Game Day Gazette
March 31,2025
Another beautiful day to play softball! The sun came out and the winds died down for the opening game, but things quickly shifted with increased cloudiness and stronger winds in the late game. All in all, nice weather for the last day of March.
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Keystones (3-4-0) vs. Senators (2-4-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Keystones– Looking to bounce back after last week’ s crushing come-from-behind victory at the hands of the Sultans, the Keystones jumped on Senator’s pitcher, Raul DeLeon early to grab a quick lead. Mike Hill singled to open the game but was forced out at 2B on Alex Valles’s bouncer to Raul. John Flowers did likewise as Alex was forced out at 2B and there were quickly two out on the inning. Patrick Schmidt started the two-out rally with a base hit. Tommy DeLeon’s single to right scored John with the 1st run of the game. Mike Mordecai drove in Patrick with a ground single in the 5/6 hole. Bobby Hawthorne continued the hit parade with a drive to left field for run #3. Robby Vickery dropped a hit over the infield for the 4th run and Barry McRee’s line drive to left scored Bobby with the 5th run. 2nd– the inning started in a similar fashion as the 1st as Raul retired Margarito Canava and Greg Tolander to open the frame. Johnny Neville continued to swing a hot bat as he singled to extend the inning. Singles by Mike H. and John brought in his pinch runner for the only run in the frame.
Senators– had a hard time getting out of the starting gate in this contest. Greg Lloyd grounded to short leading off the inning. Denny Malloy singled up the middle, but Tommy DeLeon got the next two batters (Raul DeLeon and Terry Thompson) to fly out to Bobby Hawthorne in left to retire the side. 2nd– Terry Watts led of the 2nd with a looping single to Rf. Jerry Mylius and Henry Flores had back-to-back hits with one out to load the bases. Will Scheerer hit a groundball to 2B allowing the runner from 3B to score the Senators first and only run in the inning.
End of 2nd Score: Keystones 6 Senators 1
Third Inning Recap:
Keystones– trotted ten men to the plate in the 3rd while scoring five runs on eight hits (all singles). Patrick led off with a single, moved to 2B on Tommy’s hit and scored on Mike M.’s line drive over 3B. Bobby was retired on a fielder’s choice for the 1st out before Robby knocked in the 2nd run. Barry made the 2nd out but Margarito, Greg and Johnny all had well struck singles to the left side to bring in two more runs. Mike H. closed out the inning with an RBI single for the Keystone’s 5th run.
Senators- Gary Coyle was robbed of at least a double on a nice running catch by Patrick to start the inning. Greg fouled out for the 2nd out before the Senators staged their own two-out rally. Denny laxed a double to CF and Raul hit a deep fly ball to left that Patrick narrowly missed for an RBI triple. Terry T. drove him home with a sharp single to left to end the scoring in the 3rd.
End of 3rd Score: Keystones 11 Senators 3
Fourth Inning Recap:
Keystones- added two more runs in the 4th as the first three batters (Alex, John and Patrick) all reached to load the bases. Tommy hit a fly to short center that was just deep enough to score Alex from 3B. Mike M. went down on strikes for the 2nd out, but Bobby came through with a clutch single to drive John in for the final run of the inning.
Senators- Tommy shut down the Senators in order in the 4th as he was able to get all three batters to hit into groundball outs.
End of 4th Score: Keystones 13 Senators 3
Fifth Inning Recap:
Keystones- another quick half-inning as Raul retired the side in order. Barry and Margarito flew out to CF and Greg bounced out to Gary at shortstop to keep the lead at ten runs.
Senators- continued to struggle against Tommy’s pitching. Will popped out to open the inning. Donnie Janac singled but was left stranded as Gary flew out to CF and Greg was retired on a comebacker to Tommy to end the inning.
End of 5th Score: Keystones 13 Senators 3
Sixth Inning Recap:
Senators- down by ten the team flip flopped. With the pressure seemingly off, the Senators responded with six runs in the buffet. Denny capped off a perfect 3-3 day with a leadoff single. Raul followed with a single and Denny scored on Terry T.’s base hit. Terry W. singled to load the bases. Curt smacked a line shot over 3B to drive in the 2nd run. Jerry Mylius followed with a two-run single. Tommy was able to retire Henry and Will but Donnie’s single and Gary’s double brought in two more runs. Greg grounded to 2B for the final out.
Final Score: Keystones 13 Senators 9
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Braves (4-2-0) vs. Pioneers (4-2-0)
The much-anticipated (at least by me) matchup of the two teams with the best records after six games did not quite live up to the hype as the Braves dominated this contest.
