B League news for Thursday May 30, 2024

B League Picayune

Often in error, never in doubt.

Volume 6, Issue 17 – May 30, 2024

$2.75 (Prices in Canada may be higher)

Weather: My weather app keeps telling me about the weather in Edinburgh. Here in Austin, it was not terribly hot – temperature in the mid-70s as the 10:30 game got under way, rising into the 80s during the 11:30 game, when the sun made an appearance, and then cooling a bit as cloud cover returned during the 12:30 game – but it was consistently, as is said in New England, wicked humid. Today’s games were played at Krieg 2, as recent rains left field 3 waterlogged.

www.beebesports.com

Games of Thursday May 30:

10:30 a.m., Red (7-3) at Orange (1-8):

		1	2	3	4	5     BUFFET  FINAL
Red		3	0	1	4	2	2	12
Orange		4	0	3	1	5	X	13

Pitchers: Red – Terry Thompson; Orange – Spike Davidson. Mercenaries: Red – Alvin Gauna, Terry Thompson, and Scott Wright; Orange – David Brown, Jack Spellman, and Rip Wright. Umpires: home plate – Jeff Stone and Rick Jensen; bases – Mike Velaney and Peter Sundquist. Perfect at the plate: Orange – Ray Pilgrim (4 for 4) and Jack Spellman (3 for 3). 

Red started strong, its first three batters – Bobby Miller, Tim Bruton, and Morgan Witthoft – hitting safely (single, single, double) and scoring (Bobby on Morgan’s double, Tim on an infield out off the bat of Adam Reddell, and Morgan on Hal Darman’s single). Spike Davidson then found his groove, however, retiring ten of the next 15 batters. Red did not score in the second, the inning ending with Alvin Gauna thrown out trying for third 9-6-5 on Bobby Miller’s single, Larry Fiorentino throwing to Rex Horvath, who snapped a quick, accurate relay to David Brown at third to gun down Alvin. Tim Bruton led off the third with a single, advanced on Adam Reddell’s one-out ground out to third base, and scored on Donald Drummer’s single.

That tied the score at 4-4, Orange having taken the lead in the bottom of the first on hits by five of the first six batters: singles by Matt Levitt and Larry Fiorentino to open the frame; then a two-run triple by Rex Horvath; an RBI single by Ray Pilgrim; and, after Spike Davidson fouled out, a run-scoring single by Fritz Hensel.

Orange did not score in the second, Terry Thompson retiring three in a row after allowing a lead-off single, but reclaimed the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third, on six consecutive one-out singles.

The lead changed hands again in the top of the fourth, Red scoring four runs on six singles. (Red had 24 hits in the game, but only Morgan Witthoft’s first-inning double went for extra bases.) Orange started the bottom of the inning with four straight hits, but came away with just one run: Larry Fiorentino singled to start things, and scored, tying the game at 8-8, on Rex Horvath’s double to left field, but Rex was out 7-6-5 trying to stretch the hit into a triple, Donald Drummer throwing to shortstop Tim Bruton, whose strong throw to Adam Reddell beat Rex by a step and a half. Ray Pilgrim and Spike Davidson followed with singles, but were stranded when Terry Thompson got Fritz Hensel to pop out and Larry Shupe to ground back to the box.

Red knocked five more singles in the top of the fifth inning, but came away with only two runs, as another strong relay, 9-6-2, cut down Scott Wright attempting to score on Tim Bruton’s two-out single to right-center: Larry Fiorentino relayed to Rex Horvath, and Rex spun and unleashed a great throw home that catcher Fritz Hensel made an outstanding play on, catching a ball that was tailing to his right while keeping a foot on the mat.

Orange took control in the bottom half by posting the game’s first and only five-run inning. Mercenaries David Brown, Jack Spellman, and Rip Wright loaded the bases with two singles and a walk to start things. David scored on Matt Levitt’s force-out grounder, and Spellman came across on Larry Fiorentino’s single. Rex Horvath ripped a double, both Matt and Larry scoring. (Orange had 21 hits in the game; only Rex’s triple and two doubles went for extra bases.) Ray Pilgrim’s single, his fourth line-drive hit in as many at bats, delivered Rex with the fifth run.

