Pitchers status: Paige and Redding need one game, Williams and D. Brown two games, R. Brown and Winters three games.
Game 1: Homestead 7, Hilldale 6
WP: Matlock (1-0)
LP: Powell (0-1)
HR: Stearnes (1), Gibson 2 (2)
Game 2: Homestead 4, Hilldale 3
WP: D. Brown (1-0)
LP: S.J. Williams (0-1)
Save: Bell (1)
HR: None
Game 3: Homestead 16, Hilldale 8
WP: R. Brown (1-0)
LP: Winters (0-1)
HR: Wells (1), Smith (1), Gibson (3), Wilson (1), W. Brown (1) OH Johnson (1)
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The potent Homestead offense served notice on the league: It's going to be tough to outslug them.
Hilldale couldn't.
Homestead pounded Hilldale pitching for seven home runs, nine doubles, 16 singles and 15 walks in the opening series, winning all three games. The scores were 7-6, 4-3 and 16-8.
Homestead catcher Josh Gibson had three homers, including a walk-off shot off Hillsdale reliever Piggie Powell in the opener. That was Gibson's second home of the game; he also had a three-run homer off Cannonball Redding in his previous at-bat.
That seventh-inning dinger gave Homestead a 6-2 lead, seemingly plenty with Satchel Paige on the hill. But Hilldale struck back with four runs in the eighth, opening with a Turkey Stearnes homer and concluding with a two-run single by Willie Wells. Paige finshed the eighth but gave way to Leroy Matlock for the ninth.
In the second game, Homestead jumped on Smokey Joe Williams for four runs in the first inning. Jud Wilson had a two-run double and T.J. Young had a two-run single.
Williams and reliever Dizzy Dizmukes held Homestead to just three singles fomt he second inning on, but the damage had already been done. Homestead starter Dave Brown went eight innings, allowing three runs on five hits; William Bell had a perfect ninth for the save.
The finale was pure slugfest. Homestead starter Ray Brown staggered the distance, giving up 14 hits and six earned runs. He walked five, hit two, stuck out one and was a picture of dominance compared to Hilldale starter Nip Winters, who walked seven en route to allowing seven runs, all earned, in four innings. He was followed by Powell (five runs in two innings) and Eggie Hensley (four runs in two innings).
Heavy Johnson iced the third game with a grand slam off Hensley in the seventh after Hilldale scored four in the top of the frame. Brown shut the door on Hilldale the rest of the way.
Gibson had three doubles and a homer in Game 3; for the series, he was 7 for 12 with three walks, three homers, three doubles, seven runs and six RBIs.
Other homers in the series came from Tubby Scales, Chino Smith, Wilson and Willard Brown of Homestead and Wells of Hilldale.
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