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The Huron Expositor, 1971-08-26, Page 50 The Sports Column (By Rob Brady) Playoff Fever Takes Over Well folks, the party's over. It ended Monday when the umpire called the last man out in regular season play of the Industrial Fastball League. With the beginning of the playoffs on Monday, I'm sure that you will notice a drastic change in the attitudes of the various teams. It's all or nothing from here on in. The season went by with very few incidents. Apart from a couple of heated arguments about the worst you could expect to see was the occasional malevolent glance as a player questioned an umpire's decision or an opponent's tactics. But I'm afraid that the time has come when lifelong friends will become "Those ! ? * etc". For the most part, the season is played for fun. It's a boys night out once a week which sees a couple of hours of activity on the field not infrequently followed by a couple of hours of activity at a local pub when phrases like "What we should have done . .." are common. The playoffs, however, are a different matter. Things are taken seriously then. A simple thing like a strikeout or close call at a base can become a bone for contention for a week, especially if it spells the difference between victory and defeat. The overall quality of ball should improve vastly starting- next Monday night and the frustrations of making a major error are liable to force more than one man into a flare-up of temper. It's going to be tough on umpires and I wouldn't thank anyone for the job. I hope that cooler heads can prevail in the ensuing weeks and that some excellent playoff ball will leave the league in an even healthier position than it is now. So much for attitudes, now let's take a quick look at the way things shape up as the quarter finals begin. Series A sees first _place Mainstreet going against the turf Club, the new entry in the league. Mainstreet, last year's champs, ended the season with 10 - 5 won-loss record for twenty points. The team features consistent pitching and hitting but their real strength lies in their fielding ability. This becomes obvious when the runs record (the difference between runs for and against) is checked. The team has a plus 23 record, yet still managed to hold first place. Turf Club, in its first year, copped fourth place in the league and that in itself shows them to be no slouche s. Their pitching has improved dramatically since the beginning of the season and Jack McLlwain, the man responsible for most of the mound duties, has some of the weirdest pitches up his sleeve, some of which are nearly impossible to hit really well. A runs record of plus 17 in the bottom half of the standings indicates power from the batters box as well. Mainstreet should win the series but don't discount the ability of the Turf Club to make it a good one. Series B pitts the Mechanics against the Firemee. The Mechanics finished the season in second place only one point back of Mainstreet. The team combines the steadiest' pitching in the league with far and away the most potent fire power. A runs plus of 56 is more than twice as much as the nearest competitor in that department. However, somewhat erratic fielding at times coupled with seme knife- edged tempers are minus factors for the team. The Firemen are, I feel, underachievers. A 3-12 won-loss record left them in fifth place this year following a first place finish last year. Don't be. at all surprised if "playoff fever" stimulates the team to greater things in the next couple of weeks. However, just on the strength of the season's record I'll have to pick the Mechanics to go on to the semi-finals.. , Its Teachers vs Genesee in Series C of the quarter finals. The Teachers wound up ,the season'in third with 9 wins and six • losses to put them only one point behind the Mechanics. Strong pitching and excellent fielding in the outfield help make up for unpredictable performances at the plate. Their runs record was only plus 15, two less than the Turf Club's plus .17,__for_Ahe lourth place finish_ Genesco, nicknamed "the boots" for obvious reasons, ended up in the basement again this year. But the boys' easy going nature a three win record •which is 300 per cent better than last years , are not to be discounted out of hand. Their close call with the Mechanics Monday night show that they can really play ball when the occasion demands it. I've got to pick the Teachers, however, to gel by Genesco and into the. playoffs. So that's the way I see the quarter finals lining up. I'll go out on what looks to me to be a pre)ty sturdy limb and say Mainstreet will earn the by into the finals while the semi-finals will see the Mechanics taking on the Teachers to earn a crac,k at the League championship. But all in all Z think that three excellent series will be starting Monday. The games haven't been scheduled as I write this so check with a member of your chosen team as to when and where they play and take a slight case of ',playoff fever" with you to the games on Monday. 4 St. Columban Lose to Lions in Cup Game SEAFORTH INDUSTRIAL LEAGUE FINAL STANDINGS Wins Losses Ties ,Rons • Points MAINSTREET 10 5 0 23 20 MECHANICS 9 5 1 + 56 • 19 TEACHERS 9 6 0 15 18 TURF CLUB 7 7 1 + 17. 15 FIREMEN 6 9' 0 -36 12 GENESCO 3 12 0 -55 6 THE HURON EXPOS TO P SE4FORTH.70NT, AUG. In1.