That left Red chasing three in the top of the buffet. Morgan Witthoft led off with a single, but Spike Davidson got the next two batters to ground into 6-4 force plays, both Adam Reddell and Donald Drummer hustling to beat relays to first from the rag-armed second baseman. Hal Darman, Boo Resnick, Terry Thompson, and Scott Wright each singled, Donald and Hal scoring to make it a one-run game. Alvin Gauna hit a sharp grounder down the third-base side that David Brown, who had an outstanding game at the hot corner, fielded, then beat Terry to the bag to record the final out, Red’s rally falling one run short. Final score: Orange 13, Red 12, Orange preventing Red from clinching the session title today.

11:30 a.m., Purple (4-4) at Maroon (5-4):

		1	2	3	4	5    BUFFET  FINAL
Purple		3	0	0	1	0	4	8
Maroon		1	0	1	0	0	0	2

Pitchers: Purple – Jeff Stone; Maroon – Chunky Wright. Mercenaries: Purple – Jeff Fisher. Umpires: home – Spike Davidson; bases – Larry Fiorentino. Perfect at the plate: Purple – Gregory Bied (3 for 3 with a walk) and Jeff Fisher and Rick Jensen (each 3 for 3); Maroon – Anthony Galindo (1 for 1 with two walks) and Buddy Gaswint (3 for 3).

Jeff Stone pitched one of, if not the, best games of the season, holding Maroon to just two runs over six innings, allowing only 11 hits while recording five strikeouts. He pitched with the lead the entire game, Purple scoring three times in the top of the first as the first four batters of the game reached base – Gregory Bied drew a lead-off walk, and Peter Sundquist, Jeff helping himself, and Daniel Carvajal followed with singles, Gregory, Peter, and Jeff coming around to score.

Maroon got one run back in the bottom half. After Daniel Carvajal made a very nice play on Scott Wright’s hard grounder down the first-base side, cleanly short-hopping the ball and tagging the bag, Jack Spellman singled and Anthony Galindo walked. Spellman moved up on Jimmy Sneed’s force-out grounder, then scored on Joe Roche’s single to right field. That hit was one of just three that Maroon managed in a dozen opportunities with runners in scoring position, and the only one that resulted in an RBI.

Chunky Wright settled in and pitched well for Maroon, keeping Purple from scoring in both the second and third, allowing just one single in each frame. The top of the third ended with Jim Foelker lining a ball to left field that looked like extra bases for sure, but James Chavana got a great jump on the ball and made a fine backhanded catch, moving in and to his right.

Maroon got its only other run in the bottom of that inning, loading the bases on three consecutive singles (the second was a double-play chance that bad-hopped through the legs of second baseman Mike Velaney) and a sacrifice fly to left field by Jimmy Sneed.

Purple got that run back in the top of the fourth. Rick Jensen and Tom Kelm opened the frame with singles, and Rick advanced and scored on a pair of force plays. The inning ended with a base-running out, but I’m foggy on the details – I think maybe Larry Young or his pinch-runner was out trying for third on Jeff Fisher’s single, but if asked under oath, I would respond, “Your honor, I don’t recall.”

Working with a two-run cushion, Jeff Stone just kept rolling along. He stranded two runners in the fourth and, after Chunky Wright worked around a lead-off single by Gregory Bied in the top half, Jeff left the bases loaded in the fifth. He got a key out when he struck out Jimmy Sneed looking at a pitch that Jimmy and not a small number of other onlookers thought was well over 12 feet high. (In the next inning, with a 1-2 count, Chunky threw a similarly high pitch, only to have it called illegal.)

Purple put the game out of reach with four runs on seven singles in the top of the buffet. Mixed in was a nice 7-6-2 relay, James Chavana to Jimmy Sneed to Marvin Krabbenhoft, that caught Jim Foelker trying to score from second on Tom Kelm’s single to left field. Among those getting hits in the inning were Rick Jensen, Jeff Fisher, and Gregory Bied, each completing perfect days at the plate.

