Girls' Softball Teams Make Hit With Local Fans In Opening Game
By Lou Johnson
"Come on, honey, come on!" may not be exactly what Rockford ball fans are accustomed to hearing the third baseman yell to the pitcher in moments of stress on the diamond, but this was no ordinary ball game. The Rockford Peaches made their first home appearance last night at the 15th avenue stadium, playing their ninth game in the All-American Girls' Softball league. The crowd, which had turned out for the unusual sports event seemed a little uneasy about the whole thing at first, but it wasn't long before the usual cries of "Atta stuff", "East out!", and "Kill the ump!" were being shouted with all the lung power customary to a big league game.
Keep Up Steady Chatter
Last night's game proved that a woman's far-famed ability to chatter over a bridge table isn't limited to a card-playing afternoon. The rapid-fire chatter seems to be one of the most important adjuncts of feminine softball, judging by excited yells of encouragement which rang through the air perpetually during the game. (Don't misconstrue this as a criticism - their playing is good, too.)
The yells and calls weren't only directed toward the morale of fellow-players, however - the umpire came in for his share, and don't think for a moment that when a lady batter has what she deems an unfair strike called on here, she accepts it meekly. Our best actresses on the legitimate stage could take lessons from these girls when it comes to facial expressions of disdain, disgust and frustration.
The crowd that eagerly watched the feminine diamond stars was made up of all types of baseball fans, including a number of family groups, some service men, lots of small boys (who divided their time between dropping peanut shucks on the locks of young girls sitting in front of them, and boasting about the devious means used to get in free), a groups of WAACs, and many others. The crowd was predominantly male, but whether that was because the players were women, or if it denoted greater interest in softball on the part of men, I wouldn't be able to judge.
Enthusiasm Grows
Early in the game a gentleman seated in front of me who was having a grand time heckling South Bend's catcher and calling her a "bum," remarked in a condescending manner, "Aw, those girls can't play like fellas," at which his feminine companion immediately rose to the defense of her sex, stating defiantly, "They can too! They just haven't had time to get started yet!"
As the game continued, the playing improved and the enthusiasm of the crowd grew in an amazingly non-partisan manner. A good catch in right field was loudly applauded no matter which side was responsible, and a heart-breaking error brought fourth a unanimous disappointed "Oh!" from the grandstand. By the close of the game, the general consensus seemed to be that the girls were not only a novelty on the sports horizon, but they really had something to offer in the way of good softball entertainment.
South Bend won, 5 to 2.
Rockford Morning Star
South Bend Defeats Rockford Girls By 5 To 2 Score
Bunch Hits In Two Innings To Win Opener
Teams To Play Twin Bill Today At Stadium
Bunching hits in two innings the South Bend, Ind., Blue Sox defeated the Rockford Peaches 5 to 2 last night at the high school stadium in the official league opening for this city in the All-American Girls softball league. In spite of threatening weather and the chilly breeze the turnout of fans was considered good.
This afternoon the same two teams clash in a doubleheader at the stadium with the first game being scheduled to start at 2 o'clock. The second half of the twin bill is expected to get underway about 3:30 o'clock.
Last night's win gives South Bend a four to two edge over the Peaches in the games played between the two teams so far, dropping Rockford below a .500 percentage with four wins and five defeats. Today Manager Stumpf expects to toss his best hurlers at the visitors in the hopes of taking both ends of today's bargain bill to even the standings between the two teams.
Muriel Coben started on the mound for South Bend and five innings hurled hitless ball. In the sixth however Rockford broke through for three hits and a run. Marjorie Peters, Rockford's pitcher, kept out of trouble for five innings, although being nicked for four blows. But in the sixth the visitors crashed through with two runs after two were out. Hageman doubled and counted on D'Angelo's two-baser. Two errors allowed D'Angelo to register. With one out in the eighth two hits, a stolen base and an infield out gave South Bend two more runs. They counted their last tally in the ninth on a walk, two infield outs and a hit.
In the sixth Burmeister, Warwick and Davis singled to score Rockford's first marker. In the eighth hits by Warwick, Davis and Kamenshek counted the other run.
At Kenosha last night the Kenosha Belles defeated the league-leading Racine team 5 to 3.
| BOXSCORE | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Bend (5) | Rockford (2) | ||||||||||
| AB | R | H | O | A | AB | R | H | O | A | ||
| Wilson lf | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Burm'er lf | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Stef'ni 2b | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | Wuet'h 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Floer'h 3b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Wa'w'k 3b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Hage-n 1b | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 | Davis ss | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| D'An'o cf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | Kame'k cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Baker c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | Fritz rf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Schro'r ss | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | M'Cre'y 1b | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Tron'r rf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Green c | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Coben p | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Jacks'n x | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Berger p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Peters p | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Totals | 37 | 5 | 8 | 27 | 10 | Totals | 37 | 2 | 9 | 27 | 12 |
| x - batted for Green in 9th. | |||||||||||
| Score By Innings | |||||||||||
| South Bend ................. 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 - 5 | |||||||||||
| Rockford ..................... 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 - 2 | |||||||||||
| Errors: Warwick 2, Baker 3, Schroeder, Coben. | |||||||||||
| Three base hits: Warwick. | |||||||||||
| Two base hits: Hageman, D'Angelo. | |||||||||||
| Passed ball: Green. | |||||||||||
| Walks: Coben 1, Peters 1. | |||||||||||
| Struckout by Coben 2, Berger 1, Peters 2. | |||||||||||
| Double plays: Floerreich to Stefani, Tronnier to Hagemann, D'Angelo to Schroeder, Davis to McCreary. |
|||||||||||
| Stolen base: Hageman. | |||||||||||
| Hits off Coben 7 in 7 2-3 innings. | |||||||||||
| Umpires: Ellenberg and Porter. | |||||||||||
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