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GAMEDAY ONE (Wed. August 12th)

ORA 11-2 NIA – 1B Hawk Peterson (ORA): 2/5, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI
K.C. 7-6 SUS (10 Inn.) – C Harold Constance (SUS): 3/5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI
STJ 14-11 AME – OF Konrad Jensen (STJ): 2/6, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB

What looks like a massive rout on paper really came down a single inning in Buffalo. Ahead 2-0 going into the top of the 7th, Orange proceeded to score nine runs on four hits and five Niagara errors to take total control. Raynard Cordell held Niagara to two hits, while 3x All-Star Peterson was the offensive star for Orange.

The contest in Wilkes-Barre needed an extra inning to find a winner, and Kings Co. earned it when pinch hitter Vic Whitley singled in fellow substitute Merton Lanier with one out in the top of the 10th. It was a fortuitous result for K.C., who only had seven hits but had batsmen reach a further five times thanks to Bases on Balls by Susquehanna star Elmer Seabold.

The two best offenses in the NBBO put on a show in Glenwood Field. The visitors were up 8-1 after three innings and 13-3 after the top of the 7th, but a six-run barrage by American in B7 made it a much closer contest. St. John’s added an insurance run and were able to hold on from there, with the first four in their lineup batting 10/23 with 10 runs & 8 RBI.

GAMEDAY TWO (Thu. August 13th)

STJ 6-10 K.C. – CF Alexander Leininger (K.C.): 3/5, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI
AME 3-14 ORA – CF Demy Poortman (ORA): 3/5, 3B, 3 R, 3 RBI
NIA 7-5 SUS – 1B Walter Driscoll (NIA): 2/3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB

The game in Brooklyn was effectively over by the end of the 3rd inning, as Kings Co. had a 7-2 lead. They scored three more runs before St. John’s was able to even think about a comeback, and then was far too late. Five K.C. batsmen had multiple hits, with Leininger the key player.

American put up another putrid defensive display, committing a cup record fourteen errors as Orange used those miscues to score thirteen runs over the first six innings in an easy victory. Orange batsmen #3-8 all had multiple hits, and Poortman was the best of the bunch.

Niagara took a tight contest thanks to run-scoring singles in the top of the 7th by P Clyde Branagan and SS Ernest Lewis. Branagan did plenty to help his own cause, batting 2/5 with a run in addition to his RBI while pitching the full game. Taliesin Buckley was 3/6, but Driscoll reached base four times and hit a double to earn PotG honors.

GAMEDAY THREE (Fri. August 14th)

K.C. 4-1 ORA – P James Peters (K.C.): CG, 6 HA, 1 R/1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
NIA 9-11 AME – OF Gerald McCarthy (AME): 2/4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
STJ 8-5 SUS – OF Nelson Townsend (STJ) – 2/3, 3B, R, 3 RBI, BB, 2 SB

Kings Co. scored all four of their runs in the second inning, the key hit being a 1-run triple by OF James Hoyt, in their victory at Orange. The visitors put in a brilliant defensive performance, committing just one error while turning a pair of double plays and getting an outfield assist from Alex Leininger. Peters allowed six hits and had an easy time in Manhattan.

American took their first win of the cup by dominating the middle innings against Niagara. Seven runs in the 4th and three more in the 5th put the hosts ahead 11-5, which was enough of a cushion that they were to withstand a late Niagara rally. Both American corner OF’s were 2/4 with a double, two runs, and two RBI, with McCarthy chosen PotG over Frazer Daly.

Like American, St. John’s won their game at Susquehanna in the middle innings. Behind 5-2 entering the 5th, St. John’s scored twice in T5 and three more times in T6 to take a 7-5 lead before adding an insurance run in the 9th. The St. John’s outfield trio combined to hit 8/12, with Townsend the best of the three.

Kings Co. was the only undefeated team left after Gameday Three, with Susquehanna the only winless team.

