – Trent Peacock, David Pittard, and Peter Sundquist; Green – Daniel Baladez, Richard Battle, Daniel Carvajal, and Rick Jensen. Umpires: home – Marvin Krabbenhoft; bases – Ralph Villela. Perfect at the plate: Orange – David Pittard (2 for 2) and Dave Schneider and Jack Spellman (both 3 for 3); Green – Spike Davidson (3 for 3) and Larry Fiorentino (3 for 3 with a double). Home run: Mike Garrison (inside the park) (6).
Weather update: couple degrees warmer – still nice.
Manager Dave Berra has been waiting on this version of Orange to show up: his minions put up 13 of a possible 15 runs over the first three innings, scoring three runs after two were out in both the first and third. And aside from a four-run outburst in the second, all the runs scoring after two were out, Tommy Deleon and his defense held Green to zero or one run per inning.
Orange scored four runs on five singles in the first, hits by Matt Levitt and Dave Schneider driving in three after two were out. Green got one back in the home half, on Mike Garrison’s home run, his sixth of the season, a drive between left fielder Don Solberg and left-center fielder Matt Levitt that reached the fence in a couple hops, Mike easily circling the bases for his sixth homer of the season:
Like Thomas Jefferson, Mike Garrison is a (buff) Renaissance man who sent people who worked for him on cross-continental canoe trips.
Orange scored five runs while making one out in the top of the second, on eight singles. Green got four back in the home half, on six singles.
Orange kept hitting in the third, four more runs on six more singles. Tommy Deleon then blanked Green in the bottom half, working around singles by Richard Battle (with one out) and Daniel Baladez (with two).
Spike Davidson worked a scoreless top of the fourth. Don Solberg singled leading off and Dave Schneider singled with one out, but Spike retired Hal Darman on liner to Steve Sandall in left-center, then got Peter Sundquist to ground into an inning-ending 6-4 force, Rick Jensen to Daniel Carvajal.
Green wasn’t able to take much advantage, however, managing just a single run in the home half. Mike Garrison led off with a drive to deep left field that Don Solberg turned into an out, ranging into foul territory to make the catch. Larry Fiorentino followed with a double and scored on Spike Davidson’s single, but Tommy Deleon retired the next two batters, getting Ivan Budiselic to pop out to shortstop and Chunky Wright to ground into a 5-4 force, Jeff Grandcolas to David Pittard.
With Orange leading by seven, the teams agreed to flip-flop, and Green stayed at the bat. Both Daniel Carvajal and Richard Battle flied out to Peter Sundquist in right-center to start the buffet. Rick Jensen and Daniel Baladez singled, bringing up the top of the order. Steve Sandall ripped a two-base hit, Rick scoring. But the game ended with Mike Garrison again flying out to Don Solberg in left field.
Final score: Orange 13, Green 7
Spike Davidson was 3 for 3 with an RBI at the plate, earning himself an unwanted No-Tahni Award.
12:30 p.m.: Maroon (7-3) at Gray (7-3):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 5 4 5 3 X 17 Gray 0 0 2 5 4 11 Pitchers: Maroon – David Pittard; Gray – Trent Peacock. Mercenaries: Maroon – David Brown, Jeff Grandcolas, and Lawrence Page; Gray – Larry Fiorentino, Mark Hernandez, Trent Peacock, and Don Solberg. Umpires: home – Spike Davidson; bases – Mike Garrison. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Steve Browne (4 for 4 with a double), Tony Garcia (4 for 4), and Jeff Grandcolas and David Pittard (both 3 for 3; Ohtani Award for David); Gray – Mark Hernandez and Scott Rokita (both 3 for 3 with a double) and Larry Fiorentino (3 for 3).
Weather update: warmer yet, still pretty pleasant.
Maroon came out hitting, Gray did not, and the result was a laugher – Maroon led 14-0 before anyone on Gray batted for a second time.
Maroon scored five times in the top of the first, four of its first five batters hitting safely, mostly to right field: Steve Browne led off with a single to center; then Tony Garcia lined a single to right; Scott Wright hit a double on a deep fly to right, Steve scoring; and, after Alan Phillips grounded to shortstop Stan Rokita, the only out of the inning, David Pittard lined a single to right that brought in Tony. Gray’s mercenary pitcher Trent Peacock then had an uncharacteristic bout of wildness, walking the next three batters – Fritz Hensel, Dale Fugate, and David Brown – forcing across two more runs. With the fifth run on third and just one out, the outfield played the line on Jeff Grandcolas, who lofted a ball to deep left-center, bringing in the fifth run on what would have been extra bases if there’d been any need for Jeff to try for them.
