–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—
September 16, 2025 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
Holly Whitmire was setting up for the game on a warm morning when Cathy Brasfield asked her if she had a pain reliever. As soon as Holly, always well prepared, pulled out her package, Carlos jumped in. “This is the RASSA Masters league. You can’t get out your Ibuprofen unless you have enough for everyone!”
Orange played Sky Blue in the early game. Orange scored a run in the first when Tom Wasmer hit a double and Mike Madden drove him in. Then they were scoreless in the second and third. Sky Blue started out better, getting 2 runs in the first on hits by Chuck Killough, Larry Enzweiler, David Brasfield, Steve Belcher and Pete Manown; 5 in the second on hits by Rick Alston, Harold Hagler, Ron Allen, Bobby Watkins, Chuck, Larry and Mike; and one in the third when Carlos Davis drove in Steve Belcher. Sky Blue 8, Orange 1 after three.
Orange came to life scoring 5 in each of the fourth and fifth innings. Wayne Graham drove in 2 runs after hits by Tom Wasmer, Ken Sransky and a walk by Mark Lilla loaded the bases. Then Scott Wadsworth’s hit reloaded the bases and Jim Hill drove in 2 more runs with a hit up the middle. Harold Easterwood drove in the fifth run. The Orange runs in the fifth started with a string of walks that loaded the bases and drove in a run. Steve Entrekin drove in 2 more with a double and Tom Wasmer drove in the last 2 runs with a long sacrifice fly to left. Then Sky Blue shut them out in the sixth and seventh innings after Steve Belcher came in as a relief pitcher and baffled the batters with his famous curveballs. Orange led 11 to 9 at the end of five innings after Chuck Killough drove in Bobby Watkins with a triple in the Sky Blue fourth and the question was whether Sky Blue could catch them.
Sky Blue eked out a run in the sixth when Harold Hagler got to third on a hit that several Orange players tossed around ineffectively. After a strikeout, Bobby beat out an infield hit but Harold couldn’t score. Finally, Chuck drove him in with his fourth hit, but a strikeout and fielder’s choice ended the inning. It was Orange 11, Sky Blue 10 when Sky Blue came to bat in the seventh. Sky Blue didn’t mess around. David Brasfield led off with a double and scored to tie the game on Steve Belcher’s single. Steve advanced on Pete Manown’s hit and Carlos drove him in for the Sky Blue win, 12 to 11.
Sky Blue was 26 for 39 with 2 walks for a .667 team batting average and a .683 on-base percentage. Chuck Killough was 4 for 4. Orange hitters were 16 for 31 with 6 walks for a .516 team batting average and a .595 on-base percentage. Tom Wasmer was 2 for 2 with a sacrifice fly and Duffy Vanderford was 1 for 1 with 2 walks.
Red and Blue played the late game. Red outscored Blue 3 to 1 in the first inning and never relinquished the lead, though Blue kept it close through the first six innings. Blue shut out Red in the second and tied the game at 3 when Jennifer Martinez and Brian G got hits and Holly Whitmire and Hootie Ingram drove them in. Red got 5 in the third on a string of hits by Wayne Sheets, Dale McWhorter, Rel Underwood, Ron Lentz, Glenn Little and Earle Dunn. Blue could only answer with one run when Pete Manown drove in David Brasfield, and the score was Red 8, Blue 4 after three innings.
Blue shut out Red in the fourth and fifth innings and got within one run by scoring 3 runs in the fourth. Brian G opened the inning with a hit, but two fielder’s choices left Blue with two outs and a runner on first. Then Hootie, Chuck Killough, Sid Hilton and David Brasfield got a string of hits that pushed across the three runs. The score was Red 8, Blue 7 after five.
Both teams scored 5 runs in the sixth. Red’s were a copy of the third inning when Wayne led off with a walk and Dale, Rel, Ron Lentz, Mike Richards, Little Glenn, and Earle Dunn got hits. Blue’s resulted from Holly’s walk, Rick Erdimer and Hootie’s hits, and Chuck, Sid and David Brasfield’s RBI hits. It was still a one-run game after the sixth inning, Red 13, Blue 12.
The open seventh inning decided the game in a rousing fashion. Red hitters couldn’t miss. Red scored 13 runs on 13 hits and 3 walks before they made an out. Then they scored 3 more times before they made the third out. Every player on the team either got a hit or a walk in the inning, and 4 players got two hits. After the onslaught, Blue needed 17 runs to tie and 18 to win. They got three on hits by Cecil Kwong, Buddy Cannon, Pete Manown, Jennifer, Holly and Hootie, but a fielder’s choice, a strikeout and a grounder to the pitcher ended the game, Red 29, Blue 15.
In a remarkable display of skill and quickness, Red pitcher Earle Dunn had seven assists in the game, 5 to first base and two to second base. He was modest. “That’s mostly self-defense. When you’re pitchin’, if you don’t get your glove on the ball you’re gonna go home all bruised up.”
Red hitters were 33 for 47 with 5 walks for a .702 team batting average and a .731 on-base percentage. Rel Underwood, Glenn Little and Bob Newton were all 4 for 4. Dale McWhorter was 3 for 3 with a walk, Ron Lentz was 2 for 2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly, and Wayne Sheets was 1 for 1 with 2 walks. Blue hitters were 28 for 45 with one walk for a .622 team batting average and a .630 on-base percentage. David Brasfield was 4 for 4.
Red managers Wayne Sheets and Handsome Herb congratulated each other after the game but Wayne thought Herb looked worried. Herb said “Yeah, I’m a little worried my wife might be getting dementia. This morning she said she couldn’t remember what she ever saw in me.”