Area men take on Major League players in Augusta    It was far from the final game of the WorldSeries.   But on a magical fall afternoon almost 60 years ago, the finest players from the Augusta area almost knocked off a team of Major League Baseball All-Stars.   The contest took place in Augusta on Oct. 8, 1952. The Augusta Merchants took on a barnstorming band of ballplayers who had little incentive other than love of the game. The matchup was held the day after the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in game seven of the World Series to capture their fourth straight title.   The Major Leaguers came from the St. LouisCardinals, St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, New York Giants, WashingtonSenators and Boston Red Sox.    Merchants players included Jim Hiland andLarry Kerker of Augusta, Dave Swisegood of Plymouth, Sid Winfield of Bowen.Dale Mixer of Camp Point, Eldon Atwood of Pittsfield, Gillie Lester of Colchesterand Dick Heitholt of Quincy.    The Augusta team lost 11 to 9, and might have come out on top had the All-Stars not scored five runs in the sixth inning. More than 600 people attended.   Augusta would not host such a big game again, but baseball still is a highly popular sport there.   Dave Swisegood would go on to coach for 63 years at schools in Plymouth and Augusta, winning a state-record 950 games. He passed in November 2020 at age 90.