David Pittard then blanked Gray in the home half, working around Scott Rokita’s one-out single.
More of the same in the second inning: Maroon scored four runs in the top half, David Pittard shut out Gray in the bottom half. Maroon’s first six batters hit safely, three runs scoring. Fritz Hensel also knocked what looked like a clean hit, a line drive to right-center, the fourth run scoring, but Larry Fiorentino made a good play on the ball, charging it and coming up throwing, putting out David Pittard 9-6 at second base. Trent Peacock retired the next two batters as well, keeping the fifth run from scoring.
David Pittard got two quick outs to start the bottom of the second, retiring Jim McAnelly on a liner to shortstop David Brown and Mike Velaney on a pop to third baseman Jeff Grandcolas. Larry Fiorentino singled, but David got Don Solberg on another pop, this one to David at shortstop.
Five more runs for Maroon in the top of the third, on seven singles and Dale Fugate’s two-out opposite-field double, which drove in the fifth run. Jeff Grandcolas led off with a hit to right-center and tried for second, but was thrown out 9-4, Larry Fiorentino to Mike Velaney – the throw drew Mike off the bag, but he made a quick tag on Jeff before he reached the line
Gray finally got on the board in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs on four consecutive one-out hits, all to the right side – a single to right-center by Mark Hernandez, a double to right by Clint Fletcher, a line single past second by Scott Rokita that drove in Mark’s runner; and a single to right-center by Daniel Carvajal that scored Clint. David Pittard got the next two batters to ground into force outs, Mike Nagy to shortstop David Brown (force at third) and Jim McAnelly to third baseman Jeff Grandcolas (also a force at third).
Maroon scored “only” three runs in the top of the fourth. David Brown and Jeff Grandcolas led off with singles, putting runners at the corners. Lawrence Page’s fly to Clint Fletcher in left-center was deep enough for David to tag up and score easily. Steve Browne and Tony Garcia each followed with their fourth hits of the game, singles to the right side – Steve’s was an uncatchable pop behind second base, Tony’s a line drive to right field – Jeff coming around to score, Steve winding up at third. Trent Peacock got Scott Wright to ground to first baseman Mark Hernandez, who made a good throw to second to force out Tony, Steve scoring. Alan Phillips squared up on a pitch, but Clint Fletcher caught his liner to left-center.
Gray then won the inning, scoring five times in the bottom half, all after two were out. Mike Velaney popped out to shortstop David Brown to open the inning. Larry Fiorentino lined a single to right field. Don Solberg lined a ball to right-center – Tony Garcia caught up to it, initially juggled it, but held on for the catch, out number two. Trent Peacock doubled to right field, Larry advancing to third, and they both scored on Mark Hernandez line single to center field. Clint Fletcher and Scott Rokita followed with back-to-back doubles, Clint’s to right field, Scott’s to left-center, Mark’s runner and Clint scoring. Daniel Carvajal drove in the fifth run with a single up the middle.
It was a fine offensive outburst, but Gray was still trailing 17-7, so the teams flip-flopped for the buffet. Gray continued to hit, pushing across four runs after two were out, on three singles, a walk to Don Solberg, and a double by Mark Hernandez (his third hit in as many at bats, for his third and fourth RBI of the game). Clint Fletcher lined a ball that shortstop David Brown fielded cleanly on the short hop (I actually thought he’d caught it) and threw to first for the final out.
Final score: Maroon 17, Gray 11
David Pittard earned his first Ohtani Award of the season, going 3 for 3 and driving in a run, scoring another, while pitching Maroon to victory. The water-dwelling Kappa made the presentation.
