Game Day Gazette
April 17,2025
Another beautiful day to play ball. Only one more game in the first session, who will emerge as the champs and does it really matter…
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Senators (5-5-0) vs. Keystones (5-6-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Senators– currently riding a three-game winning streak, the Senators started slowly in this one only scoring single runs in the 1st two frames. Terry Thompson opened the game with a line single to left. Henry Flores followed with another shot to left field. When the outfielder bobbled the ball (don’t recall the culprit), Terry scampered to 3B. Behind the play, Henry tried to take 2B but was thrown out on a nice play by Margarito Canava for the 1st out. Terry Watts ground out to SS Mike Hill for the 2nd out. Raul DeLeon then came through with a single up the middle to score Terry with the 1st run of the game. 2nd– Greg Lloyd walked to start the 2nd but was forced out at 2B on Will Scheerer’s ground out. Roger Geras grounded out to 1B for the 2nd out. Jerry Mylius singled to score Will with the Senators’ 2nd run. Mercenary Peter Atkins doubled but both runners were left on base as Donnie Janac grounded out to 3B to end the inning.
Keystones- looking to bounce back after a couple of tough losses, the Keystones came out firing on all cylinders as they put up five runs in the 1st. Mike Hill led off with a single. After John Flowers popped out to 1B, Ken Brown ripped a single to left. Patrick Schmidt dumped a pop fly in front of Henry Flores for an RBI double as Mike scored the Keystones 1st run. Tommy DeLeon singled to right driving in Ken with the 2nd run. Mike Mordecai kept the inning humming with an RBI single to left. Bobby Hawthorne drove in the 4th run with a line shot to left. Barry McRee grounded into a force out at 3B for the 2nd out, but Margarito Canava came through with a single to left to score the 5th run of the inning. 2nd– P Raul DeLeon settled down in the 2nd, retiring the first two batters. Mike H. and John had back-to-back singles but Ken popped out to short to retire the side.
End of 2nd Score: Keystones 5 Senators 2
Third Inning Recap:
Senators– struck back with three runs in the inning to knot the score at 5-5. Terry T. led off with a double. The next three batters (Henry, Terry W. and Raul) all stroked doubles to quickly score three runs. Curt ground out to 2B for the 1st out as Raul advanced to 3B on the play. Greg Tolander grounded a ball to Ken at 2B and rather than go for the easy out at 1B, Ken threw home and his throw beat Raul by a step for the 2nd out. Will ended the inning with a fielder’s choice ground out to 2B.
Keystones- tough inning as the middle of the Keystones lineup was held scoreless. Patrick popped out to shortstop to lead off the inning. Tommy fouled out ahead of Mike M’s two-out single. Robby hit into a fielder’s choice groundout to 2B to end the inning.
End of 3rd Score: Senators 5 Keystones 5
Fourth Inning Recap:
Senators- managed to scratch out a run on three hits to take the lead in this one. Singles by Jerry, Donnie and Terry T. produced the only run for the Senators.
Keystones- continued their struggles at the plate with their 3rd consecutive scoreless inning. Barry and Greg fouled out around Margarito’s single. Johnny Neville line out to P Raul DeLeon for the final out of the inning.
End of 4th Score: Senators 6 Keystones 5
Fifth Inning Recap:
Senators- extended their lead to three runs as they put up two more runs in the 5th. Terry W. walked and scored on Raul’s triple on a ball that got by John in CF. Raul scored on Curt’s groundout to shortstop. The next two batters were retired on groundballs to 2B Ken Brown to end the inning. (Note to all C league players- it doesn’t matter where Ken is playing, if you want to get on base, do not hit the ball to him!).
Keystones- were finally able to break out of their hitting funk as the top of the lineup came through with two runs in the bottom of the 5th. Mike H. walked to start the frame and moved to 2B on John’s single. Ken grounded to P Raul who threw to 3B to force out Mike H. Patrick walked, and Tommy came through with a big two-run single to get the Keystones back on the score board. Raul was able to retire the next two batters on fielder’s choice grounders to end the threat and keep the Senators in the lead.
End of 5th Score: Senators 8 Keystones 7
Sixth Inning Recap:
Senators- got a much-needed contribution from their two mercenaries leading to a three-run outburst for the “lawmakers”. Jerry led off with a single and scored as Peter hit a rocket up the middle that rolled to the fence for a two run inside the park home run. Donnie followed with a single and Terry T concluded his perfect 4-4 day at the plate with another line shot to left as Donnie moved to 3B. Henry drove him home with a sacrifice fly to CF for the Senators 3rd run. Terry W. walked but Tommy got Raul to fly out to CF and caught a wicked line drive off Curt’s bat for the final out.
Keystones- down by four runs, the Keystones were unable to mount a rally in the buffet. Barry singled to start the inning, but Margarito flew out to RF, Greg bounced into a fielder’s choice and Johnny ground out to 1B to end the game.
Final Score: Senators 11 Keystones 7
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Braves (7-3-0) vs. Pioneers (5-5-0)
The last time these two teams met, the Pioneers were shut out as the Braves won by a final score of 14-0. Today’s game had the highest use of mercenaries that we have seen all season. Braves manager, Tom Kelm, asked if we could go ahead and draw to 12 players as he had several guys that were unable to run for themselves. Jack Adams reluctantly agreed. The Braves picked up Ken Brown, Mike Hill and John Flowers while the Pioneers added Ray Pilgrim, Patrick Schmidt, Raul DeLeon, Terry Thompson and Mike Mordecai to their roster.
