By FRANK WALL
The Norwood All Star one-two pitching combination of Billy Travers and Greg Lang sparkled again .s Lang topped the tough Hyde Park team Sunday, .nd on Monday the best team the local All Stars has aced this year, the Attleboro All Stars, were blanked 1-0 with Travers throwing aspirins at the opposition.
On Saturday it was ten-year-old Chris Dixon the winning pitcher with a fine relief stint against the Dorchester stars at Si Rosenthal field in Dorchester.
The All Stars were tied in the opener by Hyde Park 3-3 and since then have won seven straight games against top flight competition. The next home game will be tomorrow night against the Plainville stars at Pleasant Street field. Tonight the Submarine boys journey to Hollis-ton for a 6 o’clock encounter.
It was an amazing one two-pitching combination over tie weekend that saw Lang strikeout 14 Hyde Park batters while allowing only two ht.s. Travers’ southpaw slants held a fine Attleboro team to one hit while whiffing 13 batters.
On the hitting department for the Locals in the Dorchester win it was John DeCosta and Greg Lang banging out two singles each to pace the attack and on Sunday at Pleasant field, ten-year-old Mike Martin had two clutch singles. In the big one against the Bristol champs from Attleboro Joe Carey paced the attack with two hits. . . . John Lynch, Norwood catcher caught outstanding ball in all three games.
NORWOOD 3, HYDE PARK 1
This was a revenge game for Greg Lang the big Norwood chucker as he had been robbed of a win under the lights at Monahan field in Hyde Park in the opening 3-3 tie Lang had his fast ball hopping and the visitors were baffled. The game was scoreless for four innings until Norwood got the first run. With one out Bill Travers lined a double to left to start things off. The next Norwood batter struck out and things looked dim for the Locals.
Mike Martin then got Norwood ahead to stay as I : lined a single to center scoring Travers with the go ahead run of the game. In the top of the fifth Hyde Park tied it up with the big hit a squeeze bunt by Jim Burke that scored Ed Devine with the tieing run.
The game appeared to be anybodys at this stage as Lang and his pitching opponent Bill Nemanni both were hurling fine ball and getting great fielding support from their males.
Then came the Norwood sixth and two big runs that meant the ball game.
Charley Little opened with a double to right and went to third on a wild pilch with a great burst of speed and hustled home on a passed ball. Then came a base on balls to Greg Lang and successive singles by Johnny Lynch and Billy Travers and it was Norwood out in front 3-0.
In the 6lh Hyde Park scored their only run as Devine reached on a -single and scored on a Norwood error.
In the top of the 7th Devine opened with a double to left but then Lang bore down and struck out the next two batters and the final out was a roller to Billy Travers at first. It was Norwoods game.
In the fielding department for the Locals Mike Martin at third and John DeCosla at second made fine plays for the winners Norwood laced out an eight hit attack with Mike Martin, Charley Little, Johnny Lynch and Travers each getting two. The game was handled fine by umpire Bob Hebner behind the plate with Ed Lynch Jr. at first and Don McPhee at third.
NORWOOD 3, ATTLEBORO 0
An outstanding Attleboro team that was a fine fielding group was blanked 3-0 by the Norwood All Stars. It was a real close game all the way but in the end it was the effectiveness of the Norwood southpaw Bill Travers that spelled victory for the Locals. Travers- had a blazing fast ball and his change up was something to see as 3 of his 13 strike outs came on this pitch.
The big play of the game which may have meant the win came in the third with the Attleboro team threatening. There was a man on third and one out and Skip Cheney of Attleboro hit a liner to left. Norwood left fielder Brian Donelan unleashed a strike to the plate and a great tag by catcher Johnny Lynch stopped the last real threat of the hustling Attleboro team. The fans gave Donelan and Lynch a standing ovation for the fine double play.
Norwood got what proved to be the only run they needed in the first as Mike Martin led off with a walk, moved to second on a passed ball and then came a line single to center by Joe Carey and it was Norwood in front 1-0.
Travers yielded a double to Silva in the first but then he bore down and struck out the side. In the third Norwood scored two more insurance runs as Greg Lang and Joe Carey singled and both scored on a combination of two wild pitches and an error. Norwood had many hard hit balls but the Attleboro defense was real tough, especially at short stop where Lives-sley turned in three gems to rob Norwood batters of hits.
Travers struck out the side in three of the six innings. He was a little wild walking 5 but he had it when it counted and coupled with the great Lynch-Donelan double play it was a big Norwood wih.
Joe Carey paced the Norwood batters with 2 hits and 6 other Norwood players had one hit a piece including Greg Koval who had been out with an ankle injury all year and lined a single to left in his only time at bat. Mike Martin, John Lynch, Bill Travers, Greg Lang and John DeCosta had the other Norwood hits. The game saw four umpires calling excellent’game in Bob Reed, Charley Saraca, Jim Shea and Charley Miller.
NORWOOD 6, DORCHESTER 1
In this game it was a big All Star fourth inning which sewed it up as they banged out four consecutive hits for four runs and the ball game. Brian Donelan started for Norwood but had arm trouble in the second with Norwood behind 1-0 and men on second and third and no outs. Greg Lang was called to the mound and the fireballer threw nine pitches and struck out the side and Norwood was out of a big jam The Submarine boys got two back in their half of the third John DeCosta opened with a single and with a base on balls to Bill Porcello, Charley Little and a single by Brian Donelan it was a 2-1 Norwood lead.
Chris Dixon then entered the game for the Locals as Lang was to pitch against Hyde Park on Sunday but he did his part and the ten-year-old Norwood pitcher Dixon slammed the door on the Dorchester team the final five innings and the Locals bounced in with four runs in the fifth and walked home with an easy win.
The key fielding play in the game was a great throw by cenlerfielder Joe Carey to third baseman Greg Lang in the fourth which stopped a Dorchester rally.
In the big Norwood fourth, the Locals had 2 out and no one on when they erupted for four straight runs and it was all over. In the inning, the Locals stole third base three times with Greg Lang, Joe , Carey and Charley Little j . pilfering. The big hit in the j inning was a two run single by John DeCosta which scored the go-ahead runs. Chuck Little, Joe Carey and Greg Lang also chipped in with hits and with some great heads up base running it was another Norwood win.
Greg Lang and John De-Costa.-paced the-Norwood attack with two hits each and Billy Travers also showed some real hustling play both in the field and on the bases.
The game ended in sensational fashion as Goaby grounded back to the mound and Dixon wheeled and threw to Lang at second and it was Greg to Little at first ending the game with a double play.
Dixon then went up with his arms with the big Dick Ra-datz motion and the Colombo’s sponsored team had another win. John Lynch didn’t get a hit in the game but he hit the two longest balls and was robbed twice in deep right.
The submarine winners for the three games were Dorchester offense John De’-Costa, Defenses Joe Carey, Hyde Park offense Mike Martin, Defense Greg Lang and Attleboro Offense Joe Carey and Defense Bill Travers
(All articles originally appeared in the Norwood Messenger unless otherwise noted)