( 1- 1) RUTHERFORD AL 0 0 4 0 1 0 -- 5 7 1
( 2- 0) CARLSTADT 0 0 2 0 4 x -- 6 5 7
W - Muller (1-0)
L - Place (0-1)
The local American All-Stars kicked away their second-round game to Carlstadt after having knocked a better team, the Garfield Americans, out of the running in their opening tournament tussle. They blew 4-0 and 5-2 leads to a Carlstadt team to which they were clearly superior in every department but hustle and baseball savvy.
Outhit 7-5 and outplayed afield, committing seven errors to Rutherford’s one, Carlstadt took advantage of the wildness of opposing pitchers and a number of unrecorded errors of omission and managerial judgment to pull out a 6-5 victory before a home crowd estimated at 750.
The Americans took a four-run lead in the top of the third when Ray Reardon got on on an error, Bob Newhouse and Duke Matawa singled successively, Johnny Vanderveer doubled, Rich Fitzgerald got a life on an error and Bob Dziadosz singled.
Carlstadt scored two in their third, but Rutherford made it 5-2 in the fifth on singles by Marty Lefkowitz, Vanderveer and Fitzgerald and a walk to Dziadosz. A bit of strategy which had Phil Place attempt a squeeze bunt with the bases loaded and none away and a 3-1 count on him did much to kill the promising rally. Place bunted an inside pitch to force Vanderveer at the plate.
In the bottom of the inning came the deluge when Rich Fitzgerald, who had thrown his arm out, walked the bases full and was replaced by Place, sent in cold from his position at short. A couple of hits and three runs later Vanderveer, also cold, came in from third to walk across the winning run.
With the exception of Lefkowitz, the losers looked lackadaisical afield. Three Carlstadt runs scored because of the pitcher neglecting to cover the plate on passed balls.