Game Day Gazette
October 22, 2026
After lopsided wins by Green over Gray and Red over Orange, we have a deadlock at the top of the heap with Green out front of Gray by .08 percentage points. In other news, Red’s victory pulled them into a tie for 4th with the idle Blue squad. We are 67 play dates into the season, and nothing has been decided! Another beautiful day to play but I for one will be glad when we move back to K2 as the sun in left field on K6 makes it difficult for lefties to see at the plate without shades! We have been assured by PARD that the sprinkler repairs will be done this week, and we will return to our previous home. Programming note … annual luncheon on Monday (10/26) so we will be starting our games thirty minutes early (8:00/9:00 a.m.) so we can finish up by 10:00 to allow B leaguers to have lunch before 2:00 p.m.
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Game 1: Red (2-2-0) vs. Orange (1-2-1) 8:30 a.m. 10/22/26 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
Total |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Red |
1 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
X |
11 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Orange |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
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Starting pitchers-Red- Sal Lopez; Orange- Terry Thompson |
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Mercenaries: Red- Raul DeLeon and Jack Spellman |
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Orange- Scott Wright, Ken Mockler, Jeff Broussard and Lucky Hoffman |
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Home Plate Umpire-Mickey Poole and Larry King on the bases |
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First & Second Inning Recap:
Red- Doc Hobar led off the game with a groundball out to 2B. John Flowers followed with a double just inside the right field foul line. Patrick Schmidt laced a single to center to move John up a bases. Bobby Hawthorne grounded sharply to 3B, and the ball caromed off the bag and into left field to drive in John with the 1st run. Terry Watts popped out to 2B for the 2nd out. Mike grounded to 3B and Adam came home with the ball. Lucky Hoffman made an outstanding catch on the play to get the runner (Patrick) at the plate for the 3rd out. 2nd – Gene Nelson led off the 2nd with a ringing double to right center. Sal Lopez grounded out to 3B on a very close play at the bag for the 1st out. Morris Carter reached on an infield single to move Gene to 3B. He scored on Raul DeLeon’s sacrifice fly to center. Morris’s courtesy runner decided to test Jerry Myllius’ arm in center and was throw out (after the runner from 3B had scored) to retire the side.
Orange- Adam Gordon bounced one back to the pitcher (Sal Lopez) for the 1st out. Terry Thompson and Jack Adams followed with back-to-back singles. Steven Kendig grounded into a fielder’s choice out at 3B, and Jack threw to Raul for the out. Barry McRee copied his teammate and bounced into a fielder’s choice (6-5) to end the frame. 2nd– Bubba Barnett legged out an infield single to open the 2nd inning. Jerry Myllius flew out to Patrick Schmidt in left center for the 1st out (the first of many catches by Patrick on the day! Scott Wright ripped a hard grounder to 1B, and Mike Mordecai nonchalantly stuck his glove out and made the 3U putout for the 2nd out. Ken Mockler, one of our “sunbirds” that flee Texas for cooler climates in the summer, returned and made an immediate impact with a double to left center to drive in the 1st run for Orange. Jeff Broussard flew out to Patrick to retire the side.
End of 2nd Score: Red 2 Orange 1
3rd Inning Recap:
Red- Jack Spellman bounced back to the pitcher for the first out. Doc sliced a double to right to get things going. John grounded out to 2B and there were quickly two away. Patrick drove in the 1st run with a wicked line drive to left. Bobby continued to rake as he drove a ball over Adam’s head into left field for a single. Terry looped a single to center to score Patrick with the 2nd run. Mike continued the assault with a ground single between 1B and 2B to load the bases. Gene ripped a double to right center to drive in two more runs. Sal singled past Scott as short to drive in the 5th run of the inning.
Orange– P Sal Lopez was exceptional on the mound and retired the side in order in the scoreless 3rd inning. Lucky Hoffman grounded out to Raul to open the frame. Adam popped up behind the plate and Morris did a spin or maybe a pirouette and snared the ball for the 2nd out. Terry flew out to Patrick to close out the frame.
End of 3rd Score: Red 7 Orange 1
Fourth Inning Recap:
Red– pretty much put this one out of reach with a four-run outburst in the 4th. Morris ground out to short to open the frame. Raul drew and walked and moved to 3B on Jack’s double to right center. Doc lined a single to center to score both Raul and Jack. John reached on an infield hit and Bobby blasted one down the 3B line for his 3rd hit in as many at bats. Doc scored easily on the hit, but John was thrown out at the plate trying to score from 2B for the 2nd out. Terry singled to bring Patrick across the plate with the 4th run before Mike bounced into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
Orange– continued to struggle against Sal’s pitching, Jack A. lined out to Doc at 2B for the 1st out. Steve grounded out to 2B for the 2nd out. Barry reached on a ball that got past Raul for a single, but Bubba grounded into a fielder’s choice (6-4) to retire the side.
