The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1943-07-15
Sports Items Here and There
BEHIND
HOME PLATE
BY DOUG STEWART

In spite of a disastrous home stay,
during which our Owls dropped four
out of seven games, they are still in
second place, just half a game be-
hind Wilmington, the only differ
ence being that Lancaster, which
right now is playing better ball than
any team in the League, is right on
the heels of the leaders and could
easily slip by both the Owls and the
Rocks and land on top of the heap
before the week is over.
Back in their own ball park for a
seven-game series, three with Lam
caster and four with Trenton, after
a fairly successful road trip, we
confidently expected the Owls to
take at least five of the seven games,
instead of which they dropped four
out of seven, and frankly they were
plenty lucky that they didn't lose
more.
They started out by being on the
losing end of one of the weirdest
games we have ever watched in all
the years we have been covering
ball games. That first game with
Lancaster started out like any other
game, with Lancaster having slight
ly the best of it, but it grew worse
as it developed and the lid really
blew off when Lancaster paraded
10 men to the plate in one inning
and before the third man was out
IA runs had been scored, II of them
before a single man was retired.
They followed this up by losing
again on Thursday, but behind the
fsteady pitching of Morgan (the
pitcher bought from Wilmington
they managed to salvage the third
game. Sunday and Monday they
played double headers with Trenton
and managed to split even. They
were lucky to split the first one
(they scored the winning run on an
error), but in Monday nights twin
bill, after losing the first game, the
team again got real pitching job
from Morgan that enabled them to
split even.
Last Tuesday they hit the road
again for six days, but they'll be
back here next Monday night for a
three-game series with Lancaster
and we hope that by that time the
boys will have regained their col
lective batting eyes and that the
pitching staff will have gotten over
that wild streak that seemed to
have affected everyone but Morgan
during this last home stay.
We still say that the Owls can win
the penant, but unless they play a
better brand of ball than we have
seen during the past week, they not
only will lose the race, they'll be
lucky to get into the play off.
AT the end of the first week of
racing at the Fairgrounds, C. Kirk
was making a runaway of the race
for leading jockey at the meeting,
with IA wins, 3 seconds and Z thirds.
Austin, Dufford and Prain had 4
winners each, while Grant and Pa
Jumbo each had two.
The only horse to repeat during
the week was Flying Junior, who
took down the third race on open
ing day and came back to take the
third again on Saturday.
Favored by splendid weather, the
meeting is breaking all records for
both attendance and betting, and
with favorites winning goodly
share of the purses, the crowds are
going home well satisfied.
Opening day, the daily double of
Sandy Trail and Camp Meeting was
$724.50. Box car figures went up on
the board Wednesday also, when
Sweet zaca and Mistake clicked for
$236.80 Prain took personal charge
of the double on Saturday, when
he rode Ecomint and Electrict for a
payoff of $28.
Vendors Lien, nine time winner
at Charles Town, was shipped to
Garden City when his trainer found
that his champion was unable to ne
gotiate the turns at the local track.
The running of Roman Boy has
been disappointment to a good
many; After running in champi-
onship form over at Charles Town,
he was made favorite in both of his
starts here, but could no no better
than place third on opening day,
while on Saturday he was out of the
money.
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