–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—
July 29, 2025 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
Jim Anderson and Dennis Horne were trudging up the long ramp to the field on the hottest day of the year so far. Dennis was telling Jim he wanted to fire the pool boy but he was getting a lot of pushback from his wife. “Her argument is that he’s clean and reliable, always polite and on-time, and needs the money for college. My argument is that we don’t have a pool!”
Orange played Red in the sweltering opener and started out hot. Ron Oliver, just days after being in the emergency room, Cecil Kwong, Ken Sransky, Steve Entrekin, Sid Hilton, Harold Hagler and Keith Frederick all reached base and scored 5 runs. Then they held Red to four hits and one run. Orange scored two more in the second on hits by Buddy Cannon, Lisa Phipps, Don Stueckler, Mark Lilla and Cecil Kwong. But Red came back with four runs in their half of the second to narrow the gap; a string of hits by John Woychak, Alicia Johnson, Dennis Horne, Dale McWhorter, Rel Underwood, and Ron Lentz, and a Wayne Sheets walk did the trick. Orange 7, Red 5 after two.
Orange scored five in the third on hits by Sid Hill, Harold Hagler, Keith Frederick, Buddy Cannon, Lisa Phipps, and Jim Hill, and then they shut out Red in the bottom of the third. Neither team scored in the fourth as the heat started to catch up with the players. Then Red shut out Orange again in the top of the fifth and scored five to tighten up the game again. Ron Lentz, Mike Richards, Glenn Little, Earl Dunn, Jim Anderson, Joey Johnson, and John Woychak all got hits and Alicia drove in the fifth run with a walk. Orange 12, Red 10 after five.
Jim Hill got a hit to lead off Orange’s sixth and final inning in the heat-shortened game, and he eventually scored after a hit by Mark Lilla, a Ron Oliver walk and a fielder’s choice by Cecil Kwong, but he was the only one. Red needed three runs to tie and four to win. They got the four on clutch hits by Wayne Sheets, Dale McWhorter, Rel Underwood, Ron Lentz, Mike Richards, and Glenn Little, and Earl Dunn’s sacrifice fly to center won the game, Red 14, Orange 13.
Red hitters were 25 for 36 with four walks for a .694 team batting average and a .725 on-base percentage. Ron Lentz was 4 for 4, Earl Dunn was 3 for 3, and Jim Anderson and Wayne Sheets were both 1 for 1 with two walks. Orange hitters were 22 for 36 with one walk for a .611 team batting average and a .622 on-base percentage. Keith Frederick was 3 for 3 and Steve Entrekin and Harold Hagler were 2 for 2.
It was even hotter for the 10:30 game between Blue and Sky Blue and it affected the score. Sky Blue went flat and only scored one in the first inning and 2 in the third inning and were shut out in the other four innings as David Ferguson, Blue’s steady shortstop, had assists or put-outs on 10 of Sky Blue’s 30 at bats. Blue jumped out to a five-run first inning on hits by Ron Ingram, Sid Hilton, David Ferguson, Cecil Kwong, David Brasfield, Dan Peek and Buddy Cannon. Then they added three more in the second on a two-out rally with clutch hits by Sid, David Ferguson and Cecil. Sky Blue shut Blue out in the third. Blue 8, Sky Blue 3, after three.
Neither team scored in the fourth and Blue shut out Sky Blue again in the fifth before scoring another three on hits by David Brasfield, Holly Whitmire, Dan Peek and Buddy Cannon. Orange needed 8 to tie the game in the open sixth but didn’t get any and Blue won, 11 to 3. Everyone was happy the game was over as the temperature was well into the 90’s under a relentless sun.
Blue hitters were 19 for 33 with one walk for a .576 team batting average and a .588 on-base percentage. Cecil Kwong, Dan Peek and Buddy Cannon were all 3 for 3 and had 8 of the 11 RBIs among them. Sky Blue hitters were 12 for 30 for a .400 team batting average. Steve Belcher was 2 for 2 and Royce O’Donnell had all 3 RBIs.
Players headed for the clubhouse and ice baths as fast as they could go. Brian Gierlatowicz had his cellphone and wallet stolen out of his truck during Tuesday’s game and was telling Handsome Herb about the outcome of the theft. “The thief was pretty considerate, all in all. He took my wallet but removed the driver’s license, gun permit, etc., so I didn’t have to replace them. He tossed my phone when he realized it had a tracker on it so I got that back. He tried to use my credit cards at a Target, and then tossed my wallet, but a maintenance guy found it and turned it in, so all I actually lost was the cash in my wallet. It was still stressful and time consuming though.”
Herb was sympathetic. “I took my granddaughter to the mall years ago when she was about 5 years old. We went to a drugstore and had started back home when I saw she had a candy bar she stole from the drugstore. So I made a quick U-turn, drove back to the mall and took her to a jewelry store.”