–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–
October 20, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
It was chilly enough for sweatshirts as players arrived for the 9:00AM game to decide whether Green or Red, both with one loss, would advance to the finals in the RASSA World Series double elimination tournament. Unbeaten Sky Blue plays the winner at 10:30AM. Cecil Kwong was studying his roster. “Sixteen players are here today and I have to figure out how to work them all into the lineup. Fortunately we have free substitution or it would be impossible. Still, it takes some doin’. I used to think I might be indecisive. Now I’m not so sure.”
Green batted first and players were still a little stiff from the cold. Carlos Davis led off with a single but was thrown out at third base when he tried to go from first to third on Gene Garcia’s hit. “I thought I could make it”, Carlos said, “and was sure I got in there with my dive at the end.” Umpire Mike Jackson said, “Carlos was out cause he wasn’t goin’ fast enough to slide after he dove.” David Ferguson, Jerry Bevel and Phillip Cheek got three straight hits and Green scored 2 to start the game. Jim Raley led off with a walk for Red, Hootie Ingram doubled, Harold Fincher drove in Jim with a sacrifice fly, Bill Lovell drove in Hootie, and Jim Thompson drove in Bill. Red 3, Green 2 after one. That was the last time Red led in the game as Green started out on a hitting spree that lasted all morning. Green scored 3 in the second on hits by Bobby Watkins, Mike Madden, Mark Lilla, Cecil Kwong, Dan Peek and Doug Ferguson’s sacrifice fly and shut out Red. Green scored 4 in the third; Don Stueckler led off with a hit, Dinah Sewell reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to third after hits by Jim Raley and Gene Garcia, but got cut down at home when Finch stabbed David Ferguson’s shot up the middle and threw to home. Then Jerry Bevel singled in Jim and Gene, Phillip Cheek drove in David, and Larry Enzweiler drove in Jerry. Red’s next 5 batters scored 5 runs. Jim Raley singled and Hootie drove him in with a double. Finch drove in Hootie with another double and Bill Lovell drove in Finch with a 2-run homer. JT followed up with a solo homer for the fifth run. Green 9, Red 8 after three.
Green scored 4 in the fourth and then shut out Red to take a 13 to 8 lead after four. Bobby Watkins singled and Mike Madden reached on a fielder’s choice. Mark Lilla singled and Cecil Kwong drove in Mike with a double. Pete Manown drove in Mark and Cecil with a triple and Doug Ferguson drove in Pete. Then Green scored 5 in the fifth, but this time Red matched them. Green’s 5 started with another Don Stueckler hit. Carlos Davis, Gene Garcia, David Ferguson, Jerry Bevel and Phillip Cheek followed up with the hits and runs. Red kept pace; Jim Anderson led off with a hit, Jim Raley drove him in with a triple, Hootie drove in Jim and Finch hit a 2-run homer. Bill Lovell doubled and JT drove Bill in for the fifth run. Green 18, Red 13 after five. Red held Green to one run in the top of the sixth when Mike Madden drove in Larry Enzweiler, but then Red went down one, two, three in the bottom and Green took a 6-run lead into the open 7th inning. Green scored one more in the seventh when Cecil walked, Dan Peek singled and Cecil scored on Pete Manown’s fielder’s choice. Red couldn’t score in the bottom of the 7th and Green won, 20 to 13.
Green hitters were 30 for 42 with 2 walks for a .682 team batting average and a .696 on-base percentage. Carlos Davis, Gene Garcia, Jerry Bevel, and Phillip Cheek were all 3 for 3. Red hitters were 20 for 38 with one walk for a .526 team batting average and a .538 on-base percentage. Hootie Ingram, Bill Lovell, and Jim Thompson were 3 for 3 and Jim Raley was 2 for 2 with a walk.
Green had five minutes to savor the win before facing Sky Blue. A Sky Blue win would end the series. A Green win would extend the series for a final game between the same two teams.
Green hitters stayed hot; their first five batters scored to start the game. Carlos got a hit and Gene Garcia hit a 2-run homer. David Ferguson followed with a solo homer. Then Jerry Bevel, Phillip Cheek, Larry Enzweiler, Bob Slanovits and Bobby Watkins got a string of hits to score the 4th and 5th runs. Dale McWhorter, Chuck Killough and Ronnie Muro led off with 3 hits for Sky Blue in the bottom of the first but no one scored. Green added one run in the second when Dan Peek drove in Mike Madden. Sky Blue got on the board with 3 runs. Jeff Tyler homered. Charles Jones doubled, Glenn Little walked, and Royce O’Donnell and David Riche each drove in a run. Then both teams scored 5 in the third. Green made 2 quick outs but Don Stueckler’s fielder’s choice and Dinah Sewell’s walk got them going. Carlos drove in Don, Gene Garcia drove in Dinah, David Ferguson drove in Jim and Gene, and Jerry Bevel drove in David. After an out, Red’s next 7 batters (Dale McWhorter, Chuck Killough, Ronnie Muro, Scott Wadsworth, David Bedwell, Jeff Tyler and Chas Jones) got hits and scored the 5 runs. Green 11, Sky Blue 8 after three.
Phillip Cheek and Larry Enzweiler led off with hits for Green in the fourth and Bobby Watkins and Mike Madden drove them in. Sky Blue got one run on Royce O’Donnell’s homer. Green scored 5 in the fifth; Pete Manown and Dennis Horne got hits and Dinah Sewell drove in a run. Carlos drove in Dennis, Gene Garcia hit an out-of-the-park ground rule single, David Ferguson drove in Dinah and Carlos and Jerry Bevel drove in David. Sky Blue got 3; Duffy Vandeford singled, Wayne Sheets reached on a fielder’s choice, Dale McWhorter singled and Chuck Killough hit a 3-run homer. Green 18, Sky Blue 12 after five. Sky Blue held Green to 2 runs in the top of the sixth; Phillip Cheek singled and Larry Enzweiler doubled him in. Then Bobby Watkins drove in Larry. Sky Blue narrowed the gap by scoring 3 in the bottom of the 6th. David Bedwell and Jeff Tyler doubled, Royce tripled and David Riche doubled for the Sky Blue runs.
Green went into the open 7th inning with a 5-run lead and added 4 more with hits by Mark Lilla, Cecil Kwong, Dan Peek, Pete Manown, Doug Ferguson, Dennis Horne, Don Stueckler and Dinah Sewell. Sky Blue got 4 hits in the bottom of the 7th but didn’t score and Green won the game, 24 to 15.
Green hitters were 38 for 52 with one walk for a .731 team batting average and a .736 on-base percentage. David Ferguson, Jerry Bevel, Phillip Cheek, Larry Enzweiler and Bobby Watkins were all 3 for 3, and Dinah Sewell was 2 for 2 with a walk. Sky Blue hitters were 26 for 43 with one walk for a .605 team batting average and a .614 on-base percentage. Dale McWhorter and Chuck Killough were 4 for 4, Royce O’Donnell was 3 for 3, and Jeff Tyler was 2 for 2 with a sacrifice fly.
The same teams meet for the final game to determine the RASSA Masters World Champions on Thursday, October 22, at 10:00AM.
Gary Singleton says he will make another blackberry cobbler to bring to the game. If you didn’t get any of the last cobbler he brought, don’t miss this one. He is a master-maker and the cobbler is heavenly!