TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1870 VARSITY SERIES
The second Varsity Series was a much lower scoring affair than the first, but was none the worse for that as it provided a very close fought contest which required three games to decide.
Home advantage in the first game went to Oxford this year, as part of the alternating pattern agreed a year ago. The game was very tight and remained scoreless until the eighth inning, when it was the visitors from Cambridge who struck first. Having had runners at second and third with nobody out and seen two men fail to bring the runs home, Cambridge must have feared that the chance was going to slip away but Walter Gove of St Catharine’s found a hit to score one. That was all Cambridge got however and they were immediately made to regret failing to score the second run. In Oxford’s half of the eighth, a fielding error allowed Merton’s Henry Whistler to reach first to start things off and then with one out, a two-base hit from New College man Albert Elliott tied the game at 1-1. Heading to the ninth, Cambridge pitcher David Dawson of St Catharine’s was starting to tire and Emmanuel’s Percy Sanderson came into the game to replace him. He immediately gave up a hit to Andrew Hayter of Merton and then with Hayter standing at second and only one out, Brasenose’s Benjamin Jackson produced the decisive moment, driving home the winning run for Oxford.
Going back to last year’s series, Cambridge had now lost three games out of three against Oxford and had to win the next one to avoid another series defeat. Playing at home in the second game, they faced another tense, low scoring battle which once more was still scoreless heading into the eighth inning. Oxford pitcher Samuel Read, from Brasenose College, was once again the first to falter as Walter Gove, leading off the inning for Cambridge, produced a home run which gave his team the lead. Again that single run was all they got, but this time it was enough as pitcher David Dawson recorded the three outs easily in the ninth to end the game with a three-hit shutout. A 1-0 Cambridge win tied the game and led to a coin toss to decide who would play at home in the decisive third game. As reigning champions, Oxford called the toss and they called correctly, meaning that it was back to Oxford for the third game.
This time the game did not stay scoreless for anywhere near as long, as Oxford pitcher Read faltered early. Four consecutive hits to start the third inning helped Cambridge to bring home three runs and take control of the game. Oxford tried to respond, but could do nothing until the seventh inning when with men and second and third base and one out, a run scored on a caught ball deep in the outfield to reduce the deficit to 3-1. If Oxford thought they still had a chance of taking the game, they let that opportunity slip right away as Gonville & Caius man Arthur Armand started the eighth with a two-base hit, moving over to third after a reckless pitch got away from catcher Samuel Nicholls and then scoring in the same fashion, on a ball caught deep in the outfield. That gave Cambridge a 4-1 advantage and pitcher Dawson did not let it get away, removing the next six Oxford batters to ease through the eighth and ninth innings and secure the series for Cambridge. They were series winners for the first time, with Dawson named as the Best Pitcher of the competition and Gove, who had that decisive hit in the second game, winning Best Player honours.
