–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—
July 31, 2025 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
Warm, sodden air weighed heavily on players as they reluctantly took the field. Jim Hill was pitching for Orange as they took on the surging Blue team which was trying to catch Sky Blue for first place. Blue batted first and David Brasfield, David Ferguson, Cecil Kwong, Holly Whitmire and Brian G wrapped hits around Sid Hilton’s walk to jump out to a 3-run lead. Orange scored one run in the bottom half of the inning when Steve Entrekin drove in Ron Oliver. Neither team scored in the second (Ken Sransky robbed David Brasfield’s hit and RBI with a spectacular over the shoulder catch behind second base) and Orange blanked Blue again in the third and tightened the score by scoring one in their half when Mark Lilla drove in Lisa Phipps. Blue 3, Orange 2 after three.
Orange shut out Blue again in the fourth and then took the lead by scoring three runs on hits by Mike Richards, Ken Sransky, Steve Entrekin, a 2-RBI fielder’s choice by Bobby Watkins, and an RBI hit by Harmon Turner, RASSA’s oldest player at 85, a month older than Ron Allen. But Blue took the lead right back in the top of the fifth, scoring 4 runs on a string of hits by David Brasfield, Sid Hilton, David Ferguson, Cecil Kwong, Pete Manown, Holly Whitmire and an RBI fielder’s choice by JD Lille. Then Blue shut out Orange in the bottom of the fifth and neither team scored in the sixth so that Blue went into the open seventh inning with a 7 to 5 lead.
Orange held Blue to one run in the top of the seventh; David Ferguson, Cecil Kwong and Pete Manown got hits and Holly drove in David with a walk. Orange needed three to tie and four to win in their last at bat. Ken Sransky got his third hit of the game but was snuffed at second on a fielder’s choice. Bobby Watkins sent Steve Entrekin to third with a hit and Gary Singleton drove Steve in with a single and Bobby sprinted to third. Harmon Turner loaded the bases with a walk and Scott drove Bobby in with a single. The bases were loaded with the tying run on third and the winning run at second but Blue’s defense rose to the occasion as JD caught a fly and Brian G handled a grounder at first. Blue won, 8 to 7.
Blue batters were 22 for 43 with two walks for a .512 team batting average and a .533 on-base percentage. Cecil Kwong was 4 for 4 and Holly Whitmire was 3 for 3 with a walk. Orange hitters were 15 for 36 with 3 walks for a .417 team batting average and a .462 on-base percentage. Ken Sransky was 3 for 3 and Jim Hill was 2 for 2.
Between games, Mike Richards told Handsome Herb he read about Brian G’s wallet and it reminded him of a similar incident in his life when his wife’s credit card was stolen. “The credit card company called me and asked if I wanted to cancel the card, but I told ‘em not to bother. The thief was spending less than my wife did.”
Red and Sky Blue faced off in the late game as the heat enervated everyone. The top of Red’s batting lineup was ready though and scored 5 in the first inning. As he usually does, leadoff batter extraordinaire Dale McWhorter got to first and the next six batters, Rel Underwood, David Ferguson, Mike Richards, Earl Dunn, Bob Slanovits, John Woychak and Bob Newton all reached base. Sky Blue was ready too and scored four as Bobby Watkins, Ken Sransky, Royce O’Donnell, and Harold Easterwood scored on RBI hits by Royce, Carlos Davis, Holly Whitmire and Keith Frederick. Both teams scored one in the second inning. Red’s came on Dale McWhorter’s RBI double and Sky Blue’s came as a result of walks by Ken Sransky and Royce and an RBI hit by Carlos Davis. Red 6, Sky Blue 5 after two.
Earl Dunn drove in two runs for Red in the third and Holly, Harold Hagler and Pete Manown scored on RBI’s by Pete, Bobby and Ken Sransky to tie the game at 8 after three. Then Red scored 5 in the fourth to retake the lead. Dennis Horne, Wayne Sheets, Dale McWhorter, David Ferguson and Mike Richards scored on RBIs by Dale, David, Mike, and Earl Dunn. Sky Blue answered with 2 runs when Carlos hit a triple; Harold Easterwood and John Kuklinsky walked to load the bases, and then Desiree Cook drove in a run with another walk. Red pitcher, Jim Anderson was melting under the sun so Earl Dunn took over as pitcher and Wayne Sheets trotted out to the outfield to shore up the defense. Two fielder’s choices and a strikeout ended the inning with Red ahead, 13 to 10.
Red got one more in the fifth when Bob Slanovits walked and worked his way around the bases on fielder’s choices until Jim Anderson drove him in with a hit. Sky Blue got back to within one run on hits by Pete Manown, Bobby Watkins, Ken Sransky, Carlos Davis and Harold Easterwood and the teams went into the open sixth inning with Red leading by one, 14 to 13.
Red exploded in the top of the sixth. They sent 15 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs to take a 24 to 13 lead. Sky Blue still had a chance to catch up in the bottom of the sixth and Holly led off with a single. Then the lightning siren went off requiring the teams to vacate the field for 30 minutes. Players were hot and tired and most wanted to hit the clubhouse showers and buffet. Five complete innings is an official game so Red technically won 14 to 13. But the Red players wanted credit for their best inning of the year, so the game statistics include the sixth inning.
Red hitters were 32 for 44 with 5 walks for a .727 team batting average and a .755 on-base percentage. Dale McWhorter was 3 for 3 with 2 walks (effectively 5 for 5), David Ferguson, Earl Dunn and Wayne Sheets were 4 for 4, and Bob Slanovits was 2 for 2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly. Sky Blue batters were 18 for 33 with 8 walks for a .545 team batting average and a .634 on-base percentage. Ken Sransky was 3 for 3 with a walk and Harold Easterwood was 1 for 1 with 3 walks.
Pete Manown and Carlos Davis were discussing team management as the sweat dripped off their brows. Carlos told Pete,” I always appreciate positive feedback because I’m a little insecure. My parents moved around a lot when I was a kid, but I always found ‘em.”