Game Day Gazette
October 30, 2025
Shout out to Anthony Galindo and the B division for agreeing to a thirty-minute delay in today’s start times! It was a chilly 48 degrees when we hit the fields at 9:00 but quickly warmed up and it was a beautiful day to play ball. The position of the sun in the 1st game made things a little tough on left-handed batters and the first baseman but other than that the conditions were great. And now on to the games..
Game 1 8:00 a.m. Pioneers (0-3-1) vs. Braves (0-4-1)
The last times these two teams met, the Pioneers thumped the Braves by eight runs, today was a much different story.
First & Second Inning Recap:
Pioneers– the offense struggled in the initial two-inning frame as P Tom Kelm held the men in Blue to two hits and no runs. Jack Adams opened the game with a single to left center. Sal Lopez grounded to 3B, and Tom Brownfield made a strong throw to 2B to get the force for the 1st out. Mike Carroll was a victim of the bright sun in left field as he went down swinging for the 2nd out. Scott Wright singled but Butch Barber bounced into a force out at 2B to end the inning. 2nd– Pioneers went down in order in the 2nd. Art Monzingo grounded out to Doc Hobar at 2B for the 1st out. Tim H. lined out to Bobby Miller at SS for out #2. Bubba Barnett hit a comebacker to Tom Kelm for the final out of the inning.
Braves-still looking for their 1st win this session, the Braves were hoping to get off to a fast start in this one. Pioneer’s pitcher, Sal Lopez, had other ideas and held the potent Braves lineup to a single run in the 1st two frames. Doc Hobar popped out to 2B to lead things off. Bobby Miller followed with a drive to deep left field, but Bobby Hawthorne had him played perfectly and made the catch for the 2nd out. Paul Rubin grounded to short but beat Jack’s throw to 1B for an infield single. Tom Brownfield took a mighty cut in his at-bat but ended up popping out to 2B to retire the side. 2nd– Lynn Simpson led off the 2nd with a drive to CF that Donnie Janac hauled in for the 1st out. Keith Kreitman followed with a booming drive over the left center fielder’s head. His pinch runner, Bobby “Roadrunner” Miller, circled the bases for an inside the park home run to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. I know we don’t do individual player awards in our league but if we did, I would have to nominate Keith for comeback player of the year. Keith played the first couple of week but went on the injured list and was thought to be gone for the season. He came back last week and hit a home run in consecutive games. Welcome back, Keith! Jim Foelker, also returning to the Braves after an extended absence, lined single to left center. Tom Kelm ripped a line single to left center and Jim was thrown out trying to advance to 3B for the 2nd out. Dave Berra ended the inning by lining out to CF on another outstanding catch by Donnie.
End of 2nd Score: Braves 1 Pioneers 0
Third Inning Recap:
Pioneers– Tom K. continued to pitch effectively in the 2nd as he retired Raul on a groundball back to him and Donnie on a grounder to 3B. Bobby Hawthorne hit a sharp single to left and scored the Pioneer’s first run on Jack Adams double to right field on a ball that skipped past Lynn. Sal flew out to Patrick Schmidt to end the inning.
Braves- the two mercenaries (Ken Brown and Patrick Schmidt) got things rolling for the Braves in the 3rd. Ken lined a triple down the right field line and Patrick drove him home with a single to left. Doc singled to put runners on 1B and 2B and Bobby smashed a double to right center to score both runners. Paul lined a single up the middle to drive in Bobby with the 4th run. Tom B. smoked a ball to right center for a run-scoring double to complete the Braves five-run uprising.
End of 3rd Score: Braves 6 Pioneers 1
Fourth Inning Recap:
Pioneers- failed to score despite getting three singles. Mike led off with a single to right but was erased on Scott’s grounder to 2B. Butch singled but Art hit into a fielder’s choice for the 2nd out, Tim reached on a single to load the bases but Bubba ground out to 2B to retire the side.
Braves– finally started to look like the team that dominated the league in the first four session, the Braves put up their 2nd five-run inning. Lynn led off with a clean single to CF. Keith followed with a double on another well-struck ball to left. Jim popped out to short for the 1st out. Tom K. followed with a screaming liner to left that gapped the fielders and allowed the pinch runner (Bobby?) to round the bases for the Braves 2nd inside-the-park three-run homer. Dave lined a single to center and moved to 3B on Ken’s double to right. Patrick drove in the Braves 4th run with a single through the 5/6 hole. Doc finished off the inning with a base hit to score Ken with the 5th run.
