Game Day Gazette
August 20, 2026
Shout out to Johnny Neville for keeping the scorebook in both of today’s games while his team was on a bye. It’s nice for me to be able to focus on playing rather than juggling multiple tasks so thank you Johnny.
We have a new leader in the overall season standings! The Grays have been on top since the first game of the season, but the Greenies finally caught and passed them with Thursday’s scintillating head-to-head win. No worries as we have twenty-six (26) game dates remaining in the season so I expect to see the lead change hands multiple times over the rest of the year.
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Game 1: Green (7-5-1) vs. Gray (7-6-1) 8:00 a.m. 8/20/26 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Green |
5 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
18 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gray |
3 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
15 |
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Starting pitchers- Green- Luis Sanchez; Gray- Ray Pilgrim & Tommy DeLeon |
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Mercenaries: Green- Don Roets, Barry McRee, Lucky Hoffman and Greg Tolander |
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Gray- Patrick Schmidt, Terry Thompson and Tommy DeLeon |
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Home Plate Umpire- Terry Watts |
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First & Second Inning Recap:
Green- so this one lived up to the advance billing as both teams battled throughout to see who would come out on top. Paul Rubin led off with a ground single up the middle. Luis Sanchez singled through the right side to move Paul to 3B. I scored on Denny Malloy’s single to right center. Mickey Poole lined a single to center to load the bases. Tom Kelm hit a fly ball to shallow left center that dropped in front of Lynn Simpson. Mickey, running from 1B, held up to see of the ball would be caught and was throw out at 2B for the first out. Luis scored from 3B on the play. Robby Vickery looped a single to right to bring home the 3rd run. Larry King singled to left to drive in the 4th run. Don Roets grounded into a force out at 3B for the 2nd out. Barry McRee and Lucky Hoffman drew back-to-back walks to force in the 5th run to complete the inning. 2nd – P Ray Pilgrim continued to struggle with his control and walked Greg Tolander leading off the 2nd inning. Paul fouled out for the 1st out. Luis crushed a drive to right center that rolled to the fence for a two-run homer and Green was off and running. Denny continued to stay hot at the plate with a line single to left center. He was forced out at 2B on Mickey’s grounder to 3B for the 2nd out. Tom singled to center to put runners on 1B and 2B. Robby, perfecting his opposite field swing, lined a single to right to drive in the 2nd run. Larry lined a ball down the left field line for an RBI single to bring in run #4. Don bounced into a fielder’s choice to retire the side with Green up by nine runs.
Gray– Scott Wright drew a leadoff walked and moved to 2B on Mike Carroll’s single to right center. Louis Caputo grounded into a fielder’s choice out at 2B for the first out. Peter Atkins hit a pop up in the infield but the ball fell between Paul and Robby for a single. Ray Pilgrim grounded sharply to Don at 2B and his relay to Paul at short barley beat Peter to the base for the 2nd out as Scott scored Gray’s first run on the play. Lynn Simpson laced a single up the middle to bring in Louis with the 2nd run. Jeff Broussard singled to load the bases and Larry Coons came through with an RBI single to left center to bring in the 3rd run. Patrick Schmidt ground into a fielder’s choice to close out the frame. 2nd– Terry Thompson flew out to center on a nice catch by Barry to open the 2nd inning. Tommy DeLeon followed with a clean single to right. Scott hit a grounder up the middle that I gloved, stepped on the base and threw to 1B to complete the inning ending 6U 6-3 double play.
End of 2nd Score: Green 9 Gray 3
3rd Inning Recap:
Green continued to play inspired ball getting contributions up and down the lineup as Green put up another five spot in the 3rd. Barry McRee flew out to center to start the inning. Lucky Hoffman singled but was erased on Greg Tolander’s fielder’s choice groundout to 3B. Paul kicked off the two-out rally with a single to center. Luis drove in the 1st run with a sharp single to right. Denny walked to load the bases. Mickey stepped up and drove a ball over the center fielder’s head for a bases clearing three-run double. Tom finished off the five-run frame with an RBI single to left center as Green stormed out to a 14-3 lead.
Gray– down by eleven, it would have been easy for Gray to fold up their tents and head home, but they fought back to make this a game with a five-run outburst in the 3rd. Mike and Louis opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Peter drove in the 1st run with a single to right center. Ray was retired on a pop fly just behind the bag at 2B for the only out of the inning. Lynn’s single loaded the bases with only one out. Larry laced a single to left to drive in two more runs. Patrick finished off the inning with an RBI single through the 5/6 hole to keep Gray in this one.
