MAY 5, 1961
Wests' Ninemen Boost Record,
7-0
Coach Al Carstens' nine enters the district tournament next week, and on May 12 the Westmen will play their last regularly scheduled home game.
Aided by nine Willowbrook errors, the Warriors amassed their 11 runs in the first four innings, and then staved off a late-game rally by Willowbrook to finally triumph. After their opponents had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Mainites bounced right back with three runs of their own, scoring with the aid of two errors, a walk, and consecutive singles by Mike Rowlee, John Reese, and George Amundsen.
The second inning proved just as productive, as a walk issued to Bruce Murdock, and Rick Warnicke's double were followed by Doug Halpenny's homerun.
The Warriors enjoyed their biggest inning in the third, when, after one man was out, third-baseman Gene Ciezaldo was safe on an error. Murdock once more received a free pass to first, and catcher Butch Bending singled home Ciezaldo. Warnicke was walked, Halpenny was safe on a
Maine West tallied once more in the fourth on the strength of a single, an error, and a passed ball. Willowbrook rallied for three rims in the fourth, two in the fifth, and three more in the sixth, but Warrior pitcher Bob Lorentz, who had relieved Warnicke, set the opposing batsmen down in order in the final inning.
In another home game last week, ace pitcher John Reese held Proviso West to only two hits, as the Warriors dumped their foes, 4-1.
Coach Carstens' team again did all their scoring in the early part of the game. Two runs were chalked up in the second inning, highlighted by Halpenny's long two-run triple. Three singles in the third accounted for Maine's other two runs.
In contrast, the Westmen were able to eke out only two hits in a game against East Leyden that ended after seven innings in a 2-2 tie. Both the Warriors' safeties were for extra bases, and came back-to-back in the third. With a man on base, catcher Bob Stephens lofted a long triple to tie the score at one-all. Halpenny followed with a double, to give Maine a 2-1 lead. The Eagles, however, came back with a run in the sixth, and the score was knotted when the game was called because of darkness an inning later.