B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 6, Issue 50 – October 7, 2024
We returned to Krieg field 2, the water leak fixed. The scoreboards are still out of commission throughout the complex, and the field 3 infield is still hard as concrete.
Games of Monday October 7:
10:30 a.m., Maroon (4-4) at Blue (6-1):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 1 1 0 0 5 7 13 Blue 5 3 5 4 X X 17 Pitchers: Maroon – Chunky Wright; Blue – Tommy Deleon. Mercenaries: Maroon – Paul Rubin, Chris Waddell, Morgan Witthoft, and Rip Wright; Blue – Hal Darman, Tommy Deleon, Bobby Miller, and Eddy Murillo. Umpires: home – Donald Drummer; bases – Mike Malay and Tim Bruton. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Marvin Krabbenhoft (2 for 2 with a walk), Chris Waddell (3 for 3 with a double), and Morgan Witthoft (3 for 3); Blue – Richard Battle and Eddy Murillo (both 3 for 3), Bobby Miller (3 for 3 with a double), and Pat Scott (4 for 4 with a double).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 84 degrees (Heat Index 85), 47% humidity, wind from the north at 5 MPH, clear blue sky.
Don’t be fooled by the final score, this was a Blue blowout of epic proportions, as they built a 17-2 lead before letting their foot off the accelerator for the final five-run inning and the buffet, for which the teams flip-flopped. Five Blue batters were perfect at the plate (would have been five, but Tommy Deleon’s third at bat, in which he singled for about the 50th time in a row to right field, resulted in a 10-6 force out at second), only two Blue batters made more than one out, and the team scored 17 of a possible 20 runs over the first four frames. Lead-off batter Pat Scott hit safely and scored in each of the four times he came to bat.
Tommy Deleon pitched for Blue and was excellent, holding Maroon to just six hits and two runs over the first four innings. A double by Tom Bellavia set up Buddy Gaswint’s sacrifice fly in the first inning, and Chris Waddell drove in Paul Rubin with a double in the second. Tommy retired the side in order in the third, on three balls hit to second baseman George Brindley, the first two on the ground, the third a pop. Buddy Gaswint led off the third with a single but was erased on a 6u., 6-3 double play by George Romo, who played a very solid game at shortstop for Blue, accumulating six assists and two putouts.
In pretty much a textbook example of too little, too late, Maroon finally got untracked in the fifth inning, scoring five runs on seven singles and Tom Bellavia’s sacrifice fly. Blue still led by ten, and the teams flip-flopped for the buffet. Maroon scored seven more runs, on eight singles and Marvin Krabbenhoft’s walk, before running out of outs. Final score: Blue 17, Maroon 13
11:30 a.m., Red (3-5) at Gray (4-4):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Red 5 3 5 3 X 16 Gray 1 3 0 1 0 5 Pitchers: Red – Donald Drummer; Gray – Jack Kelly. Mercenaries: Red – Richard Battle; Gray – Daniel Baladez, Rick Jensen, and Jack Spellman. Umpires: home – Rex Horvath and Mike Velaney; bases – Pat Scott. Perfect at the plate: Red – Richard Battle and Denny Malloy (both 3 for 3), Tim Bruton (4 for 4 with two doubles), and Bobby Miller (4 for 4 with three doubles); Gray – David Kruse (2 for 2 with a walk).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 88 degrees (Heat Index 89), humidity 39%, wind NNE 8 MPH, hazy blue sky.
Not quite as bad a blowout as the first game of the day, but Gray didn’t win an inning and the game wound up flip-flopping when Gray couldn’t get to within ten runs in the final five-run inning. Red jumped off to a quick lead as its first five batters hit safely and scored in the top of the first inning, Tim Bruton and Morgan Witthoft knocking doubles. Gray shortstop David Kruse made a nice play to grab Mike Malay’s liner to his backhand about two inches off the ground and had a chance to double up Eddy Murillo’s pinch-runner at second, but there was no room to throw through to second baseman Rick Jensen, the toss caroming off the runner and the runners advancing. Singles by Hal Darman and Donald Drummer completed the rally.
Gray got one run back in the bottom half, David Kruse drawing a lead-off walk and coming around on singles by Johnny Lee and Mike Malay.
