( 3- 7) PASTORI - - - - - -- 5 - 10 ( 7- 2) ROTARY 7 11 0 6 x --24 15 - W - L -
The Rotary Club, which climaxed the Little League season with an overwhelming 24-5 crush over a hapless Pastore squad Friday, reigns as Rutherford’s first Little League champions. By virtue of their slamming of the last place Pastoremen, the Rotary wound up a full game ahead of the Kiwanis in the race for the loop crown.
Rotary, coached by Zebra great Dave Chadwick, had a 7-2 record on the year. Their outstanding star was big Gene Van Biert, who topped the loop statistics in both the pitching and batting departments to pace the league leaders.
But the club was far more than a one-man outfit.
Bob Cole, who backstopped for the Chadwickmen, was by far the top catcher in the league, while the infield, bulwarked by Danny Luke at short, was a quick, smart, alert foursome. In the outfield, Bob Floyd was probably the most outstanding performer, on the strength of an exceptionally powerful throwing arm, but the entire Rotary outer defense was effective, and the easy fly triples and home runs that characterized some of the local Little loop contests were at a minimum in Rotary games.
A well coached, alert and aggressive crew, the Rotary were the class of the League, and wear the loop crown of the Borough’s first annual Little League with distinction.
But the way they sewed up the League top spot was anything but classy.
Friday’s game came closer to the typical "kid’s game" that the Little League is supposed to be working against, than any played all year. Seven Rotary runs crossed in the first, eleven in the second, they were shutout in the third, and then six more tallies were scored in the fourth as League president Paul Devlin called the contest at the end of four and a half frames.
Nelson went three for three to lead a fifteen hit Rotary barrage, while Lecoque, Hanson, Lygas, Floyd, Luke all contributed two bingles apiece. The Pastore fielders, coached for the day by Jim Waring, chipped in with ten boots to help along the Rotary crush.
Paul Shepherd coached the Rotary to their win as the game was played on the Rutherford Field softball diamond early Friday afternoon, to make way for the Rutherford Championship Softball Series on Diamond Number One later in the evening.