SoM NNL Replay: HIL@KC game 1, 5-4

After an unfortunate 0-3 start to the season the visitors from Hilldale are looking to get back on track behind starter Hensley, but so are the Monarchs after their ace Paige started the season with an unusual loss. Both teams scored less than three runs a game so far.

In the first, the Daisies only manage to put two runners on via walks but can't advance them. The Monarchs draw first blood, starting the game with consecutive singles and a two RBI double from Wilson who goes on to have a field day with four hits.

In the third, the Hilldales get back into the game despite Santops fantastic throw to catch Pete Hill stealing. Torriente singles and Wells hits the ball over center fielder Benjamin's head and just barley over the fence to tie the game. However, in the home half of the inning, Johnson takes back the lead for KC with an RBI single.

In the fifth, Hill takes Santop by surprize by trying another steal on the first pitch to Torriente. Trying to repeat his earlier feat of catching the fleet footed centerfielder, Santop air mails the throw into center field and allows Hill to take third. However, Torriente lines out to second to end the inning without a score.

The next three half innings all see batters hit into double plays, but at least Lundy does it with no outs in the bottom of the sixth and manages to score Cannady who had reached on a nice double.
Havong tied the game in the seventh, the Hilldales try to take the lead on a hard hit double from Taylor. However, with a monster throw from the center field fence to catcher Santop, Monarchs center fielder Benjamin nails Superman Pennington as he tries to score from first base, somthe game remains tied going into the bottom of the eighth.

In the ninth, the Hilldales bring in a pinchnhitter and then Currie to pitch. The Monarchs, who have used their one reliever for three consecutive games already, don't have that flexibility and keep in winters who does get visibly tired as the game goes into extra innings and cannot prevent the Daisies from scoring one more unanswered run in the tenth to take the victory.

Notable individual perfomances in this close game include Taylor and Jud Wilson going 4 for 5, Malarcher going 3 for 4 batting eighth, Benjamin's outfield assist and Santop throwing out two runners trying to steal second.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E	W: R Currie L: N Winters
Hilldale Daisies	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	5	13	0
Kansas City Monarchs	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	4	16	1

Hilldale Daisies Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO C Blackwell  5 1 1 0 0 1 P Hill  4 0 2 2 1 0 C Torriente  4 1 1 0 1 0 W Wells  4 2 2 2 1 0 B Mackey  5 0 1 0 0 1 S Pennington  4 0 1 0 1 0 C Taylor  5 1 4 1 0 0 B DeMoss  5 0 1 0 0 0 E Hensley  3 0 0 0 0 1 J Gardner  1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 40 5 13 5 4 3 2B- W Wells (1), C Taylor (1) 3B- C Taylor (1) HR- W Wells (1) SB- C Blackwell (1), P Hill (1), B DeMoss (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR E Hensley  8.0 15 4 4 1 2 0 R Currie  2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 Kansas City Monarchs Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO J Benjamin  4 1 1 0 1 0 A Oms  5 2 2 0 0 0 J Wilson  5 0 4 2 0 0 O Johnson  5 0 2 1 0 0 R Cannady  5 1 1 0 0 1 L Santop  5 0 2 0 0 2 D Lundy  4 0 0 0 0 0 D Malarcher  4 0 3 0 0 0 N Winters  4 0 1 0 0 0 Totals 41 4 16 3 1 3 E- L Santop (1) 2B- J Wilson (1), R Cannady (1), D Malarcher (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR N Winters  10.0 13 5 5 4 3 1

SoM NNL Replay: LIN @ HOM 16-5, Giants split the series

NYL @ HOM game 2: holiday fireworks

In the duel of the number five starters, the Grays try to get to a winning record and the Giants try to remain at the top of the standings.

The Giants have another furious start to the game, scoring two on a walk, a single, a double and a sac fly. However, Grays centerfielder Baro ties the game with a twomrun homer in the bottom of the first.

In the third, the Giants continue to hit hard in a two out rally. A badly mishandled line drive makes Baro look bad at first, but when Spoony Palm homers two at bats later, it turns out Baro only robbed him of a grand slam. The inning becomes a big one when the bottom of the Giants order wakes up and pitcher Holland helps his own cause with an RBI double scoring and Charleston coming to bat for the second time in the inning but grounding out to Carr to end the inning with a 7-2 lead.

In the fourth, that becomes an 8-2 lead as Beckwith scores on a passed ball. The beats continue in the fifth - Cockrell can't quite dispatch the Giants' bottom of the order, walking Bankhead who is advanced by a sac bunt from Holland and  single from Charleston before Beckwith belts a screaming liner over the left field fence for another three runs. Then Scales advances to third as replacement short stop air mails an unnecessary throw into right field and is brought home by a Suttles line drive.