Both teams scored three times in the second. Gray got a lucky break in the top half: Red’s first seven batters hit safely, Bobby Miller and Tim Bruton ripping doubles, but the seventh hit was a one-hop smash up the middle by Mike Malay, literally moments after Mike warned Eddy Murillo to be alert for a hit up the middle, that hit Eddy Murillo, running from second, in the small of his back. (Eddy claimed he was on the bag when he was hit, but I and, more to the point, base umpire Mike Velaney saw clearly that he jumped (impressive height, to be honest) trying to avoid the ball and was in the air when it hit him. Eddy was out, the bases were loaded with three runs in, and Jack Kelly escaped the inning by getting Tommy Langa to hit into a 6u., 6-3 double play. Jack then led off the home half by drawing a walk. Jack Spellman singled. Donald Drummer retired Rick Jensen on a liner to shortstop Tim Bruton and Daniel Baladez on a grounder to first baseman Mike Malay, but the top of the Gray order – David Kruse, Tommy Gillis, and Johnny Lee – came through with singles to get the three runs across.
Red extended its lead to nine runs in the third inning, scoring five times on six singles and Bobby Miller’s double in the top half, Donald Drummer retiring Gray in order in the bottom. Red then added three more runs in the fourth on five singles and yet another double by Bobby Miller. (Bobby, Tim Bruton, and Morgan Witthoft, Red’s 1-3 hitters, went a combined 11 for 12 with six doubles, scoring six runs and driving in ten.) Gray got just one back in the home half, on three consecutive one-out singles, and trailed by 11 heading into the buffet.
The teams flip-flopped. Mike Malay singled with one out, but that was the only runner Donald Drummer allowed, getting three ground-ball outs to end the game. Final score: Red 16, Gray 5
12:30 p.m., Purple (3-4) at Orange (3-5):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Purple 2 5 0 3 1 11 Orange 2 5 5 2 X 14 Pitchers: Purple – Donald Drummer; Orange – Jack Kelly. Mercenaries: Purple – Donald Drummer, Jeff Fisher (entered in place of Gregory Bied in the fourth), Johnny Lee, and Mike Malay; Orange – Tommy Gillis and Jack Kelly. Umpires: home – Jack Spellman; bases – Mike Mordecai. Perfect at the plate: Purple – Gregory Bied (2 for 2 with a home run) and Rick Jensen (3 for 3); Orange – Peter Atkins (3 for 3 with two doubles) and Rex Horvath (3 for 3 with a double and a triple). Home run: Gregory Bied (inside the park) (3).
A relatively competitive game, tied through the top of the third. Both teams scored twice in the first, Purple getting a double from Clint Fletcher and an inside-the-park home run by Gregory Bied to start the game. Gregory’s round-tripper was a drive to center that gapped the outfielders and rolled to the fence.
Here’s a three-year-old file photo of Gregory Bied. I mention this just to cheese off Fritz Hensel, already disgruntled over Gregory’s youth, foot speed, and full head of dark hair. Guess what, Fritz? Gregory isn’t aging! Also he hit an inside-the-park home run today, his third of the season. Separately, I apologize for the lack of new photos today – I played in the first two games, umpired the third, didn’t have a chance.
Orange got the runs back in the home half. Doc Hobar drew a one-out walk and scored from first on Peter Atkins’ double to right field. Rex Horvath hit a very high pop behind third base that fell in safely when Rick Jensen was blinded by the high sun. Peter held at second on the play, then advanced on Jim Maloy’s bases-loading single on a looper in front of shortstop that eluded capture. Matt Levitt grounded to shortstop Rex Horvath; with no chance for a double play, Rex took the sure out at third, Peter scoring on the play.
Both teams scored five runs on six hits while making one out in the second, all the hits singles except for Rex Horvath’s drive to left in the bottom half that drove in Orange’s third, fourth, and fifth runs – I’m calling that a double.
Orange took control of the game in the third. Purple did not score in the top half, Jack Kelly working around Rick Jensen’s lead-off single. Orange then scored five times. Donald Drummer got Jim Maloy to swing through a two-strike pitch to start the frame, but the next six batters reached base: Matt Levitt walked and Larry Shupe singled, and both scored on Dave Berra’s double to center field; Tommy Gillis, Jack Kelly, and Fritz Hensel all singled, Dave’s pinch-runner and Tommy scoring. Donald got Doc Hobar to hit a foul pop that catcher Mark Hernandez grabbed for the second out, but Peter Atkins hammered a double to center field to bring in Jack’s pinch-runner with the fifth run.
Purple cut Orange’s lead to two runs by scoring three times in the top of the fourth on six singles, the last three coming with two out. The second out was a grounder to shortstop Rex Horvath off the bat of Jeff Fisher, who’d been called in from the Beer Garden to take over for Gregory Bied, who left the game due to a leg injury of some kind, I’m not sure what. Rex threw to third for the force there. Daniel Carvajal hit a pop fly that fell in front of left fielder Matt Levitt for a hit, Clint Fletcher scoring. Rick Jensen hit a sharp grounder down the third-base side that caromed off Peter Atkins’ shin, loading the bases. And Rip Wright hit a one-hopper back to the box that caromed off Jack Kelly, Jeff scoring.
