[David Watts]

Friday October 16th 1970 Alexandria vs Forth Worth

Jimmy Key(2-1, 3.18) vs Earl Wilson(1-1, 2.76)

Partly cloudy, 58 degrees, wind blowing in from center 10mph

Holy crap! You can't make this stuff up.

So, Key and Wilson pitched the games of their lives today. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 4th inning. With one out in the 4th, Ken Griffey Jr. slashed a 0-1 pitch to over the center fielders head for a triple. Tony Perez stepped in and did his job with a deep fly to left, scoring Junior. 1-0 Fort Worth.

The game would remain 1-0 until the top of the ninth. Earl Wilson threw 7.1 innings of scoreless ball, scattering 6 hits, striking out 9, walking 1. With one out in the 8th Marty Marion stroked a single to left. Wilson was yanked from the mound in favor of Tim Crews. Crews was able to get Ed Kranepool to hit into an inning ending double play 6-4-3. We head to the 9th with Fort Worth leading 1-0

The first batter up to lead off the Alexandria 9th is none other than Jim Presley. Presley steps to the dish having already hit 5 home runs in the postseason and has driven in 13 runs. Presley fouls the first Crews offering straight back, 0-1. The second pitch misses the mark, 1-1. Crew's next pitch results in called strike 2. Crews looks in for the sign and deals.....HOME RUN to left, 414 feet. Tie game 1-1.

Fort Worth would put 2 on base in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't push across a run. We are heading to extra innings.

Tim Crews remained in the game to pitch the 10th. He put the Aces down 1-2-3.

Jesse Crain who came into the game to get the last two outs of the 9th for the Aces remains in the game to pitch the 10th. Eddie Bressoud would greet Crain with a double to left. Crain would then intentionally walk Bobby Kielty. The very next pitch from Crain would drill Earl Averill in the back, loading the bases. Crain would get yanked. Into the game come Javy Guerra. Guerra would get Pete Rose to hit a shallow fly ball to left. Too shallow to score Bressoud. He would then go he-man striking out both Ken Griffey Jr. and Tony Perez to end the inning with the bases loaded. Would this haunt the Mustangs for years....bases loaded, no one out and not able to push across a run?

Tim Crews would once again make easy work of the Aces in the 11th. 1-2-3. If only he could have done so in the 9th, the Mustangs would already be popping the corks.

Javy Guerra returns the favor setting the Mustangs down in order in the bottom of the 11th.

Tim Crews starts the 12th off by walking Joe DiMaggio on 4 straight pitches. Blaine Boyer comes into the game to relieve Crews. Boyer would get Billy Sample to ground into a fielders choice. Dave Watkins to strikeout and after Sample steals second, Buddy Blair hit a ground ball back to the pitcher for out number 3

Javy Guerra remains in the game for the Aces. He gets the first to hitters out on routine ground outs. Earl Averill singled off Guerra and forcing the Aces hand. Jon Coutlangus enters the game to face Pete Rose. Ball, ball, called strike, foul, foul, ground ball to 1B. Kranepool makes the play unassisted. On to the 13th

Blaine Boyer puts the Aces down in order in the top of the 13th All ground outs.

Coutlangus allows a leadoff single to Ken Griffey Jr. to start the bottom of the 13th. But the rally ends instantly when Perez hits a 2-1 pitch hard to short resulting in a 6-4-3 double play. Hal Chase would go down swinging to end the inning.

Boyer remains in the game for Fort Worth. Boyer gets Kranepool to fly out to left, Presley to strikeout looking, before walking Joe DiMaggio. Boyer then got a ground ball out off the bat of Billy Sample to end the inning. We head to the bottom of the 14th.

Alexandria leave Jon Coutlangus in the game. Jack Hannifin greets Jon with a single to left to leadoff the inning. Coutlangus then whiffs Ben Sankey swinging and does the same to Ben Bressoud. Bobby Kielty pops out to short to end the inning.

Fort Worth goes with Blain Boyer to start the 15th. Boyer throws just 2 pitches to retire the first two batters, Dave Watkins and Buddy Blair. He then walks Bud Thomas. Boyer is relieved, in comes rookie Max Lanier. The first batter to face Lanier is Dell Alston. Alston bloops the second pitch he sees from Lanier in front of Ken Griffey Jr. moving Thomas to 3rd base. 1st and 3rd two outs, in steps Marty Marion. Called strike, ball, ball, foul ball, foul ball, foul ball, ball, 3-2 and the payoff results in a routine pop fly to the SS. On to the bottom of the 15th

Alexandria sticks with Coutlangus to start the inning, but he's showing exhausted, so you have to imagine he's on a short leash. Jon quickly dismisses Earl Averill by getting him to hit a routine grounder to short. Out come the Aces manager and he waves to the bullpen calling for Goose Gossage to enter the game. The 38 year old Gossage wasn't used often during the regular season. He pitched in 12 games, 17.1 innings and is 2-0, 3.63. Up steps Pete Rose. Goose reaches back into his youth on a 3-2 pitch to Rose, blowing it by him for strike three. He then gets Ken Griffey to ground one back to him for out number 3.

Max Lanier remains in the game to pitch the 16th for Fort Worth. The first batter he faces Ed Kranepool hits the second pitch he sees to second for the first out. Jim Presley hits the first pitch to him into left field for a single. Lanier then walks Joe DiMaggio to put runners on first and second. Billy Samples comes to the plate with a chance to be the hero. He works the count to 3-1 before hitting a sharp grounder straight to 2B. 4-6-3 inning over.

The bottom of the 16th, can you believe this? Gossage remains on the mound for the Aces. Tony Perez steps to the plate and strokes a 3-2 pitch over the CF's head for a double. The Aces then intentionally walk Hal Chase. Jack Hannifin steps in and tries to bunt, the runners over but fouls off his first attempt. His second try proves successful. Runners on 2nd and 3rd, one out. Again the Aces use the intentional walk sending Ben Sankey to first. Bases loaded. Gossage now faces Eddie Bressoud with the Championship on the line. Remember the Mustangs had this same situation way back in the bottom of the 10th and failed to score. After a visit to the mound by the Aces manager, Gossage looks in for the sign. The first pitch to Bressoud, is a called strike, 0-1. The second pitch misses the mark badly, 1-1. The Fort Worth Crowd is going ballistic. Gossage toes the rubber takes the sign, delivers, high and inside, 2-1. The Aces catcher Dave Watkins takes a couple steps toward Gossage, motioning for him to get the ball down. Goose glares back at him. He once again takes the sign and goes into motion. This time the pitch is low, almost getting by Watkins, ball 3. The count is now 3-1 and I'm guessing the Fort Worth crowd can be hear in Longview. Bressoud looks to the third base coach, I'm guessing he's taking all the way, but who knows. Gossage snorts, spits, and delivers. Ball Four. The Mustangs are one again Southern League champs Three years in a row. The first team ever to do so in league history.. Rookie pitcher Max Lanier was the winning pitcher. Goose Gossage took the loss.

Series MVP goes to Pete Rose 13-31, .419. I was anxious to see if the MVP honors would go to Jim Presley even though his team came up short. Presley had 4 home runs in the series and drove in 8 runs. One has to wonder though if MVP honors should have went Earl Wilsons way. He was 1-1, but over 23.2 innings he was pretty impressive. Rose took a 0-7 collar in game 7, so his .419 average is pretty impressive..