Game Day Gazette
August 4, 2025
Probably shouldn’t say this out loud but we are enjoying a somewhat mild summer by Texas standards and yesterday was no different. We started out the morning with high humidity, but a brief storm rolled in at the end of the first game and the temperatures dropped by ten degrees in the late game, very pleasant! One more game to be played in Session #3 and this Thursday will mark the end of the 8:30/9:30 start times for the summer.
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Braves (7-3-0) vs. Senators (6-3-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Braves- having dropped their last two games and in danger of falling out of 1st place in the session #3 standings, the Braves found their footing as they pounded Senators P Raul DeLeon for nine runs in the first two frames. Doc Hobar led off with a double and scored on Paul Rubin’s hit up the middle. Bobby Miller followed with a double to left putting runners on 2B and 3B. Tom Brownfield followed with a booming drive to right that skipped past Roger Geras and allowed Tom to circle the bases for a three-run inside the park home run. Lynn Simpson made the 1st out as he grounded back to Raul. Dave Berra singled and moved to 3B on Tom Kelm’s line drive double to CF. Brian Rider drove in Dave with a single to left for the 5th run. 2nd– Joe Dayoc, playing in his last C league game of the season, led off the 2nd with a line drive double to CF. Mike Hill followed with a crushing blow to right center for an RBI triple. Jeff Broussard ground out to 3B for the 1st out. Doc singled to drive in Mike with the 2nd run. Paul lined out to Jack Adams at SS on a well-timed leaping catch for the 2nd out. Bobby singled to move Doc 3B and Tom B. brought both runners around to score with an RBI double to left center. Lynn was retired for the final out of the inning.
Senators-Henry Flores popped out to 2B to lead off the 1st inning. Greg Lloyd hit a sharp single up the middle and scored on Raul DeLeon booming triple to right center. Terry Thompson laced a single to left to score Raul with the 2nd run. Terry Watts followed with a line drive single to right center, Roger Geras bounced back to P Tom Kelm, and he went to 1B for the out as both runners advanced. Jack Adams singled up the middle tot score Terry T. but the other Terry (Watts) was thrown out at the plate on a nice relay from Paul to Bobby to C Brian Rider. Brian made an excellent back-hand catch to secure the out and retire the side. 2nd- Donnie Janac opened the 2nd with a line single up the middle. Mickey Poole flew out to CF for the 1st out. Barry McRee grounded into a fielder’s choice out at 2B and Johnny Neville bounced out to 2B for the final out of the inning.
End of 2nd Score: Braves 9 Senators 3
Third Inning Recap:
Braves- P Raul DeLeon quickly got two outs as Dave bounced out to 2B and Tom K. flew out to left. Brian and Joe D. kicked off the Braves two-out rally with back-to-back singles. Mike H. ripped a shot to right that got past the outfielders and rolled to the fence for a three run inside the park homer. Jeff lined a single to left and Doc did likewise to extend the inning. Paul knocked in the 4th run with a pop fly double down the left field line. Bobby smacked a single to score Paul as the Braves completed the five-run inning.
Senators- Henry banged out a base hit to left to start the 3rd inning. Greg’s single moved him to 2B, and he scored on Raul’s double to right center. Terry T. hit a low liner to short that Bobby snared for the 1st out. Terry W. grounded the ball to Tom K., and he went to 1B for the out. Greg attempted to score from 3B on the play, but Jeff made an accurate throw to Brian at the plate that beat Greg for the final out of the inning.
End of 3rd Score: Braves 14 Senators 4
Fourth Inning Recap:
Braves– continued to pummel the ball as they picked up their 3rd five-run inning of the game. Tom B. led off with a double to right center. Lynn singled to move him to 3B, and he scored on Dave’s base hit to right. Tom K. hit a sharp single to left, scoring Lynn with the 2nd run. Brian lined out to 3B for the 1st out. Joe capped off a perfect 3-3 day with an RBI single to left. Mike H. put the finishing touch on the Braves five-run frame with a two-run single (giving him a total of six runs batted in for the game!).
Senators- Tom K. continued to stymie the Senators, holding them to a single run in the 4th. Roger grounded back to the pitcher to start the inning. Jack and Donnie followed with back-to-back singles to get things going. Mickey ground into a fielder’s choice at 2B for the 2nd out as Jack moved to 3B. He scored on Barry’s sharp single to left. Johnny ground into another fielder’s choice to end the inning.