End of 3rd Score: Green 14 Gray 8
Fourth Inning Recap:
Green– at this point, manager Peter Atkins, called out to the bullpen and brought in mercenary pitcher Tommy DeLeon to give Green a different look. New pitcher but similar results as Green put up four runs in the frame. Robby and Larry opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Don was retired on a fly out to right center for the 1st out. Barry lashed a single to left center to drive in Robby’s pinch runner with the 1st run. Lucky followed with a flyball to left center that kept carrying and ultimately skied over Patrick’s head for a huge two-run double. Greg single to move Lucky to 3B and he scored on Paul’s infield hit that spun away from Scott. Luis followed with a scorching line drive that Scott somehow caught. Greg was off with the hit from 2B and was easily doubled off to retire the side.
Gray– continued to scratch and claw to get back into this one, putting up another five spot to narrow the lead to five runs. Terry dropped in a single to left to begin the frame. Tommy followed with a well-placed drive to right center for a run-scoring triple. Scott drove in the 2nd run on a sharply hit ball to the right side. Mike grounded into a fielder’s choice on a nice play by Don for the 1st out. Louis singled to keep the line moving. Peter followed with a drive to right field that dropped in front of Greg (wisely playing deep against a power hitter) for an RBI double. Ray knocked in two more runners with a hard single to left to finish off the five-run inning.
End of 4th Score: Green 18 Gray 13
Fifth “Open” Inning Recap:
Green– P Tommy D. was able to hold Green scoreless in the buffet to give Gray a chance to pull off a come-from-behind win. Denny, maybe the hottest hitter in the league, ripped a ball through the gap between left and left center for a leadoff hit. Louie got to the ball quickly and relayed to Scott while some dumb*** (yours truly!) coaching at 3B had the bright idea to send Denny to 3B. Scott’s throw to Peter arrived at the base in plenty of time to get the out. Oops! Mickey flew out to left on a nice catch by Larry for the 2nd out. Tom walked and Robby capped off a perfect 4-4 day at the plate with yet another single to right. Larry hit a hard grounder to 3B that just drifted over the foul line in front of the bag to end the inning.
Gray– chasing five runs, Lynn opened the frame with a clean single. Jeff bounced into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Not quite sure I know what happened next, but from Johnny’s notes, it appears that Larry made the 2nd out. Patrick doubled to drive in the 1st run and then scored on Terry’s single to left to close the gap to three runs. P Luis managed to get Tommy to fly out to right center to end the ball game with Green taking the win by a final score of 18-15.
Final Score: Green 18 Gray 15
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Game 2: Orange (8-5-0) vs. Red (6-7-0) 9:00 a.m. 8/20/26 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
Total |
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Orange |
3 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Red |
1 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
10 |
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Starting pitchers- Orange- Terry Thompson; Red- Jack Kelly |
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Mercenaries- Orange- Paul Rubin, Luis Sanchez and Ray Pilgrim |
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Red- Scott Wright, Don Roets, Larry Coons and Tom Kelm |
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Home Plate Umpire- Peter Atkins and Mike Carroll on bases |
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First & Second Inning Recap:
Orange– Adam Gordon got things started with a leadoff single as Orange looked to bounce back after Monday’s beatdown vs. Gray. Terry Thompson and Steven Kendig followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. Jim Foelker smashed a double to left center to clear the bases and give Orange an early three-run cushion. Barry McRee grounded to short and Jim decided to go for 3B but was easily retired for the 1st out. Jerry Mylius bounced into a fielder’s choice for the 2nd out, Bubba Barnett lined one back to Jack Kelly for the final out. 2nd– Greg Tolander grounded out to short to lead off the 2nd. Paul Rubin drove a ball between Bobby Hawthorne and Patrick Schmidt in left center and was able to circle the bases for an inside the park home run. P Jack Kelly was able to retire Luis Sanchez and Ray Pilgrim on infield grounders to escape any further damage.
Red- Doc Hobar greeted Orange pitcher Terry Thompson with a screaming line drive up the middle that Terry gloved for the 1st out. Patrick Schmidt singled but was erased on Terry Watt’s groundout to 2B. Bobby Hawthorne lined a single to left to keep things rolling. Gene Nelson smacked a single up the middle to drive in Terry with the 1st run. Jack Kelly singled to load the bases, but P Terry T. got Morris Carter to ground into a fielder’s choice to retire the side. 2nd– bounced back to tally five runs in the 2nd as Orange struggled to make some routine defensive plays. The mercenaries delivered as all four reached base and all of them scored in the inning. Scott Wright led off with a double to right. Don Roets drew walk and Larry Coons singled to load the bases. Tom Kelm lined a single up the middle to drive in two runs. On the play, Tom forgot he had no runner from the plate and did not run out the play until the ball reached the outfield but the throw to 1B went awry and Tom got his base hit. Doc then smacked a single to right center to push across another run. Patrick’s hit loaded the bases for the 2nd time. Terry lined a single to right center to bring in the 4th run. Bobby Hawthorne wrapped up the inning with another hit to left to plate Doc with the 5th run as Red jumped on top by a 6-4 margin.
