B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 6, Issue 7 – April 4, 2024
Weather: A spectacularly beautiful day today: 65 degrees with 50% humidity at the start of the 10:30 game, temperature rising to the upper 70s over the course of play while the humidity dropped to 32%, and nothing but sun and blue skies. Remember this one when we’re wilting in August.
Games of Thursday April 4:
10:30 a.m., Purple (0-1) at Maroon (1-0):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Purple 5 0 0 5 5 2 17 Maroon 1 5 3 1 0 3 13 Pitchers: Purple – Tom Kelm; Maroon – Chunky Wright. Mercenary: Maroon – Ivan Budiselich (new player). Umpires: home plate – Trey Wall and Jack McDermott; bases – Mike Garrison and Mike Hill. Perfect at the plate: Purple – Clint Fletcher (4 for 4 with two doubles and a triple) and Tom Kelm (3 for 3); Maroon – Marvin Krabbenhoft (3 for 3 with a walk).
Purple came hot out of the gate, scoring five times in the top of the first on six hits, including doubles torched by Clint Fletcher, Daniel Carvajal, and Tim Coles. Maroon got one back on three singles in the home half, then Chunky Wright blanked Purple in the second, working around Clint Fletcher’s two-out triple – Alvin Gauna in right field made an excellent play on Gregory Bied’s liner for the third out. Maroon then took the lead with five runs in the bottom of the frame, on three walks and six singles. It looked like the fifth run had scored when new guy Ivan Budiselich (who’d walked in his first B League plate appearance) came in on Anthony Galindo’s single, but all our collective pre-game instructions to Ivan concerning B League’s arcane running rules had failed to include the proviso that you run home to the chalk line, not home plate. Following the letter of the law, Ivan was ruled out, but it made no difference, as Jimmy Sneed’s single brought in Scott Wright with the fifth run.
Chunky held Purple scoreless again in the third, after allowing a lead-off single to Daniel Carvajal. (Jack Spellman dove for and snagged Daniel’s grounder up the middle, but had no chance of throwing him out as Daniel hustled to first.) Anthony Galindo hauled in Tim Coles’ drive to deep center field for the first out, and Rick Jensen grounded into a 6u., 6-3 double play, Jack Spellman to Ivan Budiselich. Maroon then scored three runs on five singles (including Ivan Budiselich’s first hit) in the bottom of the frame, extending its lead to 9-5. The inning ended with Rick Jensen making a nice grab to his backhand of Jack Spellman’s line drive – ominously, Maroon left two runners stranded.
Purple seized control of the game by scoring five times in both the fourth (on five singles, Larry Young’s sacrifice fly to left-center, and Clint Fletcher’s double) and fifth innings (eight clean singles in the fifth). (There was a bang-bang play at home on Jim Foelker trying to score on Peter Sundquist’s hit in the fourth – Jack Spellman waited a moment to relay home, to see whether Jim would run through the commit line; he did, and I made a strong (for me) throw to catcher Marvin Krabbenhoft, but Jim was ruled safe. An out call likely wouldn’t have changed the result of either the inning or the game.) Maroon managed just a single run on three singles in the bottom of the fourth, stranding two more runners, and was scoreless in the fifth, that inning ending with first baseman Daniel Carvajal turning an unassisted double play on Scott Wright’s grounder.
Leading 15-10 entering the buffet, Purple added a couple more runs on four singles, but another fine catch by Alvin Gauna in right field, on Mike Velaney’s liner, prevented further damage. That left Maroon chasing seven. Jack Spellman led off with a rinky-dink, multiple-hop ground-ball single just past the reach of shortstop Rick Jensen. Alvin Gauna flied out to left-center. Jimmy Sneed walked. James Chavana lined a single to left, Spellman scoring. Tom Brownfield doubled, Jimmy scoring. Marvin Krabbenhoft completed a perfect day at the plate with a base hit, James scoring. That cut Purple’s lead to 17-13, and when Alvin Gauna walked, the potential tying run came to the plate. But Tom Kelm made a good play on Chunky Wright’s bouncer back to the box, throwing home for the force there, for the second out, then got Ivan Budiselich to foul off a two-strike pitch for the final out. Final score: Purple 17, Maroon 13
Adam Reddell (archive photo, left) and Scott Wright (Alaric the Visigoth, right, I couldn’t find anything more recent) were the winners of the lottery for HEB gift cards for umpiring in Session 1. Thanks to our anonymous patron for donating the cards!
11:30 a.m., Green (0-0) at Gray (0-1):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Green 2 1 0 5 5 0 13 Gray 4 3 2 5 0 X 14 Pitchers: Green – Tommy Deleon; Gray – Jack Kelly. Mercenary: Gray – Tom Langa (new player). Umpires: home plate – Tom Kelm; bases – Clint Fletcher. Perfect at the plate: Green – Dave Pittard (4 for 4) and Ralph Villela (4 for 4 with two doubles); Gray – Ken Brown (2 for 2 with a walk), David Kruse (3 for 3), and Tom Langa (2 for 2).
