[tm1681]

LEWIS STARS IN THRILLING WIN OVER SotO
SALEM CF TOTALS FIVE HITS, FOUR RUNS, & FOUR RBI AS LATE RALLIES WIN A 33-RUN GAME

SALEM, MASS. (Aug. 5, 1881) - Sons of the Ocean entered the third game of their series at Salem B.C. in The Crucible needing a win to keep pace with Quinnipiac or pull up to a tie for the New England lead, and they were on track for the result until two late rallies by the home team changed the outcome.

Once S.o.t.O. had finished scoring four Runs in T6 they had a 14-10 advantage. Given the offensive output of the previous five inning that wasn’t a safe lead, but it was one that New England’s second-place team should have been able to hold on to.

However, Salem came up to bat for their half of the 7th and used a six-run rally to take a 16-14 lead, with the key hits a three-run Double by CF George Lewis and a two-run Home Run by PH Jonathan Atwood that gave the home side the lead. After the visitors stranded a runner on 3rd in T8, Salem sealed the win with Runs on a Single by 1B Patrick Nagtegaal, Double by Lewis, and Single by 3B William Winship to go ahead 19-14 and pin a crucial defeat on S.o.t.O.

The victors received a fine performance from Winship that included a Home Run…

• SAL 3B William Winship: 3/6 (HR), 3 R, 5 RBI, 6 TB

…but the man of the hour in the famous Crucible was CF George Lewis.

• B1: Single past SS off W. Petrie (R)
• B2: Single past 3B off W. Petrie
• B4: Single to LF off W. Hardy (R)
• B6: Fly Out to RF (1 out)
• B7: 3-run Double to LCF off W. Hardy (R)
• B8: 1-run Double to LCF off C. Deeney (R)
• TOTAL: 5/6 (2 2B), 4 R, 4 RBI, 7 TB – 92 GmSc (B: T-5th)

Lewis’ big day at the ballpark was the fifth-best performance by an N.B.B.O. Batsman this season, one that raised his Average to a career-high .333 (.831 OPS) with 54 Runs, 31 Extra Base Hits (24 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR), 64 RBI, and 1.9 WAR for the season.

The loss was especially frustrating for S.o.t.O. as Quinnipiac lost 11-10 vs Portland in extra innings, which meant that they would have moved into a tie for first place in New England had they held that 14-10 lead. Instead, S.o.t.O. remains one game behind Quinnipiac with seven remaining.

Salem is in last place and out of playoff contention, with their remaining goal being to avoid becoming the first team in baseball history to finish a season last in their league, conference, or region while having a positive Run Differential. Salem is currently one game out of seventh place with a Run Differential of +38.