Suttles scores on two more close singles, and with Bankhead single the Giants bottom three come to bat once again in this inning. The inning ends with a strikeout for the pitcher Holland and a score of 16-2.

Will Cockrell even be able to eat the remaining innings at all? The sixth sees him load the bases once again on an error, a walk and a bloop single, but this time he manages to pitch out of the jam with two Ks and a grounder to third. After that, either Cockrell has found his bearings again or, more likely, the Giants are stepping off the gas a little after all the fireworks.

In the last two innings, the Grays even manage to get a few men on base, steal a couple of bases and score three runs to make the final result a slightly less devastating 16-5 which leaves a little bit of hope that the Grays might still be alive even while two of their starting players are injured. But the fourth of July fireworks were clearly provided by the visiting Giants who bat around twice and record a monster performance with 16 runs (15 earned) on a total of 23 hits.

Box Score

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: B Holland L: P Cockrell
New York Lincoln Giants	2	0	5	1	8	0	0	0	0	16	23	0
Homestead Grays	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	5	12	3

New York Lincoln Giants Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO O Charleston  5 2 1 0 1 0 J Beckwith  6 4 5 3 0 1 T Scales  5 1 3 1 0 1 M Suttles  5 2 4 2 1 1 R Dixon  6 2 2 1 0 2 S Palm  6 2 2 3 0 0 S Bankhead  5 3 3 1 1 0 R Parnell  6 0 2 2 0 1 B Holland  5 0 1 1 0 2 Totals 49 16 23 14 3 8 2B- M Suttles (2), S Bankhead (1), B Holland (1) 3B- R Parnell (1) HR- J Beckwith (1), S Palm (1) Sac- T Scales (1), B Holland (1) SB- O Charleston (2) Homestead Grays Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO T Carr  5 0 1 0 0 1 C Smith  5 2 4 1 0 0 J Gibson  5 0 1 0 0 0 B Baro  3 1 1 2 1 1 V Harris  4 0 2 1 0 0 A Radcliff  4 0 2 0 0 0 N Robinson  3 1 0 0 1 1 B Monroe  4 1 1 1 0 0 P Cockrell  4 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 37 5 12 5 2 3 E- B Baro (1), N Robinson (2) HR- B Baro (1) SB- N Robinson (1), B Monroe (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR P Cockrell  9.0 23 16 15 3 8 2

SoM NNL Replay: LIN@HOM 3-5

NYL @ HOM game 1: 3-5 - first loss for the New York team

In the first game of a two game series, the home team Grays started the season with several infield injuries and have to see how well Monroe, Radcliff and Robinson can keep going until Lloyd and Warfield return, beginning with the Homestead season opener today.

They are up against New York pitcher William Bell, a tolerable batter, so we will see who will score better - the Giants who are fresh off sweeping Hilldale in their first away series of the season, or the Grays who want to see their fans off to a good home start after a win and two close losses in St. Louis.
The Grays come out of the gates in the first inning like they have something to prove. Temporary leadoff Carr singles and current no. three hitter Gibson hits one over the right field fence for a 2-0 lead to start the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, Carr (reaching on a throwing error from pitcher Bell with two outs) and Gibson with another homer repeat their two-run drill from the first to make it a 4-0 game for the home team.
Grays starter Tom Williams has good control in the early stages of the game, taking a one hitter past the sixth inning with only two walks and five Ks in the first half of the game. However, in the bottom of the sixth he strains a hamstring running out a popup to second base and needs to be replaced.
The Giants manage to score two quick runs off reliever Wickware who still seems to be tired from yesterday's start. However, the Grays score another run in the bottom of the seventh and Chet Brewer gets a two inning save despite allowing one more run in the top of the last to bring the Grays to an even 2-2 record to start the season.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: T Williams L: W Bell SV: C Brewer
New York Lincoln Giants	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	3	5	1
Homestead Grays	2	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	x	5	11	0

New York Lincoln Giants Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO O Charleston  4 0 0 0 0 1 J Beckwith  4 0 0 0 0 2 T Scales  3 0 0 0 1 0 M Suttles  3 1 0 0 1 1 R Dixon  4 2 2 0 0 1 S Bankhead  2 0 0 1 1 0 R Parnell  4 0 1 1 0 0 F Duncan  4 0 2 1 0 1 W Bell  3 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 31 3 5 3 3 6 E- W Bell (1) 2B- R Dixon (1) Sac- S Bankhead (1) SB- R Dixon (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR W Bell  8.0 11 5 3 3 2 2 Homestead Grays Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO T Carr  5 2 2 0 0 0 C Smith  4 1 0 0 1 1 J Gibson  4 2 2 4 0 0 B Baro  4 0 3 0 0 0 V Harris  4 0 1 0 0 0 A Radcliff  3 0 1 1 1 0 N Robinson  3 0 0 0 1 1 B Monroe  4 0 2 0 0 0 T Williams  2 0 0 0 0 0 C Brewer  1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 34 5 11 5 3 2 2B- B Monroe (1) HR- J Gibson (2) Sac- T Williams (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR T Williams  6.0 1 0 0 2 6 0 F Wickware  1.0 2 2 2 1 0 0 C Brewer  2.0 2 1 1 0 0 0

