Game Day Gazette
October 5, 2026
Happily, the fields dried out from the weekend rains, and we were able to enjoy a glorious fall day of softball. Today marked the start of the final session so all teams start anew as we begin the march towards the elusive championship T shirts! It was also a return to our regular start times that gave us a little more sleep coupled with an uptick in traffic. All in all a great way to start your week!
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Game: Orange (0-0-0) vs. Red (0-0-0) 8:30 a.m. 10/05/26 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
Total |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Orange |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Red |
5 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
X |
14 |
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Starting pitchers-Orange-Terry Thompson; Red-Tom Kelm |
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Mercenaries: Orange- Jack Spellman, Donnie Janac, Jeff Broussard and Lucky Hoffman |
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Red- Scott Wright, Paul Rubin and Tom Kelm |
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Home Plate Umpire-Peter Atkins |
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First & Second Inning Recap:
Orange- currently riding a three-game losing streak, Orange was looking to turn things around with a couple of key cogs out of the lineup (Bobby Miller and Jim Foelker). Associate manager Adam Gordon decided to shake things up by moving Jack Adams into the leadoff spot and Jack paid immediate dividends with an opening double to left center. Terry Thompson bounced out to short as Jack held at 2B. Steve Kendig bounced out to Scott Wright at 3B for the 2nd out. Barry McRee singled to move Jack to 3B, and he scored on Adam Gordon’s base hit to plate Orange’s first run. 2nd – P Tom Kelm had his screwball working as he shut down Orange on the 2nd with only a lone hit by Jack Spellman. Rick Parker grounded to 3B to start the inning followed by Jack’s single. Donnie Janac and Jeff Broussard hit into back-to-back fielder’s choice groundouts to quickly close out the frame.
Red- with only twelve (12) games left on the schedule, Red knows that they are running out of time and need to make their move now. They wasted little time in this contest by putting up nine runs in the first two frames to gain control over this tilt. Doc Hobar led off with a walk and moved to 2B on Patrick Schmidt’s single up the middle. John Flowers reached on an infield single to load the bases with nobody out. Ken Brown laced a single to center to drive in two runs and give Red a lead they would never relinquish. Bobby Hawthorne hit into a fielder’s choice for the first out, but Mike Mordecai slapped a single to left to bring in the 3rd run. Sal Lopez drilled a single to left to bring in the 4th run. Morris Carter bounced into a fielder’s choice for the 2nd out but Scott Wright’s line single to right drove in the 5th run to complete the inning. 2nd– Paul Rubin and Tom Kelm opened the 2nd with back-to-back singles. Doc drew his 2nd walk in as many at bats to load the bases. Patrick lined a shot to center to bring in the 1st run with a sacrifice fly. John knocked in the 2nd run as the runner from 3B scored on his fielder’s choice groundout to 2B. Ken followed with a bloop double to right to drive in the 3rd run. Bobby finished off the four0run frame with a clean single to left as Red jumped out to an eight-run lead.
End of 2nd Score: Red 9 Orange 1
3rd Inning Recap:
Orange- already down by eight, Orange scratched out a single run in the 3rd. Lucky Hoffman lined a single to left center to open the inning. Jack singled to left center and Lucky moved to 3B on Terry’s groundout to short. He scored on Steven Kendig’s flyball to right center for Orange’s only run. Barry picked up his 2nd hit with an infield single but P Tom Kelm got Adam to pop out to short to retire the side.
Red– Sal led off the 3rd with a sizzling grounder down the 3B line for a single. Morris grounded into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Scott and Paul followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Tom ripped a two-run single up the middle to get Red on the board. Doc flew out to Jack Adams in center field for the 2nd out and for some reason, the runner from 1B (believe it was Bobby H.) took off on the hit and was thrown out at 1B to complete the 8-6-3 double play to end the inning.
End of 3rd Score: Red 11 Orange 2
Fourth Inning Recap:
Orange– continued to struggle to get the ball out of the infield and failed to score in the 4th. Bubba Barnett reached on an infield hit to start the inning. Rick hit into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Jack S. ripped a single to center but again Tom was able to induce groundball outs from Donnie and Jeff to retire the side. Great assist by Tom on Donnie’s hard grounder up the middle as his deflection went right to Ken for the 1-6-4 out at 2B.
