Los Banos Rotary Club History
Aged Rotarians Take Lion Pelt

A seven-inning fracas officially identified as the annual Lions Rotary softball game ended shortly before midnight last Thursday evening with the old men of Rotary on the long end of a 23 to 18 score.

The Lions used their ace-chucker, Ernest "Pepper" Petrocelli, in the pitchers box until the third inning when a barrage of "base hits" fell through the fielder's gloves and caused manager Vern Halstead to call upon Lion past president John "Chuck" Erreca to halt the carnage. Before the Mayor could regain his youthful pitching eye, thirteen Rotary runs had scampered across the plate to make the score 13 to 10.

Halstead realized his mistake in the fourth inning and replaced the tiring Mayor with Sid Smith, as the score stood at 18 to 12. Smith, who was used to heavy seas and troubled waters after three years of Navy service, settled down to his job quickly and held the Rotary mob to five runs in the remaining innings.

Rotary team manager T. D. Toscano used better judgment in his selection of pitchers and started Bill Kneass, who weathered a heavy first inning in which six Lion runs were recorded, and settled down to allow only six additional runs in the next three innings, when he was replaced by Jack Pfitzer, who allowed six runs the rest of the game.
Frank Alves was behind the plate for the entire game for the Lions and Al Fittje caught the offerings of the two Rotary hurlers.

A collection was taken from the fans which amounted to $65 which will be used for the Kiddies' Christmas party this year.

After the game the Rotary and Lion groups met at the fire house for refreshments, which were of deluxe quality and quantity for the reason they had been purchased by a Lion committee with full confidence that the Rotary gang would be stuck with the bill.

June 30, 1947

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