SoM NNL Replay: CHI@STL game 2

Chicago American Giants at St. Louis Stars: A close affair

Game two starts with a more even contest. The Giants even manage to take the lead in on a two RBI single for McNair after Stearnes and Wright reach base to start the third. Cooper does manage to limit the damage done by St. Louis, but Brown ties the game with a solo homer in the bottom of the third.
The Giants continue to push their luck with aggressive small ball in the sixth. Bill Wright needs a triple dose of luck to just barely beat the throw to second on a very risky steal, then is nearly caught off guard when McNair pops a hit-and-run to second base man Johnson, and barely survives to score on a two run homer from Serrell that sails inches above Papa Bell's outstretched glove into the center field bleachers. Another lead for the Giants, this time with only one out in the inning. But once again they cannot add on to their lead immediately. In the seventh the Stars come back scoring Brown who reached second after Wright mishandled and dropped a sharp liner hit into right center. 
However, the bottom of the Giants order maintains some pressure and gives Stearnes a chance to bring home Mendez on a throwing error from first base man Leonard to Dizmukes.
In the ninth they mount another mini rally as Petway singles, advances to third on a hit-and-run single from Mendez and is scored on a sac fly from pinch hitter Hughes.
The Stars do put some pressure on newly signed reliever Mathis with a single and a double from pinch hitter Trouppe, but he manages to wiggle out of the inning, inducing Bell to popup to first in a clutch two-out, two-on situation to notch his first save.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: A Cooper L: D Dizmukes SV: V Mathis
Chicago American Giants	0	0	2	0	0	2	1	0	1	6	10	1
St. Louis Stars	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	4	9	1

Chicago American Giants Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO T Stearnes  5 1 1 1 0 1 W Wright  5 2 2 0 0 0 H McNair  4 0 2 2 0 0 B Serrell  4 1 2 2 0 1 R Dandridge  4 0 1 0 0 0 B Perkins  3 0 0 0 1 0 B Petway  4 1 1 0 0 0 J Mendez  3 1 1 0 1 1 A Cooper  2 0 0 0 0 1 S Hughes  0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 34 6 10 6 2 4 E- W Wright (1) HR- B Serrell (1) Sac- A Cooper (1), S Hughes (1) SB- W Wright (2), B Serrell (1), J Mendez (2) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR A Cooper  8.0 7 4 3 2 3 1 V Mathis  1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 St. Louis Stars Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO C Bell  4 1 1 0 1 0 B Rogan  3 2 2 1 1 0 W Brown  4 1 1 1 0 0 B Leonard  4 0 1 0 0 0 H Johnson  4 0 1 1 0 1 J Johnson  4 0 1 0 0 0 N Allen  4 0 1 0 0 1 D Radcliffe  4 0 0 0 0 0 D Dizmukes  3 0 0 0 0 2 Q Trouppe  1 0 1 0 0 0 Totals 35 4 9 3 2 4 E- B Leonard (1) 2B- Q Trouppe (1) 3B- B Rogan (1) HR- B Rogan (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR D Dizmukes  9.0 10 6 5 2 4 1

SoM NNL Replay: CHI@STL 1-6

Chicago American Giants at St. Louis Stars 1-6

The Giants start their series with a long road trip, and meet the other 2-1 NNL team in this two game series in St. Louis.

The injury plagues Giants signed another relief pitcher (Verdell Mathis) to take some pressure off their pitching staff. However, the first game in St. Louis is started by McDonald as per the normal rotation.
The early innings are dominated by defensive heroics - in the first, Cool Papa Bell robs MacNair of  homerun with a perfectly timed jump to pick a long flyball put of the center right bleachers. After a couple more spectacular line drives being caught or very narrowly missed, both teams trade double plays in the third.
In the fourth and fifth, however, Mendez allows to runs each on a total of five hits to let the Stars take a 5-0 lead.
In the second half of the game, the Giants try to get back into the game, but can show now results beyond a sixth inning leadoff solo homer from Stearnes as they strand two runners in the seventh and eighth.
In the end, the Stars bring their victory home with a rather straightforward 6-1 win.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: W McDonald L: J Mendez
Chicago American Giants	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	9	2
St. Louis Stars	0	0	1	2	2	0	0	1	x	6	13	1

