SPB II April 1958 Newsletter

The 1958 pennant race got off to a rousing start in April as
last year’s pennant winners, the Gladiators and Surfers jumped out to an
early lead.  However the Route 66
Hot Rods are only a surprising two games behind the Gladiators and the Cruisers
are one game behind the Surfers.

Willie Mays of the Gladiators is leading the AL with a .384 average
and Frank Torre of the Flyers leads the NL with a sizzling .402 mark.  Several pitchers are tied with four wins
in the AL
while reliever Ryne Duren of the Surfers has five wins to lead the NL.

A few notable performances in the month:

Moose Skowron of the Cruisers hit four home runs in a five game
series against the Fortress.  In a
game against the Gladiators, the Hampton Road crew entered the ninth inning
with a 4-1 lead but ace reliever Gerry Staley fell apart and allowed five runs,
helped along by two Roger Maris throwing errors.

In a game against the Beavers, the Fortress’ Steve
Bilko hit three homers and drove in eight while Rocky Colavito had two dingers
and five RBI’s in a 15-1 victory.
The Fortress were swept five straight by the Cruisers and the Surfers
did the same to the South port Saints.

The Beavers and the Aces were tied at 3-3 going into the 11th
inning but the Beavers scored two in the top of the frame but the Aces
responded with three straight homers, the last a walk off by Carl Furillo.  The Gladiators exploded for 23 hits
enroute to a 1503 rout of the Lakers.