B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 6, Issue 8 – April 15, 2024
We didn’t play last week. No games were scheduled on Monday April 8 because of the GNASE (Great North American Solar Eclipse), a bit of a bust in cloudy Austin, but pretty good in Cleveland:
And games of Thursday April 11 were cancelled due to muddy conditions at the Krieg fields.
Roster notes:
Guadalupe (“Lupe”) Albrado assigned to Maroon.
Ivan Budiselich assigned to Gray.
Welcome to the B League new players Lupe Albrado (left) and Ivan Budiselich (right).
Joe Dayoc assigned to Maroon.
Tommy Langa moves from Gray to Orange.
Larry Shupe moves from Green to Orange.
Phil Stanch moves from Maroon to Green.
Weather: An overcast day throughout, the sun only peeking out intermittently. It was 72 degrees with 90% humidity at the beginning of the 10:30 game, warmed to 79 degrees with 73% humidity by the time the 12:30 game got under way.
Games of Monday April 15 (a.k.a. Tax Day, or Marathon Monday, or Pay Off the Porn Star Day, for those who celebrate):
10:30 a.m., Green (0-1) at Blue (1-0):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Green 3 1 3 3 5 0 15 Blue 5 0 1 5 0 0 11 Pitchers: Green – Tommy Deleon; Blue – Joe Bernal. Mercenaries: Green – Donnie Janac and Scott Wright. Umpires: home plate – Adam Reddell and Hal Darman; bases – Eddy Murillo, Jack Spellman, and Donald Drummer. Perfect at the plate: Green – Mike Garrison (4 for 4 with two doubles and a triple) and Trey Wall (3 for 3); Blue – Joe Bernal (3 for 3).
With Trey Wall at the helm in Jeff Broussard’s absence, Green put a new defensive set in the field, Mike Hill moving to second base while Ralph Villela took over at shortstop. Short version of the narrative: this worked well, as Ralph had a terrific game on both sides of the ball. He led off the game with a single and scored the first run, on a two-run triple by Mike Garrison, who went 4 for 4 with three extra-base hits. Mike then scored on Jack Crosley’s sacrifice fly to right-center.
Jeff Broussard, upper left, scored himself a trip to Alaska and left Green team’s reins in the capable hands of Trey Wall.
Blue came charging out of the gate in the home half, scoring five runs on seven singles and George Brindley’s line-drive sacrifice fly to left-center.
Green scored a single run in the top of the second, on Scott Wright’s RBI triple, then held Blue scoreless, Tommy Deleon working around Pat Scott’s one-out single.
Green took the lead with three runs in the top of the third. Paul Rubin led off with a pop-fly double behind third base and scored on Mike Garrison’s double to the fence in left. Mike moved up on Jack Crosley’s grounder to second base, then scored on Tommy Deleon’s sacrifice fly to left field. Daniel Baladez ripped a double to left field, and his pinch-runner scored on Trey Wall’s single to right. Donnie Janac hit a short pop in between home plate and the mound for a single, but Joe Bernal got Scott Wright on a hard grounder to first base, Dale Fugate making a good play on the ball and beating Scott to the bag.
Ralph Villela had one of the best innings by a B League shortstop this season in the bottom of the third. He made a terrific play on a grounder to his backhand and threw out George Romo to open the frame. Terry Thompson singled and scored on Jeff Fisher’s double to right field, but Jeff was cut down 9-6-5 trying to stretch the hit into a triple, Paul Rubin throwing to Ralph, who relayed to Scott Wright for the out at third. Joe Bernal singled to left. Steve Sandall followed with a double to right-center, but another relay from Paul to Ralph resulted in Joe out trying to score, 9-6-2, catcher Trey Wall on the receiving end of Ralph’s second strong relay (and third assist) of the inning. Blue was 4 for 5 with six total bases in the frame, but came away with just one run and still trailed, 7-6.
Green added three runs in the top of the fourth. Ralph Villela and Mike Hill knocked back-to-back doubles to start the inning, Ralph scoring. Paul Rubin walked. Mike Garrison singled to left center, but it was Blue’s turn to make an excellent relay play, Mike out at home 7-6-2, Terry Thompson to David Brown to Lucky Hofman. (Just to mention my photographic fail: David’s mom, who is delightful, was in attendance, but I totally did not take a picture.) Jack Crosley followed with a triple to center field that drove in Paul and Mike, but was stranded when Joe Bernal retired Tommy Deleon (grounder back to the box) and Daniel Baladez (line drive to left-center).