Session 4 standings:
| Session 4 standings: | Games | Runs | Runs | Run dif- | W/L | |||
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Maroon | 8 | 3 | .727 | 0 | 158 | 120 | 38 | W1 |
| Gray | 7 | 4 | .636 | 1 | 166 | 155 | 11 | L1 |
| Red | 7 | 5 | .583 | 1.5 | 160 | 156 | 4 | W1 |
| Blue | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | 125 | 113 | 12 | L1 |
| Green | 4 | 6 | .400 | 3.5 | 121 | 123 | -2 | L1 |
| Purple | 4 | 7 | .364 | 4 | 138 | 153 | -15 | L1 |
| Orange | 4 | 8 | .333 | 4.5 | 106 | 154 | -48 | W1 |
| Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | Last 5 | ||
| W-L: | W-L: | wins | W-L: | W-L: | W-L: | games: | ||
| Maroon | 4-3 | 4-0 | 0 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 0-0 | WLWLW | |
| Gray | 4-2 | 3-2 | 1 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 3-1 | WLWWL | |
| Red | 3-2 | 4-3 | 2 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 2-2 | WWWLW | |
| Blue | 4-2 | 1-4 | 2 | 0-1 | 2-0 | 2-3 | LWLWL | |
| Green | 2-2 | 2-4 | 0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1-2 | LLWWL | |
| Purple | 0-6 | 4-1 | 0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-1 | LWLWL | |
| Orange | 2-3 | 2-5 | 1 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 1-0 | LLLLW |
2026 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 30 | |
| Gray | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 21 | |
| Green | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 25 | |
| Maroon | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 32 | |
| Orange | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 22 | |
| Purple | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 18 | |
| Red | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 23 | |
| TOTAL: | 19 | 27 | 24 | 16 | 27 | 32 | 26 | 171 |
2026 season home run leaders:
Terry O’Brien – 10
Ralph Villela – 9
Steve Browne – 6
Mike Garrison – 6
Trent Peacock – 5
Tony Garcia – 4
George Brindley – 3
David Brown – 3
Tim Coles – 3
Jack McDermott – 3
Alan Phillips – 3
Pat Scott – 3
Jack Spellman – 3
Scott Wright – 3
Richard Battle – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Tommy Gillis – 2
Rick Kahn – 2
Bobby Miller – 2
Scott Rokita – 2
Paul Rubin – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Peter Atkins – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
Joe Bernal – 1
Ivan Budiselic – 1
Mark Dolan – 1
Jim Foelker – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Doc Hobar – 1
Mike Malay – 1
David Pittard – 1
George Romo – 1
Luis Sanchez – 1
Steve Sandall – 1
Patrick Schmidt – 1
Hit for the cycle:
Ralph Villela – May 26
Ohtani Awards (winning pitcher + perfect at the plate):
Joe Bernal: 8 (March 2, March 19, March 30, April 16, June 22, June 25, June 29, July 9)
Ray Pilgrim: 8 (March 5, March 23, March 26, June 1, July 2, July 9, August 17, August 27)
Spike Davidson: 7 (May 4, July 2, July 20, August 6, August 20, September 17, October 5)
Tommy Deleon: 6 (April 6, April 30, June 11, July 6, July 30, September 24)
Trent Peacock: 3 (March 9, August 3, October 8)
Luis Sanchez: 3 (September 8, September 28, October 8)
Jeff Stone: 3 (March 2, July 9, September 8)
Rex Horvath: 1 (March 30)
Jack Kelly: 1 (August 3)
Lawrence Page: 1 (March 26)
David Pittard: 1 (October 15)
Schedule for Monday October 19:
10:30 a.m.: Orange (4-8) at Blue (5-6), Red umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Red (7-5) at Purple (4-7), Blue umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Green (4-6) at Maroon (8-3), Purple umpiring
Gray has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Reminder that we move back to Krieg 2 on Monday. The league’s feeling pretty even-steven at the moment – no team has won or lost more than one in a row, and the teams meeting at 10:30 (Orange and Blue) and 11:30 (Red and Purple) are 4-4 in their season series. Maroon leads the season series with Green, whom they play at 12:30, 6-2. Gray has the bye, so Maroon has a chance to solidify its hold on first for the session, as well as the best season record – currently 32-16, with Blue at 30-19. We should see some players returning from the Huntsman Games, though there might be some absences for the Myrtle Beach tourney. And the forecast for next week is much cooler weather. Monday is both National New Friends Day and International Gin and Tonic Day – will B League find a way to celebrate both? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Reminder that Boo Resnick and Hotcakes are playing at Donn’s Depot, 1600 West Fifth Street, Austin, this Saturday night, from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am. Still no confirmation concerning a special guest vocalist.
(Defunct) Podcast review: Good Sport
This sports podcast, hosted by Jody Avirgan, a veteran of the 538 podcast and ESPN’s 30 for 30 podcasts, ran for just nine episodes in 2023, but was really quite good, using sports as a lens for examining psychology, culture, economics, and human behavior. It concluded with an episode, “After the Glory Fades,” about what athletes experience when age, injury, or retirement forces them to stop competing, that was the best of the series – highly recommend it as a stand-alone listen. Other episodes included investigations of why certain communities become talent hotbeds; the psychology of being in the zone; mental toughness and losing; the economics and politics of publicly financed stadiums; and the influence of combative sports-talk television on wider media culture. It made me think maybe we’re not living in the absolute dumbest timeline. New England content: None I recall. Canadian content: Ditto. Listening speed: 1X. Rating: 🎧 🎧 🎧 🎧