–FOR IMMEDIATE RLEASE—
August 21, 2025 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
The RASSA Seniors league took a day off so the parking lot seemed almost empty, but the Masters league was ready to play. Manager Duffy V put the Orange team on the field as Jim Hill warmed up on the mound. Jim stretched. “I was movin’ a piano yesterday and my muscles are sore so I gotta find my rhythm.” David Ferguson stepped to the plate and singled. The Blue manager, Sid Hilton, was up next and wanted a win. “This Orange team has been pesky and we need to slow them down.” He walked and Cecil Kwong singled home Ferguson. Carlos Davis singled home Sid and David Brasfield got another hit but the rally was choked off when Steve Entrekin fielded a hard grounder, stepped on third to force out the runner coming from second and threw home to cut down the runner trying to score. Then Orange scored 5 on seven straight hits by Tom Wasmer, Mike Madden, Ken Sransky, Steve Entrekin, Jim Hill, Scott Wadsworth, and Harold Easterwood.
Bobby Watkins led off for Blue in the top of the second and doubled. He went to third on Terry Lewis’ single and scored on Beth Moore’s RBI single. Dinah Sewell drove in another run and David Ferguson singled again to drive in Beth, but the inning ended when Dinah tried to go from first to third on David’s hit. Orange’s hitters were on a roll and they scored 5 more runs after two outs on a string of seven more hits by the same hitters as in the first inning. Orange 10, Blue 5 after two.
Orange only got five more hits in the next three innings as Blue clamped down. Blue scored 5 in the third with hits by Cecil, Carl Hall, David Brasfield, Dick Baguley, Rel, Bobby, and Terry Lewis. Blue scored two more in the fourth when Beth and Holly walked, Dinah singled, Rick Erdimer drove in Beth, David Ferguson walked, and Sid drove Holly in with a fielder’s choice. Then Blue scored another run in the fifth when Terry drove in Dick Baguley. Blue 13, Orange 10 after five.
Blue got a 14th run in the sixth when Sid drove in Rick Erdimer, but Orange came back to life and scored 5 to take a one-run lead, 15 to 14. Tom Wasmer doubled, Ken Sransky tripled, Steve and Scott both singled and Harold Easterwood hit a three-foot triple. Buddy Cannon drove in Harold for the fifth run. Blue needed one run to stay alive and that’s what they got in the open seventh. Rel drove in David Brasfield and with one out and runners on first and second, Bobby hit a soft liner behind second base which Ken Sransky sprinted over to catch and then beat the runner back to second base for the third out. Orange came to bat in a 15-15 tie game needing one run to win. Dale McWhorter, who entered the game in the fourth inning as a substitute, singled and scored the winning run after Mark Lilla and Tom Wasmer singles and a game-winning hit by Mike Madden.
Orange hitters were 30 for 45 for a .667 team batting average. Tom Wasmer was 5 for 5, Ken Sransky was 4 for 4 and Dale McWhorter was 2 for 2. Blue hitters were 27 for 43 with 4 walks for a .628 team batting average and a .660 on-base percentage. David Ferguson was 3 for 3 with a walk, Carl Hall was 4 for 4, Terry Lewis was 3 for 3, and Dinah Sewell was 3 for 3.
The late game pitted Red against Sky Blue but you couldn’t tell from the uniform colors. Manager Handsome Herb sighed. “I really had to scramble to find players to sign one-game contracts as seven of our 12 regulars took the game off. We had players in Texas, on the Danube in Europe, in the hospital, at the doctor, at the beach, and AWOL. Fortunately, we were able to put a team on the field but it wasn’t really the Red team”. Sky Blue manager Pete Manown complained. “I had players missing too but Handsome Herb got his contract offers out before I did and it wasn’t easy finding players Herb hadn’t already snapped up.”
Holly Whitmire and Jim Anderson were talking on the bench waiting for the game to start. Jim admitted making a mistake. “Apparently ‘Maybe next time’ isn’t a good way to RSVP for a wedding invitation.”
Red’s lineup started with their own Dale McWhorter, but the next six batters were one-day players. In all, eight of Red’s 12 batters were on one-day contracts. Red went down one, two, three in the first inning. Sky Blue, with only four one-day players scored 5. Bobby Watkins and Chuck Killough got hits and Cecil drove in Bobby with a fielder’s choice. Carlos Davis got a hit but was forced out at second base for the second out. Then John Kuklinsky, Mike Madden, Mark Lilla, and Beth Moore got a string of hits to drive in four more runs.
Red did better in the second scoring three on hits by Ron Lentz, Sid Hilton, David Brasfield, Holly Whitmire, Rel Underwood and Buddy Cannon, but Sky Blue scored two more on hits by Harold Hagler, Pete Manown, Chuck Killough and Cecil Kwong. Sky Blue 7, Red 3 after two.
Red crept up on Sky Blue by scoring 3 more in the third and then shutting out Sky Blue as Ron Lentz scooped up everything that came to third base. Jim Hall and Dale McWhorter reached base for Red and Ken Sransky drove them in with a three-run homer. Red took the lead by outscoring Sky Blue 5 to 2 in the fourth. David Brasfield, Rel, Buddy, Jim Anderson, and Wayne Sheets got hits and Jim Hall drove in the last three runs with a double. Sky Blue’s scores came on a Bobby Watkins triple, a Chuck Killough double, and a Carlos Davis single. Red 11, Sky Blue 9 after four.
Red outscored Sky Blue 10 to 1 in the fifth and sixth innings. Red’s runs in the fifth were the result Dale’s walk, a single by Steve Entrekin, a two-run double by Ken Sransky, a triple by Ron Lentz, and Sid Hilton’s two-run homer. Red shut out Sky Blue with a fly ball and two strikeouts in the fifth and then scored five more in the sixth on hits by Holly, Rel, Jim Anderson, Wayne Sheets, Jim Hall, Dale, and Steve Entrekin. Rel pinch-ran for Jim Hall on his promise to get the ball to the outfield and, feeling young again, Rel legged out a double for Jim and scored on Steve Entrekin’s hit. Sky Blue’s Pete Manown, Bobby Watkins and Chuck Killough got hits for their sixth inning run but two shortstop to third fielder’s choices and Ken Sransky’s fine catch behind second ended the inning. Red was ahead 21 to 10 and the game flip-flopped into the open seventh. Only Mike Madden got a hit in the Sky Blue seventh and Red won, 21 to 10.
Red hitters were 26 for 37 with one walk for a .703 team batting average and a .737 on-base percentage. Rel Underwood and Jim Hall were both 3 for 3. Sky Blue’s hitters were 21 for 41 with one walk for a .512 team batting average and a .524 on-base percentage.
The players drifted toward the clubhouse where the buffet was waiting. Chuck Killough looked over the spread. “I like all the food out there. The roast beef is good, the deli sandwiches are quick and easy, and I like the arugula salad, but nothing tops a plain pizza.”