Then Hagner came up for his first turn at bat. The Lowell crowd began a great noise of cheering, for they had a feeling that something would happen now. They had long been in the habit of expecting action in the game when Hans came to bat. But Hans showed no signs of excitement as he walked to the plate. He stood there in his loose, awkward way, studying Mellen, and Mellen was studying him. Perhaps Mellen had better thoughts than Hans, for he served up a ball that looked good to Hans and he struck at it hard and missed. The second one looked just as good and he missed that one too. When Mellen delivered the next one, Hans thought he would look it over carefully and if it looked like the other two he would let it go by. It did look like the others, coming straight for the plate, and so he waited for it to curve, but it came straight over the plate and Hans didn’t move, but the umpire said, “Three strikes. Batter up,” and Hans had struck out. Hal now came up. There were two out and he wanted a hit. The second ball looked good, so he hit it for a grounder to the right of Laird and raced to first, but Laird made a stab, got the ball, and without setting himself, made a very quick but low throw to Church. The Jefferson Captain, however, made a beautiful pickup and Hal was out. Now it was the second turn for Jefferson at bat. Hollins without waiting drove a hot grounder right over first base that looked like a hit, for Hal was playing about twenty feet off. Somehow or other, however, Hal got over near it, threw himself the last six feet of the way, stopped the ball while falling and then, as he lay on the ground, tossed to Miner, who had covered first, for a put out. The rest of the Lowell team looked pleased, for he had saved a hit and the crowd was excited. The Jefferson boys couldn’t figure how they could get hits when such fielding was possible. [Illustration] At any rate they all thought this but Larry. He walked up to the plate and stood there swinging his bat carelessly. Wherever Miner pitched a ball, Larry would reach up or down with his bat and touch the ball somehow. He fouled off one after the other until he had lost seven balls over the stand behind him and then he hit the eighth one fair and square for a long liner to center which ought to have been good for a double, only Talkington raced over and by extremely fast fielding held it to a single. The seven fouls and the hit by Larry had made hard work for Miner and so when Warcford came up for his first time at bat he hit a Texas leaguer to short left which fell safe and he took first while Larry reached second.