–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—
September 30, 2025 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
Fans streamed into the stadium on a beautiful fall day. Blue was trying to lock up first seed and home field advantage for the playoffs in the opener, while Sky Blue was trying to stay in the race, with all 4 teams within a game or two of the league lead. Teams added players from the seniors league just before the trading deadline, to shore up rosters weakened by injuries and exhaustion. Sky Blue manager Pete Manown said “Some players are worn out because they’ve had to run more than once in nearly every inning and then play again for another team in a later game. The additional players should be able to help, and we shouldn’t have as many playing in more than one game each day. The other players are worn out because they’re old and out of shape.” Harold Hagler spoke up. “I keep tellin’ you, round is a shape!”
Sky Blue took an early lead by shutting out Blue in the top of the first and then scoring 3 runs in the bottom on hits by Larry Enzweiler, Bill Lovell, Ken Sransky and Carlos Davis. Both teams scored 4 in the second inning. Blue got hits from Ron “Hootie” Ingram, and David Brasfield and RBI hits from Earle Dunn, JD Lille and Cindy Sewell. Sky Blue got their runs when Harold Hagler and Pete Manown got hits and Larry Enzweiler, Bill Lovell, Royce O’Donnell, and Ken Sransky each drove in a run. Sky Blue 7, Blue 2 after two innings.
Sky Blue didn’t score again until the seventh inning when they were down 19 to 7. Larry Enzweiler got a hit in the fifth inning; nobody else got a hit for Sky Blue until Harold Hagler and Pete Manown opened up the seventh inning with singles. Bobby Watkins’ sacrifice fly drove in Harold; Larry Enzweiler got his fourth hit of the game and Bill Lovell’s hit drove in Pete, but the next batter popped up to Hootie at second base to end the game. Meanwhile, Blue scored 2 in the third on David Ferguson’s hit and Sid Hilton’s 17th home run; 5 to take the lead in the fifth inning when David Ferguson reached on a fielder’s choice, Cecil Kwong got a two-out hit, Sid Hilton walked, and David Bedwell drove in David Ferguson and Cecil. Then Hootie drove in Sid, David Brasfield drove in David Bedwell, and Earle Dunn drove in Hootie. Blue piled on 8 more in the top of the seventh when everyone on the team reached base and David Bedwell rubbed it in with a three-run homer. Blue won 19 to 9 to remain in first place.
Blue was 27 for 47 with 3 walks for a .574 team batting average and a .600 on-base percentage. Hootie Ingram was 4 for 4. Sky Blue hitters were 18 for 33 for a .545 team batting average. Larry Enzweiler was 4 for 4 and Pete Manown was 3 for 3.
More fans arrived for the late game pitting Red against Orange. John Woychak’s wife Barb and youngest daughter Allison sat in the player’s family box. Allison was quick to assure us she was the “good” daughter.
Red scored 5 runs in the first on a string of hits by Dale McWhorter, Rel Underwood, Jeff Tyler, Ron Lentz, Mike Richards, Earle Dunn and Ron Muro. Orange matched them with hits by Steve Entrekin, Tom Wasmer, Ken Sransky, Jerry Bevel, Mike Madden, Jim Hill and Buddy Cannon. Then Orange shut out Red in the second and scored another 5 to take a 10 to 5 lead. Duffy Vanderford led off with a hit followed by Steve Entrekin, Tom Wasmer, Jerry Bevel, Mike Madden, Wayne Graham, and Mark Lilla. Red got back 2 in the third when Rel and Jeff Tyler got hits and Ron Lentz drove them both in. Orange couldn’t score in the bottom of the third and Red scored 5 in the top of the fourth on hits by Earle Dunn and Ron Muro, a Jim Anderson walk and RBIs by Bob Newton, John Woychak, Wayne Sheets, Dale McWhorter, and Rel Underwood to briefly take a 12 to 10 lead. But Orange tied the game with 2 runs in the bottom of the fourth when Jerry Bevel drove in Ken Sransky with a two-run homer.
Red scored 2 in the fifth and shut out Orange to take a 14 to 12 lead. Mike Richards drove in Jeff Tyler and Glenn Little drove in Ron Lentz. Then Red scored another 5 in the sixth when Bob Newton, John Woychak and Alicia Johnson loaded the bases with three hits, and Wayne Sheets drove in Bob, Dale McWhorter drove in John, Rel Underwood drove in Alicia and Wayne, and Jeff Tyler drove in Rel. Orange answered back when Steve Entrekin and Tom Wasmer got hits and Ken Sransky drove in Steve with a double. Jerry Bevel drove in Tom and Mike Madden drove in Ken before Alicia Johnson cut off the rally by catching Mark Lilla’s towering drive to left center, shielding off the sun with her glove. Jeff Tyler yelled, “You gotta show me how to do that!”
The game went into the open seventh inning with Red leading 19 to 15. Manager Wayne Sheets looked worried. “We’ve lost a lotta games in the last inning when we had bigger leads than this. We gotta score more runs.” But Orange rose to the task, only giving up a home run to Mike Richards, and came to bat needing 5 runs to tie. Wayne yelled “Buckle down Winsockee!” and everyone looked at him with wonder, but they got the job done, holding Orange to Buddy Cannon’s hit, two fly balls and a fielder’s choice, to win the game 20 to 15.
Red hitters were 35 for 48 for a .729 team batting average and a .745 on-base percentage. Rel Underwood, Mike Richards and Earle Dunn were 4 for 4. Orange hitters were 26 for 44 for a .591 team batting average. Tom Wasmer, Jerry Bevel, and Mike Madden were 4 for 4.
Handsome Herb watched the game from the press box. “This game was defined by the third basemen. Ron Lentz handled 6 balls and several more bounced off him. Jerry Bevel also handled 6 shots for Orange and threw out a runner at home. Brave men doing hard work.”
Ron Lentz looked relieved. “This was probably my last game this year as I’m dealing with back pain that won’t go away. I went to an acupuncturist yesterday and after he stuck me full a needles he told me to rest for the next two weeks. I told him I had a game today and he told me to rest for two weeks after that. So that’s my plan.”