B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 8, Issue 12 – April 16, 2026
Games of Thursday April 16:
10:30 a.m.: Gray(2-2) at Red (0-3):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Gray 4 4 5 0 3 16 Red 4 3 5 0 1 13 Pitchers: Gray – Jack Kelly (innings 1-3) and Luis Sanchez (innings 4-5). Mercenary: Gray – Peter Atkins. Umpires: home – Jeff Stone and Scott Wright; bases – Steve Browne and Dave Berra. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Clint Fletcher (3 for 3 with a walk, a double, and a triple) and Bobby Miller (4 for 4 with a home run); Red – Mark Dolan (4 for 4 with two doubles) and Tommy Gillis (3 for 3). Home runs: Tim Coles (over the fence) (1) and Bobby Miller (inside the park) (1).
Weather report: 77 degrees, felt like 77; 72% humidity, though it felt stickier than that; wind SSE at 9 MPH; partly cloudy.
Terrific game, both teams coming through with a bunch of clutch hits in the early going. Both scored four times in the first inning, Gray on consecutive walks drawn by Clint Fletcher and Paul Rubin to open the game, then four singles. Red responded with long hits in the home half: Ralph Villela and Mark Dolan hit back-to-back doubles to right field to start the frame, Ralph scoring; after Mark moved up to third on Anthony Galindo’s fly to Bobby Miller in left-center, Tim Coles came up and absolutely crushed a Jack Kelly pitch, depositing it over the fence in left-center for the season’s second over-the-fence home run, the first hit at Krieg 2, as the Bingo Card Prophecy foretold:
| B LEAGUE BINGO 2026 | ||||
| B | I | N | G | O |
| Hit for the cycle | Mad beef re: infield fly rule | Triple play | Ken Brown scores from first on single | Walk-off grand slam |
| Jim Aaron home run for last-place team | Acclaim and adoption of Johnny Lee-created nickname | Batter takes a runner from home, runs past the 1B commit line (April 6) | Both teams score 5 runs in each of the first 3 innings | Spellman plays 5 games (C and B) in one day |
| New guy pops a hammy | Double play, second out at home (March 12) | David Brown makes a great defensive play up the middle | 7-inning game | 3-pitch half-inning |
| 3 Ohtani Awards in 1 day | Over-the-fence home run at Krieg 2 (April 16) | Base runner hit by batted ball (March 23) | Don Solberg throws out a runner trying for an extra base | Rick Jensen delivers St. Crispin’s Day speech |
| Line drive hits Jack Kelly, he brushes it off (March 30) | Ralph Villela hits 2 inside-the-park home runs in one game | Team flip-flops opponent but loses game | Inside-the-park home run at Krieg 3 | Shutout |
Oh, and here’s Tim about to knock the snot out of the ball:
Jack retired Rip Wright on a pop to shortstop Paul Rubin, but Red tied the score with a run on three consecutive two-out singles, by Johnny Lee, Tommy Gillis, and Richard Battle.
Gray scored four runs again in the top of the second, on five singles, Clint Fletcher’s double, and Jim Foelker’s sacrifice fly, a liner to Anthony Galindo in right-center. Red responded with three more extra-base hits in the bottom half, doubles by Ralph Villela and Mark Dolan (the second for each of them) and Tim Coles. Tim scored the third run of the inning when Rip Wright’s grounder to third was fielded and thrown past first base.
Both teams scored five times in the third, Gray maintaining its one-run lead. Jack Kelly drew a lead-off walk in the top half, Peter Atkins followed with a double, and Clint Fletcher, Bobby Miller, and Daniel Carvajal singled, three runs scoring. Luis Sanchez drove in the last two with a double to right-center over the outfielders. Red responded with five runs on seven singles in the bottom of the inning, the last three coming with two out, Tim Coles capping the rally by driving in his fifth run of the game. The first out of the inning came when Tim, running for Marvin Krabbenhoft, tried to score from second on Anthony Galindo’s single to left field but was gunned down 7-6-2, Jim Foelker to Paul Rubin to Luis Sanchez.