Needing six to tie, Maroon had a glimmer of hope when Buddy Gaswint led off the bottom half with a single and one out later Alvin Gauna walked. But Jeff Stone slammed the door, getting Chunky Wright to hit a two-strike foul and Joe Dayoc to hit into a game-ending 6-4 force – two more runners left on base by Maroon, a total of 12 for the game. Final score: Purple 8, Maroon 2, Purple ending its three-game losing streak and retaining a chance of finishing first for the session.

12:30 p.m., Green (5-4) at Gray (5-3):

		1	2	3	4	5	6    BUFFET  FINAL
Green		0	1	1	0	1	4	0	7
Gray		0	0	0	4	0	3	1	8

Pitchers: Green – Tommy Deleon; Gray – Jack Kelly. Umpires: Home plate – Chunky Wright; bases – Jack Spellman. Perfect at the plate: Gray – David Kruse (1 for 1 with two walks). 

Another low-scoring affair, two crafty veteran B League hurlers allowing just two runs between them through the top of the fourth. Neither team scored in the first, Gray’s Jack Kelly escaping the top half despite allowing three two-out singles; on the third, Mike Hill tried to score from second on Mike Garrison’s single to left field, but was cut down by a perfect 7-6-2 relay, Don Solberg to David Kruse to Frank Delmonte. (There were a bunch of outs on relays today, but I believe in the dictum that if you never run into an out on the bases, you’re not being optimally aggressive.) Tommy Deleon walked David Kruse with one out in the bottom half, but retired the other three of Gray’s first four hitters.

Green got on the board with one run on four singles in the top of the second, but left the bases loaded, the inning ending with Gary Coyle snagging Paul Rubin’s liner to third base. Gray went out in order in the home half.

Green threatened again in the third, but once again came away with just a single run. Mike Hill lined a single to center field to open the inning, advanced to third on David Pittard’s pop-fly double down the right-field line, and scored on Mike Garrison’s sacrifice fly to left field. David took third on the play, but was stranded as Jack Kelly retired Tommy Deleon on a liner to second baseman Mark Dolan (excellent play to his left) and Jack McDermott on a fly to Tommy Gillis in left-center.

Tommy Deleon threw another scoreless inning in the bottom half. Jack Kelly led off with a grounder to shortstop Ralph Villela which Ralph first fielded cleanly and then made a strong, accurate throw to first on – it would have been a routine out on almost every B Leaguer, but David Kruse was running from home for Jack and beat the throw. No matter: Tommy retired the next three batters, Johnny Lee on a pop to first and Mike Mordecai and Mark Dolan on liners to shortstop and third base.

Jack Crosley led off the fourth with a pop fly to short right field, but was robbed of a hit by second baseman Ivan Budiselich, who made an outstanding catch moving back and to his left — a left-handed thrower, Ivan had to reach across his body to make a backhanded catch. Phil Stanch and Trey Wall followed with singles, but Jack Kelly retired Green’s 1-2 hitters, Ralph Villela and Paul Rubin, on a fly to left fielder Don Solberg and a 4-6 force out.

Gray took the lead with four runs in the bottom half. With one out, Ken Brown singled and David Kruse and Tommy Gillis walked, loading the bases. Gary Coyle definitively unloaded them with a three-run double to left field. Gary took third on the throw home, then scored on a single by Don Solberg, batting right-handed. (When I asked him why he’d switched sides, Don provided me with The Quote of the Day: “Because I’m not watching the fucking ball left-handed.”) Donnie Janac followed with another single, but Ralph Villela made a nice play to his right on Frank Delmonte’s grounder to the 5-6 hole, scooping it up and then beating Don Solberg in a race to third base. Jack Kelly grounded out to second baseman Mike Hill for the third out, but Gray was now ahead 4-2.

It’s often the case that the player who makes an unremarkable play to end one half-inning leads off the next, and so it was that Mike Hill came up and started off the fifth with a single to right field. (Johnny Lee: “That’s why I call him Hit Man Mike Hill.”) David Pittard flied out to right fielder Donnie Janac, and Mike Garrison grounded into a 6-4 force, David Kruse making an excellent play to his right, actually fielding the ball in the outfield grass. Mike took second on Tommy Deleon’s single and scored on Jack McDermott’s. Jack Crosley lined a ball up the middle that Jack Kelly got a piece of glove on; this time ranging to his left, David Kruse fielded the ball in short center field and threw to second, but Jack McDermott beat the throw, only just. Phil Stanch squared up on a pitch and lined it, but second baseman Mark Dolan reached up and snagged it for the third out.