End of 4th Score: Braves 19 Senators 5
Fifth “Open” Inning Recap:
Senators- down by two touchdowns, the team flip-flopped, and the Senators batted in their half of the open inning. Henry lined out to 3B to start the inning. Greg wrapped up his perfect 3-3 day at the plate with a single up the middle. Raul fouled out as his fly down the left field line drafted into foul territory for the 2nd out. Terry T. shot a line-drive double past Mike in left to drive in Greg with the first run. Terry Watts single moved Terry T. to 3B. Roger hit a ball back to Tom and just to change things up he opted to go to 2B for the force instead of making the play to 1B as he had done on two previous plays. His throw to 2B was intercepted by Bobby and his relay to IB was late. Jack got his 3rd hit in as many at bats with a single to drive in two runs. The game ended on a fielder’s choice grounder to Bobby that he flipped to Doc to get the force at 2B.
Final Score: Braves 19 Senators 9
Rain started at the end of the first game and remained steady for the first ten minutes of this game. There was never any thought as to a delay or a rainout as the “boys” played through the elements.
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Sultans (4-5-0) vs. Keystones (5-4-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Sultans- the battle for 3rd place in the session standing began with Phil Stanch confounding the scouting report and lacing a line single to left. Donnie Janac drew a walk to move Phil to 2B. Gary Coyle drilled a hard shot up the middle to score Phil with the Sultan’s 1st run. Peter Atkins followed with a single to drive in Donnie with the 2nd run. P Tommy DeLeon got Ray Pilgrim reaching for a pitch that resulted in a 6-4-3 double play. Jeff Broussard grounded back to the pitcher for the final out. 2nd– Adam Gordon looped a single over 3B to start the frame. He was quickly erased on a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Luther Elmore. Ray Saldana went down on strikes to close out the frame.
Keystones- were able to knot the score with two runs of their own in the 1st. Mike Hill led off with a sharp single to right center. He moved to 3B on Patrick Schmidt’s base hit to right and scored on Barry McRee’s sacrifice fly to CF. Mike Mordecai lined a single to left to move Patrick to 3B. He scored on Bobby Hawthorne’s hit down the 3B line. Margarito Canava walked to load the bases. Robby Vickery grounded back to Ray for the final out as three runners were left stranded. 2nd– Johnny Neville opened the 2nd with a line single to right. Morris Carter went down swinging for the 1st out. Raul DeLeon singled past 2B to move the pinch runner to 3B. Jack grounded sharply to Ray who made an accurate throw to Adam at 2B, and he completed the 1-6-3 double play to end the inning.
End of 2nd Score: Sultans 2 Keystones 2
Third Inning Recap:
Sultans– Bobby Miller led off the inning with a sharp single to center, Patrick Schmidt got to the ball quickly and his throw to 2B beat Bobby, who was attempting to stretch the hit into a double, by a step. Terry T. followed with a short fly ball to left that fell in for a single. Phil fouled out for the 2nd out and Donnie grounded into a fielder’s choice out at 2B to retire the side.
Keystones- Ray Pilgrim continued to dazzle on the mound as he worked around two hits in a scoreless 3rd inning. Mike H. singled to right center to open the frame. Patrick popped out to Ray for the 1st out. Barry reached on an infield single to move Mike to 2B. Tommy went down swinging for the 2nd out. Mike M. bounced a ball to Gary at 3B and he fired to 2B to get the force and end the inning.
End of 3rd Score: Sultans 2 Keystones 2
Fourth Inning Recap:
Sultans- broke open this “pitcher’s duel” with a five-run outburst in the 4th. Gary singled to lead off the inning. He scored on Peter’s double to left center. Ray drilled a single down the 3B line to score Peter with the 2nd run. Jeff bounced into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Adam looped a single over 3B to move the pinch runner from 1B. Luther followed with a line single to CF to plate the 3rd run of the frame. Ray S. went down looking for the 2nd out. Bobby and Terry T. stepped up with back-to-back run scoring singles to complete the Sultan’s five-run inning.
