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ALLEGHANY RUNS RIOT IN 26-2 WIN AT SPORTSMAN’S
ALTMAN GOES 6/7 WITH 6 R & 5 RBI; KESSLER ADDS FIVE hits; WALTRIP belts GRAND SLAM

FALL RIVER, MASS. (Aug. 2, 1867) – After losing 9-2 on Thursday and falling back into a tie with Pioneer atop Inland, Alleghany knew they needed a positive result at Sportsman’s on Friday and they did just that in spectacular fashion:

The men from Pittsburgh started the scoring early and never stopped. They were up 3-0 after the 1st, 6-2 after the 3rd, 8-2 after the 4th, and 16-2 after the end of the 7th inning before piling on ten more runs for good measure.

The star performer for Alleghany in this game was the man certain to repeat as NEL Batsman of the Year, Royal Altman:

• T1: Single b/w SS & 3B off J. Marks (SB, Run)
• T3: 1-run Double to RCF off J. Marks (Run)
• T4: 1-run Double to RCF off J. Marks (Run)
• T6: 1-run Double to LCF off J. Marks (Run)
• T7: 2-run Single past 2B off H. Hartmann (Run)
• T8: Single b/w 1B & 2B off L. Stocks (Run)
• T9: Fly Out to CF off L. Taylor
• TOTAL: 6/7, 3 2B, 6 R, 5 RBI, SB, 9 TB, 121 GMSC

Altman’s was the best performance by an Alleghany batsman all year, and going by Game Score it was the second-best by a batsman in the NBBO in 1867 behind only Nelson Townsend’s effort on June 14 at Quinnipiac (6/6, 2B, HR, 5 R, 6 RBI).

Given that Alleghany scored 26 runs, Altman was far from the only Alleghany player who had a fantastic afternoon in Buffington Field. 3B Samuel Kessler was 5/7 (all singles) with four runs, an RBI, and a stolen base, 1B Walt Anderson was 4/7 with a double, triple, two runs, and four driven in, and C Ben Stiltner was 3/6 with a double and three runs scored.

The real show-stopper in Alleghany’s afternoon of delights came in the top of the eighth, when CF Arthur Waltrip picked up the bat after the first three batsmen of the inning reached base and hit an inside-the-park Grand Slam over the head of the opposing center fielder. After a very pedestrian start to 1867 Waltrip has hit over .460 since July 1st, and as of the end of this afternoon’s contest he was batting .379 for the season.

The 24-run margin of victory was a bit gratuitous, but it allowed Alleghany to stay in a tie for 1st place as Pioneer won 7-6 over Lake Erie thanks to their three-run rally in the bottom of the 9th in Springfield. It will be an incredibly tense weekend.