B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 6, Issue 55 – October 24, 2024
B League President Anthony Galindo has announcements:
1. New player Rolando Rodriguez has been assigned to the Gray Team. Good luck, Rolando.
2. We will be playing with new Dudley balls for the rest of the season. Thanks to Gary Kubenka for acquiring three dozen balls at no cost to the league. After testing these balls, the Board will decide which balls to use next year.
Games of Thursday October 24:
10:00 a.m., Blue (10-2) at Gray (4-8):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL
Blue 3 0 2 0 0 5
Gray 4 2 2 0 X 8
Pitchers: Blue – Joe Bernal; Gray – Jack Kelly. No mercenaries. Umpires: home – Tom Kelm; bases – Mike Garrison. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Joe Bernal and Dale Fugate (both 2 for 2); Gray – David Kruse (3 for 3 with a double and a triple).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 77 degrees, Heat Index the same, 75% humidity, wind SSEW at 8 MPH, mostly cloudy – good day for a luncheon.
Playing one-pitch rules makes such a difference – all three games were low-scoring affairs that saw good defensive play. Over half of this game’s runs were scored in the first inning, Jack Kelly holding Blue to three runs thanks to an excellent relay that ended the frame. Blue loaded the bases with one out on singles by Steve Sandall and Tony Garcia and a walk to George Romo. George Brindley’s single past third base brought in Steve and Tony, George Romo halting at second, then taking third on Jeff Fisher’s fly to right field, Donnie Janac making a good catch. Joe Bernal singled up the middle, driving in George Romo, but George Brindley was thrown out 9-6-2, Ken Brown to David Kruse to Chris Waddell, really a perfect relay.
Gray then scored four times in the home half. David Kruse hit a pop-fly triple to right field, the ball spinning into foul territory after landing fair, then scored on Tommy Gillis’s single to left-center. Tommy was forced out at second on Gary Coyle’s grounder to the right of second base, second baseman George Brindley fielding the ball and tagging the bag himself. Don Solberg took a walk, and Donnie Janac doubled to right, both Gary and Don scoring. Johnny Lee followed with a single, Donnie scoring to put Gray ahead by a run. Jack Kelly took a walk, but Joe Bernal got Chris Waddell to foul out.
Blue loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second on a walk to Richard Battle and singles by Dale Fugate and Billy Hill, but Jack Kelly escaped the jam unscathed. He got Jerry Mylius to ground to second baseman Mike Mordecai, who threw home for the force there, then caught Pat Scott looking at a called strike.
Gray extended its lead to 6-3 with two runs in the bottom of the second. Mike Mordecai doubled with one out. George Brindley made a nice catch of Ken Brown’s pop behind second for the second out. David Kruse singled to right-center, Mike scoring and David taking second on the throw home. Tommy Gillis grounded a hit through the 5.5 hole, David scoring. Joe Bernal got Gary Coyle to ground to shortstop, Joe covering second and taking George Romo’s throw for the force there.
Both teams scored two runs in the third. Steve Sandall and Tony Garcia led off the top of the frame with back-to-back doubles, Steve scoring. George Romo ripped a line drive to left field that hooked foul for the first out. George Brindley lofted a fly to right-center that sent Ken Brown racing back – Ken made a terrific catch, but Tony alertly tagged up and scored from second on the play.
In the bottom half, Don Solberg led off with his second one-pitch walk. He was forced out at second 4-6 on Donnie Janac’s grounder, George Brindley making an excellent play to his left and pivoting to throw to his right. George then caught Johnny Lee’s pop for the second out. Jack Kelly walked, also for the second time. Chris Waddell singled to left-center, Donnie scoring; the relay back to the infield resulted in an overthrow, and Jack’s pinch-runner (Tommy Gillis, maybe? I think David Kruse had run for Johnny Lee) was able to score. Rolando Rodriguez took a walk, extending the inning, but Joe Bernal got Mike Mordecai to pop out to third baseman Tony Garcia.
Neither team scored in the fourth, Jack Kelly working around Dale Fugate’s one-out single, getting the next two hitters to ground into force plays. Ken Brown singled and David Kruse doubled, David completing a 3-for-3 game, to put Gray runners on second and third with none out to start the bottom half, but Joe Bernal did a masterful job of escaping the jam, getting Tommy Gillis to ground back to the box, the runners holding, catching Gary Coyle looking at a called strike, and then getting Don Solberg to ground out to shortstop George Romo.