End of 4th Score: Red 11 Orange 1
Fifth Inning Recap:
Red– P Terry Thompson managed to shut down the big Red machine in the 5th. Gene lined out to Patrick (not him again!) for the 1st out. Sal slapped a single to left but was erased on Morris’ grounder to Adam, who crossed the diamond and made a snap throw to 2B to get the force. Raul hit a one-hopper to 2B and Doc flipped to Scott to get the force and end the inning,
Orange– Scott ripped a one-out single down the right field line and moved to 3B on Ken’s hard single to right center. Jeff got the runner from 3B home with a sacrifice fly to left center. Lucky flew out to Bobby in left to close out the frame.
End of 5th Score: Red 11 Orange 2
Fifth “Open” Inning Recap:
With Red up by nine, home plate umpire Mickey Poole, called for an “early” flip flop and Orange continued with their buffet inning.
Orange– Adam lined out to short to kickoff the “open inning”. Terry lined a double to left that Bobby almost gloved from his knees. Jack single to left center with Terry gliding into 3B. Steve fouled out for the 2nd out before Barry drew a walk to load the bases. Jerry hit a grounder towards 2B with a ton of spin on the ball and somehow hit the runner from 1B (Barry) for a fitting way to close this one out.
Final Score: Red 11Orange 2
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Game 2: Gray (3-1-0) vs. Green (2-1-1) 9:30 a.m. 10/22/26 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
Total |
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|
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Gray |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
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Green |
4 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
X |
X |
13 |
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Starting pitchers- Gray-Ray Pilgrim; Green- Tom Kelm |
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Mercenaries-Gray- Jack Adams, Steve Kendig, Gene Nelson and Daniel Baladez |
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Green-Raul DeLeon and Terry Thompson |
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Home Plate Umpire- Bruce Barnett and Adam Gordon on the bases |
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First & Second Inning Recap:
Gray– P Tom Kelm was masterful on the mound as he blanked the powerful Gray lineup over the first two innings. Scott Wright went down looking on two well placed strikes to open the game. Mike Carroll grounded to 2B for the 2nd out. Louis Caputo laced a single to left for Gray’s first base runner, but he was quickly erased on Ray Pilgrim’s fielder’s choice grounder to short.2nd– Jeff Broussard led off the 2nd with a base hit to right center, Larry Coons flew out to left center for the first out. Art Monzingo bounced into a fielder’s choice (6-4) for the 2nd out. Jack Adams lined a single to left as Gray finally got a runner in scoring position, but Tom was up to the task and got Steve Kendig to ground out to Jack Spellman to close out the frame.
Green-looking to pick up a full game in the standings with a win, Green came out on fire to quickly seize control in this much anticipated contest. Paul Rubin reached on an infield single to lead off the inning, Jack Spellman and Denny Malloy followed with back-to-back singles to right to load the bases with nobody out. Ken Mockler, back in the lineup after an extended break escaping the Texas heat, picked up where he left off and drilled a single to right center to bring in the first two runs of the game. Mickey Poole ripped a single to center to bring in Denny with the 3rd run. Tom Kelm made the first out a productive one as he ground into a fielder’s choice allowing the runner from 3B to score. P Ray Pilgrim avoided any further damage by getting both Wiliam Powell and Robby Vickery to ground out to short to close out the inning.
2nd– Larry King popped out to short to open the 2nd. Mercenaries Raul DeLeon and Terry Thompson followed with back-to-back singles. Paul fouled off the first pitch from Ray but belted the next one over Steve’s head in left center for a three-run inside the park home run. But Green was not done, Jack smacked a single to right and Denny’s single moved him to 3B. Ken continued he welcome back tour with a booming double to dead center that easily scored both runners and completed the five-run inning.
End of 2nd Score: Green 9 Gray 0
Third Inning Recap:
Gray- down by nine runs, Gray desperately needed to get on the board, but Tom was up to the task and twirled another scoreless inning in the 3rd. Gene Nelson worked a leadoff walk, but Daniel Baladez bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to thwart Gray’s hopes for a big inning. Scott drilled a single to right but was forced out at 2Bon Mike’s grounder to short to retire the side.
