Smalley’s ninth-inning two-run home run turned a 9-8 defeat into a 10-9 victory as
‘81 pushed the Selig Sectional to a fifth game.
‘56, trailing 8-6 in the bottom of the eighth, had taken the lead on Lou Berberet’s three-run double, unwittingly setting up Smalley’s heroics.
Before the late-inning chaos, there was early- and middle-inning chaos as
‘81 saw a 6-1 lead turn into a 6-6 tie. Having taken the lead on a Dave Engle three-run homer and extended it through the third and fourth innings,
‘56 used big hits of their own to tie the score, Herb Plews driving in three on a double in the fourth and Jose Valdivielso’s two-run single tying the game an inning later.
‘81 trails 1-0
A semifinal-opening pitcher’s duel was decided by men on base at the time a baseball was hit a long way.
Lou Berberet’s three-run home run provided more damage than Rob Wilfong’s solo shot, and Camilo Pascual outdueled Brad Havens en route to a 4-1 victory for
‘56.
‘81 without a runner until Wilfong’s fourth-inning home run.
But that home run came with
‘82 already down 3-0. In the top of the second, Havens plunked Jim Lemon and allowed a single to Clint Courtney before Berberet lined a fastball just inside the right field foul pole for an Earl Weaver special.