B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 7, Issue 62 – October 23, 2025
Department of Corrections: I wrote that Don Solberg caught Terry Thompson’s line drive to left field for the first out in the bottom of the buffet of Monday’s 12:30 game, but it was actually Ken Brown who made that catch, as Maroon shifted its outfielders to the left in response to Terry’s pull tendency, Ken moving from right-center to between Don and Anthony Galindo. The Picayune regrets the error.
Games of Thursday October 23:
10:30 a.m., Orange (11-1) at Blue (4.5 – 7.5):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Orange 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Blue 5 4 5 5 2 X 21 Pitchers: Orange – Terry Thompson; Blue – Tommy Deleon. Mercenaries: Orange – Donnie Janac and Peter Sundquist; Blue – Tommy Gillis and Paul Rubin. Umpires: home – Dave Berra and Gary Coyle; bases – Jack Spellman and Jack McDermott. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Tom Brownfield (4 for 4) and Paul Rubin (3 for 3 with a double). Home run: George Brindley (inside the park) (5).
Weather report: Forgot to check, I was umpiring.
I’m at a loss to explain what happened in this game. Orange entered with a +57 run differential, best for the session, while Blue came in at -23, the worst, and proceeded to absolutely spank Orange, posting the first shutout victory of the 2025 season, and the most lopsided.
Easiest to start by pointing out what Orange didn’t do: didn’t score a run, didn’t get an extra-base hit, didn’t get a runner past first base until the fourth inning, didn’t get a hit with a runner in scoring position (0 for 5; Boo Resnick managed to draw a walk with runners on first and second and two out in the top of the buffet), didn’t have a batter post a perfect day at the plate.
Blue played mistake-free ball in the field, but didn’t make any particularly great defensive plays. Clint Fletcher led off the game with a single to center field and tried to take second when Steve Sandall’s throw to the base skipped past Tom Brownfield, but the ball went straight to first baseman David Pittard, who threw back to Tom before Clint reached the base. Tom also made a good play to his backhand on Clint’s sharp one-hopper to his right, getting a force at second for the second out in the top of the third inning. Shortstop Jimmy Sneed moved to the hole to field Clint’s grounder in the top of the fifth and throw to third for a 6-5 force. These were all good but not spectacular plays.
Blue saved the fireworks for when they were hitting. They scored five times in the bottom of the first, on Steve Sandall’s lead-off double and seven consecutive one-out singles after Boo Resnick made a good play on Jimmy Sneed’s grounder to the right side, the only out Orange was able to record. They added four in the bottom of the second on Tom Bellavia’s walk, Jimmy Sneed’s double past third base, just fair, and three singles – that was the only inning in which Orange recorded three outs.
Terry Thompson got two quick outs to start the bottom of the third, but Paul Rubin and Steve Sandall singled, Jimmy Sneed tripled them both in, Tom Bellavia singled in Jimmy and then George Brindley lined a ball to the fence in left field and circled the bases for a two-run inside-the-park home run, his fifth of the season. Here’s George’s follow-through:
Blue scored five times without making an out in the bottom of the fourth on hits by its 6-10 hitters – five singles to start the inning, then a two-run double by Paul Rubin, completing a 3-for-3 game.
Blue had two runs in on three singles and a walk to David Pittard when time ran out and a flip-flop was called, with Orange trailing by 21. Mercy, truly.
Tommy Deleon retired David Brown on a fly to Tommy Gillis in right field to start the buffet, then got Ray Pilgrim on a liner to shortstop that Jimmy Sneed knocked down, retrieved, and threw to first for the second out. Singles by Terry Thompson and Marvin Krabbenhoft and Boo Resnick’s walk loaded the bases, but third baseman David Pittard caught Larry Shupe’s pop for the final out, preserving the shutout, I believe the only one of the season to date.
Final score: Blue 21, Orange 0, Blue putting a definitive end to Orange’s eight-game winning streak.
