The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-06-19

, become sloppy and Harry Hotchkis.
| hadn't sat down just when he wa:
ready to field the ball and retire {
batter instead OF allowing him to gel
| on base. westrno or Gland would have
won
Excuse Finders Al Wrong.
Everyone OF these excuse finders
were wrong-are wrong 1t WASH
tae scoreboard boys. it wasn't the
change OF pitchers. 1t wasn't the
weather. 1t was hoodoo. q 1inx
that defeated Westmoreland,
II was that fearful number thir-
teen.
In the error column it stands as
conspicuous as only thirteen can be
conspicuous. careful scrutiny Will
show it's demon influence on the game
The Westmoreland sluggers plankec
the pill for twice the number of bin
giles made by the Commonwealth ash
wieders. They soaked the sphere ant
bumped the ball They hacked ;ht
horse hide and banged out base hits
bur that Hateful thirteen got into 'ne
game and beat them out of victory
That's all there Is TO 1t.
That ink was noticeable from the
start When Tom Bryan went to the
mound and split the rubber with a
strike on his first heave, the West
moreland rooters yelled with delight,
but the thirteen jinx only leered and
jeered He was right on the TOD
Bryan hadn't pitched two more balls
when he got In his deadly work. The
sleeve on the siIKen SHIRT or the pitch
cr unrolied and slipped down his arm
where 1t tapped like signal of dis
tress.
This was enough TO UHnFrve any
hurler and perhaps It would any
other but Tom Bryan. lie went 10
the bench and had surgical opera =
ton performed. had the sleeve cut
off, half way between his elbow and
his shoulder. Anyone would think
that such heroic measures would be
enough to lay the meanest kind OF a
link Anyone who would sacrifice the
beautiful right arm Of a perfectly good
silk shirt is some hero and deserving
the best that fate mas In her nhagl-
clans bag out that jealous ink -ust
naturally laid for the AesinoreIano
pitcher and he was lucky to get
ban across the platter after mat
Double Play Appears,
To he sure no scoring WAS done IN
the first inning and double play by
Mcneil and Leigh stopped any chahce
az score IN the second by West
7liuF o,zs7.ss La s's'AAs 44otthklss ha4
canned bat when Mcneil missed Con
ouest's tap things looked bright IN
spite of the big black cloud that was
looming up in the North bur Blunt
popped ny to Mcneil and pefore
Hotchkiss knew If Mcneil had reiayeu
the ball TO Leigh, ana ne hau 10 80
10 his place NJ second ---
Then Commonwealth made their
first run of the game. me linN "Ss
WORKING and Bryan walked Richard
son. Then he stole secoiil oeCa 20" se
tho fink caused Captain Cardoza 10
throw the ball out Of Harry tiotcn-
krsv.- rcarh- and Rich went TO tnlrd.
t1ora he waited untf the redouotapie
| .eigh damned the ball for n saiety'
tIil went to the bat, bur the pest ne
ao,,id 40 was pop to Ed Hotchkiss'
and II was Boone up
And then the rain came GOWN
NV. how 1t poured
Ior twenty-five minutes il molslut-
cd and when the sun shonc out asa,'i
No teId was some damp. You could
ar, vsdtng anywhere around the IN
eetd and take mud bath IN the
ritcher's box. Tom Bryan tossed
'.ounla and then called for dry pali.
misunderstood him ana
rushed to the players bench look
Ing for a tail glass and syphon.
AN BRYAN really wanted a dry BAH
ana he got II. Then he iahned
Boone.
Hl1t to tell tho game in all Its in
teresting details would take too long
for a historian who is obliged TO be
brief It will probably take year
"a tell It. at the Commonwealth club
ana even then the half will never be
told. So, most of it must be passed
over no matter how difficult IL is to
refrain from chanting all the glories
of that great game
IIeming's Wonderful Slide.
The details of the wonderful slide
made by Fleming through the mud
to second base must be passed over
with Just a reference OF course Flem-
ing did not know that ,'srdoza didn't
try TO head him off at all. II he had
he wouldn't have diycd into the mud.
He wasn't any mind reader so he just
took a header and when he
arose he looked like a surveyors as
sistant. fresh from the ditch.
The comedy OF errors In the sew
enth, when Commonwealth made six
runs need not be dwelt upon except
tn explain that Ter, HrFan felt the
lima working and retired after two