Aug 20

August 20, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)

Sky Blue and Green met on an August morning that was hot and going to get hotter. Mike Richards said he thought the ball would travel farther in the hot air and he may have been correct as fair and foul balls flew over the fence. Sky Blue scored 5 runs in the first inning without making an out; Chuck Killough and Gary Singleton walked, Royce O’Donnell drove in Chuck, Scott Wadsworth drove in Gary, David Riche drove in Royce, Ken Sransky drove in Scott, Jeff Tyler singled and Glenn Little drove in David. Green answered with 3 on singles by Bobby Watkins, Gene Garcia and David Ferguson, and RBI hits by Phillip Cheek, Larry Enzweiler and Mike Madden. Then Green held Sky Blue to one run in the second and scored 3 to tie the game at 6. Chuck Killough drove in Clarence Kornegay for Sky Blue’s run and Green’s runs came from Dennis Horne’s leadoff double, singles by Bobby Watkins, Gene Garcia and David Ferguson, Phillip Cheek’s sacrifice fly and Larry Enzweiler’s RBI single. Then Sky Blue outscored Green 5-0 in the third to open up a lead they never relinquished. Gary Singleton singled, Royce drove him in with a double, and Scott hit a 2-run homer. David Riche walked and Ken Sransky followed him with another 2-run homer.

Harold Hagler drove in Glenn Little for Sky Blue’s one run in the fourth and Green came back with 3 runs to make the score 12 to 9. Gene Garcia singled, David Ferguson walked, Phillip drove in Gene, Larry drove in David and Cecil Kwong drove in Phillip. But Sky Blue got another 5 runs in the fifth and shut out Green again to stretch their lead to 17 to 9. Gary and Royce singled and Scott hit a ground-rule single out of the park. Ken Sransky drove in Gary, Jeff Tyler drove in Royce and Scott, and Glenn drove in Ken. Sky Blue added 4 more in the top of the 6th; Wayne Sheets and Chuck Killough singled and Gary Singleton drove in Wayne. Royce drove in Chuck and Scott hit another ground-rule single, his third hit over the fence. Then David Riche drove in Gary and Royce. Green scored 3 in the bottom of the 6th when David Ferguson tripled, Phillip singled to drive in David, Larry Enzweiler walked, Mike Madden singled and Cecil drove in Phillip and Larry, but that still left them behind by 8 runs so they flip-flopped to bat again. Green scored 4 more on hits by Bobby Watkins and Gene Garcia, David Ferguson’s RBI hit and Phillip Cheek’s 3-run homer which he had to run out because it bounced off Royce O’Donnell’s glove, but it was not enough to keep the game going and Sky Blue won, 21 to 16.

Sky Blue hitters were 29 for 38 with 4 walks for a .763 team batting average and a .786 on-base percentage. Royce O’Donnell and Scott Wadsworth were 4 for 4, Gary Singleton was 3 for 3 with a walk, and Jeff Tyler and Glenn Little were both 3 for 3. Green hitters were 26 for 41 with 5 walks for a .634 team batting average and a .674 on-base percentage. David Ferguson and Larry Enzweiler were 4 for 4 with a walk, and Phillip Cheek was 4 for 4 with a sacrifice fly.

The temperature was 92 with the heat index over 100 degrees when the late game was scheduled to start and weather services warned of dangerous heat conditions of 105 or higher by noon. Because RASSA has legal liability for player safety, Handsome Herb decided a new inning could not begin after noon.

Blue batted first and scored 4 runs. Ken Sransky and Sid Hilton, a bit wobbly after his Tuesday concussion, singled; Tom Wasmer drove in Ken and Mike Richards drove in Sid. Edwin Yergen singled, Rel Underwood drove in Tom and David Brasfield drove in Edwin. Red scored 5 in the bottom of the first and the game was on. Jim Raley and Pete DiCiara singled; Jim Thompson drove in Jim and Scott Wadsworth drove in Pete and Jim with a double. Bill Lovell singled and Ron Oliver drove in Scott and Bill. Blue scored 3 in the 2nd. Harold Easterwood singled, Jerry Anger reached on a fielder’s choice, Jeff Tyler singled, Brian Gierlatowicz drove in Jerry and Jeff and Rick Erdimer drove in Brian. Red answered with another 5; Jim Smith, Dick Baguley and Keith Frederick singled. Jim Anderson drove in Jim Smith, Jim Raley tripled in Dick, Keith, and Jim Anderson, and Pete Di drove in Jim Raley. Red shut out Blue in the third and then Blue held Red to one run on Jim Thompson’s homer. Red 11, Blue 8 after three.

Blue scored 1 run in the fourth when Jerry Anger drove in David Brasfield and then shut out Red in their half. Blue scored 2 in the top of the fifth to cut Red’s lead to one run. Ken Sransky and Sid Hilton drove in Brian G and Don Dietz. But Red’s hitters stayed hot. Bill Lovell drove in JT and Scott with a 3-run homer. Then 5 straight hits by Ron Oliver, Jim Smith, Holly Whitmire, Dick Baguley and Keith Frederick scored the other 2 runs.

The fifth inning ended at 11:55AM which caused the 6th to be the final and “open” inning. Blue needed 6 to tie the game, more to take a lead. Mike Richards and Edwin Yergen singled to start the inning and Rel Underwood drove them both in with a double. Scott Wadsworth made a fine running catch to rob David Brasfield of a hit, but John Remy and Harold Easterwood both singled to load the bases. John Kuklinsky drove in the Rel for the third run and Jeff Tyler drove in John Remy and Harold for the fourth and fifth runs with runners left on first and second base. But a forceout at second left Blue one run short of tying the game and Red won, 16 to 15, without having to bat in the 6th.

Red hitters were 24 for 32 for a .750 team batting average and on-base percentage. Pete DiCiara, Bill Lovell and Keith Frederick were all 3 for 3, and Jim Anderson was 2 for 2. Blue hitters were 25 for 42 for a .595 team batting average and on-base percentage. Edwin Yergen, John Remy, Harold Easterwood, and Jeff Tyler were all 3 for 3. Neither pitcher, Ron Oliver for Red and Brian G for Blue, walked a batter.