Ralph Villela doubles to start the top of the fourth. From left: Adam Reddell umpires; Lucky Hofman catches; Ralph hits; Tom Kelm looks on. At extreme left, off camera, was David Brown’s mom. Photo credit: Scott Sovereen.
Blue rallied in the bottom of the fourth, scoring five times to reclaim the lead, 11-10. Tommy Deleon retired the first two batters, but couldn’t get the third out, allowing four singles to the top of the lineup, two runs scoring; walking Terry Thompson to load the bases; and then giving up a two-run single to Jeff Fisher and an RBI single to Joe Bernal.
Green matched that in the top of the fifth. The visitors loaded the bases on a single by Trey Wall (completing a 3-for-3 day), a walk to Donnie Janac, and a single by Scott Wright. Ralph Villela grounded to third baseman George Romo, who threw home for the force there, but that was the only out Blue was able to record, as Mike Hill singled home Donnie, Paul Rubin singled home Scott and Ralph, and Mike Garrison doubled home Mike Hill and Paul.
Those turned out to be the final runs scored in the game. Tommy Deleon worked a scoreless bottom of the fifth, retiring Steve Sandall on a grounder to third baseman Scott Wright and Dale Fugate on a fly to left, Mike Garrison making a good running catch. Lucky Hofman singled, but Ralph Villela ranged to his left to field Pat Scott’s grounder up the middle, and flipped to second baseman Mike Hill for the inning-ending force.
Green led by four entering the buffet, and did not add to its lead, Joe Bernal retiring the side in order in the top half. Blue had the heart of its order due in the home half, and David Brown led off with a single down the third-base line. Ralph Villela made yet another fine play on George Brindley’s grounder – I think Ralph again moved to his left – getting the force at second for the first out. Tommy Deleon froze George Romo with a two-strike pitch that was right at the 12-foot limit; it landed squarely on the mat for called strike three, out number two. Jeff Fisher then popped a ball into short right field: moving back and to his left, Mike Hill ran the ball down and caught it for the final out. Final score: Green 15, Blue 11, Green recording its first victory of the 2024 season.
11:30 a.m., Red (2-0) at Maroon (1-1):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Red 5 5 4 0 10 24 Maroon 5 4 4 2 4 19 Pitchers: Red – Donald Drummer; Maroon – Lupe Albrado (innings 1-2) and Chunky Wright (innings 3-end). Mercenaries: Red – Peter Sundquist and Mike Velaney. Umpires: home plate – Trey Wall; bases – Mike Hill. Perfect at the plate: Red – Rick Kahn (4 for 4), Mike Velaney (3 for 3 with a walk), and Morgan Witthoft (3 for 3 with a walk and a double); Maroon – Chunky Wwright (3 for 3).
Easily the highest-scoring game of the day, two hot-hitting teams combining to score 43 runs in five innings while making just 23 outs. Both squads scored five times while making one out in the first, Red on two walks and five singles, Maroon on a walk, six singles, and Jimmy Sneed’s sacrifice fly.
Red reached Lupe Albrado, making his B League debut, for another five in the top of the second, on two walks, five singles, and Eddy Murillo’s sacrifice fly. Lupe had a chance to get out of the inning when Boo Resnick grounded with two out and runners on the corners to second baseman Tom Brownfield, but Tom’s flip to shortstop Jimmy Sneed went over Jimmy’s head, allowing Adam Reddell to score the fifth run. Maroon got four back in the home half, on four singles and Jimmy Sneed’s double.
Both teams scored four times in the third. With Chunky Wright having taken over on the mound for Maroon, Red’s first two runs in the top half scored on Donald Drummer’s triple to left field. Donald scored on Tim Bruton’s speed double to left field. Rick Kahn singled, Tim halting at third. Adam Reddell lined a ball to right-center field that Scott Wright moved in for; the ball initially bounced up out of Scott’s glove, at which point Tim tagged up; Scott was able to catch the ball for the out; but Rick hadn’t thought Scott would get to the ball at all and so took off for second; Scott threw home, way too late to get Tim, but catcher Marvin Krabbenhoft threw back to first baseman Joe Roche to double up Rick and end the inning. (Rick later said it was the dumbest baserunning play of the day, but I’m not sure – there was a lot of competition for that title.) Maroon scored four times in the home half on a walk, three singles, and Anthony Galindo’s double.
Quote of the day, by Tom Brownfield after David Kruse’s Kayla retrieved and slobbered over a foul ball, which was then returned to play: “Chunky, you’re throwing the spitter this time.”
