McGuinness was an old time pitcher, nothing very remarkable, but one any small club would be glad to get. He had the “number” of most of the Pittston players, and served them balls and strikes in such order that though two little pop flies were knocked no one made a run. The result of the first inning was a zero for each team.
“Now Joe, be a little more careful, and I think you can get three good ones,” said Gregory, as his team again took the field.
“I’ll try,” replied Joe, earnestly.
He got two men, but not the third, who knocked a clean two-bagger, amid enthusiastic howls from admiring “fans.”
This two-base hit seemed to spell Joe’s undoing, for the next man duplicated and the first run was scored. There were two out, and it looked as though Clevefield had struck a winning streak, for the next man knocked what looked to be good for single. But Bob Newton, the right fielder, caught it, and the side was retired with one run.
Pittston tried hard to score, but the crafty pitcher, aided by effective fielding, shut them out, and another zero was their portion on the score board.
“Joe, we’ve got to get ’em!” exclaimed Gregory, earnestly.
“I’ll try!” was the sturdy answer.
It was heart-breaking, though, when the first man up singled, and then came a hit and run play. Joe was not the only player on the Pittston team who rather lost his head that inning. For, though Joe was hit badly, others made errors, and the net result was that Clevefield had four runs to add to the one, while Pittston had none.