Blue trailed 8-5 entering the buffet, with the top of the order due up. But Jack Kelly retired the side in order: Pat Scott’s fly to right field landed foul; Steve Sandall flied out to Ken Brown in right-center; and Tony Garcia grounded out to shortstop David Kruse. Final score: Gray 8, Blue 5, Blue’s three-game winning streak and Gray’s four-game losing streak both ended.
10:45 a.m.: Green (6-6) at Maroon (7-5):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL
Green 1 0 3 0 0 4
Maroon 0 1 1 1 2 5
Pitchers: Green – Tommy Deleon; Maroon – Chunky Wright. Mercenary: Maroon – Rick Jensen. Umpires: home – Tom Kelm; bases – Jack Kelly. Perfect at the plate: Green – Tommy Deleon (two walks) and Jack McDermott and David Pittard (both 2 for 2); Maroon – Tom Bellavia and Chunky Wright (both 1 for 1 with a walk) and Marvin Krabbenhoft (2 for 2).
This one was a nail-biter. Green led most of the way, scoring a run in the top of the first after Chunky Wright retired the first two batters of the game, Ralph Villela and Paul Rubin, on a fly to left-center and a grounder to shortstop Jimmy Sneed. A walk to Mike Hill and singles by Jack McDermott and David Pittard loaded the bases for Tommy Deleon, who somehow laid off a close pitch to take a walk, forcing in Mike. Tommy walked Scott Wright to start the bottom half, then retired the next three hitters, getting Jack Spellman and Jimmy Sneed to foul out, and Anthony Galindo to pop out to second baseman Mike Hill.
Chunky Wright retired Green in order in the top of the second, getting two foul outs, and Maroon briefly tied the game with a single run in the home half. With one out, Tom Bellavia singled. Tom tried to take third on Buddy Gaswint’s hit to left field, but Mike Garrison threw him out, 7-5. (Tom tweaked a hamstring on the play, but remained in the game, moving from the outfield to third base.) Buddy took second on the play and scored on Marvin Krabbenhoft’s line single to center field.
Green immediately reclaimed the lead, scoring three times in the top of the third. Jeff Broussard singled with one out, and Paul Rubin, Mike Hill, Jack McDermott, and David Pittard delivered two-out hits, Jeff’s pinch-runner, Paul, and Mike scoring. Tommy Deleon took another walk, loading the bases, but Chunky Wright got Mike Garrison to foul out. Maroon got one run back on three singles in the home half, and entered the final five-run inning trailing by two.
Chunky Wright gave up a lead-off single to Trey Wall, then retired the next three batters, two on foul outs. (Catcher Joe Dayoc made a nice barehanded grab of Jim McAnelly’s foul, so I’m counting that as a foul out rather than a strikeout.)
Maroon then again scratched out one run in its half. Joe Roche and Tom Bellavia led off with walks. Tom’s pinch-runner was forced at second on Buddy Gaswint’s grounder to shortstop Ralph Villela, Joe’s runner taking third. Marvin Krabbenhoft then came up and ripped his second RBI single in as many at bats, cutting Green’s lead to 4-3. (I believe Alannis Morissette wrote this song about the unlikelihood of Marvin knocking the only pitches he’d see in a one-pitch game for RBI singles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc) Jack Kelly got Joe Dayoc to ground into a 6-5 force, then walked Chunky Wright, loading the bases. Rick Jensen, employing his bestest golf swing on a low pitch, lined a ball to the right side, but Mike Hill made a nice grab at shoe-top height for the final out.
Green led 4-3 entering the buffet. Chunky Wright got Jeff Broussard to pop out to third baseman Tom Bellavia to start the inning, then walked both Ralph Villela and Paul Rubin. Mike Hill grounded sharply to the left of second base; moving to his left, Jimmy Sneed fielded the ball, stepped on the bag, and threw to first for the double play.