11:30 a.m., Red (6-6) at Purple (5-7):
1 2 3 4 5 6 BUFFET FINAL Red 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 8 Purple 0 1 2 5 5 X X 13 Pitchers: Red – Joe Bernal; Purple – Spike Davidson. Mercenaries: Red – George Brindley and Chris Waddell; Purple – Clint Fletcher. Umpires: home – David Pittard and Tommy Deleon; bases – Steve Sandall. Perfect at the plate: Red – Peter Sundquist (4 for 4); Purple – Tim Coles (2 for 2 with a walk) and Rick Jensen (3 for 3).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 80 degrees, felt like 84; humidity 69%; wind from the South at 6 MPH; cloudy – very comfortable!
Red came out hitting, scoring five times in the top of the first on six singles and Anthony Galindo’s double, but after that Spike Davidson threw five shutout innings, allowing Purple to chip away at that early lead and finally win going away. Spike allowed just one hit in each of those innings, and got two inning-ending double play grounders, by Jack Spellman back to the box in the top of the second (1-6-3) and by Dale Fugate to shortstop Rick Jensen in the top of the sixth (6-4-3). (Rick was busy at shortstop, converting five ground balls and two pops into outs, plus turning the pivot on the second-inning double play.)
Rick Jensen celebrated Trafalgar Day by cosplaying as Lord Horatio Nelson, impressively starting a one-eyed 6-4-3 double play in the top of the sixth inning.
Purple didn’t score in the first. Richard Battle led off with a single, but was erased on a 6-4-3 double play started by George Brindley on Raul Deleon’s hard grounder just to the left of second base.
Purple got on the board in the second with a run on four singles, a run cut down at home plate – Richard Battle, running for Fritz Hensel, was thrown out 7-6-2, Jack McDermott to George Brindley to Jim McAnelly, while trying to score from second on Henry Flores’s single.
Two runs on Tim Coles’s two-out run-scoring single in the bottom of the third cut Red’s lead to 5-3.
Purple took the lead with five runs in the fourth on Larry Young’s walk and six singles, making just one out.
They made two out in the fifth, but scored five runs again, on Tim Coles’s lead-off walk (completing a perfect day at the plate) and six singles (with Rick Jensen completing a 3-for-3 game).
When Red didn’t score in the top of the sixth, the teams flip-flopped and proceeded to the buffet. Red managed a bit of a rally, four singles and a walk to George Brindley resulting in three runs before running out of outs, all of which came courtesy of Rick Jensen – two 6-4 forces and a game-ending catch of Jack McDermott’s pop.
Final score: Purple 13, Red 8
12:30 p.m., Green (4.5 – 7.5) at Maroon (7-5):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Green 3 0 0 5 2 1 11 Maroon 0 0 0 5 1 0 6 Pitchers: Green – Chunky Wright; Maroon – Jeff Stone. Mercenaries: Green – David Brown, Gary Coyle, and Anthony Galindo; Maroon – Tommy Gillis and Jack Spellman. Umpires: home – Spike Davidson; bases – Larry Young. Nobody was perfect at the plate in this game.
Dave Berra’s weather update: A few degrees warmer – nice.
Green’s first five hitters of the game hit safely – singles by 1-3 hitters Doc Hobar, Steve Browne, and Mike Galindo, Doc coming around to score; a two-run triple by Chris Waddell; and an infield hit by Donnie Janac, Chris holding at third. None out, three runs in, but Jeff Stone improbably worked out of the jam, thanks to his own glove work. Chris held again when Chunky Wright hit into a 1-6 force, Jeff to Tony Garcia. Billy Hill then lined a ball back up the middle; Jeff snagged the ball and snapped a throw to first baseman Ivan Budiselic, easily doubling up Steve Browne, running for Chunky – Steve really only took a step or so toward second, but had no chance of reversing course.
The next five half-innings were all scoreless. Chunky Wright threw three shutout innings to start the game, retiring Maroon in order in the first and allowing harmless two-out singles in the second and third, the third inning ending with Ken Brown getting rung up on a called third strike that just clipped the front edge of the mat. Green had no better success against Jeff Stone in the top halves of the second (down 1-2-3) and third (lead-off single by Doc Hobar, but the next three players retired).