Tommy Deleon threw another scoreless frame in the bottom half. Johnny Lee led off with a single up the middle. Mike Mordecai hit a liner right at third baseman David Pittard for the first out, and Mark Dolan grounded into a 6-4 force for the second. Ivan Budiselich, taking a runner from home, singled to right field, but was called out for crossing the commit line – the last time that happens to Ivan, I predict.

Green finally put up a crooked number in the top of the sixth, scoring four runs on six singles and David Pittard’s sacrifice fly. The last two hits came with two outs, by Tommy Deleon (to right field) and Jack McDermott (another liner up the middle that Jack Kelly got a piece of, but that wound up in center field, driving in the fourth run.)

Gray had the top of its lineup due to start the bottom of the sixth, and they did their job, the first five batters – Ken Brown, David Kruse, Tommy Gillis, Gary Coyle, and Don Solberg – each knocking singles. Ken, David, and Tommy scored, tying the score at 7-7. (Gary’s single scored David, and was his fifth RBI of the game.) The potential fourth and fifth runs were on second and first, but advanced no further: Donnie Janac grounded to the 5-6 hole, but Ralph Villela made a nice play to his left and threw to third for the force there. Frank Delmonte followed with an infield fly to second base, and Jack Kelly grounded out to Mike Hill at second again.

So it was a tie game entering the buffet. Jack Kelly got Phil Stanch to hit a two-strike foul to start the inning, then retired Trey Wall for the first time, on a fly to Donnie Janac in right. Ralph Villela hit a grounder to third and was safe on a bang-bang play at first, just beating Gary Coyle’s strong throw. Paul Rubin extended the inning with a single to second, Ralph halting at second, but Mike Mordecai made a nice play on Mike Hill’s sharp grounder to second base, throwing to first for the third out.

Gray needed one run to win. Johnny Lee led off with a grounder to third baseman David Pittard that took a bad hop, Johnny Lee’s pinch-runner (Tommy Gillis, if I recall correctly) reaching without there being a throw made. Tommy Deleon got Mike Mordecai to hit a two-strike foul for the first out. Singles by Mark Dolan, to center field, and Ivan Budiselich, to right, loaded the bases for the top of the order. Ken Brown came up and did his job, lining a ball to right-center field, well beyond the 120-foot line; Jack McDermott made the catch and threw in, but had no chance of getting Tommy, who crossed the plate well ahead of the throw. (Jack told me afterward that he was actually trying to hit the cutoff, shortstop Ralph Villela, but overthrew him; but there was no way Ralph could have gotten the ball home in time.) Final score: Gray 8, Green 7

Two batting tees were left behind today – they’re in the equipment cart. They are pictured here with former (and universally beloved) B League First Lady Lisa McDermott, to give a proper sense of their scale. When collapsed, each tee is about one-third of a Lisa.

Would it be a real Picayune without some mention of Eddy Murillo? The big guy’s been sidelined by thumb surgery (as explained in this cool video Eddy sent the link to: https://youtu.be/CqUdJmsmtdE?si=cPlxuhAR-QqSyE5d), with the removal of a bone to alleviate discomfort from arthritis. Get well soon, Eddy! You, too, Tom Brownfield!Go see Mike Mordecai at the Elephant Room (https://elephantroom.com/calendar) Mondays from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Mike also will be playing with Extreme Heat at Saxon Pub, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. this Saturday night June 1.

And mark your calendar to see Boo Resnick and Hotcakes rock AND roll on Saturday, June 15 from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. at Donn’s Depot, 1600 West Fifth Street (the clean end).

Here’s something, forwarded by Tim Balke, that we can all agree with, no disputation possible:
https://www.secsports.com:443/news/2024/05/double-first-base-to-be-utilized-for-2024-sec-baseball-tournament