Still protecting a one-run lead, Tommy Deleon got two quick outs to start the bottom half. Scott Wright lined a ball up the middle, but Ralph Villela had positioned himself perfectly behind second base and made a leaping grab for the first out. Jack Spellman hit a fly to right-center that Jack McDermott made a nice play on, racing in for the catch. Anthony Galindo lined a single to center field. Jimmy Sneed followed with a two-base hit to left, Anthony stopping at second. Joe Roche stepped up and lined a clean hit to center, driving in Anthony and Jimmy with the tying and winning runs. Here’s video of the winning hit:
https://www.facebook.com/jack.spellman/videos/1722879271876433
You’ll note that Scott Wright was running from home for Joe, and that Joe ran right up to the commit mark on the first-base line, stopping just short. Maroon walks off a 5-4 victory. Final score: Maroon 5, Green 4
11:30 a.m.: Orange (5-7) at Red (5-7):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL
Orange 4 0 0 3 0 7
Red 5 0 0 1 1 7
Pitchers: Orange – Spike Davidson; Red – Donald Drummer. Mercenary: Red – Tommy Gillis. Umpires: home – Scott Wright; bases – Jack Spellman and Larry Young. Perfect at the plate: Orange – Fritz Hensel (2 for 2 with a walk); Red – Tim Bruton (3 for 3 with a triple).
Fourteen runs in this game, and nine were scored in the first inning. Orange got four in the top half on four singles and two walks, a good throw from Denny Malloy in right-center cutting down Peter Atkins trying to go first-to-third on Ray Pilgrim’s hit, preventing Orange from getting five. Red got their full complement in the bottom of the frame, scoring five runs on five singles, Gil Delossantos’s double to right field, and two walks, the second drawn by Donald Drummer and driving in the fifth run.
After that, though, pitchers Donald Drummer and Spike Davidson took over, neither allowing a run in the second and third innings. In the top of the second, Donald walked Fritz Hensel with two out, then got Eddie Ortiz to pop a ball into short center field, second baseman Mike Malay moving back and making an excellent catch. Bobby Miller and Tim Bruton singled with one out in the bottom of the inning, winding up at second and third as Tim advanced on the throw to third. But Spike got Morgan Witthoft to foul out and Eddy Murillo to ground out to shortstop Eddie Ortiz. Ray Pilgrim knocked a two-out double in the top of the third, but Donald got Spike to swing through a pitch. Spike allowed a one-out single to Mike Malay in the bottom half, then retired Denny Malloy and Hal Darman.
Orange took the lead with three runs on five clean singles in the top of the fourth, Donald stranding two runners when he got both Gary Kubenka and Peter Atkins to fly out to Bobby Miller in right-center. Red got one run back in the home half. Donald Drummer led off with a single. Tommy Gillis flied out to Matt Levitt in deep left-center. Bobby Miller hit a deep fly to left that drifted foul for the second out. Tim Bruton then sliced a triple to right field that scored Donald from first; a quick relay back to the infield held Tim to three, and he was stranded when Spike Davidson got Morgan Witthoft to foul out.
Orange led by a run entering the buffet and wasn’t able to add to the lead as Donald Drummer retired the side in order, Ray Pilgrim on a pop to second baseman Mike Malay, Spike Davidson on a liner back to the box, and Jim Maloy on a grounder to shortstop Tim Bruton.
So Red needed one to tie, two to win. Eddy Murillo lined a single through the 5.5 hole to start the inning, and Gil Delossantos followed with a single to right field. Tim Bruton ran for Eddy and Bobby Miller for Gil. Mike Malay flied out to left-center, Matt Levitt making an excellent catch; Tim tagged up and took third on the play. Denny Malloy took a walk, loading the bases. Hal Darman came up, and this happened:
https://www.facebook.com/jack.spellman/videos/1775724069897819
Hal’s fly to Matt Levitt in left-center wasn’t terribly deep, but travelled far enough to allow Tim to tag up and score the tying run. The throw home skipped past catcher Fritz Hensel, and Bobby took third on the play. Donald Drummer came up with a chance to win the game, but third baseman Ray Pilgrim caught his pop in foul territory for the third out. Final score: Orange 7, Red 7, the first and probably only tie of the 2024 season.
Standings – Session Four:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Blue 10 3 .769 — 171 123 +48 L1
Maroon 8 5 .615 2 160 141 +19 W4
Green 6 7 .462 4 171 169 + 2 L1
Orange 5.5 7.5 .423 4.5 151 165 -14 T1
Red 5.5 7.5 .423 4.5 153 173 -20 T1
Purple 5 7 .417 4.5 135 145 -10 W1
Gray 5 8 .385 5 154 179 -25 W1
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Blue 7-0 3-3 1 0-0 5-0 1-0
Maroon 5-2 3-3 3 0-0 3-2 3-2
Green 2-3 4-4 2 0-0 1-3 2-3
Orange 2-3 3.5-4.5 0 0-1 2-3 1-2
Red 1.5-6.5 4-1 0 1-0 2-4 1-1
Purple 1-4 4-3 0 0-0 2-3 0-0
Gray 4-4 1-4 1 0-0 2-2 2-2
Orange and Red tied their game of October 24.
