–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–
September 29, 2026 (Liberty Park Sports Complex)
The final day of RASSA’s 2026 regular season started out cool and bright. Blue and Sky Blue, tied for first place, faced off in the early game; the winner would be league champion and number 1 seed in the RASSA world series. Players were on edge as stakes were high. Winners get a cap they add to the collection they never wear and double the payout of the losers. As the song says, “Nothin’ plus nothin’ is nothin’”.
Dale McWhorter, as he usually does, led off with a hit for Sky Blue. Dale was forced out at second but the next three batters loaded the bases and Royce O’Donnell hit a ball into the woods for a grand slam homer. Jeff Tyler doubled and Charles Jones drove him in for the fifth run. David Ferguson doubled for Blue and scored on Harold Fincher’s hit before a fly ball and a double play ended the inning. Blue shut out Sky Blue in the second and David Brasfield, Rel Underwood, John Remley, Mike Richards, Ken Aubin, Harold Easterwood and Brian Gierlatowicz got a string of hits and 5 runs. Dale McWhorter scored Sky Blue’s only run in the third and Blue added 3 with CeCe Washington’s leadoff double, David Ferguson’s RBI single, hits by Finch and Tom Wasmer, and RBI hits by Carlos Davis and David Brasfield. Blue 9, Sky Blue 6 after three.
Blue shut out Sky Blue again in the fourth and added 2 more runs on John Remley’s solo home run, Mike Richards’ double, Ken Aubin’s single, and Harold Easterwood’s RBI single. Sky Blue scored one in the fifth when Chuck Killough drove in Wayne Sheets. Blue scored 3; David Ferguson tripled and Finch hit a 2-run home run. Edwin Yergan and Tom Wasmer got hits and Carlos Davis drove in Edwin. Sky Blue got back within three runs by scoring 4 in the top of the sixth. Royce and David Bedwell singled and Jeff Tyler drove in Royce. Chas Jones reached on a fielder’s choice and Glenn Little drove in Jeff. Harold Hagler drove in Chas, Duffy Vandeford singled and Mike Madden drove in Harold. Sky Blue added one run in the bottom of the sixth when Harold Easterwood drove in Mike Richards, and the teams went into the open 7th inning with Blue ahead, 15 to 11.
Finch snagged Dale McWhorter’s leadoff line shot at third base and Sky Blue had two outs remaining. Chuck Killough, Ronnie Muro and Scott Wadsworth singled to load the bases and Royce O’Donnell drove in a run with another single. David Bedwell drove in 2 runs with a drive to right center and Jeff Tyler drove in 2 more runs with a towering double. Little Glenn drove in a 6th run before Blue got the third out, to take the lead, 17 to 15. Blue’s pitcher, Brian G, singled to open the Blue seventh. CeCe reached on a fielder’s choice and David Ferguson got his fourth hit of the game. CeCe scored on Finch’s sacrifice fly leaving David Ferguson on third with 2 outs. And the game ended there on an infield out. Sky Blue won, 17 to 16 and were regular season champs.
Sky Blue hitters were 28 for 48 with one walk for a .583 team batting average and a .592 on-base percentage. Glenn Little was 4 for 4. Blue hitters were 28 for 43 with one walk for a .651 team batting average and a .659 on-base percentage. David Ferguson was 4 for 4, Finch was 3 for 3 with a sacrifice fly, Mike Richards, Ken Aubin, and Harold Easterwood were all 3 for 3, and Tom Wasmer was 2 for 2 with a walk.
Green played Red in the late game with nothing at stake except their unquenchable competitive spirit. Both teams scored 5 in the first inning. Mark Lilla, David Ferguson, Jerry Bevel, Carlos Davis, Larry Enzweiler, and Bobby Watkins got hits for Green and Cecil Kwong hit a 2-run homer. Red’s first 5 batters got their 5 runs. Jim Raley and Ron (Hootie) Ingram singled and Finch drove in Jim. Earle Dunn loaded the bases and Jim Thompson (JT) hit a grand slam homer. Green didn’t score again in the second and third innings while Red scored 5 more to take a 10 to 5 lead after three. Bill Lovell and Wayne Graham scored in the second after getting hits and being driven in by Buddy Cannon and Holly Whitmire. Hootie singled in the third and Finch drove him in with a 2-run homer. Earle Dunn got a hit but a couple of fielder’s choices left Red with 2 outs and Bill Lovell on first. Bill then scored on Wayne Graham’s double.
Both teams scored 5 in the 4th. Larry Enzweiler, Bobby Watkins, Cecil Kwong, Mike Madden, Pete Manown, Don Stueckler, Mark Lilla, and Gene Garcia got the hits and RBIs for Green. Keith Frederick, Jim Anderson, Jim Raley, Hootie, Finch, Earle and JT got the hits and runs for Red. David Ferguson, Jerry Bevel, Carlos Davis, Larry Enzweiler, Bobby Watkins, and Cecil Kwong got a string of hits and scored 3 runs and then shut out Red in the fifth to creep closer, Red 15, Green 13. Both teams scored 5 in the sixth; for Green, Beth Moore, in her first plate appearance of 2026, got a sharp single over second base, Bob Slanovits walked and Beth scored on Pete Manown’s RBI hit. Mark Lilla drove in Bob and Pete, Gene Garcia drove in Mark and Jerry Bevel drove in Gene. Red answered with a Jim Anderson walk, hits by Jim Raley, Hootie, Finch, and Earle, a Wayne Graham walk and Buddy Cannon’s 2-RBI single.
Green was behind by 2 runs going into the open 7th inning. Carlos Davis singled, Larry Enzweiler walked, Bobby Watkins reached on a fielder’s choice and Cecil Kwong drove in Carlos. Mike Madden loaded the bases with a single, but an infield double play ended the game, Red 20, Green 19.
Red hitters were 24 for 36 with 5 walks for a .667 team batting average and a .707 on-base percentage. Hootie and Finch were 4 for 4 and Jim Anderson had a perfect day at bat with 3 walks. Green hitters were 32 for 46 with 4 walks for a .696 team batting average and a .720 on-base percentage. Jerry Bevel and Cecil Kwong were 4 for 4 and David Ferguson and Larry Enzweiler were 3 for 3 with a walk.
RASSA Masters has scheduled a benefit tournament for Ted Pate next Tuesday, October 6th. The tournament outcomes won’t affect anything in regular league play. Red will play Blue at 9:00AM and Green will play Sky Blue at 10:30. Then the losing teams will face off at noon and the winning teams will play at 1:30PM. Bobby Watkins paid the fees for the tournament even though he expects to be out of town; we appreciate his generosity. There will be refreshments available at the games and all receipts and donations from the tournament will be given to Ted to help with his staggering medical obstacles.