*„.f -• Lan of ani District oFc er LONDON OLYMPIANS 'NEW FOR FALL Skinny-Rib SWEATERS BY TONI SKIRTS BY TONI Mock button-front skirt with .a lot of glamour, and a lot of good com- fortable wear. Pertfect- ly Washable. See them today. Sizes 10 to 20. . ' '' WSIIV.MigiteilfZIMMSMO*05"M" ELECTROHOME Stereo special Elecfrohome's beautiful "Sheridan" stereo offers transitional styling by Deilcraft that i,s at home in any decor. Great performance from the 80-watt chassis, precision Dual 1214 changer and six-speaker sound system. Limited number available at just Other stereo- specials too on Electrohome floor models and demonstrators. • BOX FURNITURE Phone 527-0680 , Seaforth kielimumamswimissmersW.Veogiminfa~fogiMIMORIMME,M.%:.*44. A victors in the, final. 3 out of 5 events while the finals The quarter and semi-final are scheduled for a best of seven -series -are-expeeted- to .be best _series. . . , -,,,News of the ;36riforth LaWir'llowlinfr, Club St. Columban lost by a-2-1 score to the London Lions in London and District Soccer League 1st Division opening round for the Cresswell Trophy. The game was played in London • on Saturday. The game ended in a contro- versial way, with the score tied 1-1 and 5 minutes remaining in the game, a Lion forward fired a shot that hit the-top cross-bar of the St. Columban goal and bounced back in front of the goal. The ball was again centred into the goal-mouth and goalie Paul O'Reilly grabbed it, but the referee signalled a goal, although the ball had not crossed the goal-line. The St. Columban players put up a strenuous argument but to no avail as the score stood at 2-1, and even the London players we're surprised when the goal was counted. It was a tough loss for the St. Columban stilled who put up a strong effort and played the entire game with only 11 men and no spares. • The Lions opened the scoring One way to get back on your feet, says the Ontario Safety League, is to have teenagers o who drive. A group of English doctors, after making a study of race car drivers, have concluded that fast driving may cause a build- up of fatty acids in the blood- stream. after 10 minutes of the 1st half on a shot from just..Inside the St. Columban 18 yard line that dropped into the top left corner of the het after •appearing to be going over the goal. St. Columban fought back and nearly tied the score on a corner kick in the Lions' end. ken McClure dropped the ball in front and Tom Melady headed it to George Love who fired a shot for the open side of the net but London goalie Bowman made a sensational save, diving to his right and just tipped the ball inches wide of the net. The score remained 1-0 at half-time. St. Columban pressed to the attack in the 2nd half and tied the score when Brian Meladrmade a perfect centering pass from the right wing and Ken McClure fired it into the bottom right corner to rake it 1-1. The game remained tied until the disputed goal was counted in the dying minutes of the game, giving the Lions a 2-1 verdict. This eliminates St. Columban from Cresswell Trophy play but does 'not affect league standings. The next St. Columban game will be Saturday, Aug. 28th, when London Olympians will play here with kick-off at 4:00 p.m. at the Seaforth District High' School field. St. Colunpan line-up: Goal - Paul O'Reilly. Full-back -,Mur- ray McClure, 'Ron McClure. Halves - Gord Moylan, Padl Ma- lone, Len Bakelaar. Forwards - George Love, Ken McClure, Tom Melady, Gerald Ryan, Brian Melady. The Seaforth Industrial Fast- -ball League wound up the 1971 schedule -in-action-Mondarnight. Mainstreet had already clin- ched first „place but their 10-3 loss to the Turf Club tightened the standings considerably. The - two teams met in the early game at the Lions park. • In the late game, the Mechanics overcame an error- filled first five innings of ball and scored a dramatic 18-17 Victory over a valiant Genesco attempt. At the Optimist Recreation Park, the Teachers defeated the Firemen - 15 - 10 to ,end the season in third place. Only one point separates each of the first three teams. Main- street has 20, the second, place Mechanics have 19 while the Tea,Chers earned 18 points dur- ing the season. Turf Club holds down fourth, with 15 points while the Firemen's 12 is enough for fifth. Genesco is in the base- ment with 6 points. On Thursday, Aug. 19. the Firemen met Mainstreet in the last of the make-up games .The ,Firemen won that contest 19 -2 to help set up the close finish in the League. ' Although plans are not yet final, it is expected that Playoffs will begin Monday evening for the quarter finals. Three series are scheduled. SerieS A will see Main Street take on the Turf Club. The winner of this series will receive a by into the finals. In Series B, the Mechanics meet the Firemen while Series C will pit the Teachers against Genesco. The winners of Series B and C will meet in a semi-final to earn the right to play the Series Intermediates Lose Two to Exeter , The Exeter All-Stars defeated the. Seaforth Intermediates 7 - 5 in a game played at the Optimist Recreation Grounds Sunday afternoon. A good crowd was on hand to see the visitors beat the Seaforth team for the second time in as many encounters. After a scoreless-first inning, Seaforth picked up one run in each of- the second, third and fourth innings to make the score 3 - 0 at the end of five. Eaph team picked up a run in the sixth and the seventh inning was scorelesS, leaving Seaforth ahead 4 - 1 