This came on in the late 80s, to my recollection. I think I remember it airing on KOCO-TV on late Saturday mornings, after the cartoon block, and being hosted by Jane Jayroe (one of the anchors at the time). It appeared to be shot in what I guess is termed a "B" studio with a decal, painting or otherwise marking of a baseball diamond on the floor, and a group of children lined up at home plate kickball-fashion.

I remember when a child was at bat, the idea was to read a word (flashed to the child presumably by TelePrompTer or cue card and to the viewing audience superimposed at the bottom of the screen), after which the child would advance a prescribed number of bases. Strikeouts, that is, a mispronunciation of the word, to my recollection were rare. Musical accompaniment in the traditional manner was provided by a keyboardist (using a quasi-Hammond voice) situated along the first or third base line.

I also remember that the show was sponsored by Hi-Land dairy, evidenced by the ice cream commercials videotaped against a black matte cyclorama. I distinctly recall the spoon audibly clicking against the spokeschild's teeth while demonstrating during the advertisement.

Anyway---can anyone fill in the blanks? What was the idea of this game? Why was it called "Basalball"?