Evening star., 1954-06-10
Eastern Can Credit
Fine Pitching Again
For Interhiuh Title
By BOB Honson


factor In bringing Eastern High
1lve championships in the last
six years.
A few years ago it was Sonny
Wise, q lefthander, who turned
the trick. Last year, Dick Small
wood, also q southpaw, shut out
Roosevelt, 40, and yesterday at
Grifnth Stadium he came within
three outs Of making Interhigh,
history as Eastern defeated
Western, 80. in nine innings.
All Interhigh games, includ-
ing the playoffs and champion
ship game. are limited to seven
innings. For six innings Small
wood pitched no-hit ball. The
only batters to reach base were
on a hit batsman in the first
inning, a walk in the second (the
only one !Smallwood gave up)
and an error in the fifth. Then
in the seventh, with Eastern
leading, 20, and only three outs
to 60 for the near-perfect game,
Western broke the spell.
Western Starts Hitting.
Shortstop Hal Dyer singled
into right field. Pitcher Bob
Lomax also singled to right and
Catcher Warren Jenkins smashed
q hit off Third Baseman Jim
Broderick's glove to load the
bases with none out. Carl Rosen-
busch fouled to Leftfielder Gay
Clark, who made a fine running
catch. Dyer tagged up and beat
the throw to the plate as Lomax
and jenkins moved up.
Sal lombard, attempting
squeeze bunt, was hit, again fill
ing the bases. George LeVarn
beat out a bunt, Lomax scoring
from third with the tying run.
When Jenkins also attempted to
score he was out, on a fine throw
from First Baseman Fred Shell |
ton to Catcher Ben Gordea.
Dave Smell famed to end the
inning and send the game into |
overtime.
"I knew I had a no-hitter 60
Ing" Smallwood said after the |
game. But in the seventh |
they just caught up with me.
I had been working my curve
pretty good but it just seemed |
to hang all of a sudden and |
made it easier for them to time
It,"
Errors Lead to Run.
The Ramblers took a first in
ming lead when two errors gave |
them an unearned run. They |
added one more in the fifth on |
o walk by Clark. a stolen base,
f1elder's choice and a single to
left by Broderick. The eighth |
was scorelesS for both teams. In |
the top half of the ninth, Small
wood atoned for his momentary
lapse in the seventh inning.
Clark beat out a bunt and was
sacrificed to second by Ray
Lambert. Smallwood then
singled sharply over second into
center field, scoring Clark.
Smallwood protected his slender
lead in Westerns half of the in
ming. setting them down in
order.
Western, which was given
little consideration in early
season play. nearly pulled an
upset. Lomax, who struck out
eight as against Smallwood's 10.
pitched excellent ball and only
for the opening inning errors,
one of which he made himself,
would have been the winner.
Lomax, converted from a
catcher earlier in the season,
handed Eastern its only defeat /
In league play in his first start.
His opponent was Lambert.
NOTES-So effective was
Smallwood's pitching in the first
six innings no ball was hit out
Of the infield until Dyer led of
the bottom half Of the seventh
with Westerns first hit :. Small
wood also made the first hit OF
the game, a single through the
box into centerfield in the third |
and emerged as the only player
to make more than one hit {. {.
A rhubarb developed in West
ern's half of the seventh when
Lombardi missed a squeeze bunt. |
He was hit and took first base,
but on the play Lomax streaked |
in from third with what the
Raiders thought was the tying !
run. He was sent back to third
after a heated discussion among |
players, coaches and Plate Um- !
pire Bill Johnson. -.
The Ramblers not only came |
out ahead but showed a definite |
margin in cheer leaders, 1875 :.
Lomax was getting bit of help !
from the stands during the game. !
His brother, Hop Lomax, who
played at Western a number of !
years ago and is now a basket
ball official, was sitting in the
boxes between first base and
home plate flashing signals to his |
kid brother The last time
the two teams met for a baseball
championship was in 1851 with
Eastern the victor, 5-1. The win
ming pitcher was Wise, now with
the Senators farm team at
Hagerstown The last time
Western won a baseball cham
pionship was in 1943. They
haven't won q championship of
any description since.
Eastern. A.HO.A. Western. AHO.A