Red– failed to score for the 1st time despite having the heart of the order at the plate in the 4th. Patrick lined out to center to open the inning. John slashed a single to right to get things going. Ken squared up a pitch and unfortunately his well-struck ball went right to Jack Adams in center for the 2nd out. Bobby grounded to 3B and Adam got the force at 2B to close out the frame
End of 4th Score: Red 11 Orange 2
Fifth Inning Recap:
Orange– picked up a couple of runs to keep this one from getting out of hand. Lucky popped out to short to lead things off. Jack A. and Terry followed with back-to-back singles to mount a threat. Steve was retired on a nice catch by Patrick on his drive to left center for the 2nd out. Barry and Adam came through with a couple of bloop singles to drive in two runs before Rick grounded into an inning ending fielder’s choice
Red– mounted a two-out rally after Mike and Morris hit into fielder’s choice out following Mike’s leadoff walk. The mercenaries (Scott, Paul and Tom) completed a perfect 9-9 showing at the plate on the day with successive singles to drive in the first run. Doc’s single drove in two more to stake Red to a ten-run lead and invoke the flip flop rule.
End of 5th Score: Red 14 Orange 4
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Orange– went down without a fight as Tom retire the Orange batsmen to close out the game. Jack S. flew out to right center to start the inning. Tom retired Donnie on a groundball to short and Jeff on a comebacker to finish off a dominating win for Red.
Final Score: Red 14 Orange 4
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Game 2: Green (0-0-0) vs. Gray (0-0-0) 9:30 a.m. 10/05/26 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
Total |
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Green |
0 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
X |
9 |
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Gray |
5 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
X |
X |
15 |
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Starting pitchers- Green-Luis Sanchez; Gray- Sal Lopez |
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Mercenaries-Green- Jack Adams, Tommy DeLeon and Rick Parker |
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Mercenaries-Gray- Tim Coles, Terry Thompson and Sal Lopez |
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Home Plate- Morris Carter |
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First & Second Inning Recap:
Green– Gray manager, Peter Atkins, was pushing all the rights buttons in this one starting with his selection of Sal Lopez as his starting pitcher (I was not privy to the player draw, but Peter had three potential starters in his draw with Terry Thomspn, Tim Coles and Sal). Sal’s first pitch to Green’s leadoff hitter (me) ticked the inside corner for a strike. His next pitch was low and away but not wanting to leave it up to Morris’ call, I flailed at the pitch and could not keep it in fair territory for a leadoff foul out. Luis Sanchez followed with a flyball to deep center for the 2nd out. Jack Spellman laced a single to center but the rally was short-lived as Denny Malloy popped out to 3B to end the inning. 2nd– not much more success against Sal Koufax in the 2nd. Mickey Poole slashed a single to left center to start the frame. Tom Kelm took a called third strike on a pitch that never got above his belly button for the 1st out (the flat pitch call he was waiting on never came!). Robby Vickery looped a single to right but Sal retired Larry King on a pop fly to short and Jack Adams on a grounder to short to complete the two-inning shutout.
Gray-they say hitting is contagious and Gray had the fever in this one as they pounded out twelve hits and ten runs without ever making an out in the first two innings. With Ray Pilgrim and Gary Coyle out of the lineup, Coach Pete needed a little more thump in the heart of the lineup, so he moved quintessential leadoff hitter, Scott Wright, to the 3 hole. Lynn Simpson opened the game with a hustling double to right center. Mike Carroll singled to right center to drive in Lynn with the 1st run. Scott Wright rocketed a ball to right, and it sped past Rick Parker and rolled to the fence for a two-run homer. Louie Caputo and Jeff Broussard followed with back-to-back singles. The “book” on newcomer Larry Coons is hard pull with mostly soft stuff so play the line. Well, Larry squared up Luis’ offering, and the ball went sailing over my head for a bases clearing double to give Gray their five-run inning. 2nd– the hits kept coming in the 2nd with a new set of faces continuing the onslaught! David Safely led off with a single to right and Art Monzingo (rounding back into form in his 2nd game back) lined a single to right center. Tim Coles drove in the first run with a hard single to right. Terry Thompson reached on a single to left to load the bases. Sal Lopez, another dead pull hitter (by the book) ripped a line drive between me and Denny (left centerish) for a bases clearing triple to give Gray four runs in the frame. Lynn reached with an infield single (think the ball ricocheted off Luis’ glove) to bring in Sal with the 5th run.
End of 2nd Score: Gray 10 Green 0
Third Inning Recap:
Green- to their credit, Green did not give up and rallied back with four runs in the 3rd. Tommy DeLeon singled to start the inning. Rick Parker went down swinging, but Paul and Luis came through with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Jack smacked a single to right to bring in Green’s first run of the game. Denny followed with a hard single to right center to drive in Luis. The right center fielder bobbled the ball, and Denny tried to stretch his hit into a double but was thrown out at 2B for the 2nd out. Mickey followed with another beautiful hit to left center to drive in Jack with Green’s 3rd run. Tom Kelm singled to put runners on 1B and 2B. Robby lashed a base hit to the right side to score Mickey with the 4th run before Larry popped out to short to retire the side.
