–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–
July 28, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
RASSA Masters had not played in weeks while Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation did field maintenance and summer monsoon rains dampened Alabama. Players took advantage of the break. Dale McWhorter braved bears and rapids as he rafted through wild Idaho. Dave Ferguson took his family (wife, two daughters and their husbands, and 6 grandchildren) to Mackinac Island to experience a quieter time, not a sure thing with 12 people along. Bob Slanovits had his carpal tunnel repaired. Many took batting practice with Sid Hilton. Duffy Vandeford completed his recovery, working diligently to get back in shape. His wife said to him, “I watched a guy do fifty pushups at the gym. I bet you couldn’t do that.” Duffy said “Heck. I could easily watch a guy do a hundred pushups!”
Sky Blue faced Blue in the opening game on a record hot sultry morning, a harbinger of things to come for the veteran players. Sky Blue batted first and scored two when Scott Wadsworth, fresh from Sid’s batting practices, drove in Dale with a ball far over the center field fence. But Blue scored 4 in the bottom of the first to take the lead; Tom Wasmer walked, Sid Hilton and Edwin Yergen singled and Ken Sransky drove in Tom with a walk. Steve Belcher drove in Sid and Edwin with a double and Rel Underwood drove in Ken Sransky. Sky Blue scored a run in the second when David Bedwell doubled and Jeff Tyler drove him in. Then Sky Blue shut out Blue in the bottom of the second and scored 5 in the top of the third to take the lead. Scott drove in Chas Jones and Ronnie Muro, David Bedwell drove in Scott, Jeff Tyler drove in Chuck Killough and Duffy drove in David Bedwell. Blue scored 4 in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 8. Ken Aubin homered to drive in Ken Sransky, Steve Belcher sprinted to second for a double and Rel Underwood drove him in with another double. Rick Alston drove in Rel for the 4th run.
Sky Blue scored another 5 in the fourth inning; Wayne Sheets walked, Cecil Kwong and Jill Kelley singled, and Dale drove in Wayne and Cecil. Chas Jones walked and Ronnie Muro doubled in Jill and Dale. Scott drove in Chas for the fifth run. Blue answered with 3; Rick Erdimer walked, Cece and Tom Wasmer singled and Sid drove in Rick and Cece. Edwin Yergen drove in Sid with a sacrifice fly. Sky Blue extended its lead to 6 in the fifth, outscoring Blue 5 to 1. Then they scored another 6 in the open 6th inning to extend their lead to 24 to 12. Blue had no answer and Sky Blue won.
Sky Blue batters were 29 for 43 with 4 walks for a .674 team batting average and a .702 on-base percentage. Scott Wadsworth and Jeff Tyler were 4 for 4. Blue hitters were 19 for 34 with 5 walks for a .559 team batting average and a .615 on-base percentage. Steve Belcher was 3 for 3 and David Brasfield and Tom Wasmer were both 2 for 2 with a walk.
Green played Red in the late game under a merciless sun. Green, reeling from the heat, didn’t score until the 4th inning. Red started slow too, going scoreless in the first. Red managed 2 in the second, the first on Harold Finchem’s leadoff inside the park homer. “That’s by far the farthest I’ve had to run all year,” Finch puffed. “Good thing it was at my own pace.” Red scored the second run when Ron Oliver drove in Bill Lovell. Then Red scored 5 in the third. Jim Anderson singled, Jim Raley doubled, and Hootie drove in Jim Anderson. Gene Garcia drove in Jim Raley, Finch drove in Hootie, Earle Dunn drove in Gene, and Bill Lovell drove in Finch. Down 7-0, Green finally scored 3 in the fourth inning. Dennis Horne and Mark Lilla singled and David Ferguson drove in the first run. Jerry Bevel drove in Mark and David. Green held Red to one run in the bottom of the fourth when Keith Frederick and Holly Whitmire singled and Lisa Phipps drove in Keith, and then Green narrowed Red’s lead to 8 to 5 by scoring 2 in the top of the fifth. Larry Enzweiler and Joey Johnson singled; Bobby Watkins, just off the disabled list, drove in Larry and Pete Manown drove in Joey. But Red upped its lead to 13 to 5 in the bottom of the fifth without making an out. Hootie and Gene Garcia singled and Finch hit a 3-run homer. Then Earle Dunn and Bill Lovell singled and Wayne Graham drove them in with a double. Green could only score one in the open 6th when Mark Lilla doubled and David Ferguson drove him in. Red didn’t have to bat again and won the game, 13 to 6.
Red hitters were 21 for 32 for a .656 team batting average. Finch and Earle Dunn were 3 for 3 and Jim Anderson was 2 for 2. Green hitters were 15 for 32 for a .459 team batting average. David Ferguson was 3 for 3. There were no walks in the game.
Handsome Herb slipped away right after the game. “I have outta town guests that need some attention. My wife and I were shopping to get ready for their visit. We planned on going out to some nice places so I told her she should get some new underwear because what she had was too tight and revealing. She told me if I didn’t like ‘em I should get some a my own.”