–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—
April 14, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
The air was cool but the sun was bright on a delightful April day. Sky Blue manager Jeff Tyler was mulling over what to do. “Royce O’Donnell is in the hospital with a blood clot in his lung and we’re all worried about him plus I gotta find someone to cover for him in the outfield. It’s been a hectic day so far. I caught someone who broke into my house lookin’ for money. I decided to help him.”
Red led off in the opener against unbeaten Sky Blue and the first 6 batters scored the 5-run limit, highlighted by Harold Finchem and Ron Brummet’s consecutive home runs. Red scored again in the second when Keith Frederick drove in Wayne Graham. Sky Blue was three up, three down in the first but got untracked when Scott Wadsworth homered to open the second inning. Jeff Tyler drove in Duffy Vandeford and Ronnie Muro, and it was Red 6, Sky Blue 3 after two.
Red didn’t score in the third and Scott Wadsworth drove in Chuck Killough for Sky Blue to tighten the score to 6-4. Buddy Cannon knocked in Bill Lovell in the Red fourth. Cecil Kwong drove in Ronnie Muro and Clarence Kornegay drove in Glenn Little in the Sky Blue fourth, and the game was Red 7, Sky Blue 6 after four.
Hootie, Finch, and Wayne Pike drove in 3 for Red in the fifth and then the Red defense shut out the top of Sky Blue’s batting order to lengthen its lead. Both teams scored one run in the sixth and went into the open seventh inning with Red ahead, 11 to 7. Then the top of Red’s batting order reached base 6 times in a row and ended up scoring 7 runs to blow the game open. Sky Blue couldn’t get a runner to first base in its half inning and Red won the game, 18 to 7.
Red hitters were 31 for 48 with 2 walks for a .646 team batting average and a .660 on-base percentage. Finch and Bill Lovell were both 4 for 4. Finch hit 2 out of the park but the second one was only a single by rule. Sky Blue hitters were 16 for 36 (no walks) for a .444 team batting average. Scott Wadsworth, Ronnie Muro and Glenn Little were all 3 for 3.
Red manager Bill Lovell was happy. “I knew we had a lotta good hitters on this team and they really showed up today. Now if we can keep ‘em healthy, we should be okay. I’m headed for the clubhouse now to make sure they hit the ice bath, not the buffet.”
Green faced Blue in the late game in front of the largest crowd of the year. Blue’s first 8 batters had 5 hits and 2 walks and scored 5 runs. Green’s first 8 batters had 7 hits and a walk and also scored 5. Then both teams cooled off. Blue scored 1 in the second when Edwin Yergen drove in Rick Alston and Green got shut out. Despite Steve Entrekin’s diving catch in left field, Blue scored 4 in the third when Steve Belcher, Rick Alston, Rick Erdimer and Ken Sransky drove in runs and then they shut out Red highlighted by Edwin Yergen’s dash and stretch to catch a foul ball at third base.
Green turned the tables on Blue by shutting them out in the fourth while getting 3 runs on hits by David Ferguson, Jerry Bevel, Mark Lilla, Pete Manown, and Cecil Kwong. Neither team scored in the fifth and the score was Blue 10, Green 8 after five.
Blue added 3 in the sixth on hits by Ken Sransky, Sid Hilton, Mike Richards and Tom Wasmer, and an Edwin Yergen fielder’s choice; Green could only answer with one, so the teams went into the open seventh with Blue leading 13 to 9. Green shut out Blue in the top of the seventh and went to bat needing 4 to tie and 5 to win. Blue got them out, 1,2,3, to win the game.
Blue hitters were 18 for 35 with 9 walks for a .514 team batting average and a .614 on-base percentage. Tom Wasmer was 2 for 2 with 2 walks. Green hitters were 15 for 32 with 3 walks for a .469 team batting average and a .514 0n-base percentage. David Ferguson and Mark Lilla were both 3 for 3.
Ken Sransky, Blue’s shortstop, wasn’t satisfied with his day. “I ended up makin’ some good plays but I didn’t catch some balls I shoulda caught. I got frustrated and threw my hands up in the air and couldn’t catch those either.” But Steve Entrekin for Green and Mike Richards for Blue both had outstanding games in the outfield. Steve caught 5 fly balls for Green and Mike caught 5 for Blue.