B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Inaccuracy in Reporting
Volume 7, Issue 2 – March 6, 2025
Correction: This was an error of omission – I failed to note that Doc Hobar was perfect at the plate on Opening Day, going 2 for 2 with a walk. The Picayune regrets the error.
Weather report: Gloriously beautiful day – temperature was at 68 degrees at the start of the 10:30 game, rose to the low 70s. Very low humidity, 33% at 10:30, and it was mostly sunny except for some high clouds around noon. Wind from the east-southeast at 7 MPH, helping the power hitters. Can’t ask for anything nicer.
Games of Thursday March 6:
10:30 a.m., Green (0-1) at Orange (0-1):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Green 4 3 4 0 4 15 Orange 2 2 0 1 0 5 Pitchers: Green – Chunky Wright; Orange – Ray Pilgrim. Mercenaries: Green – Bobby Miller and Jack Spellman; Orange – George Brindley and Scott Wright. Umpires: home – Jack McDermott; bases – Gary Coyle and Jim McAnelly. Perfect at the plate: Green – Mike Garrison (4 for 4 with a double and a home run) and Bobby Miller (3 for 3 with a double and a home run); Orange - Peter Atkins and Ray Pilgrim (each 2 for 2 with a walk) and Terry O'Brien (2 for 2). Home runs: Mike Garrison (1) and Bobby Miller (2) (both inside the park).
Green won each of the first three innings, knocking five extra-base hits and building a seven-run lead. Ralph Villela walked to start the game, and the next three batters singled, Ralph and Doc Hobar scoring. Orange shortstop Terry O’Brien turned a 6u., 6-3 double play on Chris Waddell’s hard grounder, Mike Garrison scoring. Donnie Janac singled and scored the fourth run of the inning on Chunky Wright’s triple to center field. Orange’s first four hitters singled in the home half, Peter Atkins and Mike Malay scoring, but Marvin Krabbenhoft’s hard grounder to third base was turned into a 5u., 5-4 double play, killing the rally.
Know Your B-Leaguer: Terry O’Brien made his B League debut today, starting a 6u., 6-3 double play in the top of the first and going 2 for 2 at the plate.
Bobby Miller led off the second with the first of the day’s five home runs, an inside-the-parker. Green added two more runs on three singles and two runner-advancing force outs. Orange scored two runs on four hits and Peter Atkins’ walk in the home half.
Ralph Villela presents Bobby Miller with a Pluckers coupon after his inside-the-park home run leading off the second inning.
Green took control of the game in the third inning, scoring four runs on six hits, including doubles by Chunky Wright, Bobby Miller, and Mike Garrison, then held Orange scoreless. Ray Pilgrim and Marvin Krabbenhoft opened the home half by drawing walks. Ken Mockler sliced a fly to right field that looked certain to fall in, possibly foul; running from second for Ray, Larry Shupe at the direction of the third base coach took off for third, but right fielder Donnie Janac, who got a great jump on the ball, tracked it down, making a backhanded catch in foul territory, the defensive play of the day. George Brindley, running from first for Marvin, tagged and beat the throw to second, but the relay wasn’t directed at him, but at Larry, who hadn’t tagged up, and was called out to complete an F-9, 9-4-6 double play. David Brown hit a ball sharply back to the box, but Chunky Wright made a good play on it for the third out.
Orange won the fourth inning, shutting out Green in the top half (Ray Pilgrim worked around Donnie Janac’s one-out single), then scored one run on three hits in the bottom of the inning, Peter Atkins completing his perfect day at the plate with an RBI single.
Green led 11-5 entering the buffet and added four runs, the first three on Mike Garrison’s inside-the-park homerun to center field. Rick Kahn, Chris Waddell, and Donnie Janac followed with singles, Rick scoring, and the flip-flop was invoked with Green leading by ten.
Green manager Chunky Wright awards Mike Garrison a Pluckers coupon following Mike’s three-run inside-the-parker in the buffet.