End of 4th Score: Braves 11 Pioneers 1
Fifth Inning Recap:
Pioneers- Raul lined out to Ken in right center to start the frame. Donnie singled but was forced out at 2B on Bobby’s fielder’s choice ground out. Jack bounced into a fielder’s choice grounder to short to end the inning.
Braves– Bobby lined out to CF on another fine catch by defensive stalwart, Donnie Janc to open the inning. Paul lined a shot over the second baseman’s head that got past Raul for the Braves 3rd inside the park home run of the game. Tom B. doubled and scored on Lynn’s RBI single to CF. Keith rapped his 3rd extra base hit of the game to score Lynn with the 3rd run. Jim singled to drive in the 4th run. Tom K. and Dave had back-to-back singles to load the bases. Ken polished off the 3rd consecutive five-run inning with a single to left.
End of 5th Score: Braves 16 Pioneers 1
Sixth Inning Recap:
Pioneers- Sal went down swinging to start the inning. Mike popped out to 2B ahead of back-to-back singles by Scott and Butch. Art bounced into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
Seventh “Open” Inning Recap:
At this point, the teams flip flopped, and the Pioneers continued to bat in their open inning.
Pioneers- Tim led off the inning with a single. Bubba hit a sharp grounder to 2B, and Doc flipped to Bobby, and he completed the 4-6-3 double play. Raul ended the game by grounding out to short to give the Braves their 1st win of the session.
Final Score: Braves 16 Pioneers 1
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Keystones (4-1-0) vs. Sultans (5-0-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Highly anticipated matchup between the top two teams in the 5th session.
Keystones- Mike Hill led off by grounding out to 2B for the 1st out. John Flowers smacked a single to CF. Patrick Schmidt followed with a line single to right center. Ken Brown slashed a double down the 3B line to bring in the first two runs. Mike Mordecai drew a walk, and Bobby Hawthorne slapped a single past 3B to score the 3rd run. Tommy DeLeon grounded to Don Roets at 1B and he made a quick throw to 2B to get the force for the 2nd out. Margarito Canava hit into a fielder’s choice grounder to short to end the inning. 2nd– Raul DeLeon, pitching for the Sultans, quickly retired Robby Vickery and Morris Carter on ground outs for the first two outs of the inning. The Keystone mercenaries (Bobby Miller and Scottie Wright) ignited a two-out rally with a double and a single to score the 1st run. The next four batters (Mike H., John, Patrick and Ken) all singled as the Keystones pounded their way to a five-run inning and an early eight run advantage.
Sultans– trying to remain unbeaten in the final session of the season, the Sultans bounced back with eight runs of their own to knot the score. The first five batters singled to produce three runs. Donnie Janac dumped a short fly in left for a leadoff single. Gary Coyle ripped a single down the 3B line to move Donnie to 2B. Peter Atkins single loaded the bases with nobody out. Ray Pilgrim came up with a big single to left to drive in two runs. Jeff Broussard lined a single to right center to bring in the 3rd run. Don Roets walked to load the bases. Adam Gordon grounded to 1B, and Mike Hill made the throw to 2nd to get the force, but the 4th run scored on the play. Lucky Hoffman went down swinging and Jack Kelly hit into a fielder’s choice to end the frame. 2nd– The mercenaries (Raul DeLeon, Jim Foelker and Art Monzingo) jumped right in and keyed the four-run inning. Raul singled to open the frame. Jim flew out to Patrick in left center. Art singled to move Raul to 3B and he scored on Donnie’s sacrifice fly to CF. Gary and Peter rocked back-to-back doubles to bring in two more runs. Ray stayed hot at the plate with an RBI single up the middle. Jeff singled to keep the rally going but Tommy DeLeon was able to get Don to pop out to 1B to retire the side.
End of 2nd Score: Sultans 8 Keystones 8
Third Inning Recap:
Keystones- Raul made short work of the Keystones in the 3rd as he only surrendered a single hit and no runs. Bobby H. led off with a line single past 3B. Tommy fouled out, and Margarito popped out to 1B. Robby grounded out to 2B to close out the scoreless frame.
