Finals - Collins won the sectional tournament championship in a thrilling game against Farrar 12-11. Gordon Smith laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Jerry Nichol for the winning run in the last inning. After trailing 10-5 in the fifth, Collins scored four runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to win the game. John Vasey was the winning pitcher, as the last of three pitchers. Lineup: Ben Clark (57) (3b) 0 hits; Bill Ballard (56) (cf) 2 hits; John Vasey (56) (ss-p) 2 hits; Jerry Nichol (56) (c) 1 hit; Norlyn Smith (57) (1b) 0 hits; Gordon Smith (58) (2b-p) 0 hits; David Fitzgerald (57) (p-ss) 0 hits; Pat Fitzgerald (58) (lf) 0 hits; Darwin Luing (58) (rf) 0 hits.
September 30, 1954 District Baseball Tournament: First round, Semi-finals - Collins defeated Pilot Mound 5-2. This was a tight pitching duel with Vasey coming out on top. Vasey pitched seven innings. Runs - 2; hits - 4; strikeouts - 12; walks - 4. Nichol caught. Collins collected six hits scoring one run in the fourth, two in the sixth, and two in the seventh for the 5-2 win. Lineup: Gene Fitzgerald (55) (rf) 1 hit; Ronnie Long (55) (2b) 1 hit; John Vasey (56) (p) 3 hits; Jerry Nichol (56) (c) 1 hit; Jack Kilgore (55) (3b) 0 hits; Bill Ballard (56) (cf) 0 hits; Jim Dodd (56) (ss) 0 hits; Larry Laird (56) (lb) 0 hits; Jerry Thornton (55) (lf) 0 hits.
Finals - Collins defeated Jamaica in the most thrilling game of the year to win the district tournament championship, 3-2. John Vasey pitched seven innings: Runs - 2; hits - 2; strikeouts - 15; walks - 6. Nichol caught. Collins collected only four hits in scoring their three runs, two in the first, and one in the second. Jamaica scored one run in the first and the second in the seventh inning. Lineup: Gene Fitzgerald (55) (rf) 1 hit; Ronnie Long (55) (2b) 0 hits; John Vasey (56) (p) 1 hit; Jerry Nichol (56) (c) 1 hit; Jack Kilgore (55) (3b) 1 hit; Jerry Thornton (55) (lf) 0 hits; Bill Ballard (56) (cf) 0 hits; Jim Dodd (56) (ss) 0 hits; Larry Laird (56) (lb) 0 hits.
October 14, 1954 Ninth and Tenth Grade Agriculture - On this cold and windy Wednesday morning, instead of having a regular Ag. class we helped Tom Carver pick the Pfister Hybrid corn test plot. Ray Peterson, field man for Pfister, told us we would pick 1/70th of an acre, count the down stocks, count the dropped ears, weigh the corn, and have a moisture test. In the process, our shoes became so muddy that it was very difficult to walk. We would like to thank them for the offers of a pancake dinner and a watermelon feed, both turned down, much to our regret.
Baseball Sub-state Tournament: First round, Semi-finals - Collins trounced Whitten 11-1. The game went only five innings as Collins was ahead by ten runs. Vasey had two doubles and Laird two singles. Vasey pitched five innings. Runs - 1, hits - 2, strikeouts - ?, walks - 3. Nichol caught. Collins scored two runs in the first, three in the second and six in the third for the 11-1 win. Lineup: Gene Fitzgerald (55) (3b) 1 hit; Ronnie Long (55) (2b) 0 hits; John Vasey (56) (p) 2 hits; Jerry Nichol (56) (c) 0 hits; Jack Kilgore (55) (1b) 0 hits; Jerry Thornton (55) (lf) 1 hit; Larry Laird (56) (rf) 2 hits; Bill Ballard (56) (cf) 0 hits; Jim Dodd (56) (ss) 1 hit.
Finals - Collins' rally was cut short as they scored all their five runs in the last inning losing to Van Horn 8-5. Van Horn scored one run in the second, three in the third, four in the fourth, for their eight runs. John Vasey pitched seven innings and Nichol caught. Collins collected only four hits, Nichol had two hits. Lineup: Gene Fitzgerald (55) (3b) 0 hitz; Ronnie Long (55) (2b) 0 hits; John Vasey (56) (p) 0 hits; Jerry Nichol (56) (c) 2 hits; Jack Kilgore (55) (1b) 0 hits; Jerry Thornton (55) (lf) 1 hit; Bill Ballard (56) (cf) 0 hits; Jim Dodd (56) (ss) 1 hit; Larry Laird (56) (rf) 0 hits.