–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–
June 25, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
A traffic jam on the freeway made it difficult for players and fans to get to the stadium on a muggy morning. Green and Sky Blue faced off in the early game. Green batted first and no one got to second base (just like in high school). Sky Blue fared better. Chuck Killough reached on a fielder’s choice, Jeff Tyler got a two-out single, Glenn Little drove in Chuck and Clarence Kornegay drove in Jeff. Cecil Kwong got Green’s only hit in the second but didn’t get to second. Sky Blue scored 3 on hits by David Riche and Harold Hagler, a Mike Bailey walk, and RBI hits by Ronnie Muro and Chuck Killough. Green finally scored 3 runs in the top of the third; Brian Gierlatowicz doubled and Dennis Horne singled. Dinah Sewell drove in Brian with a fielder’s choice and Mark Lilla hit a two-run homer. But Sky Blue got 5 in the bottom of the third to take a 10 to 3 lead. Sky Blue never made an out as Jeff Tyler, Glenn Little, Clarence Kornegay, Royce O’Donnell, and David Riche hit singles in succession, and Sid Hilton hit a 2-run homer. Then Red got shut out 3 up, 3 down in the 4th, and fans started to worry. But the Red defense held Sky Blue to one. Wayne Sheets hit a single, Ronnie Muro walked, and Chuck Killough drove in Wayne. Sky Blue 11, Green 3 after four.
Suddenly, Green’s offense came to life. Dinah Sewell drove in Dan Peek and Brian G, Mark Lilla drove in Dennis Horne and Dinah, and David Ferguson drove in Mark. Sky Blue got two runs in the bottom of the fifth when David Riche drove in Clarence and Royce. Then Green got 5 more runs in the sixth to tie the game at 13. Gene Garcia singled, Joey Johnson walked, Steve Entrekin singled and Larry Enzweiler drove them all in with a double. Mike Madden singled, Cecil Kwong drove Larry In with a double, and Pete Manown drove in Mike. Sky Blue took the lead back by scoring 4 in the bottom of the sixth. Wayne Sheets led off with a single, Ronnie Muro doubled, Chuck Killough drove in 2 runs with a single, Gary Singleton reached on a fielder’s choice, Jeff Tyler singled, Glenn Little drove in Gary and Clarence Kornegay drove in Jeff.
Green went into the open 7th behind by 4 and scored 5 to take the lead, 18 to 17. Dan Peek doubled, Brian G singled, Dennis Horne walked to load the bases, Ronnie Muro drove in a run with a walk, David Ferguson drove in two with a single, Gene Garcia drove in Mark with another single, Steve Entrekin walked and Larry Enzweiler drove in David, but Gene got cut down at home plate by a good throw and catch for the third out. Sky Blue needed one to tie, two to win. The crowd stirred. Super fan Monzella yelled encouragement. David Riche led off with his 4th hit and Sid Hilton moved him to second with a single. Green pitcher, Brian G struck out the next batter but Mike Bailey drove in the tying run. Wayne Sheets walked and Ronnie Muro hit a ball to the fence to win the game. Sky Blue 19, Green 18. Monzella yelled, “All right! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”
Sky Blue hitters were 29 for 45 with 4 walks for a .644 team batting average and a .673 on-base percentage. Jeff Tyler and David Riche were 4 for 4 and Ronnie Muro was 3 for 3 with 2 walks. Green hitters were 26 for 37 with 5 walks for a .703 team batting average and a .738 on-base percentage. David Ferguson and Gene Garcia were both 4 for 4 and Dennis Horne was 1 for 1 with 2 walks.
Mike Richards, recently surprised by a hemorrhagic stroke in the prime of his life, was among the crowd at the game. “I’m workin’ on rehabbing so I can get my strength and balance back and play again. I don’t wanna spend any more time in a wheelchair because my wife gets difficult. She pushes me around and talks behind my back.”
Red and Blue played the late game in another nail biter. Red batted first and scored 3 runs when Harold Fincher drove in Jim Raley and Bill Lovell with a 3-run homer. Blue came back with 5; Edwin Yergen singled, Mark Lilla doubled, Sid Hilton drove them in with a single and David Ferguson drove in Sid with a 2-run homer. Rick Erdimer drove in David Brasfield for the fifth run. Then Blue shut out Red in the second and scored 3 more. Edwin Yergen singled and Mark Lilla drove him in. Sid Hilton singled, but Finch threw out Mark at home when he tried to score. David Ferguson drove in Sid and Rel Underwood drove in David. Red tied the game in the top of the third, scoring 5 when Jim Anderson led off with a line drive to left. Jim Raley followed with a double and Bill Lovell drove in Jim with a sacrifice fly. After that everybody hit. Finch doubled, Wayne Graham, Buddy Cannon and Lisa Phipps singled and Ron Oliver drove in the fifth run. Then Red shut out Blue in the bottom of the third.
The game seesawed on. Blue took back the lead in the 4th, outscoring Red 5 to 2. Holly Whitmire and Alicia Johnson scored for Red and Blue’s inning was highlighted by Sid Hilton’s home run. Both teams scored 2 in the fifth; Lisa Phipps and Ron Oliver drove in the Red runs and Sid Hilton drove in Don Dietz and David Ferguson drove in Mark Lilla for Blue. Red took the lead, 17 to 15, in the top of the sixth. Alicia Johnson singled, Jim Anderson walked, Jim Raley drove in Alicia and Bill Lovell drove in the two Jims with a triple. Finch doubled after almost neglecting to run to drive in Bill and Wayne Graham drove in Finch. But Blue took the lead back in the bottom, scoring 5 on hits by Cecil Kwong and Rick Erdimer, a Don Dietz RBI fielder’s choice, 2-out singles by Edwin Yergen, Mark Lilla and Sid Hilton (Sid hit his ground-rule single out of the park), and RBI hits by David Ferguson and Rel Underwood. Red needed 3 runs to tie the game in the top of the 7th but couldn’t score any and Blue won the game 20 to 17.
Blue hitters were 33 for 46 with 3 walks for a .717 team batting average and a .735 on-base percentage. Sid Hilton was 5 for 5 with 2 balls over the fence, David Ferguson was 5 for 5 with a home run making him 9 for 9 for the day, Cecil Kwong was 3 for 3 with a walk and David Brasfield was 2 for 2 with 2 walks. Red hitters were 25 for 40 with 3 walks for a .625 team batting average and a .651 on-base percentage. Jim Raley was 3 for 3 with a walk and Jim Anderson was 2 for 2 with a walk.
Games will be played on Tuesday and Thursday next week, weather permitting. Tuesday, June 30 games are Blue versus Red at 9:00AM and Sky Blue versus Green at 10:30. Thursday, July 2 games are Green versus Red at 9:00AM and Sky Blue versus Blue at 10:30.