–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—
June 4, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
Dale McWhorter was an early arrival under a bright blue sky. “When I went outside this morning I thought it was October. The air’s cool and dry and it’s a great day to play ball.”
Harold Hagler jogged to the pitcher’s rubber as only he can and threw nothing but strikes. The startled Green batters only got 2 hits and no runs. Sid Hilton, pitching for Green, returned the favor and neither team scored in the first. Green broke through with 2 runs in the second; Mike Madden, Sid, Doug Ferguson and Larry Enzweiler got singles and Pete Manown drove in a run with a fielder’s choice. Sky Blue got 5 runs on consecutive hits from David Bedwell, Wayne Sheets, Royce O’Donnell, and Glenn Little, and capped off by a Jeff Tyler 3-run home run. Both teams scored one run in the third. David Ferguson doubled for Green and Bob Slanovits drove him in with another double but Chuck Killough snuffed the Green rally with a fine running catch at shortstop. Clarence Kornegay doubled for Sky Blue, followed by Harold Hagler’s walk, Dale McWhorter’s hit and Chuck Killough’s bases loaded RBI walk. Sky Blue 6, Green 3 after three.
Green scored 2 in the 4th. Cecil Kwong got a hit and was forced at second on a mike Madden fielder’s choice. Sid’s hit put Mike on second; then Sid was forced at second by Doug Ferguson while Mike went to third base. Mike scored on Larry Enzweiler’s hit and Doug went to second. Pete Manown’s hit loaded the bases and Dan Peek drove in Doug. Sky Blue didn’t score. Green added 3 more runs in the fifth to take an 8 to 6 lead, but Sky Blue came back in the bottom of the inning with 5 to take the lead back. Mark Lilla led off with a hit for Green, followed by a David Ferguson walk. Mark got forced at third base on Bob Slanovits’ fielder’s choice and Steve Entrekin loaded the bases with a hit. Cecil’s sacrifice fly scored David Ferguson from third and Mike Madden drove in 2 runs with a double. Sky Blue’s runs came on hits by Jeff Tyler, Clarence Kornegay and Mike Bailey, a Gary Singleton RBI hit, Chuck Killough’s 2 RBI double, and Scott Wadsworth’s home run, limited to one RBI by the 5-run inning limit. Green didn’t score in the sixth and Sky Blue scored 5 more without making an out to take a 16 to 8 lead into the open 7th. Sky Blue got hits from David Riche, David Bedwell, Royce O’Donnell, Glenn Little, Jeff Tyler and Clarence, and a Wayne Sheets walk.
Red needed 8 to tie but only scored one on a Mark Lilla triple and David Ferguson’s sacrifice fly. Sky Blue won, 16 to 9.
Sky Blue hitters were 22 for 32 with 4 walks for a .688 team batting average and a .722 on-base percentage. David Bedwell, Jeff Tyler and Clarence Kornegay were all 3 for 3, and Dale McWhorter and Royce O’Donnell were each 2 for 2 with a walk. Green hitters were 20 for 37 with 3 walks for a .541 team batting average and a .575 on-base percentage. Larry Enzweiler was 3 for 3, David Ferguson was 2 for 2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly, and Sid Hilton was 2 for 2 with a walk.
Blue and Red faced off in a game that could have gone either way until the last play of the game. Brian Gierlatowicz pitched for Blue. Peter DiCiarra singled and Harold Fincher, who was serious about hitting the ball today, hit a towering 2-run homer. Ken Sransky doubled for Blue, Sid Hilton walked, Tom Wasmer drove in Ken and Rel Underwood drove in Pete and Finch. Neither team scored in the 2nd and they both scored 4 in the 3rd. Jim Raley led off with a hit for Green and Pete DiCiarra got another. Then Finch hit another ball over the fence in right center, the equivalent of a walk to load the bases under the one home run per player rule. Bill Lovell drove in Jim with a fielder’s choice, Wayne Graham drove in Pete with a single and Lisa Phipps drove in Bill and Wayne with a double. Mike Richards drove in Sid Hilton and Tom Wasmer with a 3-run homer for Sky Blue and Edwin Yergen drove in David Brasfield with a sacrifice fly for the 4th run. Blue 7, Red 6 after three.
Both teams scored 5 in the fourth. Ron Oliver led off with a hit for Red and Jim Anderson reached on a fielder’s choice. Then Jim Raley, Pete DiCiarra, and Finch each drove in a run with a single and Bill Lovell drove in two more to finish the inning. Red got 2 quick outs to start the bottom of the fourth but then Rick Erdimer reached base, Ken Sransky got a hit, Sid Hilton drove in Rick, Tom Wasmer walked, Mike Richards drove in Ken and Sid with a double, and David Brasfield drove in Tom and Mike with another double for Blue. Red scored 2 in the fifth; Wayne Graham and Lisa Phipps got hits and Buddy Cannon drove them in. But Blue added 5 in the bottom of the fifth to stretch their lead. Rel Underwood legged out a double and Edwin Yergen drove him in with a single. Harold Easterwood and Brian G loaded the bases with hits and Rick Erdimer drove in Edwin with a walk. Ken Sransky drove in Harold and Brian with a single and Sid drove in Rick with a sacrifice fly. Both teams scored 5 in the sixth in this matchup of heavy hitters. Alicia Johnson led off for Green with a sharp single to center but was forced at second when Jim Anderson reached on a fielder’s choice. Jim Raley got a hit, Pete DiCiarra drove in Jim Anderson, Finch drove in Jim Raley and Bill Lovell hit a 3-run homer. Tom Wasmer doubled for Blue and Mike Richards drove him in with another double. David Brasfield singled and Rel Underwood drove in Mike. Edwin Yergen walked and Harold Easterwood drove in David, Rel, and Edwin.
Red entered the open 7th behind 22 to 18. Wayne Graham led off with a hit and Buddy Cannon drove him in but was forced out at second base for Red’s second out. Then Ron Oliver and Keith Frederick got solid hits and Alicia Johnson got her third hit of the game to drive in Holly Whitmire. Jim Anderson, who had been grumbling that he hadn’t contributed anything to his team in the game, hit a 3-run double for the lead, and scored his third run of the game when Jim Raley drove him in. Red took a two-run lead by scoring 6 runs with two outs. Then Blue came to bat with their backs to the wall. John Kuklinski led off with a hit but was still on third base after two outs. Ken Sransky drove in John with a single, and Sid Hilton walked. Tom Wasmer tied the game with a single to drive in Ken and Mike Richards strode to the plate with runners on first and third and two outs. Mike hit a fly ball just short of the right field fence. Wayne Graham got under it but it bounced off his glove and Buddy Cannon dove for the carom and caught it with his bare hand only to drop it when he hit the ground, and Sid walked in from third to win the game for Blue, 25 to 24.
Blue hitters were 28 for 40 with 6 walks for a .700 team batting average and a .739 on-base percentage. Ken Sransky and Tom Wasmer were both 4 for 4 with a walk, and Rel Underwood was 4 for 4. Red hitters were 32 for 49 with one walk for a .653 team batting average and a .660 on-base percentage. Harold Fincher was 4 for 4 and Wayne Graham was 3 for 3 with the team’s only walk.
Players and fans lingered after the game to rehash the exciting final inning and to appreciate being part of the game they love at this stage of their lives.