Through three innings Gray led 13-12, and the game felt very much like a match of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. But the offensive spigot was turned off in the fourth inning. In the top half, Trent Peacock retired Gray in order, on balls in the air – Jim Foelker’s fly to Anthony Galindo in right field, Jim McAnelly’s pop back to the mound that Trent handled, and Mike Velaney’s liner to second baseman Mark Dolan. Luis Sanchez took over on the mound for Gray in the bottom of the inning and just about matched Trent, getting three outs on balls in the air – Rip Wright’s pop to shortstop Paul Rubin; Johnny Lee’s fly to right-center, caught by Jim Foelker, who’d swapped positions with Clint Fletcher; and, after Tommy Gillis’s two-out single through the 5-6 hole, Richard Battle’s pop to third baseman Daniel Carvajal.
Trent got two quick outs to start the buffet, getting Jack Kelly to ground to second baseman Mark Dolan – Johnny Lee made a good play, a bit of a snow cone, on a throw that Mark had to hurry in order to beat runner-from-home Jim Foelker – and Peter Atkins on a fly to deep left-center, Tommy Gillis making a very good catch moving back and to his right. The top of Gray’s order then came through in a big way. Clint Fletcher legged out a pop-fly triple to right-center, completing a perfect day at the plate and three-quarters of a cycle. Paul Rubin drew a walk, his second of the game. Bobby Miller then came up and slashed a line drive to right field, to the fence, for a three-run inside-the-park home run, Bobby’s first of the season. Here he is rounding third base:
It was a huge hit, giving Gray a four-run lead entering the bottom half.
Red got singles from Trent Peacock and Marvin Krabbenhoft to start the bottom of the inning. Ralph Villela squared up on a pitch and drove it to left field, but Clint Fletcher was perfectly positioned to catch the liner for the first out. Mark Dolan singled, completing a 4-for-4 game and loading the bases. Anthony Galindo’s sacrifice fly to Bobby Miller in left-center brought in Trent, but left Red down to its last out. Tim Coles came up, looking for his fourth hit of the game, but it was not to be, as seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Jim Foelker gathered in the fly for the final out, securing Gray’s victory.
Final score: Gray 16, Red 13
11:30 a.m.: Maroon (2-1) at Green (2-2):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 3 5 0 5 5 X 18 Green 3 0 2 0 4 0 9 Pitchers: Maroon – Jeff Stone; Green – Rex Horvath. Mercenary: Maroon – Jack Spellman (entered for Ken Brown in the fourth inning). Umpires: home – Jack Kelly; bases – Clint Fletcher. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Steve Browne and Scott Wright (both 4 for 4), Tony Garcia (4 for 4 with a double), David Pittard (2 for 2 with two walks), and Jack Spellman (1 for 1); Green – Terry O'Brien (4 for 4).
Maroon came out hitting and, except for a dud third inning (a lead-off walk by David Pittard, then Rex Horvath recorded three straight outs), put up crooked numbers and a total of 27 hits in 36 at bats (.750 average, .763 on-base percentage counting David’s two walks). Green held serve in the first inning, matching the three runs Maroon scored in the top half with three of its own on four singles and two walks, but after that Maroon outscored them 15-6, doing so with a succession of singles (just one extra-base hit, a line double to right field by Tony Garcia in the fourth).
Jeff Stone held Green scoreless in the even-numbered innings, retiring the side in order in the second and working around singles by Jim Maloy and Ivan Budiselic in the fourth after allowing two runs on four singles in the third.
Green knocked six singles in the bottom of the fourth, good for four runs, but still trailed by nine, so the teams flip-flopped for the buffet. Jeff got two quick outs to start the inning, gave up singles to Rex Horvath and Terry O’Brien, then got Chunky Wright to ground into a game-ending 5-4 force.
Final score: Maroon 18, Green 9
12:30 p.m.: Blue (3-0) at Purple (0-3):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Blue 0 3 5 5 1 4 18 Purple 2 0 2 5 0 0 9 Pitchers: Blue – Joe Bernal; Purple – Ray Pilgrim. No mercenaries. Umpires: home – Rex Horvath; bases – Mike Garrison. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Joe Bernal (2 for 2 with two walks – Ohtani Award), David Brown (3 for 3 with a walk and a double), and Lawrence Page (4 for 4 with two doubles); Purple – Jimmy Sneed (3 for 3 with two doubles and a triple).