All that scoring ran down the clock, and time ran out in the fourth. Red did not score in the top half, Chunky Wright retiring three batters in a row after allowing a lead-off single to Morgan Witthoft. Maroon scored twice in its half, had a chance for more, but the inning ended with an out on the bases. With one out Tom Brownfield singled and Marvin “The Eye” Krabbenhoft walked. Alvin Gauna fouled off a two-strike pitch for the second out. Lupe Albrado’s single through the 5-6 hole loaded the bases. Chunky Wright lined a single to left field, Tom and Marvin’s pinch-runner scoring, but Joe Roche, running for Lupe, was cut down 7-2-5 trying for third – Rick Kahn threw home, and catcher Mike Velaney made a quick, strong throw to third baseman Adam Reddell to get Joe.
Maroon led by a run entering the buffet. Mercenaries Peter Sundquist and Mike Velaney opened the inning with singles. Donald Drummer hit a hard grounder to shortstop; Jimmy Sneed made a good play moving to his right and threw to third baseman Scott Wright to force out the lead runner. But that turned out to be the last out Maroon would record, as the next ten batters hit safely, nine of those being clean hits to the outfield (eight singles and a double by Morgan Witthoft, who absolutely smoked the ball every time he swung today), one being a grounder just out of reach of second baseman Tom Brownfield. Ten runs scored and there were runners on first and second when the flip-flop was finally called.
Maroon had the top of its order up for the home half, and the first five batters hit safely: singles by Scott Wright and James Chavana, doubles by Anthony Galindo and Jimmy Sneed, then a single by Joe Roche, four runs scoring. Donald Drummer then retired Tom Brownfield on a pop to second baseman Boo Resnick and got Marvin Krabbenhoft to strike out swinging. Alvin Gauna grounded to Boo, who threw to shortstop Tim Bruton for the game-ending force at second. Final score: Red 24, Maroon 19
12:30 p.m., Orange (0-2) at Gray (1-1):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Orange 3 0 3 4 0 3 13 Gray 4 5 1 2 0 2 14 Pitchers: Orange – Spike Davidson; Gray – Jack Kelly. Umpires: home plate – Scott Wright and Jack Spellman; bases – Chunky Wright; scoreboard – Marvin Krabbenhoft. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Jack Kelly (2 for 2 with a walk) and David Kruse (4 for 4 with a double).
Another terrific, hard-fought game. Gray had the better of it early on, winning each of the first two innings. After Orange scored three times in the top of the first on two singles, Larry Fiorentino’s sacrifice fly, and Ray Pilgrim’s double to the fence in left field, Gray put across four in the home half on four singles and a ball that, while technically a single, Frank Delmonte drove to the fence in left-center for a hit that drove in runners from second and first.
Tommy Langa and Larry Shupe singled with two out in the top of the second, but Jack Kelly escaped the jam when David Kruse snagged Doc Hobar’s line drive to David’s right. Gray then increased its lead to 9-3 with five runs, on a one-out double to Mark Dolan and six singles. (Orange recorded a second out in the inning on a 9-6-5 relay, Larry Fiorentino to Rex Horvath to Tommy Langa, catching Mike Mordecai trying to go first to third on Ken Brown’s single to right-center; that delayed but did not prevent the fifth run of the inning.)
Orange clawed back in the middle innings. They scored three runs with two out in the top of the third, the last two coming in on Jimmy Maloy’s double down the left-field line. Gray got one back in the home half, on three singles. Orange scored four times on five consecutive hits with one out in the top of the fourth: Larry Shupe and Doc Hobar singled; both scored on Tony Garcia’s triple to right field; Larry Fiorentino doubled in Tony; and Rex Horvath’s single to left field drove in Larry. The inning ended with David Kruse turning a 6u., 6-3 double play on Ray Pilgrim’s hard grounder to short. Gray scored twice in its half, on three consecutive one-out doubles, by David Kruse, Tommy Gillis, and Gary Coyle.
It was 12-10 Gray heading into the final five-run inning. Neither team scored. Jack Kelly worked around Jim Maloy’s two-out single in the top half. Ivan Buselevic walked and Donnie Janac singled to open the home half, but Tommy Langa fielded Mark Dolan’s grounder down the third-base side and got the force at third for the first out, Doc Hobar (I think) in left-center caught Mike Mordecai’s drive for the second, and Larry Fiorentino in right-center made a terrific catch of Ken Brown’s liner for the third – Larry got a great jump on the ball, came in and caught it at knee level.
