1919 Cedrus Yearbook

19 1 19 BASE BALL 1918 HE baseball season of 1918 at Cedarville College, although short, was very satisfactory and was an unqualified success. But whoever heard of a team with a chicken-swipin' preacher for a captain, that didn't make good? Add to this the fact that the other eight members of the team never were able to look a chicken squarely in the face in broad daylight, and you will see why the 1918 baseball team of Cedarville College occupied such a prominent place in the sun all through the season. The season began rather inauspiciously, to say the least. Rainy weather kept t he diamond in a muddy condition till the first of May. About this time came the first scheduled game of the season, with Antioch at Yellow Springs, so we were for ced to cross bats with the Fess-ite3 without a single real practice on the diamond. However. the odds were about even, for Yellow Springs had been visited by a like amount cgi rain, so the sAntiochians were as much in need of practice as we. The game was loosely played, with both teams swatting the "pill" with considerable r egularity. An- tioch proved to be the most successful, though, at making their hits produce runs, for at the end of the game C. C. found herself on the short end of an 8 to 11 score. The mud dried up about this time, however:so Captain "Jim" got his prote ges out regularly every afternoon and some good practice was gotten, putting us in bette r con- dition for the next game, with our Quaker brethren and rivals from Wilmi ngton Col- lege. The game was played on the Wilmington diamond, and it turned ou t to be an ideal baseball day. Early in the game it became evident that the contest had resolved itself into a pitchers' battle, between Boring, Wilmington's elongated twirler, and Chesnut, Cedarville's likewise elongated (laterally) pill-tosser. The fifth inning proved a "Joner" for Cedarville, and the enemy annexed two runs. It took the "lucky seventh," however,for Cedarville to put on her "little show." When said "little show" was over, we were on the long end of a 3 to 2 score, largely through th e timely hit of Duncan, who was sent in as a pinch hitter. The last two innings were sc oreless, so Cedarville departed for home with the Quakers' scalps in their belts and still on the right end of a 3 to 2 score. The third game was with Cedarville High School, but we had but littl e trouble in disposing of them by a score of 6 to 1. The next game was our return game with Antioch. This was on C edar Day; so in addition to getting revenge on our ancient rivals, we couldn't very gracefully lose our Cedar Day game. After a week of intensive practice, we felt ready to take on Antioch or anything else in the way of a baseball team. So, shortly af ter the game began, we got busy with our war clubs, and when the dust of Antioch's h ome-going warriors had cleared away, we came to the realization of the fact that we had taken their measure to the tune of 6 to 2. This evened up athletic honors with Antio ch for the year, as each team had also won a game in basketball. With three victories out of four games to our credit, we got ready to make it four out of five with Wilmington in the final game of the season. Lik e the game at Wil- mington, this contest was also a pitchers' battle. Three bunche d hits late in the game including a home run by Harry Wright, netted Cedarville two runs and enough to win the game by a 2 to 1 score. Thus the season ended with a record of four victories and one defe at. The success of the team was due largely to two important factors--factor s that contribute to the success of any baseball team; viz., good snappy tenmwork. a-d th e ability to hit th bull where a hit meant a run. The line-up and batting order for the season Vallows: W. Collins Catcher Creswell Center Field Duncan or Thorne Right Field Wright Second Base Colman First Base Cornwell Shortstop Chesnut Pitcher R. Collins Left Field Clarke Third Base th Ismossime,