Sultans- managed to scratch across a run in the inning to take their first lead of the game. Adam led off with an infield single. Lucky drilled a single down the 3B line to put runners on 1B and 2B. Raul lined a base hit to left center to score Adam from 2B. Bobby got to the ball quickly and relayed to Ken who threw a perfect strike to Gary at 3B to nail Lucky trying to go 1B to 3B on the play. Jim singled to move Raul to 3B, but Art bounced out to 2B to shut down the inning.
End of 3rd Score: Sultans 9 Keystones 8
Fourth Inning Recap:
Keystones– The mercenaries again came up big as Bobby and Scottie provided a single and double to put runners on 2B and 3B with one out. Mike H. lined out to short and John flew out to CF to end the threat and keep the Sultans on top in this one.
Sultans– stretched their lead to five runs with a four-run outburst in the 4th. Donnie ground out to short to start the inning. Gary singled and moved to 3B on Peter’s double. Ray picked up his 4th and 5th RBIs for the game with a two-run single to left center. Jeff singled to move Ray to 2B. This last hit topped off a perfect 12-12 day at the plate for the number 2-4 hitters! Don singled to drive in the 3rd run. Adam was retired on a fielder’s choice for the 2nd out. Lucky blooped a ball towards short that dropped in for a run-scoring single. Jack popped out to 1B to end the inning.
End of 4th Score: Sultans 13 Keystones 8
Fifth “Open” Inning Recap:
Keystones– down by five, the Keystones came up short in their rally. Patrick led off the inning with a double down the left field line. Ken and Mike M. hit into back-to-back infield groundouts and the Keystones were down to their final out. Bobby H. finished off his perfect 3-3 day at the plate with an RBI single to left. Tommy followed with a grounder to 1B that Jeff gloved and beat the pinch runner to 1B to end the game.
Final Score: Sultans 13 Keystones 9
Session Five Standings:
| ASSL C league 2025 5th Session | |||||||||
| Win | Loss | Ties | Win % | Scored | Given up | Diff. | Games Behind | Remaining Games | |
| Sultans | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 78 | 53 | 25 | – | 5.00 |
| Keystones | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0.667 | 76 | 62 | 14 | 2.00 | 5.00 |
| Senators | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | 48 | 56 | -8 | 3.50 | 6.00 |
| Braves | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0.167 | 68 | 72 | -4 | 4.50 | 6.00 |
| Pioneers | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0.000 | 36 | 63 | -27 | 5.00 | 6.00 |
The Sultans reign supreme as they have now built a two-game lead after winning their sixth game in a row with a head-to-head win over the Keystones on Thursday.
Full Session Standings:
| ASSL C league 2025 Season To-date Standings | |||||||||
| Win | Loss | Ties | Win % | Scored | Given up | Diff. | Games Behind | Remaining Games | |
| Braves | 31 | 19 | 1 | 0.618 | 698 | 575 | 123 | – | 6.00 |
| Keystones | 26 | 24 | 0 | 0.520 | 600 | 586 | 14 | 5.00 | 5.00 |
| Sultans | 23 | 24 | 3 | 0.490 | 581 | 608 | -27 | 6.50 | 5.00 |
| Senators | 21 | 25 | 2 | 0.458 | 579 | 610 | -31 | 8.00 | 6.00 |
| Pioneers | 18 | 27 | 4 | 0.408 | 486 | 565 | -79 | 10.50 | 6.00 |
What a difference a day makes! Heading into Thursday’s action, the Keystones trailed by four games with six games to play. After the Braves resounding win over the Pioneers and the Keystones loss to the Sultans, the Braves lead is up to five games with five games remaining on the Keystones schedule. Put another way, the Braves magic number (combination of Braves win or tie or a Keystones loss or tie) is now down to one.
News & Notes:
The annual ASSL luncheon has been moved and will now be held on Monday, November 3rd at our regular field K2. Good time not to be missed!
Another reminder, Monday’s games will start at 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. rather than 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. so we can play a complete game and be done for the B division early start time of 10:00 a.m.
Next Monday’s Games:
8:00 a.m. (H) Pioneers (0-4-1) vs. (V) Senators (2-3-0)
9:00 a.m. (H) Senators (2-3-0) vs. (V) Braves (1-4-1)
Keystones will have a bye, and their players will have priority in the draw.
Happy Halloween and see you on Monday!
Paul