GAMEDAY FOUR (Sat. August 15th)

AME 12-6 STJ – OF Frazer Daly (AME): 3/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
SUS 4-6 K.C. – 1B Garfield Koonce (K.C.): 2/4, 2B, 2 R, RBI
NIA 4-9 ORA – 3B Will Chaffin (ORA): 2/4, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, SB

American did a great job to take advantage of St. John’s mistakes, scoring twelve runs on just nine hits thanks to ten fielding errors by the hosts. Daly had multiple hits for the second day in a row and took PotG as a result, while Willie Davis was 2/5 with two runs and an RBI and Gerald McCarthy hit a bases-loaded double in the 8th.

Elmer Seabold sent down six K.C. batters on strikes, but the hosts were able to do enough on offense to move to 4-0 for the competition. Koonce, James Hoyt, & Carlton McShane had multiple hits while Charles Matthews pitched efficiently to give Susquehanna another close loss.

Orange won it early against Niagara, scoring all nine of their runs over the first five innings. OF Elwood Taggart was 3/4, but Chaffin was Orange’s best player as he did a little bit of everything. Old hand Harold Perry allowed one Earned Run while pitching the entire game for Orange.

As with Gameday Three, Kings Co. remained the only undefeated team while Susquehanna remained the only winless team.

GAMEDAY FIVE (Sun. August 16th)

NIA 25-4 K.C. – 3B Zorba Koustoubos (NIA): 4/6, 2 2B, 3 R, 6 RBI
STJ 12-7 ORA – 2B Thomas DiMola (STJ): 2/3, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
SUS 13-5 AME – 3B Logan Hickey (SUS): 3/5, 3 R, RBI

The excellent play by K.C. came to a screeching halt on Sunday afternoon in one of the stranger games in TWC history. No fewer than 37 Niagara batsmen reached base, with eight of nine batsmen recording multiple hits. The only Niagara player with one hit, Walt Driscoll, drew three Bases on Balls. It was an inexplicable afternoon in Washington Park.

St. John’s took control with a six-run 6th inning in the Upper Manhattan Grounds, with the rally propelled by a pair of two-run singles by DiMola and Konrad Jensen. DiMola’s surprise performance earned him the PotG honor, but Jensen, Tarmo Kuopio, and Dag Nielsen also had multiple hits.

Susquehanna finally broke through in Philadelphia to get in the win column, although it took a big effort late. Behind 5-2 entering the 8th, Susquehanna scored eight runs in the top of the 8th and three more in the 9th to turn a likely loss into a desperately needed victory.

The standings after Gameday Five of the Tucker-Wheaton Cup were as follows:

TEAM			W	L	 R	RA	 RD
KINGS COUNTY	        4	1	31	42	-11
ORANGE			3	2	42	27	+15
ST. JOHN’S		3	2	46	45	 +1
NIAGARA			2	3	47	40	 +7
AMERICAN		2	3	44	56	-12
SUSQUEHANNA		1	4	33	33	  0

Thanks to their bizarre outing on Gameday Five, Kings Co. was alone atop the competition with a -11 Run Differential, easily the worst RD for a cup leader at the midway point. Still, K.C. played very well during their four wins and that loss to Niagara looked like an aberration. At the very least, it was an abomination.

King’s Co.’s loss meant that the four teams behind them in the standings were still very much in contention. Orange had looked dominant in their three wins, with their two losses coming to K.C. and St. John’s. St. John’s had alternated wins and losses, but had battered opposing pitching in their victories. Niagara looked like a team a step below after Gameday Four, but their 25-4 win at K.C. was the kind of result that could give them a major boost for the second half of the competition. American had been very inconsistent, but their talent meant they remained a threat.

The only one of the six teams that really looked lost was Susquehanna, who struggled late in each of their first four games before they finally snapped out of their stupor in the 13-5 win at American. The result was much-needed, but they were still three games off the pace.