A bit of hope sprang up when Ray Pilgrim held Blue scoreless in the first inning, working around a two-out walk to Joe Bernal, and Purple grabbed the lead with two runs in the home half, its first three batters hitting safely – Peter Sundquist singled, Jimmy Sneed doubled him to third, and they both scored on Mike Malay’s single through the 5-6 hole. But Blue shortstop David Brown fielded grounders from the next two batters, turning a 6u., 6-3 double play on Rick Kahn’s and throwing out Ray Pilgrim 6-3. Blue then took the lead with three runs in the top of the second, all scored with two out after Lawrence Page’s grounder to shortstop Jimmy Sneed took a wicked hop over Jimmy’s glove and became an RBI single instead of the third out. Donnie Janac and Ken Mockler followed with run-scoring hits, and just like that Blue was in the lead, one they never relinquished.
Joe Bernal blanked Purple in the bottom of the second, stranding Phil Stanch and Joe Roche after they singled with two out. Blue then decisively won the third inning, scoring five runs on two walks (the second each drawn by Joe Bernal and Larry Young), three singles, and Tom Bellavia’s double, all without making an out. Joe then held Purple to two runs in the bottom half: Jimmy Sneed tripled, and Rick Kahn, Ray Pilgrim, and Billy Hill knocked two-out singles, Jimmy and Rick scoring.
Both teams scored five runs in the fourth inning, Blue on doubles by Lawrence Page (leading off ) and George Romo, and five singles, the last three coming with two out. Purple responded with five runs on a lead-off triple by Phil Stanch, four singles, and Jimmy Sneed’s double, his third extra-base hit in as many at bats.
With Blue leading 13-9 entering the final five-run inning, Purple got two good defensive plays to keep them from putting the game out of reach. Blue had one run in, as Daniel Baladez led off with a single and his pinch-runner, Tom Bellavia, scored from first on Lawrence Page’s second double in as many at bats, a hard grounder down the right side. Peter Sundquist made a very good catch coming in of Donnie Janac’s sinking liner to left-center for the first out. Ken Mockler singled to right-center, Lawrence halting at third. George Romo hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Jimmy Sneed, who tossed to Mike Malay at second for the force there; Mike saw Lawrence breaking for home and threw to catcher Billy Hill to complete a very fine 6-4-2 double play to end the inning.
Purple wasn’t able to take advantage, however, as Joe Bernal retired the side in order in the bottom half. The second out of the inning was the fan-favorite defensive play of the day. Ray Pilgrim crossed up the scouting report by driving a pitch to right field, a ball that looked like extra bases off the bat. But right fielder Daniel Baladez got a good jump on the ball, raced back and to his right, and ran the ball down, to the delight of all looking on. This AI rendering does not do the play justice…
…though it does nicely capture the crew and mascot of Artemis II making an appearance at Krieg 2.
Blue led 14-9 entering the buffet. Joe Bernal (completing a perfect day at the plate) and Tom Bellavia singled to open the inning. Larry Young hit a sharp grounder down the first-base side that Joe Roche made a nice play on, firing to second for the force there – Jimmy Sneed made a good, clean short-hop catch for the putout. Chris Waddell singled in Joe, and David Brown, completing a perfect day at the plate, lined a single to right field, Larry’s pinch-runner George Romo scoring. Daniel Baladez grounded out to third baseman Rick Jensen. Lawrence Page knocked his fourth hit of the game, a single that brought in both Chris and David.
That made the score 18-9, enough for a flip-flop, but plate umpire Rex Horvath reasonably decided that, with two out, Donnie Janac should get a fourth at bat. Ray Pilgrim got him to pop out to shortstop to end the inning.
Rick Jensen started the bottom of the buffet with a line single to right-center, but Joe Bernal got both Phil Stanch and Joe Roche to ground into force plays. Patrick Schmidt’s pop to the no-man’s-land between the pitcher’s mound and third base fell in for a single. Peter Sundquist singled to left-center. Joe Roche tried for home on the hit, but was thrown out 8-6-2, Tom Bellavia to David Brown to Chris Waddell, for the final out.
Final score: Blue 18, Purple 9, Blue extending its winning streak to eight games.
