CHAPTER XVIIA STIFF SCHEDULE
That Saturday afternoon game was the first of a series of five inning games between the Penningtons and the Penguins that extended over a period of just one week; the first week preceding the opening of the season for the Pennington team with the game with Erasmus Hall which was dated for April 21st. And it was during these games that the Penguin players, Jeff Thatcher included, hoped to make sufficient impression on Coach Rice to be allowed to play at least a part of the first game.
The result was a veritable whirlwind series in which the Penningtons and the Penguins fought it out from the first ball pitched to the last batter up. And to give the scrub team credit, it was composed of such high caliber material that in the seven games played they won and tied three games, only permitting the first team a clean cut victory in the first game of the series and in the fourth; that played on Wednesday afternoonwhen the first team closed the fifth inning with a rally that all but completely rattled Cy Gordon, the youngest of the three pitchers, and caused him to let them pile up four runs in the one inning drubbing the scrubs to the tune of 6 to 1, which was the worst beating that either of the teams had suffered.
The Pennington schedule was a stiff one; according to Coach Rice the hardest they had had in years, for it provided for two games a week and in some weeks three games were scheduled. It began with the Erasmus Hall game, which was not a big game but usually an interesting one for the school from Flatbush brought down to Montvale an aggregation of scrappy ball players who fought for every run and every out, and it was generally considered an excellent game on which to test the mettle of the team from the bigger institution. Following the Erasmus game came a number of games of more or less importance ranging from the East Winton and New City Y. M. C. A. teams to the game with the Princeton Freshmen which occurred about the middle of May. That was the first of the really big games and from then on the Pennington teamwas supposed to keep going in full stride through the rest of May and on to the middle of June when the climax of the baseball year was reached in the game with Lawrencetown, an institution of about the same scholastic standing as Pennington and jealous of annexing the State Championship each year. It was generally a fight between the schools for this championship and the game was rated of such great importance that although the ’varsity P was awarded for baseball to a player who had played in seven games of the season one of the seven must needs be the Lawrencetown contest. So, of course, the objective of all the members of the Pennington baseball squad was to become of so much importance to the team that the coach would feel it quite necessary to include them in the batting order of the team when it faced Lawrencetown.
And Jeff Thatcher was not the only one who realized that it was never too early to begin fighting for that objective and that is the reason why he and several others of the scrub team put everything they had into the first five games of the practice season. Indeed, he and Rabbit Warren played such heady baseball and handled theirbats so well that in the last game of the series on Friday afternoon, they were both shifted to the first team as a temporary expedient by Coach Rice, just by way of determining whether the Penningtons could be made any stronger with them in the batting order.
Friday’s game proved to be a terrific contest, and for four innings it went on a scoreless tie with both teams fighting a terrific battle for supremacy. In the first half of the fifth inning Al. Canner, the Penguin catcher, laced out a three-bagger from one of Dixon’s deliveries and Cas Gorham followed him immediately with a single that drove home the first run of the game. It looked to Jeff then that his old friends of the Penguins were set up to win another game, and win it without his help. But Dixon tightened up and struck out the next two men and caused Gould, who was playing in Jeff Thatcher’s place on the scrub team, and accepting his reversal with very bad grace, to raise a high fly into Rabbit Warren’s hands. That retired the side and the Penningtons came to the bat full of fight but one run behind their juniors.
Lafe Gammage was the first man up and LongLafe poled out a single first crack out of the box, finding one of Honey Wiggins’ air tight curves to his liking. Mickey Daily followed him with a bunt which rolled down the third base line and was retrieved by Gould only just in time to throw him out at first. But Lafe arrived safely on second. Buck Hart was up and Jeff Thatcher was on deck. It was up to either one of them to bring in that single run and tie the score, if they could not do more.
Buck tried very hard indeed, but the best that he could do was send a sizzling liner at Brownie Davis who almost succeeded in making a double play of it, whipping the ball down to Dick Runyon so fast that Dick had plenty of time to snap it back to Cas Gorham who narrowly missed touching Lafe Gammage out as he slid back to second.
It was up to Jeff then. There were two out and a man on second and one run needed to tie the score. Jeff weighed two bats methodically as he walked to the plate. Outwardly he appeared very calm, but inwardly he was as nervous as a cat. Could he do it? he kept asking himself as he stepped up to the rubber. But the moment he squared away to face Honey Wiggins the nervousnessleft him and he felt as calm and collected as if he were about to recite a lesson in the class room.
“Get this baby, now,” he heard a mean voice coach from third base and he turned his head to see Gould glowering at him. Jeff smiled then and down in his heart he resolved to make good.
He watched Honey Wiggins as he squared away in the pitcher’s box and took the signals from Al. Canner.
“Come on, Honey,” coached Canner. “This is the only one you have to put away and the game is ours. Easy meat.”
Honey wound up. Jeff gripped the bat and moved his body slightly forward. The ball came whistling toward him. It was a wide breaking out curve and Jeff knew that it would shoot over the rubber for a strike. He was not easily fooled with a wide out and he measured with calculating eye and struck.
It was a beautiful line drive straight at Gould, and it had all the force behind it that Jeff’s powerful arms and shoulders could muster. Gould lunged for the ball. It hit his glove, bounced high and went on into the outfield for a single.Big Lafe was making his long legs go like a windmill as he raced down the third base line for home. He made it standing up and Jeff was safely on second before Fat Daws could throw in to Brownie Davis. The score was tied. Jeff had accomplished his purpose.
It was well that he had, too, for Wade Grenville, who followed him in the batting order got Honey Wiggins in a three and two hole and then for some unaccountable reason reached for a wide one and sent a grounder down first base line for the third and last out of the game.
“That was a bone head play of mine,” said Wade when both he and Jeff reached their rooms.
“I can’t see why you reached for it,” confessed Jeff. “If you had passed it up you would have walked.”
“I know it, Jeff, but somehow I thought I could pole out a safe single over Dick Runyon’s head and perhaps get you home on it.”
“A laudable ambition, Old Scout, but I wish you’d played safe. Now if I had pulled that, why—”
“Aw, cut it, Jeff. Quit kidding. Say, that was some smash that you shot down to Gould. Hehandled it as if it was a hot potato and it looked as if it might have been real hot at that.”
“I guess it was, Wade. I was afraid I was a goner at first. It headed right for his mitt. I didn’t realize it had so much steam on it until I saw it bounce off his glove. Jiminy, I’ll bet he’s so mad he could eat nails and not notice it.”
“It’s great work, Jeff, old fellow. I’m mighty glad to see you get a chance at the job. I think Coach Rice has got his eye on you for it at that.”
“But Gould is pretty good,” confessed Jeff.
“Yes, he is. But I think you are just a shade better. And goodness knows your disposition is—”
“Yes, but disposition don’t count so much in baseball,” said Jeff.
“Oh, don’t you fool yourself, Jeff. It counts a heap. I’ll bet a doughnut hole that Gould can go up in the air and get mad quicker than any man on the team when he’s losing. And when a man blows like that, why he isn’t much good to the team until he gets his feet on the ground. Now is he?”
“Well, perhaps you’re right, Wade.”
“Perhaps? I know I am, Jeff. Keep up thegood work. I hope Mr. Rice gives you a chance in the Erasmus Hall game to-morrow. Perhaps he will. Hope he starts the game with you. Can’t tell. He might. My, but wouldn’t Gould be peeved if he did? Anyhow, I’ll say you are a likely substitute.”