Thursday, August 8, 1957
Over the years my father coached ball, there was one name that always elicited respect and an attitude of determination from him and his players.
"Ontario."
Any time one of Dad's teams faced an opponent from Ontario, they knew they were in for a battle. At every level of play–Little League through American Legion–Ontario was a consistent powerhouse. That was true over a half-century ago, and I have no doubt it's still true now.
Today's game, however, would be the very first time that All-Star teams from West Covina and Ontario met on a baseball diamond (or any sports field, for that matter), and it was a fateful meeting, indeed.
The televised opener on August 8th was a quintessential pitchers duel. Jim Kendall was brilliant on the mound, throwing a no-hitter through 5 innings and striking out 10; at one point 7 straight. But Ontario's pitcher, L. Keith Cardin, was even more unhittable, striking out 13 with 8 down in a row, and–except for Fred Allen's lead-off single in the 1st–preventing any West Covinan from reaching base for the first 4 innings. Cardin's streak ended when Don Bunch tied it with a solo homer with 2 outs in the bottom of the 5th: the only earned run of the game for either side.
In the top of the 6th, Ontario's Jackie McClure snapped Kendall's no-hit streak via a misplayed bunt. Bob Murray followed up with a line drive past left-fielder Steve Fox that McClure tried to stretch into a run, but which instead resulted in a dramatic 7-1-2 put-out at the plate. The fielder's choice, however, left Murray on third, who then scored on a wild pitch by Kendall. West Covina was unable to come back in the bottom of the 6th, giving Ontario a 2-1 victory.
And so it was that West Covina's unprecedented post-season win streak came to an end. However, unlike the preceding playoffs, the State Tournament had a double-elimination bracket. West Covina had suffered a loss, but their Cinderella story was not yet over. Not by a long shot.
Ontario.........010 001–2 3 1
West Covina.....000 010–1 2 1
