( 3- 1) RUTHERFORD NL 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 2 4
( 4- 0) FAIR LAWN 2 5 2 0 0 x -- 9 8 1
W - Glaser (2-0)
L - Schweizer (0-1)
Rutherford’s National League all-stars, victorious in semi-final tilts against East Rutherford, Lyndhurst, and Carlstadt, ran into a superior Fair Lawn team in the district final Saturday and came away the victims of a 9-0 humbling.
Weak at bat and ineffective in the field, Rutherford was never in the ball game.
Fair Lawn scored two runs in the first after a Rutherford error with two away opened the door, added five more in the second when Rutherford could do nothing right, and finished up the scoring with two in the third.
Rutherford never threatened, with Fair Lawn hurler Bob Glaser utilizing an accurate left hand delivery to whiff fourteen Rutherford batsmen, and only be touched for two hits, one of them a meaningless last-inning single.
The whole trouble started in the bottom of the first inning, with two away.
Rutherford had started the game by sending up three men which Glaser sent right down again, victims of strike-outs. But Harold Schweizer, on the mound for the locals, looked effective enough himself, getting the first Fair Lawn batter to fly to left and striking out the second.
Then an easy grounder to first for what should have been the third out, was booted. The runner, Bill Stoddard, took advantage of two passed balls to go to third and first baseman Dan Van Riper, next up, walked on four straight balls.
Leslie Davies then slapped a ground ball that hugged the first baseline for an easy double, both runners scoring.
And in the second inning the roof fell in.
Pitcher Glaser singled and went to second on a passed all. He took third on DeVuyst’s one-away single, and a walk to Morgenroth filled the bases.
Schweizer looked to be out of trouble when a grounder with “double play– written all over it, went hopping down to second, but Tanton elected to throw to third instead of trying for the nearby out, and when his throw went through Dionisio, Glaser came home.
With the bases still loaded, Stoddard popped a ball up to the infield, but got a scratch single when Pollara and Schweizer collided attempting to catch the ball.
Another infield single followed when Dan Van Riper sliced a ball to first but no one covered the bag and everyone was safe.
That was all for Schweizer.
With Richie Butcher on the mound, Davies walked, to again load the bases, but a nice Rutherford double play ended the inning. Finocchio hit a ball to Dionisio at third which he relayed to Pollara for the out. And when Van Riper attempted to score on the out, Pollara tossed to catcher Eugene Cole to catch the runner at home.
And Fair Lawn got two more on a walk, a hit, and a double error in the third.
All the time, Rutherford was being set down at bat with regularity. They didn’t get a hit until right fielder Ronald Haugh doubled off the fence with two away in the fifth.
And their other blow came in the sixth when Frank Pollara singled to center with Ed Lygas on first and two out. But Lygas was a little too ambitious and tried to go third, being caught by a nice throw by Davies to end the game.
The only other Rutherford base runners both came in the third inning when Ron Haugh was on via Fair Lawn’s only error and went to second on a wild pitch. Nils Wisloff then walked and went to second when Haugh stole third.
But the rally ended as Rich Butcher swung at a third strike to end the inning.
For Rutherford, Schweizer and Butcher were both effective enough on the mound but both were the victims of some unfortunate fielding.
Wisloff and Cole were most impressive for the local Nationals afield. Neither lost one iota of fight, even when the score mounted to 9-0 against Rutherford. And both came up with several nice plays.
Wisloff was particularly impressive saving two throws that went through second base.