Chunky Wright held Maroon scoreless in four out of six innings today.
The bats came to life in the fourth, both teams putting across five runs. Green extended its lead to 8-0 with five runs on seven singles and David Brown’s double in the top half, the last three hits coming after the second out was recorded. Maroon got on the board and got back to just three behind with five runs in the home half on seven singles and Jeff Stone’s sacrifice fly to left fielder Mike Garrison, who made the catch low to the ground, definitely catching it cleanly.
Green scored twice in the top of the fifth, on four singles, David Brown and Anthony Galindo coming through with two-out run-scoring knocks. Chunky Wright retired Ken Brown on a pop and Bobby Miller on a grounder to shortstop David Brown to start the home half, but Maroon managed to scratch out a run on a walk to Tony Garcia and singles by Scott Wright and Jeff Stone.
Green led by four entering the buffet inning and added one run: Steve Browne singled with one out, Mike Garrison walked, and Chris Waddell drove in Steve with a hit.
That left Maroon chasing five to tie in the home half. Tom Kelm singled to left to start the inning. Ivan Budiselic popped out to shortstop David Brown. With David playing almost up the middle, Jack Spellman punched a single through the big 5-6 hole. Tommy Gillis stepped up and drove a pitch deep to left field – from the home dugout, I thought for sure Tommy had gapped the outfielders – but Mike Garrison got a great jump on the ball as it left the bat, raced to his left, and hauled in the deep drive for the second out, making the best defensive play of the day. The game then ended with Ken Brown popping out to shortstop David Brown.
Final score: Green 11, Maroon 6, concluding a day in which the 1-3 teams in the session standings lost to the 4-6 teams. Only the idle seventh-place team, Gray, has a winning or losing streak greater than one game.
Session 4 standings:
| Session 4 | Games | Runs | Runs | Runs dif- | W/L | |||
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Orange | 11 | 2 | .846 | 0 | 169 | 133 | 36 | L1 |
| Maroon | 7 | 6 | .538 | 4 | 139 | 135 | 4 | L1 |
| Red | 6 | 7 | .462 | 5 | 147 | 156 | -9 | L1 |
| Purple | 6 | 7 | .462 | 5 | 140 | 152 | -12 | W1 |
| Green | 5.5 | 7.5 | .423 | 5.5 | 152 | 153 | -1 | W1 |
| Blue | 5.5 | 7.5 | .423 | 5.5 | 142 | 144 | -2 | W1 |
| Gray | 4 | 8 | .333 | 6.5 | 123 | 139 | -16 | L2 |
| 0 | ||||||||
| Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | |||
| W-L: | W-L: | wins | W-L: | W-L: | W-L: | |||
| Orange | 6-0 | 5-2 | 2 | 0-0 | 4-1 | 2-1 | ||
| Maroon | 4-3 | 3-3 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1-1 | ||
| Red | 4-2 | 2-5 | 1 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 2-0 | ||
| Purple | 4-3 | 2-5 | 2 | 0-0 | 3-2 | 2-2 | ||
| Green | 3-3 | 2.5-4.5 | 1 | 0.5-0.5 | 0-1 | 2-3 | ||
| Blue | 3.5-3.5 | 1-4 | 0 | 0.5-0.5 | 3-2 | 0-0 | ||
| Gray | 2-4 | 2-4 | 0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-2 |
2025 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | X | 2 | 6.5 | 3 | 4.5 | 5 | 5 | 26 |
| Gray | 6 | X | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 22 |
| Green | 3.5 | 6 | X | 4.5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 24 |
| Maroon | 4 | 6 | 6.5 | X | 4 | 6 | 3 | 29.5 |
| Orange | 5.5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | X | 5 | 5 | 31.5 |
| Purple | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | X | 8 | 26 |
| Red | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | X | 21 |
| TOTAL: | 26 | 28 | 27 | 22.5 | 19.5 | 25 | 32 | 180 |
Green and Maroon tied their game of August 7; Orange and Blue tied their game of August 28; Green and Blue tied their game of October 2; these are counted as half a win and half a loss for each team.