First & Second Inning Recap:
Braves- the visiting Braves stumbled coming out of the gate as both Jim Foelker and Doc Hobar went down on strikes to open the game. Pioneer pitcher Sal Lopez got number 3 hitter Paul Rubin to foul off the 1st pitch and it looked like it was going to be a quick 1st inning for the Braves. Paul looped the next pitch to left for a double and the Braves were off and running. Lynn Simpson ripped a single up the middle to score Paul with the 1st run of the game. Tom Brownfield followed with an RBI double, and Tom Kelm drove in Tom B.’s pinch runner with the inning’s 3rd run. Billy Hill’s single scored Tom’s pinch runner (Ken B.) and Joe Dayoc completed the scoring with a hit to drive in the 5th run. 2nd– Brian Rider led off the 2nd with a single. Mike Hill and Ken Brown followed with back-to-back singles to bring in the 1st run. John Flowers followed with a single to right. Scott Wright took the relay from the Pioneers right fielder and made a great throw from short right field that beat Mike to the plate for the 1st out of the inning. Jim Foelker brought Ken home with a sacrifice fly to left for the Braves 2nd run. Doc smacked a single to right to score John. Paul walked and Lynn singled to score Doc. Tom B. wrapped up the scoring with a hard shot to left to score Paul as the Braves put up ten runs in the first two frames to take a commanding lead.
Pioneers-Tom Kelm finally figured out how to keep Scott Wright from getting a lead off hit, he walked him instead. Jack Adams ground into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Mike Carroll singled but was forced out at 2B on Butch Barber’s groundball to 2B. Mickey Poole singled to bring in Scott with the Pioneers 1st run. Bubba Barnett’s single brought in the 2nd run he was forced out at 2B as Sal Lopez ground out to Mike Hill to end the inning. 2nd– Ray Pilgrim smashed a single up the middle to open the inning. Patrick Schmidt hit into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Raul DeLeon and Terry Thompson had back-to-back hits to drive in the 1st run of the inning. Mike Mordecai walked to load the bases but Tom Kelm got Scott to pop up to shortstop and Jack to bounce into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
End of 2nd Score: Braves 10 Pioneers 3
Third Inning Recap:
Braves- Tom K. opened the 3rd with a shot to left field that Ken Brown turned into a triple. Joe singled after one out to score Ken for the 1st run of the inning. Brian singled but Sal retired Mike H. on a pop out to 2B for the 2nd out of the inning. But just like the 1st inning, the Braves bats came alive after two outs. Ken and John pounded back-to-back run scoring singles. Jim and Doc followed with their own RBI singles to bring in the 4th and 5th runs.
Pioneers– Tom K. shut down the Pioneers in the 3rd, holding them to no runs and only two hits. Butch fouled out to open the inning. Mickey and Bubba singles and things were looking up for the Pioneers. Sal and Ray followed with fielder’s choice grounders to SS Mike Hill to close out the scoreless inning for the Pioneers.
End of 3rd Score: Braves 15 Pioneers 3
Fourth Inning Recap:
Braves- Paul led off with his 1st homerun of the season on a drive to left center. Lynn followed with a double on a ball that he crushed to right center. Tom B. was retired on a deep fly to Patrick for the 1st out. Tom K. then drove a long fly ball to left that went over the outfielders and resulted in a two-run inside the park home run (assist to pinch runner Ken Brown!). Sal was able to retire the next two batters to avoid any further damage.
Pioneers- Patrick led off with a double Raul walked to start the frame. Terry flew out to RC on a nice catch by Ken for the 1st out. Mike M. flew out to LC with Patrick scoring on the play. Scott ended the inning with a groundout to 1B on an outstanding play by Joe Dayoc on a ball that had triple written all over it.
End of 4th Score: Braves 18 Pioneers 4
Fifth Inning Recap:
Pioneers- at this point, the teams flip flopped, and the Pioneers stayed at the plate for their buffet inning. Jack led off with a single and I’m not sure what happened with Mike C. but Butch absolutely crushed a ball to CF for a run scoring triple. Mickey’s fly ball to CF brought in Butch for the 2nd run of the inning. Bubba singled to keep the inning alive but Sal hit into a fielder’s choice to close out the game and give the Braves another commanding win over the Pioneers.
Final Score: Braves 18 Pioneers 6
|
|
ASSL C league 2025 1st Session |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Braves |
8 |
3 |
0 |
0.727 |
152 |
114 |
38 |
– |
|
Senators |
6 |
5 |
0 |
0.545 |
149 |
139 |
10 |
2.00 |
|
Pioneers |
5 |
6 |
0 |
0.455 |
122 |
136 |
-14 |
3.00 |
|
Keystones |
5 |
7 |
0 |
0.417 |
155 |
155 |
0 |
3.50 |
|
Sultans |
4 |
7 |
0 |
0.364 |
134 |
168 |
-34 |
4.00 |
On the heels of a four-game win streak, the Senators have moved into sole possession of 2nd place in the league. The Braves continue to lead and with only one game left in the 1st session, they are assured of taking the crown. For those new to the league, this means absolutely nothing as the championship is solely based on the end of the season standings. Congrats anyway!
Next Games: Monday April 21, 2025
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Pioneers (5-6-0) vs. Sultans (4-7-0)
Pioneers fighting to get back to .500 and avoid ending up in a three-way tie in the cellar with the Sultans and Keystones. Sultans looking to show last week’s win over the Keystones was no fluke and there are going to be serious contenders for the rest of the season.
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Braves (8-3-0) vs. Senators (6-5-0)
Much anticipated matchup between the teams with the best records in the league. Last time they met, the Senators dominated the Braves in a 13-5 rout. Will we see more of the same or will the Braves rebound and finish the 1st session in style with a win over the surging Senators?
The Keystones will have a bye on Monday and their players will have priority in the draw.
All will be revealed on Thursday…
Happy Easter to all and see you on Monday!