–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–
August 6, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
A typically sultry August day in Alabama started with bad news. Marvin Entrekin, long time RASSA player and brother of current player Steve Entrekin, passed away on Tuesday, August 4, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. A memorial and celebration of life will be held at noon, August 15, 2026, at One-eighty Church, 2024 Redemption Way, Springville, AL 35146. Service will begin at 1:00PM. Casual dress is welcome (RASSA players traditionally wear their uniform shirts to such events).
Red played Green in the early game and Red started hot. Jim Raley, Pete DiCiara, Harold Finchem, Bill Lovell and Wayne Graham got hits before Green got anyone out, and Buddy Cannon and Ron Oliver finished off the 5-run limit. Mark Lilla and Gene Garcia led off with hits for Green but a fly ball and double play shut them out. Red scored another 5 in the second. Holly Whitmire got a hit, Dick Baguley walked and Jim Raley, Pete DiCiara, Finch, and Bill Lovell drove in the runs. Steve Entrekin got a hit for Green and scored when Mike Madden hit a ball that went to the fence, but Mike got cut down at the plate trying to stretch it into an inside the park homer. Green held Red to one run in the third on Wayne Graham and Keith Fredrick hits and Ron Oliver’s RBI, but Green couldn’t score in their half and Red led 11 to 1 after three.
Dick Baguley walked to open the Red fourth but then Green got the next two batters to hit into fielder’s choices. Then Pete Di, Finch, Bill Lovell, and Wayne Graham each drove in a run with a hit. Keith Frederick made a clean hit to the outfield and Wayne Graham beat the throw to second. Strangely, Keith forgot to run to first until fans started to yell at him as he walked toward the dugout. Green relayed the ball to first to get what they thought would be the third out but the RASSA rule is that if a ball reaches the outfield grass before being touched by a defensive player, the batter is awarded first base, so Keith got to wander on out to first and play resumed. Green got out of the inning with a force play at second, ending Keith’s adventure on the basepaths. But Red held Green to one run in the bottom half of the fourth; Dennis Horne and Dina Sewell led off with hits and Mark Lilla drove in Dennis. Then Finch, Red’s pitcher, caught a pop fly and caught the runners on first and second off base for a rare triple play. After the excitement in the fourth, neither team scored in the fifth, but Red built its lead by adding 4 runs in the sixth. Jim Raley singled, Pete Di drove him in with a double, Finch hit a 2-run homer, Bill Lovell and Wayne Graham singled, and Keith Frederick drove in Bill. Green scored 3 in the bottom of the sixth when Mike Madden, Cecil Kwong, and Pete Manown each hit sharp singles and Doug Ferguson drove in 2 runs with a double. Dennis Horne drove in the third run but that was all they could get and Red led 19 to 5 after six innings. Carlos Davis doubled and Phillip Cheek drove him in in the open 7th, but that was all Green could get and Red won, 19 to 6.
Red hitters were 27 for 42 with 2 walks for a .643 team batting average and a .659 on-base percentage. Pete DiCiara, Finch, Bill Lovell and Wayne Graham were all 4 for 4. Green hitters were 16 for 31 for a .516 team batting average. Mark Lilla was 3 for 3 and Mike Madden was 2 for 2.
Blue met Sky Blue in a home run derby in the late game. The two teams hit 9 balls over the fence for a league record. Blue opened with 5 runs. Sid Hilton walked, Edwin Yergen singled and Ken Sransky hit a 3-run homer, his first of 3 over the fence for the day. Then Finch and David Brasfield singled and Rel Underwood drove them both in with a double. Dale McWhorter singled, Glenn Little walked and Royce O’Donnell drove in Dale for Sky Blue’s only first inning run. Blue scored 2 more runs in the second on hits by Rick Erdimer and Belinda Atkins, an RBI hit by Brian Gierlatowiecz, a Don Dietz hit and Mike Bailey’s RBI walk. Sky Blue answered with 3; Wayne Sheets and David Bedwell got hits and Harold Hagler walked. Dale McWhorter drove in 2 runs with a single and Little Glenn drove in the third run. Blue scored 4 in the third; Edwin Yergen doubled, Ken Sransky hit another ball over the fence, but it was a single by rule, and Finch hit a 3-run homer. Then David Brasfield and Rel Underwood got hits and Rick Erdimer drove in David. Sky Blue scored another 3 when Royce singled and Mark Lilla drove him in with a triple. Then Jeff Tyler hit a 2-run homer. Blue 11, Sky Blue 7 after three.
Belinda led off the Blue fourth with a single, Don Dietz walked, and Mike Bailey drove in Belinda. Tom Wasmer got a hit, Sid drove in Don with a single and Edwin drove in Mike with a sacrifice fly. Ken Sransky hit another ball on the nose on a day when he couldn’t miss, but Royce caught it at the fence for the third out. Harold Hagler walked to open the Sky Blue fourth and Duffy Vandeford reached on a fielder’s choice. Dale singled, Steve Entrekin drove in Duffy and Royce hit a 3-run homer. Both teams scored one in the fifth. Finch led off with a hit for Blue and Rick Erdimer drove him in. Jeff Tyler singled for Sky Blue and David Bedwell drove him in. It was a close game, Blue 15, Sky Blue 12, after five innings, but then Blue outscored Sky Blue 5 to 1 in the sixth and added another 4 in the seventh. Brian G and Don Dietz were on base with two outs for Blue in the fifth when Tom Wasmer singled and Sid followed with a grand slam homer. Then Edwin Yergen singled and Ken Sransky and Finch hit consecutive singles over the fence. David Brasfield drove in the fifth run. Sky Blue only scored one in the bottom of the sixth, thus avoiding the flip-flop rule. Royce drove in Glenn Little. Blue’s 4-run seventh gave them an 11-run lead. Rel Underwood singled and Mike Richards, just back after recovering from a stroke, hit a 2-run homer. Rick Erdimer, John Kuklinski and Belinda singled; Don Dietz drove in Rick and Mike Bailey drove in John. Gary Singleton legged out a double and Jeff Tyler drove him in but that’s where the Sky Blue scoring ended and Blue won the game, 24 to 14.
Blue hitters were 37 for 52 with 4 walks for a .712 team batting average and a.732 on-base percentage. Finch, Rel Underwood, and Rick Erdimer were 4 for 4; Edwin Yergen was 3 for 3 with a sacrifice fly, and Don Dietz was 2 for 2 with 2 walks. Sky Blue hitters were 20 for 40 with 3 walks for a .500 team batting average and a .535 on-base percentage. Dale McWhorter and Royce O’Donnell were 4 for 4.
Handsome Herb was talking to Jeff Tyler after the game to see if his band was performing tomorrow. Jeff said they would be at the Overtime Grill as usual. Herb said, “Tomorrow’s my wife’s 83rd birthday and I’m thinkin’ about places I could take her for a night out. I told her I was feelin’ like I’m startin’ to look old and sucked in my gut when I got on the scale. She said “That’s not gonna help.” but I pointed out it was the only way I could see the numbers. I’m thinkin’ about getting’ her a pet for her birthday and was lookin’ at fish because they’re easy to take care of. The salesclerk asked me if I wanted an aquarium but I told him I didn’t care when the fish was born.”