Gray took command in the early innings, winning each of the first three. After Green scored two in the top of the first on Ralph Villela’s lead-off double and singles by Jack McDermott, Mike Garrison, and Dave Pittard, Gray’s first six hitters hit safely in the home half, four scoring. Gary Coyle tried to score from first on Don Solberg’s hit, when the relay home was mishandled, but catcher Trey Wall retrieved the ball and made it to the mat before Gary could reach the home line. Don took second on the play, then advanced to third on Jack Kelly’s single to right field. Green got out of the jam thanks to an only-in-B-League double play: Frank Delmonte grounded to shortstop Ralph Villela, who threw to second to force out Jack’s pinch-runner; the relay by second baseman Mike Hill got past first baseman Jack Crosley, but David Kruse, running from home for Frank, was called out for trying to advance past first. At least, I think that’s what happened.
Green got a run on three singles in the top of the second, Gray three runs on five singles and a walk to Ken Brown in the bottom half. Tommy Deleon struck out two batters that inning, catching Donnie Janac looking at a called strike three on a ball that, from my view in the third-base-side bleachers, looked like it was about 20 feet high, then getting Gary Coyle swinging.
Jack Kelly worked a scoreless top of the third. Tommy Gillis came charging in to make an excellent catch of Mike Garrison’s sinking liner for the second out. Dave Pittard and Tommy Deleon then knocked singles, but Jack Crosley’s liner to right hung up long enough for Ken Brown (I think) to make a nice running catch on.
Gray scored two in the bottom of the third. Paul Rubin just missed catching Donnie Janac’s drive to left field, which went for a double, Don Solberg scoring after he’d led off the inning with a single. Donnie then scored on Johnny Lee’s single up the middle.
Green bats came alive in the top of the fourth, five runs scoring on six singles and Mike Hill’s sacrifice fly. Gray matched that without making an out in the home half, on five singles and Don Solberg’s hit, technically also a single, though it drove in Gary Coyle from first so that Don didn’t need to take an extra base.
That made the score 14-8. Green then strung together eight consecutive hits to score five times in the top of the fifth, the final five-run innings: three singles to load the bases, a triple by Trey Wall, a double by Ralph Villela (his fourth hit in as many at bats), and then three more singles, two of which didn’t get out of the infield.
Tommy Deleon worked a scoreless bottom half, so it was a one-run game entering the buffet. Mike Garrison led off for Green and grounded out to shortstop David Kruse. Dave Pittard singled to right field, his fourth hit in as many at bats. Tommy Deleon lofted a fly to right field that Tommy Langa caught for out number two. Jack Crosley got under a pitch and popped it to first baseman Johnny Lee, who squeezed it for the final out. Final score: Gray 14, Green 13
12:30 p.m., Red (1-0) at Orange (0-1):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Red 3 0 5 5 0 11 24 Orange 1 5 2 5 4 1 18 Pitchers: Red – Eddy Murillo; Orange – Spike Davidson. Mercenaries: Orange – George Brindley, David Brown, Anthony Galindo, Pat Scott, and Peter Sundquist. Umpires: home plate – Jack Kelly; bases – Tommy Langa. Perfect at the plate: Red – Adam Reddell (5 for 5 with two doubles); Orange – Anthony Galindo (3 for 3 with two triples), Doc Hobar (4 for 4), and Pat Scott (3 for 3 with a walk). Home run: Morgan Witthoft (over the fence)
A hard-fought game, tied through four innings and ending with two big lead changes. Red jumped on top with three runs on four singles in the fourth, then held Orange to one run on three singles in the bottom half, Eddy Murillo benefitting from a couple of fine defensive plays. After Doc Hobar led off with a single, Tony Garcia lined a ball down the right side, but was robbed of a hit by first baseman Terry Walker, who made a pretty backhanded grab. Doc advanced on Eddie Ortiz’s single to left, then scored on Fritz Hensel’s single to center. David Brown drove a ball to right-center, but Morgan Witthoft was able to reach it – the ball actually popped out of Morgan’s mitt, but he corralled it before it could hit the ground, ending the inning.
Spike Davidson held Red scoreless in the second, working around Donald Drummer’s two-out single, and Orange took the lead with five runs in the home half, the rally sparked by the mercenaries: Pat Scott walked, Peter Sunquist singled through shortstop and wound up at second while Pat took third, and they both scored on Anthony Galindo’s single to left field. Doc Hobar and Tony Garcia also singled, Anthony scoring, and then Eddie Ortiz doubled home Doc and Tony.
Red got those runs back with five runs in the top of the third on six singles, Eddy Murillo’s double, and Morgan Witthoft’s sacrifice fly. Orange tied the score with two runs in the home half. The inning started with Donald Drummer tracking down Spike Davidson’s fly to left – Donald didn’t take a straight-line route to the ball, but he made the catch – and Eddy Murillo making an excellent play on Fritz Hensel’s hard grounder back to the box.
Eddy Murillo in his protective gear, on the mound for Red.
