Sports
Kids and Kubs defeat City Hall Stars 14-13 on walk-off home run
St. Petersburg Three-Quarter Century Softball Club's 14-13 seventh-inning walk-off victory over the City Hall -Stars offered classic drama.
Kids and Kubs defeat Mayor’s City Hall Stars 14-13 on Jim Scala’s walk-off grand slam home run.
It is difficult to describe the events leading up to the St. Petersburg Three-Quarter Century Softball Club’s 14-13 seven-inning victory over St Petersburg Mayor’s City Hall Stars in their annual game at North Shore Park, on Saturday, February 2.
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Trailing 13-10 and facing their last at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning, the team better known as the Kids and Kubs, scored four runs to “snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.”
The final “crunch” applied by Jim Scala, who lifted a towering fly ball to left-center field clearing the 250-foot fence, to score three runners ahead of him. Scala also pitched his team to victory.
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Gaining a 4-2 lead after two innings, the Kids and Kubs fell behind 6-4 at the end of three innings. Four runs in the fourth moved the Hall-Stars to a 10-4 lead. Answering with two runs in the bottom of that inning the Kubs trailed 10-6 at the end of four complete innings.
Three runs by the Hall-Stars in the top of the fifth inning ballooned their lead to 13-6. Not to be intimidated the Kids and Kubs answered the three runs with four of their own to close the score to a 13-10 Hall-Star lead.
Jim Scala, working with battery mate Gus Tijerino, seemed to grow stronger as the contest continued. Playing stellar defense behnd Scalla, the Kids and Kubs blanked the Hall-Stars on only two hits in the top of the sixth and seven innings. Scala retired six of the last eight Hall-Star batters.
Coming to bat in the bottom of the seventh trailing 13-10 Captain JD Horn noted: “that the top of the Kids and Kubs batting order was on deck and the team was well positioned to overcome the three-run deficit.” The first batter grounded out. The next three batters Jerry Mayea, Ed Broomes and Jim Crook loaded the bases with three straight singles, setting the table for Scala’s walk-off homer
Score by innings
City Hall Stars 0 2 4 4 3 0 0 - 13
Kids and Kubs 3 1 0 2 4 0 4 - 14