Chicago American Giants Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO T Stearnes  5 1 1 1 0 0 W Wright  3 0 0 0 1 0 H McNair  4 0 0 0 0 0 B Serrell  4 0 3 0 0 0 S Hughes  4 0 1 0 0 0 R Dandridge  4 0 1 0 0 0 B Perkins  4 0 3 0 0 0 B Petway  4 0 0 0 0 2 J Mendez  4 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 36 1 9 1 1 2 E- H McNair (1), S Hughes (1) HR- T Stearnes (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR J Mendez  8.0 13 6 5 2 1 0

St. Louis Stars

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
C Bell	5	1	3	1	0	0
W Brown	5	0	0	0	0	1
B Rogan	4	0	1	1	0	0
B Leonard	4	1	2	0	0	0
H Johnson	4	1	2	0	0	0
Q Trouppe	3	1	0	1	1	0
J Johnson	3	1	1	1	1	0
N Allen	4	1	3	1	0	0
W McDonald	3	0	1	1	0	0
Totals	35	6	13	6	2	1

E- J Johnson (1)
2B- C Bell (1), B Rogan (1), N Allen (1)
Sac- W McDonald (1)
SB- B Leonard (1), H Johnson (2)
PK- C Bell (1)

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
W McDonald	9.0	9	1	1	1	2	1

SoM NNL Replay: Game 3 NYL@HIL

Game 3 NYL @ HIL 6-5: sweeping homers

The home team are determined not to go down as easily as in the first two games of the series, and to avoid being swept to start the season. Chances are their offence will do better as the three left handed batters at the top of their order face a rightie today.

The game starts well enough with a brief first half inning - despite a leadoff hit from Charleston, Leon Day gets out if the inning quickly with a double play grounder from Beckwith and a flyout to right from Scales.
And the Daisies manage to take the lead against the Giants for the first time, as their leadoff batter scores only their second run of the series after hitting a triple. However, the Giants immediately come back to tie the game in the top of the second. Leadoff Mule Suttles, fresh off of a four-for-four morning performance, is walked by Leon Day, advances to third on a single from Dixon and is brought home by a fielders choice grounder from Bankhead to second base man DeMoss.
In the top of the third, Day starts to show some uncertainty as he walks two batters with two outs to bring Mule Suttles to the plate. However, he can make Suttles send a grounder right over second base for the unassisted groundout by Short Stop Wells. Then, it's Byrds turn to show some weakness. After a single and a double to start the bottom of the third he nearly wiggles out of trouble with two quick outs, but Pennington manages to squeeze a grounder by Byrd and 2nd base man Palm to score two more runs for the Daisies.
In the fifth, the Giants pull ahead of the Daisies for the first time in this game with three runs scored off a Charleston triple and Suttles homer. The Hilldales try to respond immediately and manage to load the bases with one out on a single and two walks, but DeMoss and Day (who reached on hits on each of his first two at bats) fail to take the chance of putting something on the board.
Day manages to keep the Giants within striking distance for most of the game, but with another Charleston two run homer the Giants go into the bottom of the last inning with a solid three run lead. The Daisies do manage to mount a last inning rally on a walk, two hits and a sac fly, but Byrd keeps his nerves and closes out the game for a close 4-4 win and the sweep.
The Giants deliver a perfect start to the season. While Suttles cannot quite keep up the pace from his spectacular batting display in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader, Charleston begins the season at a spectacular one-homer-per game clip as part of a ten-homer show in the first three games by the New Yorkers.

Box Score

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: T Trent L: C Brewer
Homestead Grays	0	0	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	6	11	0
St. Louis Stars	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	4	x	8	14	1

Homestead Grays Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO P Lloyd  1 0 1 0 0 0 C Smith  5 2 3 3 0 0 T Carr  4 1 2 1 1 0 J Gibson  5 1 2 0 0 1 B Baro  5 0 1 0 0 0 V Harris  5 0 2 2 0 0 A Radcliff  3 0 0 0 1 0 B Monroe  3 1 0 0 1 0 C Brewer  2 0 0 0 1 0 N Robinson  3 1 0 0 0 1 Totals 36 6 11 6 4 2 2B- V Harris (1) 3B- C Smith (1), J Gibson (1) HR- C Smith (1) HBP- P Lloyd (1) Sac- C Brewer (1) SB- T Carr (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR C Brewer  8.0 14 8 8 3 5 0

St. Louis Stars

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
C Bell	4	1	2	2	1	1
B Rogan	5	1	0	1	0	1
W Brown	5	2	4	0	0	0
B Leonard	4	1	2	3	1	0
H Johnson	5	0	1	2	0	0
Q Trouppe	4	0	1	0	0	1
J Johnson	4	1	1	0	0	0
N Allen	3	1	2	0	1	0
T Trent	3	1	1	0	0	2
Totals	37	8	14	8	3	5

E- B Leonard (1)
2B- W Brown (1), B Leonard (1), J Johnson (1), N Allen (1)
Sac- T Trent (1)

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
T Trent	9.0	11	6	5	4	2	1