End of 2nd Score: Red 6 Orange 4
Third Inning Recap:
Orange-jumped back on top with a five-run inning of their own. Adam singled to start the inning and moved to 3B on Terry Thompson’s single. Steve singled to score Adam and Orange was on the board. Jim’s double brought in Terry with Steve moving to 3B. He scored on Barry single to left center. Jerry singled to right, knocking in Jim with Orange’s 4th run. Bubba singled to load the bases, and Greg delivered an RBI single to complete the five-run inning,
Red- P Terry T. held Red scoreless in the 3rd. Gene led off with a single to center but Jack popped out to 2B, and Morris went down swinging to get two quick outs. Scott singled but Don flew out to center to close out the frame.
End of 3rd Score: Orange 9 Red 6
Fourth Inning Recap:
Orange- P Jack Kelly got his mojo back in the 4th as he shut down the mercenaries to get out of the inning unscathed. Paul led off with an infield single. Luis flew out to center and Ray bounced into a 6U 6-3 double play to end the inning.
Red- P Terry T. retired the first two batters as Larry ground out to short and Tom lined out to 3B. Doc smoked a liner to left that kept rising and ended up going over Steven’s head for an inside the park home run. Singles by Patrick and Terry and a walk to Bobby loaded the bases but Gene fouled out to end the threat.
End of 4th Score: Orange 9 Red 7
Fifth “Open” Inning Recap:
Orange- with their lead cut to two runs, Orange responded with a three-run outburst to create some breathing room. Adam beat out an infield hit and moved to 2B on the overthrow to start the inning, Terry lined a single to left to move Adam to 3B. Steven blasted a triple to right center to bring in both runners. Jim knocked in his 5th run of the game with a hard single to left center. Barry grounded into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out. Jerry followed with a single but Bubba and Greg fouled out to retire the side.
Red- trailing by five, Red made a valiant attempt but came up just short in their half of the buffet. Jack K. coaxed a walk to lead off the inning. Morris went down on strikes for the 1st out. Scott’s single and a walk to Don loaded the bases with only one out. Larry flew out to right center for the 2nd out. Tom K. lined a single down the left field line to drive in two runs and cut the lead to three. Doc smashed a double to right to bring in Tom’s courtesy runner and the lead was down to two runs. Patrick drilled a flyball to right center, but Jim got a good jump on the ball and made a nice running catch to end the ball game. Couple of feet either way, that “hit” either ties the score or ends up as a walk off but that how it goes sometimes.
Final Score: Orange 12 Red 10
Current Session Standings:
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ASSL C league 2026 3rd Session Standings |
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Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
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Orange |
9 |
5 |
0 |
0.643 |
148 |
136 |
12 |
– |
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Green |
8 |
5 |
1 |
0.571 |
176 |
152 |
24 |
0.50 |
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Gray |
7 |
7 |
1 |
0.467 |
162 |
176 |
-14 |
2.00 |
|
Red |
6 |
8 |
0 |
0.462 |
114 |
121 |
-7 |
3.00 |
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Blue |
5 |
10 |
0 |
0.333 |
156 |
169 |
-13 |
4.00 |
Green has closed the gap to .50 games with a big matchup looming…
Games 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 |
|
Green |
20 |
11 |
1 |
0.625 |
416 |
324 |
68 |
– |
|
Gray |
22 |
14 |
2 |
0.579 |
442 |
399 |
57 |
0.50 |
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Orange |
18 |
14 |
1 |
0.545 |
354 |
323 |
19 |
2.50 |
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Blue |
12 |
21 |
0 |
0.364 |
290 |
389 |
-86 |
8.50 |
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Red |
10 |
22 |
0 |
0.313 |
292 |
359 |
-58 |
10.50 |
New guy at the top as Green finally caught and passed Gray in the season long standings with the today’s head-to-head victory. Orange is still very much in the race so only time will tell.
Next Games: Monday August 24, 2026
Game 1 8:00 a.m. Green (8-5-1) vs. Orange (9-5-0)
Another potential barn burner with the two teams that are currently leading the session standings going head-to head. Can Green increase their lead over the idle Gray team or will Orange spoil their plans and extend their lead in the current session?
Blue has umpiring duties for this one.
Game 2 9:00 a.m. Blue (5-10-0) vs. Red (6-8-0)
Blue has dropped six in a row and is desperate to turn their season around. Red is scrambling to get back to .500 and finish the session on a positive note. This one may not be for all of the marbles but lots of pride at stake so I am expecting a spirited matchup.
Green will be taking on the umpire responsibilities in this game.
Gray will have a bye on Monday allowing their players to have priority in the draw and thereby potentially impacting on the outcome of the above games!