–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–
June 30, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
Dew forms because the ground gets cooler than the air and the moisture in the humid air condenses. So the grass was still wet on the field but the sun had been up for several hours and everything was warm, particularly the players. A few warmed up but many stayed in the shade and talked. Rel Underwood, rock and roll aficionado, was discussing music. “I’ve had this silly old tune, The Green, Green Grass of Home, runnin’ around in my head for days and I finally asked a doctor friend a mine about it. He said that’s called the Tom Jones syndrome and that I shouldn’t worry about it cause it’s not unusual. Mark Lilla was talking about getting older and pointed out that women have a substantially longer life expectancy than men. Then he wondered if “transitioning” might be a good idea. Ron Oliver said he was starting to worry about his memory, but he found a good solution. He stopped listening to people; then he had less stuff to remember.
The early game pitted Blue against Red. Manager Bill Lovell was on a trip to see if relatives in Denmark could understand the kind of English he speaks, so Harold Fincher took over the lineup. Blue started fast and took a 9 to 1 lead after 2 innings. Sid Hilton drove in 2 runs in the first and 3 in the second with a 3-run homer. Blue scored another 5 in the top of the third on a long string of hits by Rel Underwood, Brian Gierlatowicz, CeCe Washington, Rick Erdimer, John Remley, Rick Alston, Tom Wasmer, and Ken Sransky, before Red finally got untracked with 5 in the bottom. Jim Raley and Lisa Phipps singled, Ron Oliver drove in a run with a single, Jerry Bevel walked, Earle Dunn drove in a run, and Finch hit a 3-run homer. Then Red shut out Blue in the fourth and scored another 5 to tighten up the score. Holly Whitmire walked, Buddy Cannon singled, Jim Anderson walked, Keith Frederick drove in Holly, Jim Raley drove in Buddy, Lisa Phipps drove in Jim Anderson, Ron Oliver drove in Keith, and Jerry Bevel drove in Jim Raley. Blue 14, Red 11 after four. Both teams scored one run in the fifth; Rick Erdimer drove in Rel for Blue and Buddy Cannon drove in Earle Dunn for Red. So Blue took a 3-run lead into the open sixth in the heat-shortened game and came out with a 10 run lead after scoring 7. Edwin Yergen and Steve Belcher each drove in 2 runs, Rel drove in Steve, Rick Erdimer got his third hit and third RBI by driving in Rel and John Remley drove in CeCe. Keith Frederick singled for Red and worked his way around the bases until Jerry Bevel drove him in, but Keith was the only one and Blue won, 22 to 13.
Blue hitters were 33 for 45 with 2 walks for a .733 team batting average and a .745 on-base percentage. Ken Sransky and Steve Belcher were both 4 for 4, and Sid Hilton was 3 for 3 with a walk and a home run. Red hitters were 18 for 33 with 6 walks for a .545 team batting average and a .615 on-base percentage. Jim Raley and Jerry Bevel were both 3 for 3 with a walk.
Sky Blue started fast in the late game scoring 5 in their first at bat, shutting out Green and then scoring another 5 in the second inning for a 10-0 lead. Chas Jones, Ronnie Muro, Scott Wadsworth, Glenn Little and Clarence Kornegay scored in the first and Ken Sransky, Dale McWhorter, Chas, Ronnie and Scott scored in the second. Red broke the ice with 3 in the bottom of the second and both teams scored 4 in the third. Ken Sransky hit a 3-run homer for Blue and Jerry Bevel hit one for Green. Green outscored Sky Blue 5 to 1 in the fourth; speedy Joey Johnson hit a 3-run inside the park homer for Green. Clarence drove in Scott for Sky Blue’s run. Then Green shut out Sky Blue in the top of the sixth but could only manage to score once when Cecil Kwong drove in Jerry Bevel. It was a close game as the teams entered the open sixth, Sky Blue 15, Green 13. Dale McWhorter, Chas Jones and Ronnie Muro got 3 straight hits to start Sky Blue’s inning and all scored. Ronnie drove in Dale, Scott Wadsworth drove in Chas and Jeff Tyler drove in Ronnie. Joey Johnson walked for Green, moved to third on Phillip Cheek’s 4th hit and scored on Steve Entrekin’s sacrifice fly, but Sky Blue’s infielders ended the game with a couple of good plays and Sky Blue won, 18 to 14.