Daniel Carvajal and Ray Pilgrim singled to start the bottom of the buffet, Ray completing a perfect day at the plate. Second baseman Doc Hobar caught Marvin Krabbenhoft’s in-betweener pop/loop for the first out. Ken Mockler hit a hard grounder to shortstop Ralph Villela’s right; Ralph made a clean play on it, threw to third to force the lead runner, and the throw to second beat Ray by a step for a game-ending 6-5-4 double play. Final score: Green 15, Orange 5
11:30 a.m., Red (1-0) at Purple (0-1):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Red 3 5 4 3 4 19 Purple 5 3 1 5 6 20 Pitchers: Red – Tommy Deleon; Purple – Spike Davidson. Mercenaries: Red – Tommy Deleon and Jim Foelker; Purple – George Brindley, Ray Pilgrim, and Chris Waddell. Umpires: home – Chunky Wright; bases – Mike Garrison. Perfect at the plate: Red – Tommy Deleon (2 for 2 with a walk), Anthony Galindo (4 for 4 with a triple and a home run), and Rolando Rodriguez (3 for 3); Purple – Larry Fiorentino (3 for 3 with a walk, two doubles, and a home run), Fritz Hensel (2 for 2 with two walks), Pat Scott (5 for 5 with a double), and Chris Waddell (4 for 4). Home runs: Anthony Galindo (1) (over the fence), Tim Bruton (2) (inside the park), and Larry Fiorentino (1) (over the fence).
Game of the day, the first walk-off of the 2025 season. Both teams scored in every inning, putting up crooked numbers in nine of the ten frames. Red scored three times in the top of the first, with Tim Bruton and Jack Spellman legging out doubles. Purple scored five times on six singles, Fritz Hensel’s walk, and Larry Fiorentino’s double in the home half. Larry’s hit was on a line drive that left fielder Jack Spellman got a glove on and should have caught, but did not; Green got one out on the play when Tim Bruton’s strong relay home to catcher Jim McAnelly beat Fritz’s pinch-runner (George Brindley maybe? I’m not sure) by a step. Purple still got their five, as the bottom five hitters in the lineup knocked two-out singles (Chris Waddell’s hit, driving in Matt with the fifth run, while technically a single, was a mammoth drive over Spellman’s head to the fence).
Red responded with a five-run inning in the top of the second, the last three runs coming on Anthony Galindo’s line-drive home run over the fence in left-center, a really well-struck ball that carried and carried. Purple scored three in the bottom half, the last two on Larry Fiorentino’s double down the left-field line (Larry and Chris ran me ragged).
Anthony Galindo didn’t get his Pluckers coupon until midway through the 12:30 game, receiving it from Tom Kelm.
Red won the third inning 4-1, Dale Fugate, Jim McAnelly, and Rolando Rodriguez capping the four-run rally in the top of the inning with two-out singles. Tommy Deleon got two quick outs on flies to start the bottom of the frame, gave up a run on three singles, then got Spike Davidson to line out to Anthony Galindo in left-center.
Purple chipped away at Red’s lead in the fourth. After Red scored three runs on Tim Bruton’s lead-off double and four singles, Purple scored five times on Larry Fiorentino’s walk, four singles, and Pat Scott’s double.
Red led 15-14 entering the buffet and added four runs, by its first four hitters of the inning: Tommy Deleon drew a lead-off walk, completing a perfect day at the plate; Mark Dolan doubled; and Tim Bruton slashed a drive to left-center that skipped through to the fence for a three-run inside-the-park homerun. Anthony Galindo followed with a triple to center. Spike Davidson got Gary Coyle on a liner to shortstop George Brindley and Jack Spellman on a two-strike foul (terrible swing at a short pitch), but Dale Fugate picked up Anthony with an RBI single.
Adam Reddell presents Tim Bruton with a Pluckers coupon during the 12:30 game, for Tim’s inside-the-park homerun in the 11:30 contest.
That left Purple chasing five to tie, six to win. Fritz Hensel drew his second walk of the game, completing a perfect day at the plate, to start the home half. Spike Davidson lined out to third baseman Gary Coyle. Larry Fiorentino followed with a line-drive home run over the fence in left-center, cutting Red’s lead down to three.
Larry Fiorentino got his Pluckers coupon, for his two-run homer in the buffet, while umpiring the 12:30 game.
Mike Velaney lined a ball down the third-base side, and Gary snagged it for the second out.
Red couldn’t get the third out.