David Brown then drew a walk and scored from first on Pat Scott’s double down the right-field line. George Brindley singled to right field, Pat scoring; George took second on the throw home, then tried for third when the relay from Morgan Witthoft wasn’t cleanly handled, but catcher Hal Darman retrieved the ball and made a strong throw to third baseman Adam Reddell, George out 9-2-5.
Both teams scored five times in the fourth, Red on five singles, a walk to Tim Bruton, and Adam Reddell’s double deep to right field in the top half, Orange on four singles, Anthony Galindo’s triple, and David Brown’s double down the third-base side in the bottom. Both innings ended with clutch two-out hits, by Boo Resnick in the top half and David in the bottom.
Red did not score in the top of the fifth, Spike Davidson allowing a two-out single to Bobby Miller, then grabbing Tim Bruton’s liner back to the box.
Orange’s first five batters hit safely to start the bottom of the fifth, the mercenaries again leading the way: single by Pat Scott, RBI triple to center field by George Brindley, RBI single by Peter Sundquist, and Anthony Galindo’s second RBI triple in as many at bats. Anthony then scored on Doc Hobar’s fourth single of the game. Doc took second when Tony Garcia grounded out to first baseman Terry Walker; Terry flipped the ball back to the mound, and Doc broke for third, but Eddy Murillo alertly threw to Adam Reddell for another weird double play, 3u., 3-1-5. Eddie Ortiz followed with a fly to deep left field; Donald Drummer again took a crazy route to the ball, and made a terrific catch.
Orange led by four entering the buffet, and got a quick out when Eddy Murillo lined to Peter Sundquist in right-center leading off. The next five batters singled, two scoring as Red ran conservatively, taking one base at time. Hal Darman grounded to shortstop Tony Garcia, who got the force at second for out number two, Terry Walker scoring to bring Red within a run, now trailing 17-16. Donald Drummer singled to left-center and Denny Malloy scored the tying run. Bobby Miller’s single through the 3-4 hole loaded the bases. Tim Bruton singled up the middle, two runs scoring, Red now leading 19-17. Eddy Murillo singled to once more load the bases. Adam Reddell doubled to left-center, Bobby and Tim scoring, Red now leading 21-17. Morgan Witthoft stepped up and lined a ball to left-center that carried and carried and just cleared the fence – none of us watching from the Beer Garden believed it had a shot off the bat, but Morgan put a charge on the ball, and the result was a three-run homer and a 24-17 lead for Red.
Red manager Donald Drummer presents Morgan Witthoft with a Pluckers coupon following the game.
Terry Walker extended the inning with a single to left-center, but Spike Davidson caught Denny Malloy looking at called strike three for the third out.
Orange had very suddenly gone from leading by four to chasing seven. Eddy Murillo retired leadoff hitter Spike Davidson on a grounder back to the box. (Second baseman Boo Resnick to Eddy: “You’re more flexible than they say.”) Fritz Hensel also hit a ball hard back through the box, but Eddy couldn’t make a play (Fritz: “Catch THAT one, bitch!”), and Fritz’s pinch-runner was safe. Singles by David Brown and Pat Scott loaded the bases. A run scored on George Brindley’s grounder to shortstop, Tim Bruton tossing to Boo Resnick at second for the force there, out number two. Peter Sundquist lofted a fly to left field – this time, Donald Drummer barely had to move, settling beneath the ball and making a routine catch for the final out. Final score: Red 24, Orange 18
Standings – Session Two:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Red 2 0 1.000 — 39 30 + 9 W2
Blue 1 0 1.000 .5 15 14 + 1 W3
Purple 1 1 .500 1 29 28 + 1 W1
Gray 1 1 .500 1 27 27 0 W1
Maroon 1 1 .500 1 27 30 – 3 L1
Green 0 1 .000 1.5 13 14 – 1 L5
Orange 0 2 .000 2 32 39 – 7 L2
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 2-0 0 0-0 1-0 0-0
Blue 1-0 0-0 1 0-0 0-0 1-0
Purple 0-1 1-0 0 0-0 0-1 0-0
Gray 1-0 0-1 0 0-0 0-0 1-1
Maroon 1-1 0-0 1 0-0 0-0 1-0
Orange 0-1 0-1 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
Green 0-0 0-1 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
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 0 0 1 3
Green 0 0 X 0 0 0 0 0
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 0 1 1 X 3
______________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 1 2 5 2 3 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 11:
10:30 a.m.: Orange (0-2) at Green (0-1), Gray umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Gray (1-1) at Purple (1-1), Orange umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Maroon (1-1) at Blue (1-0), Purple umpiring
Red has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: No games on Monday, a.k.a. Eclipse Day. A week from today, either Orange or Green will have an upright stick in the win column after they play at 10:30. Gray and Purple, both 1-1 after winning today, face off for the first time this season at 11:30. Blue takes on Maroon at 12:30, and could tie idle Red for first place with a victory. Will we lose 10% of our players to eclipse-induced retinal injuries? Only one thing is certain: Time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