Gray- thinking they could get back in the game with a shutdown inning, Green was hopeful heading into the bottom of the 3rd. That hope evaporated as Gray extended their consecutive on-base streak to sixteen batters as the first four hitters reached in the 3rd. Mike led off with a single and moved to 3B on Scott’s double down the right field line. Louis drove in both runners with his own double up the middle. Jeff slapped a single to center to put runners on the corners with no one out. Larry hit a grounder to 2B, and Green had their first out of the game as Jeff was forced out at 2B as the 3rd run crossed the plate. David kept the rally going with a single to right. Art’s single scored the runner from 2B for the 4th run. Tim grounded a hard single to left to bring in run and complete Gray’s third consecutive five-run inning,
End of 3rd Score: Gray 15 Green 4
Fourth Inning Recap:
Green– another slow start as Jack A. bounced out to 3B and Rick hit into a fielder’s choice after Tommy had singled. Paul hit a drive to left center and Lynn almost made a spectacular catch on, but the ball fell in for a hit. Luis stepped up and drove a ball to the deepest part of centerfield for a three-run inside the park home run, Jack S. followed with a scorching drive to right that ticked off David’s glove for a three-base hit. Denny was unable to get the run home as he flew out to Terry in center to retire the side.
Gray- somehow Luis was able to finally quiet the Gray bats as he pitched a scoreless frame in the 4th. Terry bounced out to 3B, and Robby made a nice pick up and throw for the 1st out. Sal and Lynn followed with back-to-back singles and the Green team had to be thinking here we go again! Mike sharply grounded back to the box and Luis made a nice stop, flipped to 2B and Jack relayed to 1B to get the inning ending 1-6-3 double play!
End of 4th Score: Gray 15 Green 7
Fifth “Open” Inning Recap:
Green- chasing eight runs, Green managed to push across a couple of runs, but it was too little too late. Mickey capped off a perfect 3-3 day at the plate with a leadoff single. Tom bounced back to the pitcher for a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Robby picked up his 3rd hit in as many at bats to put runners on 1B and 2B. Larry went down on strikes for the 2nd out. Jack A. and Tommy delivered with two-out run scoring singles to close the gap to six runs. Rick appeared to go down looking on a called 3rd strike, but Morris had ruled the previous pitch illegal (perhaps flat?) even though Rick had swung and missed. No worries, Rick struck out on the next pitch to end the game with Gray firmly in 1st place and looking like the team to be for the 2026 season!
Final Score: Gray 15 Green 9
5th Session Standings:
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ASSL C league 2026 5th Session Standings |
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Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
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Gray |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
15 |
9 |
6 |
– |
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Red |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
14 |
4 |
10 |
– |
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Blue |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.50 |
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Orange |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.000 |
4 |
14 |
-10 |
1.00 |
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Green |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.000 |
9 |
15 |
-6 |
1.00 |
Nothing more to say other than Gray looked unbeatable today but there is still games to be played so let’s see what happens.
Season-to-date Standings:
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ASSL C league 2026 Season to-date Standings |
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Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
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Gray |
28 |
17 |
2 |
0.596 |
553 |
486 |
57 |
– |
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Green |
25 |
17 |
1 |
0.581 |
538 |
438 |
68 |
1.50 |
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Orange |
22 |
21 |
1 |
0.500 |
454 |
450 |
19 |
4.00 |
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Blue |
17 |
26 |
0 |
0.395 |
386 |
494 |
-86 |
10.00 |
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Red |
16 |
27 |
0 |
0.372 |
422 |
485 |
-58 |
11.00 |
By winning their head-to-head matchup with Green, Gray was able to extend their lead to 1.5 games with only eleven remaining for these two foes.
Next Games: Thursday October 8, 2026
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Orange (0-1-0) vs. Gray (1-0-0)
Can Gray ride Monday’s victory over Green all the way to a potential pennant? Can Orange bounce back from their current four-game losing streak and take down the heavily favored Gray squad?
Blue will be taking on the umpiring responsibilities in this game
Game 2 9:00 a.m. Blue (0-0-0) vs. Red (1-0-0)
The Battle for the Bottom continues as Red attempts to chase down and surpass Blue in the season long standings. Blue has held them off so far, can they stem the rising Red tide and secure a pivotal win in Thursday?
Orange will be taking umpiring the late game on Thursday.
Green will have a bye on Thursday allowing their players to have priority in the draw.