There was plenty of offense as the 1970 team posted a come-from-behind 11-7 victory over 1961 in the third game of their opening round series of the Stat-O-Matic Reds Tournament presented by Press Room Pass.
Tony Perez knocked in three runs for 1970 with a homer and a sacrifice fly, while Lee May, Bobby Tolan and Johnny Bench also homered.
May led the 15-hit 1970 attack as he added two singles. Tolan, Bench, Pete Rose, Bernie Carbo and Tommy Helms all had two hits.
The 1961 team appeared to be on the way to a win with five runs in the first inning off 1970 starter Jim Merritt.
Vada Pinson, Frank Robinson, Gordy Coleman and Gene Freese all knocked in a run before Wally Post smacked a two-run homer.
Homers by May and Perez in the bottom of the first off eventual losing pitcher Jim O’Toole closed the gap to 5-3.
Tolan’s two-run blast in the second tied the affair at 5-5.
A RBI single by Jerry Zimmerman in the third put 1961 back on top 6-5.
In the fifth, Dave Concepcion tied it with a run-scoring single before a sacrifice fly by Helms gave 1970 the lead for good.
Perez and Carbo each drove in a run in the sixth and Bench’s homer in the eighth finished the scoring.
Don Gullett got the win for 1970 as he worked the final five innings surrendering a RBI double to Frank Robinson in the eighth.
Game 1
The series began with a pitching duel between Wayne Simpson of 1970 and Joey Jay of 1961. Simpson won the battle as 1970 opened with a 2-1 victory.
Bench’s two-run homer in the first gave 1970 the only runs that squad would need, while Zimmerman had a RBI single in the fifth for 1961.
Simpson went the distance allowing five hits and fanned six to get the win. Jay tossed eight innings and also gave up five hits to go with five strikeouts.
Game 2
A sacrifice fly by Robinson in the fifth proved to be the decisive run as 1961 picked up a 4-3 victory.
Bench gave 1970 an early 1-0 advantage in the first with a run-scoring single, but 1961 answered in the top of the second as Coleman had a two-run homer and Leo Cardenas added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.
Helms and Rose each knocked in a run in the bottom of the frame to tie it at 3-3.
Bob Purkey got the win on the mound for 1961, while Gary Nolan took the loss.
REDS TOURNAMENT RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
First Round
No. 1 1975 vs. No. 8 1995 (2-0) 6-2, 6-5
No. 4 1970 vs. No. 5 1961 (2-1) 2-1, 3-4, 11-7
No. 3 1940 vs. No. 6 1981
No. 2 1990 vs. No. 7 2010