[tm1681]

THATCHER STARS AS ALLEGHANY ROLLS OVER READING
NEWCOMER CF PART OF TWO-DOZEN RUN ERUPTION IN PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGH (June 11, 1868) – First-year Alleghany CF Joe Thatcher has had issues adjusting to organized baseball, batting .194 with a .566 OPS over his first five weeks in the NBBO. On Thursday, Anderson’s bat woke up in spectacular fashion as his Alleghany team smashed Reading Athletic to win their ninth consecutive game:

This looked like it might become a tight contest late after Reading scored five times in the top of the 7th inning to cut a 9-0 deficit to 9-5, but Alleghany came to bat in the bottom of the 7th and quickly extinguished any thought of a Reading comeback with a twelve-run rally that featured eleven hits, including three doubles and one triple.

It should come as no surprise that first-year Alleghany manager Burton Keith enjoyed a number of marquee performances from his squad, but it was Thatcher’s performance that earned him Player of the Game honors:

• B1: Single to CF off C. Hartmann (R)
• B2: 2-run Triple to RCF off C. Hartmann
• B4: Fly Out to SS off C. Perkins
• B7: Leadoff Double to LF off C. Perkins (R)
• B7: 1-run Double to CF off C. Perkins (R)
• B8: Single b/w SS & 3B off C. Zier (R)
• TOTAL: 5/6, 2 2B, 3B, 4 R, 3 RBI, 9 TB

The five-hit performance by Thatcher raised his average by 35 points, although it remains a rather low .229.

There were three other star performance by Alleghany on Thursday:

• Walter Anderson (1B): 4/6 (all 1B), 3 R, 4 RBI
• Arran Duffy (2B): 4/6, 2B, 3 R, 5 RBI
• Arthur Waltrip (OF): 3/6, 2B, 3B, 4 R, 2 RBI

Pitcher Jonathan Scott, whose one bad inning ruined what was otherwise a great pitching performance, made up for his poor 7th inning with a pair of hits and three runs.

The nine-game winning run has raised Alleghany’s record from 10-8 to 19-8, and they are now level with Susquehanna for the Inland Championship lead.