Full-season standings:
| Wins | Losses | Win % | GB | |
| Orange | 31.5 | 19.5 | .618 | 0.0 |
| Maroon | 29.5 | 22.5 | .567 | 2.5 |
| Purple | 26 | 25 | .510 | 5.5 |
| Blue | 26 | 26 | .500 | 6.0 |
| Green | 24 | 27 | .471 | 7.5 |
| Gray | 22 | 28 | .440 | 9.0 |
| Red | 21 | 32 | .396 | 11.5 |
2025 season home run leaders:
David Brown – 7
Mike Garrison – 7
Bobby Miller – 6
Ralph Villela – 6
George Brindley – 5
Tim Coles – 5
Anthony Galindo – 4
Tommy Gillis – 4
Larry Fiorentino – 3
Doc Hobar – 3
Mike Malay – 3
Paul Rubin – 3
Jimmy Sneed – 3
Jack Spellman – 3
Tim Bruton – 2
Tony Garcia – 2
Rex Horvath – 2
Matt Levitt – 2
Jack McDermott – 2
Terry O’Brien – 2
George Romo – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Scott Wright – 2
Jim Aaron – 1
Peter Atkins – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
Ken Brown – 1
Gary Coyle – 1
Donald Drummer – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Ken Mockler – 1
Ray Pilgrim – 1
Jeff Stone – 1
Mike Velaney – 1
Chris Waddell – 1
Chunky Wright – 1
Hit for the cycle:
Scott Wright – June 5
Walk-off grand slam:
David Brown (inside the park) – August 4
Ohtanis (winning pitcher + perfect at the plate):
Jeff Stone – 9 (March 20, April 17, July 17, July 21, July 28, September 11, September 15 (2), September 29)
Spike Davidson – 8 (June 19, June 30, August 4, August 7, August 14 (2), September 8, October 9)
Tommy Deleon – 6 (March 3, March 13, April 14, April 28, May 12, September 8)
Joe Bernal – 4 (March 3, April 3, June 5, October 2)
Tom Kelm – 4 (March 3, March 13, May 1, June 16)
Ray Pilgrim – 4 (April 14, August 4, August 7, October 16)
Terry Thompson – 3 (July 31, September 15, September 29)
Donald Drummer – 2 (May 1, August 11)
Jack Kelly – 2 (March 10, May 12)
David Pittard – 2 (June 2, October 13)
Greg Lloyd – 1 (June 26)
Chunky Wright – 1 (June 9)
Schedule for Monday October 27:
10:00 a.m.: Purple (6-7) at Gray (4-8), Blue umpiring
10:45 a.m.: Blue (5.5 – 7.5) at Green (5.5 – 7.5), Gray umpiring
11:30 p.m.: Maroon (7-6) at Red (6-7), Green umpiring
Orange has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Monday’s games will start at 10:00 and be played under one-pitch rules with a 40-minute clock so we can get to the end-of-season luncheon and festivities all the quicker. The one-pitch rules ensure maximum randomness and unpredictability. I’ll just note that if Red can defeat Maroon in the third game, there will be just one team over .500 for the session, idle Orange. Will Rick Jensen commemorate the 171st anniversary of the Battle of Balaclava by portraying an officer of the British Light Brigade and reciting Tennyson? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Nagging y’all one last time – the annual picnic will take place Monday:
If you have not already signed up to attend the ASSL Annual Picnic, please click the link below and let us know if you will attend. We need a headcount for our caterer, Lupe Tortilla, to ensure that we have food for everyone. The Picnic will be held at Krieg Fields from 10:45a – 1:00p, Monday, Oct. 27.
If you’ve already signed up, you’re good to go. If not, please click the link below and respond:
Reminder that Johnny Lee and Arctic Blues Band are playing at Bar Louie at the Embassy Suites, 270 Bass Pro Drive in Round Rock, tomorrow (Friday) night from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m.