Keystones- Ray hurled his 3rd consecutive scoreless inning to keep the Sultan’s lead at five runs. Bobby H. struck out to lead off the inning. Margarito bounced out to 2B for the 2nd out. Robby singled and Johnny walked to put runners on 1B and 2B. Morris took a called 3rd strike on what should have been the 3rd out of the inning but the umpiring crew somehow lost track and play continued. Raul hit a sharp grounder back to Ray and he tossed to 1B for the 4th out to end the inning.
End of 4th Score: Sultans 7 Keystones 2
Fifth Inning Recap:
Sultans- Phil opened the 5th with a line shot to right. He was erased on Donnie’s ground ball to Mike M. at 3B. Gary was retired for the 2nd out. Peter and Ray P. followed with back-to-back singles to bring in the 1st run. Jeff smashed a line drive double to left center to bring in the 2nd run. Adam’s pop fly to short ended the inning.
Keystones- finally broke through with a single run off the seemingly unhittable Ray P. Jack flew out to CF to start the inning. Mike H. banged out another hit to complete his perfect day at the plate. Patrick followed with a hit to put runners at 1B and 2B. Barry grounded to 3B, and Gary beat Mike H. to the base to get the force for the 2nd out. Tommy lined a single to left to break the Keystones scoring drought.
End of 5th Score: Sultans 9 Keystones 3
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Sultans- continued to put up runs to maintain their lead. Luther led off the frame with a single down the 3B line. Ray S. struck out for the 1st out. Bobby smacked a double to right center to score Luther with the 1st run. He moved to 3B on Terry T.’s base hit past Mike at 3B. Phil drove in the 2nd run with a sacrifice fly to right center field. Donnie singled but Gary flew out to CF to retire the side.
Keystones– down to their final at-bat and now trailing by eight runs, the Keystones could only manage to scratch out a single run in the 6th. Bobby H. led off with a single. Margarito walked and Robby lined a base hit to bring in the 1st run. Johnny drew the 2nd walk of the inning, but Morris went down swinging for the 1st out. Raul flew out to CF for the 2nd out. Jack hit a hard grounder to short and Adam gloved it and made the unassisted force at 2B to end the game.
Final Score: Sultans 11 Keystones 4
Session Three Standings:
|
|
ASSL C league 2025 3rd Session |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Braves |
8 |
3 |
0 |
0.727 |
155 |
112 |
43 |
– |
|
Senators |
6 |
5 |
0 |
0.545 |
111 |
117 |
-6 |
2.00 |
|
Keystones |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0.500 |
109 |
102 |
7 |
2.50 |
|
Sultans |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0.500 |
91 |
103 |
-12 |
2.50 |
|
Pioneers |
2 |
8 |
0 |
0.200 |
83 |
115 |
-32 |
5.50 |
The combination of a Braves victory and losses by the Senators and Keystones gives the Braves a two-game lead with only one game left to play. Congrats to Tom Kelm and the rest of the Braves for winning the session #3 title!
Full Session Standings:
|
|
ASSL C league 2025 Season To-date Standings |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Braves |
23 |
9 |
0 |
0.719 |
456 |
334 |
122 |
– |
|
Senators |
15 |
16 |
0 |
0.484 |
364 |
392 |
-28 |
7.50 |
|
Keystones |
14 |
17 |
0 |
0.452 |
367 |
381 |
-14 |
8.50 |
|
Pioneers |
14 |
17 |
0 |
0.452 |
326 |
353 |
-27 |
8.50 |
|
Sultans |
12 |
19 |
0 |
0.387 |
334 |
387 |
-53 |
10.50 |
Braves lead in the overall season standings is back up to 7.50 games. Still two sessions to go so plenty of time for someone to go on a long run and catch the runaway Braves…
Next Games: Thursday August 7, 2025
Game 1 8:30 a.m. (H) Senators (6-5-0) vs. (V) Pioneers (2-8-0)
Game 2 9:30 a.m. (H) Braves (8-3-0) vs. (V) Sultans (5-5-0)
Senators have a bye on Thursday so their players will have priority in the draw.
Injured List Updates:
Joe Dayoc- as noted in the recap, this was Joe’s last game for the season as he will be undergoing shoulder surgery later in the week. Please join me is praying everything goes well and he makes a full and complete recovery in time to start next season.
Greg Lloyd- Greg will also be out for almost a month as he is having cataract surgery on both eyes (one at a time!) and should be back shortly after Labor Day. Again please join me is praying everything goes well and Greg makes a full and complete recovery.