Chasing two entering the buffet, Orange got three. Tommy Langa led off with a single. He was forced at second on Larry Shupe’s grounder to third baseman Gary Coyle. Doc Hobar singled to left-center, and Tony Garcia to right field, Larry coming around to score. Jack Kelly got Larry Fiorentino to foul off a two-strike pitch for the second out. Rex Horvath crushed a ball to the gap in left-center for a two-run triple, Doc scoring the tying run and Tony the go-ahead run. Ray Pilgrim squared up on a pitch, but his liner to left-center stayed up and was caught by Tommy Gillis for the third out.
Gray needed one to tie and two to win with the heart of its order due up. David Kruse lined a single to left field. Tommy Gillis lined a double, also to left field, David halting at third. Gary Coyle’s deep fly to left-center scored David easily, tying the score, Tommy taking third on the play. With Don Solberg up, shortstop Rex Horvath and second baseman Larry Shupe swapped positions, perhaps hoping to get Don to change his swing. Don did not change his swing. He pulled a clean line-drive single to right-center that brought in Tommy Gillis with the winning run. Final score: Gray 14, Orange 13
Standings – Session Two:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Red 3 0 1.000 — 63 49 +14 W3
Gray 2 1 .667 1 41 40 + 1 W2
Green 1 1 .500 1.5 28 25 + 3 W1
Purple 1 1 .500 1.5 29 28 + 1 W1
Blue 1 1 .500 1.5 26 29 – 3 L1
Maroon 1 2 .333 2 46 54 – 8 L2
Orange 0 3 .000 3 45 53 – 8 L3
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Red 0-0 3-0 0 0-0 2-0 0-0
Gray 2-0 0-1 1 0-0 0-0 2-1
Green 0-1 1-0 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
Purple 0-1 1-0 0 0-0 0-1 0-0
Blue 1-1 0-0 1 0-0 0-0 1-0
Maroon 1-2 0-0 1 0-0 0-1 1-0
Orange 0-1 0-2 0 0-0 0-0 0-2
2024 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gray Green Maroon Orange Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 0 0 1 1 1 1 4
Gray 1 X 1 0 1 0 1 4
Green 1 0 X 0 0 0 0 1
Maroon 0 2 1 X 0 0 0 3
Orange 0 0 1 0 X 0 1 2
Purple 0 0 1 1 1 X 0 3
Red 0 0 1 1 1 1 X 4
______________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 2 2 5 3 4 2 3 18
Season home run leaders:
Tim Coles – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Tim Bruton – 1
Jack Crosley – 1
Jeff Fisher – 1
Clint Fletcher – 1
Eddie Ortiz – 1
Dave Pittard – 1
Morgan Witthoft – 1
Schedule for Thursday April 18:
10:30 a.m.: Gray (2-1) at Red (3-0), Maroon umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Maroon (1-2) at Green (1-1), Gray umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Blue (1-1) at Purple (1-1), Green umpiring
Orange has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Gray (all three Session Two games decided by one run) and Red (two flip-flop victories and a +14 run differential) battle for first place at 10:30, the day’s marquee match-up. At 11:30, Maroon (second-best offense, but the worst run prevention) will try to get back on track against a suddenly relevant Green team (best run prevention). The day’s pick-’em match is middle-of-the-pack Blue and Purple at 12:30. With Green looking sharp under Trey Wall, is manager Jeff Broussard on the hot seat? Only one thing is certain: Time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Came across this in the latest SSUSA newsletter concerning longtime B Leaguer Ron Perkins:
SSUSA’s Texas UIC, Ron Perkins, Inducted in Texas Hall of Fame
By Nic Francois
Softball News Report
Ron Perkins, 70, of Katy, Texas, Senior Softball USA’s new Texas Umpire In Chief, was inducted into the Texas Senior Softball Hall of Fame on March 22, as part of the 2024 class.
Ron was inducted as an umpire, but has worked as a well-known director and player with SSUSA, playing since 2007. “My player credentials were acknowledged, I have enough points to be inducted as a player but I was officially inducted in the umpire category,” said Ron.
“Such a small percentage of people play softball and there is an even smaller percentage of people who play Senior Softball, and I am proud to be a member of the softball world,” stated Ron during his acceptance speech.
“This is a dream come true, and I am very grateful to the Hall of Fame Committee for selecting me,” added Ron about that night.
Upcoming B League musicians’ performances:
Mike Mordecai, who appeared with 10,000 Maniacs at the Moody Center on April 10 – unfortunately, I missed getting that in here – has a weekly gig Mondays, 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., at the Elephant Room: https://elephantroom.com/calendar
Boo Resnick’s band, Hotcakes, will be playing Donn’s Depot on Saturday April 20.
Lost: George Brindley’s Melee bat, which has his name on it. Let George know if you have it.
Found: This very nice water bottle, left behind in the home dugout:
I left it in the league cart.