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QUAKER ST. SWEEPS KINGS CO. WITH 16-0 BEATING
PHILADELPHIANS APPEAR TO BE MUCH TOUGHER AFTER ONE YEAR IN THE APBL

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (May 8, 1878) - Kings County finished 2nd in the Metropolitan Conference last year, while debutants Quaker State finished tied for last. That means the result of the season-opening series between the two at the Philadelphia Cricket Grounds proved a new year indeed means a fresh start, as Quaker St. swept the visitors in spectacular fashion:

This was a close game for three innings, but with the score 1-0 to the hosts Quaker St. stepped to the plate in B4 and sent half a dozen men across Home Plate. The key hit of the inning was a two-run Double by 3B Jerry Rockford, and at the end of the fourth Quaker St. had a 7-0 lead which would never be threatened in any way.

After plating a run in B6 on a Single by Rockford, Quaker St. then made it a Lucky Seventh by scoring eight times, the big hit there a two-run Inside the Park Home Run by PH Charles Hull, to give the game its final score of 16-0.

Each of the first five members of the Quaker St. lineup had multiple hits…

• QS LF William Wimple: 2/4 (2B), 3 R, 3 RBI, SB, 3 TB
• QS 3B Jerry Rockford: 3/4 (2B), 2 R, 3 RBI, 4 TB
• QS CF Ned Morganti: 2/5 (both 1B), 1 R, 3 RBI
• QS RF Charles Aplin: 2/3 (2B), 1 R, 0 RBI, 3 TB
• QS 1B William Theriault: 4/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 1 RBI

…and Hull added a Single to his pinch-hit homer to finish 2/2 on the afternoon.

The Shutout was pitched by Quaker St.’s eleventh-year #1, Ross Gill:

• QS P Ross Gill: CG SHO (2-0, 2.50), 6 HA, 0 BB, 2 K

The massive home victory finished off a three-game sweep of the series by Quaker St., one in which they scored at least nine runs in each contest and won all three by multiple runs. Three days of play is obviously a small sample size, but it looks like Quaker St. is determined to start 1879 by showing the rest of the A.P.B.L. that they’re much more competitive than their debut season in the league showed.