The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1943-09-02
BEHIND
HOME PLATE
BY DOUG STEWART

of the season. picked the Washing
ton Senators to win the American
League pennant and the Brooklyn
Dodgers, the National League?
How are the mighty fallen!
The Owls left last Tuesday for a
road trip that will take them, first
to Trenton for three-game series
and then to Wilmington for four
game series before returning on
Labor Day, for double header with
York.
When the team came home last
Thursday, they were just one game
behind the league-leading Lancaster
Red Roses, when they left for the
present road trip they were three
full games behind and virtually in
a tie with Wilmington for second
place.
Hagerstown has played excep-
tionally good ball on the road all
season, and if they can beat the
Trenton Jinx, they could come home
again on Labor Day in pretty
strong position, but it cannot be
overlooked that the Owls have
pretty tough schedule ahead of
them. Here's what they are up
against: Three road games with
Trenton; four games with Will
mington; then home for a three
game series with York; followed by
a two-game home series with Will
mington. That means II games with
teams that arc all fighting for
place in the play-offs and frankly,
unless Lancaster runs into a terrific
slump, we don't see our Owls, much
as we hate to admit it, picking up
those three games they need to
catch the leaders.
It is true of course, that after we
get through with York, Trenton and
Wilmington, we have a fourgame
series with Allentown at home, and
it is also true that Allentown has
been easy pickings for us all season,
but those games are not going to
do us much good unless we can
white down Lancaster's lead in the
meantime, and then don't forget
that we wind up the season with a
two-game series with Wilmington,
played at Wilmington.
I have been pulling for the Owls
all season and still say that they
have a chance to cop the pennant,
but common sense forces me to be-
lieve that their chances are none too
rosy
Last week ends series with Will
mington, even though we lost two
out of three, produced some of the
best baseball seen in the stadium
all summer. Fans have been used
to seeing slug tests, with only an oc-
casional pitchers battle. But those
three games with Wilmington were
all real ball games as the scores
80, 10 and Az, will testify.
Rankin and KAMA hooked up in
Saturdays game and although Ran
kin lost, he pitched one of the best
games he has turned in at home all
season. He gave up one run in
each of the second, third and fourth
innings, but from there on out, he
was unbeatable, pitching superb ball
all the way, particularly in the last
two innings, in both of which Will
mington threatened to score. Those
three runs were just one too many,
however, as KAMA, after giving up
two runs in the first innings, pitched
shutout ball all the rest of the way.
In Sundays game it was Miller
and Alternately, with Charlie COM
ing out on top in another really
tight one Alternately set the locals
down with one hit in the first four
frames, but in the fifth, after getting
rid of Miller and Mays on ground
ers, he walked Tommy Lilies. Dad
dario then beat out a hit to short
and Bobby Maier followed with a
clean single to center, driving in
Lilies with the only run of the ball
game. Miller, in pitching his shut
out, gave up six hits, but he kept
them well scattered and was never
in trouble.
Monday nights tussle, while plen-
ty close up till the ninth inning,
was not up to the standard of the
other two 1t is true tina Angstatt
and Minor only gave up six hits
each, bu the game was marred by
some sloppy fielding and some ILL
time base running on both sides.
The Owls had a million chances to
win the game (they left IS men
stranded on the base paths), but
they couldn't push them around,
and then in the ninth, with the
score tied %, Angstatt weakened,
and three hits, plus Daddario's err