after seven. However, the home town boys managed only one run in the eighth while Exeter put 3 men across in each of the last two frames to an the wink Chiitk Kreiger went the dis- tance on the mound for Seaforth, striking out 9 Exeter batters and walking 6. He allowed 9 hits and his teammates committed 4 errors, three in the last two innings when Exeter scored most of their runs. Exeter pitchers amassed 14 strike outs while allowing 8 hits and 10 walks during the game. The All-Stars committed two er- rors. The results of this game give the Seaforth boys a 3 -3 record in their series of exhibition games. They split a pair with Goderich, defeated Hensall twice and have lost a pair to the Exeter team. The team is entered in a tournament to be held in Brussells this week end. Their first game in the single knock- out event is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday against one of two Brussells entries. Smiles . The word is out that one of the pharmaceutical firms will soon start producing a new tran- , euilizer. It's to be called Dam-' Holt , • Wednesday last at 10:30 a.m. under sunny skies saw a good turnout of ladies on the Seaforth greens bowling for the Whitney trophy. In 1st place and winning the trophy was Ellen Allison and Mac Richardson of Goderich with 3W plus 22 agg. 58. Close behind was Ella Munro and Mary Fin- layson with 3W plus 20 agg 45. In third place was Kay Murray and Grace Webster. of Wingham 2W plus 21 agg. 48.- Fourth Laura Machan and partner of Sarnia with 2W Oils 19 agg 40. Fifth Ida Close and Betty Tilley 2W plus 18 agg. 44. Sixth Grace Scrimegour and Ardie Westbrook Goderich with 2W plus 15 agg. 51. Monday afternoon at 4p.m. on the Seaforth greens sixteen ladies were 'present to bowl for the McLean trophy. First place went to the rink skipped by Betty Tilley with Thelma Dale with 3W plus 13 agg. 32. Second price to Helen Connell and Diane Gilliland 2W plus 16 agg..33. Third Ida Close and Elsie Dinsmore with 2W plus 8 agg. 29. A' delicious pot luck Supper between games was most enjoyed by all present. Good turnouts have been present at local jitneys, only the weather has been permitting one game. Last Thursday eve- ning's winners were Katie Phillips and George Hildebrand. Saturday " evening it was Katie again for the ladies and Torn Phillips for the men. Tuesday evening this week It was Elsie Dinsmore and Thelma Dale with Neil Bell and Cliff Broadfoot for the men. Seaforth rinks have been active in out of town tournaments to date. In a recent tournament in Wingham Helen Connell and Ella Munro placed fifth. Six ladies motored to Sarnia last Friday and competed in ladies doubles. ITheSe girls even excell in changing tires by all reports, however, they had a good day only extremely warm. In Ivlen's Trebles M & M at Stratford last Wednesday a rink skipped by Dr. Brady with Fred Tilley and Art Fint ayson placed 8th. They were the high two game winners only losing their first game by one. A rink skipped by Lorne Dale also were two game winners. On September 13th at 2 o'clock the Seaforth ladies will be host to• members of District 4 to set the tournament dates for 1972. Mrs. Len Ford will be district representative to Toronto on Oct- ober. 16th with Mary Finlayson as alternate. Coming up next Tuesday eve- ning will `be bowling for the Soole Trophy. A pot luck supper will be held first with bowling after. please sign your name on sheet at club house all who,are able to bowl. Mrs. Jas. Scott has gene- rously donated prizes again this year for competition. Last year's winners were Janet Ford and Art Finlayson. The ladies hope 'to send an entry to Stratford to their ladies tournament on. Friday. In Wingham on Monday eve- ninefour men took part in their men's doubles for the Foundry trophy. Art Finlayson and Mark Gilliland placed fourth. If your reporter has ,missed any 'but of town scores, please be sure and let me know. The ladies thank Dorothy MacLennan and Grace Broadfoot for their generous services at our Whitney tournament last Wednesday. Gbod bowling all. SEAFORTH JEWELLERS for DIAMONDS, WATCHES JEWELLERY, FINE CHINA GIFTS FOR EVERY OCCASION All Types of Repairs Phone 527-0270 The Seaforth Intermediates lost their second game to Exeter All-Stars at the Optimist Rec. on Sunday afternoon. In action late in the game (above) an Exeter batter swings hard enough to blur the bat but only managed to pop one foul. Catching for Seaforth is Bob Beuttenmiller while the Umpire is Jim Holland. (Staff Photo) Ready For Playoffs Industrial League Cimpletes Schedule Ladies Ball Completes First Round The first round in the semi- finals of Ladies Ifidustrial Ball was played Tuesday evening. At the Optimist Recreation Park the Swingers downed the weepers 21 - 8 to take a 1 - 0 lead in that series. Action at the Lions Park saw the Slammers defeat the Bouncers 31 - 18. The semi-final final series in the league are the best two out of three for the right to go on to the finals. Action in the playoffs will continue next Tuesday night. Use Expositor Want - Ads Phone 527-0240 ST. COLUMBAN on SATURDAY, AUG. 28 -Starting at 4 p.m. --- Seaforth District High School Field ADMISSION 75c .1•••••••••••••••• BY TONI Long, six-button front sleeveless vest tops- to wear with your ,TONI Flares in all the popu- lar fall shad-es of Navy, Purple,, Wine & Brown. Completely Washable. 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