1929 AIAA COLLEGE BASEBALL UPDATE
JUNE 17, 1929
FINALS SET
A pair of familiar teams are the last two standing as the best of 3 AIAA College World Series Finals are set to begin this week. The Liberty College Bells advanced to the finals for the second straight year where they will face the Opelika State Wildcats, winners of the 1927 College World Series.
The Bells advanced with 3 straight victories, beating Henry Hudson 10-6 in their opening game and then twice defeating George Fox, by scores of 9-3 and 14-4, to eliminate the Reds. Liberty College has a strong lineup led by draft eligible juniors Jake Shadoan (.473,16,36), Joe Jones (.395,19,56) and John Collins (.345,19,68). The Bells have two very good freshman starting pitchers in Jim Trippe (10-2, 2.90) and Lenny Bellucci (7-4, 2.87).
Opelika State took the long way into the Finals as they dropped their first game 8-7 to Chicago Poly to move to the loser' bracket in the double elimination tournament. A 6-3 victory over Rainier with the Majestics starting potential #1 overall draft pick Chick Stout, got the Wildcats back on track and they proceeded to be Chicago Poly 6-3 and then eliminate defending champion Lubbock State with a 7-5 victory.
The Wildcats ace is also a freshman. Charlie Bingham (10-3, 1.71) has not looked as sharp in the tournament as he was during the regular season but he will be counted on heavily in the finals. The offensive stars for Opelika State are draft eligible shortstop Joe Foy (.432,5,42) and freshman outfielder Roy Zingale (.324,20,59). 4 starting position players including Foy were members of the '27 title winning team.