–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—
May 15, 2025 (Liberty Park Fields)
Players and fans strolled up the ramp to the ballpark on what was probably the last cool day of the season as warm, humid air lurked nearby. A pleasant breeze caused pennants to flutter under a cloudy but clearing sky. Terry Lewis led off with a hit for Blue in the opener but only made it to third as the Orange infielders scooped up grounders. Orange scored five in the bottom of the first on hits by Mark Lilla, Gary Singleton, Mike Madden, Ken Sransky, Ron Oliver and Jim Hill and Carlos Davis drove in the fifth run. Blue only managed one run in the second on hits by JD Lille, David Brasfield and Sid Hilton. Holly Whitmire drove in the run with a fielder’s choice. Then they shut out Orange on two grounders and a strikeout. Orange 5, Blue 1 after two.
Blue batters came to life in the third, scoring five after making two outs, highlighted by Cecil Kwong’s grand slam. Ken Sransky drove in Mike Madden for Orange’s only run and the game was tied after three innings. Sid Hilton hit a homer for Blue’s only run in the top of the fourth. Orange came back with three runs on walks by Jim Hill and Harold Easterwood and RBI hits by Carlos Davis, Harmon Turner and Mark Lilla. Orange 9, Blue 7 after four.
Blue scored 2 in the fifth to tie the game at 9 on hits by Beth Moore, Terry Lewis, Rel, Mike Richards and Cecil Kwong, and then shut out Orange in the bottom half. Then Orange shut out Blue in the top of the sixth and pushed across four in the bottom. Carlos hit a double, Harold Easterwood walked, Buddy Cannon, Harmon Turner, and Mark Lilla all singled and Gary Singleton drove in two with a single to wrap up the scoring. The teams went into the open seventh with Blue needing at least four runs to keep the game going. They didn’t get any and Orange won 13 to 9.
Orange hitters were 17 for 31 with 3 walks for a .548 team batting average and a .588 on-base percentage. Ken Sransky was 3 for 3.
Blue batters were 20 for 42 with no walks for a .476 team batting average. Terry Lewis and David Brasfield were 3 for 3 and Cecil Kwong and Sid Hilton hit home runs.
The second game pitted Red versus Sky Blue and was played under a bright azure sky. Red began with a four-run inning. Dale McWhorter doubled and Ken Sransky drove him in. Mike Richards drove in Ken, Glenn Little reached on a fielder’s choice and Cecil Kwong drove him in with a triple. David Brasfield drove in Cecil with a double and Bob Newton drove in David. Sky Blue answered with three. Sid Hilton drove in Bobby Watkins and Carlos Davis with a three-run homer.
Sky Blue shut out Red in the second and took the lead with three. Bobby Watkins drove in Rick Erdimer and Pete Manown and Sid drove in Bobby. Red came back with one run to tie the game in the top of the third. Ken Sransky hit a triple and Mike Richards drove him in with a sacrifice fly when John Kuklinsky made his second lunging catch of the game. John said he didn’t intend to have to lunge, but he’s not as fast as once he was. Blue came right back and scored another three in the bottom to retake the lead, 9 to 6 after three. Desiree Cook and John Kuklinsky got hits, Harold Hagler walked, Rick Erdimer drove in two with a double, and Pete Manown somehow drove in Rick with a ground ball out.
Red tried to keep pace but could only score 2 in the fourth. Sky Blue stretched their lead with four in the bottom of the fourth. Carlos and Sid got hits and Royce O’Donnell drove them in with a triple. Rod Ellis drove in Royce and John Kuklinsky drove in Rod with a fielder’s choice. Sky Blue 13, Red 8 after four.
Red added two runs in the fifth but left the bases loaded. Then they shut out Sky Blue as Ken Sransky and Dale McWhorter sucked up ground balls for forceouts, to tighten the score to 13 to 10 after five.
Red tied the score in the top of the sixth on a walk by Dale, and hits by Rel, Ken, Mike, Cecil, David Brasfield and Bob Newton, but they left the bases loaded again. Sky Blue regained the lead with four in the bottom of the sixth. Sid singled, Royce walked, Rod singled, Larry Enzweiler drove in a run with a single, Desiree drove in Larry with a fielder’s choice and Harold drove in Desiree with his third hit of the game. Red needed 4 runs to tie the game in the open seventh inning, but only Jim Anderson could get a hit and the game ended Sky Blue 17, Red 13.
Red hitters were 26 for 42 with three walks for a .619 team batting average and a .644 on-base percentage. Cecil Kwong was 4 for 4 and Bob Newton was 3 for 3 with a walk.
Sky Blue hitters were 23 for 39 with walks for a .590 team batting average and a .636 on-base percentage. Sid Hilton, Royce O’Donnell and Harold Hagler were all 3 for 3 plus a walk.
Both games were seven innings and played within the time limits.