The next three hitters – Rick Jensen, Matt Levitt, and George Brindley – all singled, Rick coming around to score. I think either Matt or George hit a ball hard to the right side that handcuffed Mark Dolan, the runner from first just beating the throw to second. Ray Pilgrim then absolutely smoked a line drive over the head of Anthony Galindo in left-center, Matt and George both scoring to tie the game. Chris Waddell followed with his fourth hit of the game, Ray’s pinch-runner George Brindley moving to third. Pat Scott, confounding the scouting report, pulled a grounder down the third-base side; Gary Coyle made a terrific play to his backhand to field the ball, his momentum taking him into foul territory; Gary turned and threw to second for the force, but his throw was low and may have been to Mark Dolan’s left (I didn’t have a good angle on the play) – the ball squirted past Mark and into right field, and George raced home with the winning run. Final score: Purple 20, Red 19
12:30 p.m., Maroon (1-0) at Gray (no record):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 4 4 0 5 4 X 17 Gray 3 1 2 1 0 3 10 Pitchers: Maroon – Tom Kelm; Gray – Jack Kelly. Mercenaries: Maroon – Anthony Galindo and George Brindley (entered for Jim Maloy in the bottom of the fourth); Gray – Tim Bruton. Umpires: home – Rick Jensen; bases – Larry Fiorentino and Jack Spellman. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Ken Brown (4 for 4 with two doubles) and Bobby Miller (4 for 4); Gray – Adam Reddell (4 for 4 with a triple).
With one-two hitters Ken Brown and Bobby Miller both going 4 for 4, Maroon scored four or five runs in each of the four innings the pair came to bat, overwhelming Gray. Ken doubled his first two times up, and scored each time he reached base. Bobby knocked four singles, scored three times, and drove in five runs. Batting behind them, Tony Garcia singled twice and tripled, driving in five runs.
Gray scored three times in the first on six singles, kept from more by an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play, Tony Garcia to Tommy Langa to Ivan Budiselic, but managed only four runs over the next four innings, as only Adam Reddell hit consistently, going 4 for 4 with a triple to right field. (Right fielder Jim Maloy turned an ankle going after that ball and left the game, George Brindley entering in his place. Hopefully it’s not a major injury and Jim will be back in action next week.)
Gray did turn a nice double play in the top of the third, Adam Reddell snagging Joe Dayoc’s liner to third base and snapping a throw to first to double up Tony Garcia, running for Tom Kelm, a bang-bang play.
When Gray did not score in the bottom of the fifth inning, the teams flip-flopped for the buffet. Gray scored three times on four singles and Johnny Lee’s sacrifice fly before running out of outs, the game ending on a defensive gem by first baseman Ivan Budiselic, who made a nice play on Jack Kelly’s hard grounder and threw to second for the force. Final score: Maroon 17, Gray 10
Standings – Session One:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Maroon 2 0 1.000 –- 35 18 +17 W2
Blue 1 0 1.000 .5 16 8 + 8 W1
Red 1 1 .500 1 38 34 + 4 L1
Green 1 1 .500 1 23 21 + 2 W1
Purple 1 1 .500 1 28 37 – 9 W1
Gray 0 1 .000 1.5 10 17 – 7 L1
Orange 0 2 .000 2 19 34 -15 L2
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Maroon 1-0 1-0 0 0-0 1-0 0-0
Blue 0-0 1-0 0 0-0 1-0 0-0
Red 1-0 0-1 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
Green 0-1 1-0 0 0-0 1-1 0-0
Purple 1-0 0-1 1 0-0 0-0 1-0
Gray 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0-1 0-0
Orange 0-1 0-1 0 0-0 0-1 0-0
2025 total victories (read across) and losses (read down) – includes Session 1 and the end-of-season tourney:
Blue Gray Green Maroon Orange Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Gray 0 X 0 0 0 0 0 0
Green 0 0 X 0 1 0 0 1
Maroon 0 1 0 X 0 1 0 2
Orange 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0
Purple 0 0 0 0 0 X 1 1
Red 0 0 0 0 1 0 X 1
_______________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 0 1 1 0 2 1 1 6
2025 season home run leaders:
Tim Bruton – 2
Bobby Miller – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Mike Garrison – 1
Rex Horvath – 1
Mike Malay – 1
Schedule for Monday March 10:
10:30 a.m.: Orange (0-2) at Gray (0-1), Blue umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Blue (1-0) at Maroon (2-0), Orange umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Green (1-1) at Red (1-1), Maroon umpiring
Purple has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Winless teams at 10:30, undefeated teams at 11:30, and .500 teams at 12:30, so it’s pretty much guaranteed that we’ll see a shakeup in the standings. Will the hitters continue to dominate and the home runs fly? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
A reminder that you can read current and past editions of the Picayune at: https://austinseniorsoftball.com/newsletters/. New editions show up online shortly after they hit your email in-box. (“Shortly” meaning, when I get to it; probably not till the next morning.) Also check out Paul Rubin’s excellent Game Day Gazette for coverage of the C League.
The front page of the site (https://austinseniorsoftball.com/) features a red banner with late-breaking news of cancellations, etc. And you can see the schedule for upcoming games at: https://austinseniorsoftball.com/schedule/