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AMERICAN BEATS KINGS CO. WITH LATE BARRAGE
TEN RUNS ACROSS 7TH & 8TH MAKE THE DIFFERENCE; ONE PLAYER FROM EACH TEAM HAS FIVE HITS

PHILADELPHIA (May 14, 1875) - Kings County, off to a pleasant 5-4 start to the season, visited American, also 5-4, to start the two teams’ weekend series on Friday. The result was an all-offense affair:

For a while it looked like visiting Kings County might get the better of 2x champions American, as a two-run Single by 2B Dress van der Leest put them up 8-5 in the top of the 5th. However, American responded with half a dozen runs in B5, and after a single run in the 6th they scored ten times over the 7th & 8th to turn what was a close contest into a ten-run rout.

James Burke was 4/6 with a Triple & three RBI for American, but Player of the Game honors went to Franklin Petty:

• B1: Ground Out to 1B (1 out)
• B2: Fly Out to 2B (2 out)
• B4: Single past 2B off J. Doherty (SB, SB, R)
• B5: 1-run Double to CF off J. Doherty (R)
• B6: Single to RCF off R. Ewing
• B7: 2-run Triple to LCF off R. Ewing (R)
• B8: 2-run Single past SS off H. Tallman
• TOTAL: 5/7 (2B, 3B, 8 TB) 3 R, 5 RBI, 2 SB

The performance left Petty with an average of .365 (.839 OPS) and ten RBI through ten games.

Petty was not the only player to finish the game with five Hits, as Kings Co. 3B Harold McMichael matched him in defeat:

• T2: Leadoff Single to CF off M. Benetti (R)
• T3: 1-run Single past 1B off M. Benetti (R)
• T4: 1-run Single past SS off M. Benetti
• T6: Fly Out to CF (1 out)
• T8: Single to CF off J. Everhart (R)
• T9: 2-run Triple to LCF off J. Everhart
• TOTAL: 5/6 (3B, 7 TB) 3 R, 4 RBI

McMichael’s five-hit day left him with an average of .340 (.801 OPS) with ten RBI through ten games, like Petty.

Through ten games Kings Co. is 5-5 and actually not in last place in the Metropolitan Conference. Incredibly, that honor goes to defending champions Orange, who are currently 1-9. American is 6-4 and tied for 2nd with Gotham, one game behind Excelsior for the Metropolitan lead.