Green- Mickey led off the 3rd with a sharp single up the middle. Tom singled to left center to put runners on 1B and 2B. Ray was able to retire William on a grounder to short as Mickey moved to 3B on the fielder’s choice. Robby followed with a groundball to 2B. Jeff made the throw to Scott to get the force at 2B, and it looked like the relay to 1B beat the runner, but Adam called the runner safe, allowing Mickey to cross the plate with the 1st run. Larry bounced out to 3B to end the inning with Green up by ten big runs.
End of 3rd Score: Green 10 Gray 0
Fourth Inning Recap:
Gray– Louis was retired on a groundball to 3B on a nice throw from Terry to open the 4th. Ray and Jeff followed with back-to-back singles as Gray appeared to be mounting their first real offensive threat of the game. That was quickly snuffed out as Larry hit a comebacker to Tom. He whirled and threw to Jack to get the force at 2B. With no chance to get the courtesy runner from the plate to complete the double play, Jack wisely threw to 3B ahead of Ray to get the inning ending twin killing.
Green- Raul singled to open the inning. Terry was retired on a groundout to Ray for the 1st out. Paul lined a single to left center to drive in Raul but was thrown out at 2B trying to stretch the single into a double. Jack and Denny followed with back-to-back singles. Ken launched a massive blast to right center for a bases clearing double (could have easily been a triple but Ken didn’t push it). The first four batters in Green’s lineup went a combined 12-12 on the day with nine runs scored and ten runs batted in! Mickey flew out to right to close out the inning.
End of 4th Score: Green 13 Gray 0
Fifth Inning Recap:
Gray– finally got on the scoreboard as the mercenaries came through in the frame. Art led off the inning with a single and moved to 2B on Jack Adam’s base hit. Steve’s single loaded the bases with nobody out. Gene fouled out as his drive down the right field line landed just outside the line. Daniel grounded into a fielder’s choice as Art crossed the plate with Gray’s first run. Scott’s single drove in Jack for the 2nd run before Mike grounded out to 1B with Larry making the unassisted put out to end the frame.
With Green up by eleven, the teams flip flopped and Gray continued at the plate.
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Gray– Louie and Ray opened the buffet with back-to-back singles. Jeff was retired for the first time in the game on a fielder’s choice grounder to short. Larry lined a single to left to push across the 1st run as Louie scored from 3B. Art bounced one back to Tom and he got the force at 2B for the 2nd out. Jack hit a sharp grounder between short and 3B that Terry gloved and fired to short to get the force and close out the win for Green.
Final Score: Green 13 Gray 3
ASSL C Division 5th Session Standings:
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Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Green |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0.600 |
61 |
47 |
14 |
– |
|
Red |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0.600 |
49 |
41 |
8 |
0.50 |
|
Gray |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0.600 |
57 |
51 |
6 |
0.50 |
|
Orange |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0.200 |
39 |
64 |
-25 |
2.00 |
|
Blue |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0.000 |
48 |
51 |
-3 |
2.50 |
Green ascended to the top spot in the session standings with their commanding win over Gray. Red’s win over Orange moved them into a tie for 2nd as Orange and Blue continue to struggle to find wins.
Season-to-date Standings:
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|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Green |
28 |
17 |
2 |
0.596 |
590 |
470 |
68 |
– |
|
Gray |
30 |
19 |
2 |
0.588 |
595 |
528 |
57 |
– |
|
Orange |
23 |
23 |
2 |
0.479 |
489 |
500 |
19 |
5.50 |
|
Red |
18 |
29 |
0 |
0.383 |
457 |
522 |
-58 |
12.00 |
|
Blue |
18 |
29 |
0 |
0.383 |
434 |
545 |
-86 |
12.00 |
It only took sixty-seven play dates for Green to surpass Gray, and it is only by a few percentage points, but the Greenies are finally at the top of the heap! In other exciting news (especially if you play on the Red team!), Red has finally climbed out of the cellar and is now tied with Blue for 4th place. With only nine play dates remaining in the season, anything can and will happen!
Next Games: Monday October 26, 2026
Note the earlier starting times for the EOY annual banquet
Game 1 8:00 a.m. Gray (3-2-0) vs. Orange (1-3-1)
Can Gray rebound from their disappointing loss on Thursday and move into the lead over the idle Green team? Where are Bobby Miller and Jim Foelker? The Orange team desperately needs a boost from their two MIA stars to be able to compete with the men of Gray.
Red will be taking on the umpiring responsibilities in this game
Game 2 9:00 a.m. Red (3-2-0) vs. Blue (1-3-0)
Red has finally caught Blue and is looking to leave them in the dust and secured their 4th place standing. In this “Battle for the Bottom” will Blue rally to stave off Red and avoid the cellar?
Gray will be taking umpiring the late game on Thursday
Green will have a bye on Monday allowing their players to have priority in the draw.