2024 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gray Green Maroon Orange Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 4 3 5 6 4 4 26
Gray 5 X 4 4 5 0 5 23
Green 3 3 X 5 3 6 5 25
Maroon 2 4 5 X 6 1 4 22
Orange 1 3 4 2 X 5 3.5 18.5
Purple 4 4 3 6 3 X 3 23
Red 5 3 3 2 5.5 4 X 22.5
_________________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 20 21 22 24 28.5 20 24.5 160
Season home run leaders:
David Kruse – 7
Tim Coles – 6
Ken Brown – 4
Peter Atkins – 3
Gregory Bied – 3
Tim Bruton – 3
Larry Fiorentino – 3
Pat Scott – 3
George Brindley – 2
Clint Fletcher – 2
Doc Hobar – 2
Gary Kubenka – 2
Paul Rubin – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Ralph Villela – 2
David Brown – 1
Jack Crosley – 1
Jeff Fisher – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Tommy Gillis – 1
Rex Horvath – 1
Rick Kahn – 1
Denny Malloy – 1
Bobby Miller – 1
Eddie Ortiz -1
David Pittard – 1
Joe Roche – 1
Steve Sandall – 1
Morgan Witthoft – 1
Schedule for Monday October 28:
10:30 a.m.: Maroon (8-5) at Purple (5-7), Gray umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Gray (5-8) at Orange (5.5-7.5), Purple umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Red (5.5-7.5) at Green (6-7), Orange umpiring
Blue has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Only six dates remain in the 2024 regular season. First-place Blue has the bye Monday, with the rest of the league clawing to pick up half a game. Streaky Maroon team, with a four-game winning streak on the line, plays Purple, coming off the bye, at 10:30. The other two games match teams all struggling to get back to .500 for the session. Everyone’s aiming for the end-of-year tourney, and with the weather kinda sorta cooling, teams are getting their full rosters in place – only two mercenaries today, though the Tex-Mex may have had something to do with that as well – and gearing up for the battle for the tee-shirts. Monday will be a North American Sports Equinox, with games in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, and Austin Senior Softball B League. Will anyone hit the 27-game parley and bankrupt Las Vegas? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
The end-of-season luncheon, always a highlight of the year, followed today’s games. As ever, it was great to see the return of retired players who helped build up Austin senior softball into the great thing it has become.
Following the delicious Tex-Mex from Lupe’s there was the announcement of the 2024 Texas Senior Softball Hall of Fame inductees:
Dave Berra (with Terry Watts, Anthony Galindo, and Tommy Deleon)
Greg Lloyd (with the same trio)
Mike Hill (with Tommy Deleon) – Mike is retiring after 11 years as B League Treasurer, and will be sorely missed. Mike was already in the Hall as a player; today’s award was to recognize his Special Achievement as Treasurer.
Terry Thompson (flanked by Rick Jensen and Johnny Lee to the left, Anthony Galindo and Tommy Deleon to the right)
More pictures from the luncheon:
David Pittard, Johnny Lee, David Kruse, Rick Jensen, and Hannah Spellman (a.k.a. Keggy Junior).
Hal Darman and Kenny Jordan.
Speaking of retired players, a sad piece of news to relay: Longtime B Leaguer Danny Sparks passed away recently from brain cancer. It was his widow Jan who was in touch with me about donating his books – our own Bobby Miller has arranged to get them to Bobby’s son-in-law, who’s involved in a books-to-prisoners program in Houston.
On a happier set of very jazzy notes, Mike Mordecai and Denny Malloy are producing a red-carpet event at the State Theatre on Friday November 1 at 7:30pm featuring 2024 Grammy Award winner Carmen Bradford of the Count Basie Orchestra and an evening of the best in Austin Jazz. Tickets are available at https://tickets.austintheatre.org/11580
Exchange of the Day, after I informed Mrs. Keggy of my weekend plans to binge the Netflix series The Comeback, about the 2004 Red Sox:
Mrs. Keggy: “You’re not going to cry, are you?”
Keggy: “I am definitely going to cry.”