Unlikely Victory For El Cid by Havelock Hewes

Sunday, June 14 -  Alex Rivera played and managed his way to an improbable 6-4 win in game one.  "El Cid" Rivera led his troops into battle, going two-for-three with the game-winning RBI and two runs scored.  his lone "out" was due to one of the greatest shortstop plays ever witnessed on these Central Park fields. Rivera scorched a ball over second-base that all, had they had the time to think, would have assumed was a knock to center. Shortstop Zach Nilva dove for the torrid sphere, snagged  it on a hop, sprung to his feet and fired to firstbaseman Gil Schmerler to nab the fleet-footed Rivera.  What El Cid could not accomplish with his athletic skills he did with his managing prowess - a successful appeal to the ump to get a fielders interference call and the moxy to sit his best pitcher, Freddie Melendez, in favor of Jim O'Connor.  The pitching move paid off, as O'Connor met the challenge and shut down Havelock Hewes' squad, allowing only 4 runs - 1 earned - on 6 hits.
  What made the win "improbable" was not the strengtyh of the starting rosters - they were, as usual, perfectly balanced - but the four additions to the teams after the game had started.  Rivera's team had nine players to Hewes' eight so, when Tom Haskin, one of our better players - showed up he went to Hewes' team. Rivera's team was leading 2-1 after the second inning when Dave Sommers, another premier player, arrived. When the number of players on teams are even the trailing team may take or pass on a new player. Hewes took Sommers.  Caesar. a Central Park veteran - good but not equal to Sommers -showed up and went on Rivera's team.  Buoyed by the additions, Hewes team built a 4-2 lead going into the foiurth inning of the 5-inning-scheduled game.  After Caesar and Richie Seidner reached on singles for rivera's team, Sam Melendez - who was nursing a busted finger - clubbed a high fastball way over Kelly Harpula's head in rightfield.  Only the labrador-like retrieval instincts of centerfielder Haskin kept this a triple.  El Cid, himself, singled in Melendez with the go-ahead run.
   The light-hitting Paul Geoghan showed up and, by rule, was assigned to Rivera - subtraction by addition. 
   With Rivera's team leading 6-4 entering the final frame, Hewes squad did not go quietly.  Singles by Nilva and Matt Mishkin brought Hewes best RBI man, Sam Magnus, to the plate.  Magnus hit the ball hard but directly into the leftfielder's glove.  Ray Hernandez followed with a line-out to third, Gil Schmerler worked a walk to load the bases before Harpula's drive to center settled in the glove of - who else - Alex El Cid Rivera.
   The advantages gained in game one,  Nilva's stellar pitching, and a brilliant line-up designed by Haskin was enough to ensure an easy 10-4 win for Hewes' team in game two.  Rivera's pitchers -O'Connor, Phil Ciccone and Freddie Melendez - threw what might have been confused for batting practice for the two through seven hitters - Sommers, Magnus, Mishkin, Haskin, Hernandez and Harpula - in Hewes' line-up.  The six batters went 15 for 17 with a walk and a reached-on-error. The lone out recorded on the super six was a 4-3 groundout on Mishkin in the third inning.