Oct. 22

October 22, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)

Harold Hagler, at 85 the second oldest player in the league, came to bat with the score tied, 2 outs, and a base runner on second. The infield squeezed in on him, but Harold pointed to the fence and hit a line drive over the third baseman’s head driving in the game-winning run, ending a close, hard-hitting championship game and denying the last place Green team a miracle comeback win.

Players and fans were in high spirits on a bright, sunny but cool morning, perfect for a softball game. Green was seeded last in the tournament and played through the series as the visiting team in every game, and they started the final with a bang, scoring 5 quick runs. Carlos Davis led off with a triple and scored on Gene Garcia’s sacrifice fly to right. David Ferguson doubled, Jerry Bevel walked, Phillip Cheek drove in David for the first of his 5 RBIs, Larry Enzweiler walked, Bob Slanovits drove in Jerry and Mike Madden drove in Phillip and Larry. Sky Blue was ready to play and matched Green’s 5. Dale McWhorter singled and Ronnie Muro hit a 2-run home run. Chuck Killough doubled and Scott Wadsworth drove him in. Jeff Tyler drove in Scott, Royce O’Donnell singled and Duffy Vandeford drove in Jeff for the 5th run. Green followed up with 4 in the top of the second. Mark Lilla and Cecil Kwong singled and Dan Peek drove them in with a triple. Pete Manown singled to score Dan and Doug Ferguson hit another single. Dennis Horne reached on a fielder’s choice, Don Stueckler singled and Dinahmite Sewell drove in Doug. Then Green held Sky Blue to one in the bottom of the inning; David Riche and Gary Singleton singled, and Wayne Sheets drove in David. Then Sky Blue made it a one-run game in the third by outscoring Green 5 to 3. Gene Garcia led off with a double for Green, Jerry Bevel singled and Phillip Cheek drove in Gene. Larry Enzweiler loaded the bases with a single, Mike Madden drove in Jerry and Mark Lilla drove in Phillip. Ronnie Muro and Chuck Killough hit singles to lead off for Sky Blue, Scott Wadsworth drove in Ronnie and Charles Jones hit a 3-run homer. Jeff Tyler and Royce O’Donnell singled and David Bedwell drove in the 5th run. Green 12, Sky Blue 11 after three.

Sky Blue took the lead in the fourth by holding Green to one run and then scoring 5 of their own. Dan Peek and Pete Manown singled for Green and Doug Ferguson drove in Dan but a Chuck to Ronnie to Gary Sky Blue double play shut them down. Duffy V led off with a double in the Sky Blue half of the fourth. Harold Hagler drove in Duffy with a fielder’s choice and Wayne Sheets came to bat with 2 outs and a runner on base. Wayne drove in the runner with a single, Dale McWhorter walked, Ronnie Muro drove in Wayne, Chuck Killough drove in Dale and Scott Wadsworth drove in Chuck with a home run. Green cut into the 3-run Sky Blue lead by outscoring them 4 to 3 in the fifth. Carlos Davis singled and Gene Garcia drove him in with a 2-run homer. Then David Ferguson singled and Phillip Cheek drove him in with another 2-run homer. Chas Jones and Jeff Tyler singled for Sky Blue in the bottom of the fifth and Royce O’Donnell hit a 3-run home run. Sky Blue widened their lead to 6 in the sixth Inning. They held Green to one run on Dan Peek’s triple and Pete Manown’s RBI single. Then they scored 5 runs; Dale, Ronnie and Chuck singled, and Scott Wadsworth drove in a run with a fielder’s choice. Chas Jones singled in a run, Jeff Tyler loaded the bases and Royce cleaned the bases. Sky Blue 24, Green 18 after six.

The fans were really into the game now, and exhorted Sky Blue to do something better on every play, knowing their husbands needed direction. Green needed 6 runs in the open 7th to stay in the game. Don Stueckler led off with a double and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice. Carlos singled in Don. Gene Garcia hit his second ball over the right field fence for a ground-rule single. David Ferguson loaded the bases with another single and Jerry Bevel drove in 2 runs with a liner to right center. Phillip Cheek drove in David Ferguson with his 5th RBI and then Bob Slanovits tied the game with a shot to center field. Mike Madden singled and Mark Lilla came to the plate with runners on first and third. He hit a high drive toward the left-center fence and Royce O’Donnell drifted back. All the fielders on both teams struggled with the bright sun all game long and narrowly escaped getting beaned on many occasions. Royce tried to shield his eyes as he ran and the crowd didn’t know if he could see the ball or not, but Royce threw up his glove at the last minute to snag the ball that was headed over the fence, holding the game to a tie, 24 to 24. Sky Blue knew what it had to do, but it wasn’t easy. David Bedwell led off with a single but a strikeout and a fielder’s choice left Sky Blue with 2 outs and a runner on first. Gary Singleton kept them alive with a single and Harold Hagler took the long walk to the plate with runners on first and second and Chuck Killough, his pinch runner, telling him to hit it to the outfield. Harold took a strike, took a deep breath and hit the ball over third and into the outfield as the runner on second rounded third and scored, giving Sky Blue the championship, 25 to 24.

Tom Kilgore, who has worked tirelessly to keep RASSA moving along for the past year, handed out trophy shirts to the players and acknowledged the many people who pitch in every year to keep the league enjoyable for everyone. Gary Singleton topped the celebration off with enough of his incomparable blackberry cobbler for everyone, fresh from his oven this morning.

RASSA will regroup over the winter to plan next year’s leagues and change as many rules as we can just to annoy everyone. Everyone should try to find and recruit new players! We’re not getting any younger.

In the championship game, Sky Blue hitters were 36 for 49 with 2 walks for a .734 team batting average and a .745 on-base percentage. Ronnie Muro, Chuck Killough, Jeff Tyler, Royce O’Donnell and Gary Singleton were all 4 for 4. Green hitters were 37 for 54 with 2 walks for a .685 team batting average and a .696 on-base percentage. Phillip Cheek and Mike Madden were 4 for 4, Gene Garcia was 3 for 3 with a sacrifice fly and Dan Peek and Pete Manown were 3 for 3. There were 7 home runs in the game in one of the heaviest hitting games of the year.