First & Second Inning Recap:
Pioneers- missing a couple of key cogs in their lineup with Jack Adams and Butch Barber being out, the Pioneers picked up Patrick Schmidt and Terry Thompson as mercenaries for the game. Scott Wright singled leading off for the men in Blue. Tom Kelm retired both Mike Carroll and Buddy Gaswint on strike out/foul outs and got Larry King to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the inning. 2nd– Mickey Poole led off the 2nd with a base hit but was forced out at 2B on Sal Lopez’ grounder to SS. Bubba Barnett and Gene Nelson also hit into groundball outs as the Pioneers were unable to put any runs on the board in the first two innings.
Braves- like the Pioneers, the Braves were missing Bobby Miller and Doc Hobar for this one but hit the jackpot by securing Peter Atkins and Raul DeLeon as mercenaries. Lynn Simpson opened the game with a ground out to Scott Wright at short. Pal Rubin walked and moved to 3B on Keith Kreitman’s single. Bob Steckler blasted a double to left center to score the Braves 1st run. Late arriving Tom Brownfield (recent addition to the Tim Coles school of time management… arriving at the field at 8:29 a.m. for an 8:30 a.m. game does not mean you are on-time!) doubled in two more runs (sure glad you showed up!). Tom Kelm followed with an RBI single to drive in the 4th run. Dave Berra singled to move the runners up a base and Brian Rider singled to score the 5th run. 2nd– Peter Atkins opened the 2nd with a booming drive to right center and hustled his way around the bases for an inside the park home run. Lynn ripped a one out single but was forced out at 2B on Paul’s grounder to Sal Lopez. Keith singled and Bob knocked in two more runs with his 2nd double. Tom B. popped out to 3B on a nice catch by Mickey to end the inning.
End of 2nd Score: Braves 8 Pioneers 0
Third Inning Recap:
Pioneers- still looking to get on the scoreboard, Patrick and Terry T. led off with back-to-back singles. Tom settled in and retired the next three batters on groundballs to get out of the inning unscathed.
Braves- Tom B. (TK) led off the inning with a ringing double to left. Dave’s single up the middle scored the only run of the inning.
End of 3rd Score: Braves 9 Pioneers 0
Fourth Inning Recap:
Pioneers- again threatened to get on the scoreboard after Buddy Gaswint stroked a one-out single up the middle. Larry drew a walk and Mickey singled to load the bases. TK came back and retired the next two hitters to strand three runners and keep the shut out intact.
Braves- put the game pretty much out of reach with another five-run outburst in the 4th. Lynn led off with a line single. Paul and Keith followed with base hits to bring in the 1st run. Bob completed his perfect 3-3 day at the plate with another RBI double. Tom B. doubled to drive in two more runs (we forgive you for being late!). TK finished off his own perfect day at the plate with a run scoring double. Dave completed the scoring with his 3rd hit in as many at bats as the Braves jumped to a 14-0 lead.
End of 4th Score: Braves 14 Pioneers 0
Fifth Inning Recap:
Pioneers- another frustrating inning for the Pioneers as the first two batters reached base (Gene Nelson and Patrick) only to have the next three hitters retired leaving two more men left on base).
Sixth Inning Recap:
Pioneers- Down by fourteen, the teams flip flopped giving the Pioneers one more chance to break up the shut out. Mike C. grounded out to shortstop for the 1st out. Buddy flew out to center field for the 2nd out. Larry and Mickey had back-to-back hits to give the Pioneers a little hope, but Tom got Sal on a comebacker to complete the shut out and give the victory to the Braves!
Final Score: Braves 14 Pioneers 0
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|
ASSL C league 2025 1st Session |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Braves |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0.714 |
98 |
69 |
29 |
– |
|
Pioneers |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0.571 |
71 |
80 |
-9 |
1.00 |
|
Keystones |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0.500 |
113 |
107 |
6 |
1.50 |
|
Sultans |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0.429 |
87 |
103 |
-16 |
2.00 |
|
Senators |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0.286 |
91 |
101 |
-10 |
3.00 |
Next Games: Thursday April 3, 2025
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Sultans (3-4-0) vs. Pioneers (4-3-0)
Can the Sultans, coming off a bye, even their record and create a three-team logjam for 2nd place in the standings? Or will the Pioneers bounce back after Monday’s tough loss to the Braves to strengthen their hold on to 2nd place in the standings?
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Senators (2-5-0) vs. Braves (5-2-0)
On paper, this should be an easy win for the Braves as the team with the best record is taking on the team with the worst record. But for anyone that has played in this league for any length of time, anything can happen on any given day so look out for the Senators to rebound and give the Braves all that they can handle on Thursday.
The Keystones will have a bye on Thursday and their players will have priority in the draw.
Come Thursday, all will be revealed!
Paul