“I’m going!” declared our hero, grimly.
He realized that he had a hard struggle ahead of him. Not only must he allow as few hits as possible, but, with his team-mates, he must help to gather in four more tallies.
And then the battle of the diamond began in earnest.
Joe pitched magnificently. The first man up was a notoriously heavy hitter, and Joe felt tempted to give him his base on balls. Instead he nerved himself to strike him out if it could be done. Working a cross-fire, varying it with his now famous fade-away ball, Joe managed to get to two balls and two strikes, both the latter being foul ones.
He had two more deliveries left, and the next one he sent in with all the force at his command.
The bat met it, and for an instant Joe’s heart almost stopped a beat. Then he saw the ball sailing directly into the hands of Charlie Hall. The man was out.
Joe did not allow a hit that inning. Not a man got to first, and the last man up was struck out cleanly, never even fouling the ball.
“That’s the boy!” cried the crowd as Joe came in. “That’s the boy!”
His face flushed with pleasure. He looked for Collin, but that player had disappeared.
The rest of that game is history in the Central League. How Pittston rallied, getting one run in the sixth, and another in the lucky seventh, has been told over and over again.