The inning ended, as had the top of the first and the top of the third, with a grounder to second baseman Larry Shupe. In each instance, Larry probably had an easier play for a force at second, but elected to throw to first baseman Dave Berra. In the first inning, Dave kept the low throw in front of him and managed to get control of the ball before Mark Hernandez reached the base. In the third, Larry’s throw drew Dave off the bag, but he made a nice sweep tag of Larry Young. And in the fourth Larry knocked the grounder down, kept it in front of him, and finally got a throw off to Dave that beat Mark, again, by a step. No points for style, but Larry got the outs.
Orange scored twice in the bottom of the fourth. Rex Horvath led off with a high fly that Clint Fletcher almost caught after coming in hard from deep left field, only to have it glance off his glove; Rex wound up with a triple, and immediately scored on Jim Maloy’s single to right field. Matt Levitt walked again. Donald Drummer retired the next two hitters, but Tommy Gillis delivered a clutch two-out single to left field to bring in Jim.
Purple was chasing four runs in the top of the buffet. Its first three hitters reached base, Larry Young drawing a walk and Donald Drummer and Mike Malay hitting singles through the left side, Larry’s pinch-runner coming around to score. Johnny Lee hit a hard one-hopper up the middle that Jack Kelly made a very good play on, and then took his time to make a good throw to shortstop Rex Horvath covering second; Rex had time to make a strong throw to first to complete the 1-6-3 double play. Jack then got Clint Fletcher to hit a fly pretty deep to left field, right to well-positioned Matt Levitt, who squeezed it for the final out. Final score: Orange 14, Purple 11, Purple snapping its five-game losing streak.
Standings – Session Four:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Blue 7 1 .875 — 110 82 +28 W6
Green 4 4 .500 3 114 103 +11 W2
Maroon 4 5 .444 3.5 116 111 + 5 L5
Orange 4 5 .444 3.5 113 121 – 8 W1
Gray 4 5 .444 3.5 119 130 -11 L1
Red 4 5 .444 3.5 123 134 -11 W1
Purple 3 5 .375 4 90 104 -14 L1
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Blue 5-0 2-1 1 0-0 3-0 1-0
Green 2-2 2-2 1 0-0 1-2 1-2
Maroon 2-2 2-3 1 0-0 2-2 1-2
Orange 2-3 2-2 0 0-1 1-2 1-2
Gray 3-2 1-3 1 0-0 2-1 2-0
Red 0-4 4-1 0 1-0 2-3 1-1
Purple 1-2 2-3 0 0-0 1-2 0-0
2024 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gray Green Maroon Orange Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 4 2 5 5 3 4 23
Gray 4 X 4 4 5 0 5 22
Green 3 2 X 5 3 5 5 23
Maroon 2 3 4 X 5 1 3 18
Orange 1 3 3 2 X 5 3 17
Purple 4 3 3 6 3 X 2 21
Red 4 3 3 2 5 4 X 21
_______________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 18 18 19 24 26 18 22 145
Season home run leaders:
Tim Coles – 6
David Kruse – 6
Ken Brown – 4
Gregory Bied – 3
Tim Bruton – 3
Peter Atkins – 2
George Brindley – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Clint Fletcher – 2
Doc Hobar – 2
Gary Kubenka – 2
Paul Rubin – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Ralph Villela – 2
David Brown – 1
Jack Crosley – 1
Jeff Fisher – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Tommy Gillis – 1
Rex Horvath – 1
Rick Kahn – 1
Denny Malloy – 1
Bobby Miller – 1
Eddie Ortiz -1
David Pittard – 1
Joe Roche – 1
Morgan Witthoft – 1
Schedule for Thursday October 10:
10:30 a.m.: Orange (4-5) at Maroon (4-5), Green umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Green (4-4) at Purple (3-5), Maroon umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Blue (7-1) at Red (4-5), Purple umpiring
Gray has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: We’re halfway through the final session of 2024, and Blue has taken control, now leading Green, the only other team that is not below .500, by three games. Red, coming off an 11-run victory over Gray, will try to put an end to Blue’s winning streak, now at six games, in the 12:30 game. Orange and Maroon, two of the four teams who are 4-5 so far in the session, will play at 10:30. Green can solidify its hold on second place with a win over Purple at 11:30. Will Jeff Broussard emerge from his period of mourning for his beloved Astros? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.