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PRINCE SHINES AS GOTHAM GOES DOWN
ALL-STAR SS PUTS FIVE HITS & SIX RBI ON OPPOSING PITCHING IN NINE-RUN AMERICAN WIN

NEW YORK CITY (July 17, 1875) - American needed a victory at Gotham on Saturday to ensure that they would stay alone atop the Metropolitan Conference standings. They completed the task quite well:

Four runs in the 1st and another in the 2nd made for an early 5-0 lead, and American responded to a Gotham run in the 4th with two in the 5th to go ahead 7-1. After Gotham scored in the 6th & 7th to pull to within a run, American reeled off consecutive four-run rallies in the 8th & 9th, with both innings featuring key hits by SS Martin Prince, to take a 15-6 lead that wouldn’t be breached.

American had a fine performance from veteran 1B William Busby…

• AME #2 William Busby (1B): 4/5 (all 1B), 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, SB, 1 DEF DP (U/A)

…but Prince was clearly the Player of the Game:

• T1: 3-run Double to RCF off A. Lively (SB, R)
• T3: Leadoff Single past 2B off A. Lively (SB)
• T5: Reached via Error by SS G. Pugatch (R)
• T7: Single past 2B off J. Smith
• T8: 1-run Triple to LF off J. Smith
• T9: 2-run Single past 1B off E. Morris
• TOTAL: 5/6 (2B, 3B, 8 TB), 2 R, 6 RBI, 2 SB, 100 GMSC

It was a tremendous afternoon for Prince, who left the game with a .336 average, .757 OPS, 76 Runs Batted In (on pace for 105), a +14.2 Zone Rating at SS, and 2.7 WAR.

The nine-run win kept American alone in 1st place in the Metropolitan Conference by one game over Excelsior, who is back in good form after playing middling baseball from mid-June to roughly a week ago. Gotham remains alone in 3rd place at 37-28, four games behind American.