Joe Bernal earned his league-leading fourth Ohtani Award of the season, going 2 for 2 with a pair of walks while pitching Blue to victory. He received his award from the great sushi chef Yasumitsu Watanuki, with the equally great Diane Brown looking on.
2026 standings:
| Session 2 standings: | ||||||||
| Games | Runs | Runs | Runs dif- | W/L | ||||
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Blue | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 56 | 32 | 24 | W8 |
| Maroon | 3 | 1 | .750 | 1 | 54 | 33 | 21 | W2 |
| Orange | 3 | 1 | .750 | 1 | 49 | 36 | 13 | W1 |
| Gray | 3 | 2 | .600 | 1.5 | 63 | 78 | -15 | W1 |
| Green | 2 | 3 | .400 | 2.5 | 65 | 63 | 2 | L2 |
| Red | 0 | 4 | .000 | 4 | 41 | 60 | -19 | L4 |
| Purple | 0 | 4 | .000 | 4 | 40 | 66 | -26 | L4 |
| Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | |||
| W-L: | W-L: | wins | W-L: | W-L: | W-L: | |||
| Blue | 2-0 | 2-0 | 0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | ||
| Maroon | 2-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | ||
| Orange | 2-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | ||
| Gray | 1-2 | 2-0 | 1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-0 | ||
| Green | 1-1 | 1-2 | 0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 0-2 | ||
| Red | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | ||
| Purple | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | ||
2026 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| Gray | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| Maroon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| Orange | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| Purple | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Red | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| TOTAL: | 1 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 36 |
2026 season home run leaders:
Tony Garcia – 2
Mike Garrison – 2
Richard Battle – 1
Joe Bernal – 1
Tim Coles – 1
Mark Dolan – 1
Rick Kahn – 1
Bobby Miller – 1
Allen Phillips – 1
George Romo – 1
Paul Rubin – 1
Luis Sanchez – 1
Ralph Villela – 1
Ohtani Awards (winning pitcher + perfect at the plate):
Joe Bernal: 4 (March 2, March 19, March 30, April 16)
Ray Pilgrim: 3 (March 5, March 23, March 26)
Tommy Deleon: 1 (April 6)
Rex Horvath: 1 (March 30)
Lawrence Page: 1 (March 26)
Trent Peacock: 1 (March 9)
Jeff Stone: 1 (March 2)
Schedule for Monday April 20:
10:30 a.m.: Maroon (3-1) at Orange (3-1), Blue umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Blue (4-0) at Red (0-4), Maroon umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Purple (0-4) at Green (2-3), Red umpiring
Gray has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: The second place teams, Maroon and Orange, square off at 10:30, one of them to stay within a game of first, or perhaps tying for the session lead if Red makes use of its home-field advantage and knock off Blue at 11:30. Purple will try to notch its first win of the session at 12:30 versus Green. Each of the day’s match-ups are teams meeting for just the second time this season. Purple won the first time it played Green. Blue defeated Red in their first meeting, and Maroon came out on top the first time they played Orange. Will Blue run the table in Session Two? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Reminder that Boo Resnick and Hotcakes will be playing at Donn’s Depot on this coming Saturday April 18 from 9:00 p.m. (-ish) to 1:00 a.m. (-ish).
And Johnny Lee and Arctic Blues Band will be at Lighthouse on the Lake, 513 Sleat Drive in Briarcliff, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Saturday April 25.
Podcast review: Battleground
Military historians Patrick Bishop, Saul David, and Roger Moorhouse provide weekly updates on the war in Ukraine – particularly welcome since the BBC cravenly ended its excellent Ukrainecast podcast – and also do deep dives into the history of a number of conflicts of the past century, including the Falklands war; Battleground ’44 and ’45, on the 80th anniversaries of the concluding battles of World War II; Wolfpack, about World War II in the Atlantic; Battleground Korea; Hero or Villain, a look at major figures of WW2 (spoiler alert: all the Brits are heroes, all the Germans are villains; the hosts are all Brits, unapologetically); and Special Forces. I listen at regular speed, and enjoy this coverage very much. They’re very clear-eyed and incisive about the Ukraine War, while very much rooting for the Ukrainians. New England content: Incidental and minimal. Canadian content: Brief mention during the D-Day episode, could have done more.
Rating: 