Talbot Goes 3-1-1 in Mumford, NY

Genesee Valley- The Talbot Fair Plays won their first 3 matches of the National Silver Ball Tournament in upstate New York this past weekend and tied their last to earn a spot in the Championship match on Sunday.  The Easton Nine downed the Victory BBC 18-15, the Rochesters 14-5, and the Flower City BBC 16-14.  In its last match it tied the Live Oaks 10-10 before the time limit ran out in the 8th inning.  It was good enough to earn a return to the championship to meet the Cleveland Blues.  The Blues had defeated the Flemington Neshanock last year in the Silver Ball Championship.  This year, it would be the same result- the Blues won 20-5 to take home its 2nd straight Silver Ball Championship.

A Split in Cecil County

Elkton, MD- The two teams from the Elkton Base Ball Club, the Cecil Club of Chesapeake City and the Eclipse BBC of Elkton squared off at the Terrapin Station Winery on Sunday.  In the first game, after the Eclipse struck first, the Cecils slammed 10 aces in the 3rd inning and held on for a 14-12 win.  In the second match, Elkton held a 4-3 lead when Chesapeake City scored twice in the 7th to take the lead.  Elkton scored one run in the 8th and held the Cecils scoreless in the 9th.  In the bottom of the 9th, as the Eclipse has done so many times this year, they got their first two men in to scoring position before Erik Meyers hit a long drive to centerfield easily scoring the runner from 3rd to earn the split with a 6-5 win

Atlantic Takes Islip Cup

On the grassy plains of the Islip Grange, the Atlantic Base Ball Club joined the Flemington Neshanock and New York Gotham clubs in the first ever Islip Cup Tournament. This round-robin tournament brought together spectators and farmers from all around Long Island.  In the initial match, the Flemington club took the lead on a balk in the 1st inning.  Unfortunately, that was their only ace to tally that game.  The Flemington lead was quickly erased as the Atlantic lead-off hitter TC used all his might and speed to round the bases for a home run.  TC didn’t stop there as he went a perfect 4 for 4 with 3 doubles and scored in each at bat.  Dreambucket also swung the stick well with 2 doubles, and Butcher contributed 2 hits also.  Pigtail and the Atlantic defense did not allow any more Flemington runners to score and the Atlantics went on to win by the score of 13-1.

In the 2nd match between the Flemington Neshanock and New York Gothams, a back and forth contest ensued.  Each team took and lost the lead more then once leading to a tie game at 6 aces each entering the 10th frame.  In the top of the 10th, the Gotham pitcher Bugsy was fatigued and hung a few too many hittable pitches as the Gotham defense could not stop a 6 run rally by the team from Jersey.  Undeterred, the Gotham batters rallied to score 3 aces and attain runners on the bases.  Alas, the Gothams could not plate any more runs and fell to the Flemington squad by the score of 12-9. 

With losses by both the Flemington and Gotham teams, the Atlantic squad needed a victory over the Gotham Club in the third and final match to attain the coveted Islip Cup.  A pitching matchup between the Atlantics Tree and Gothams Wickets promised for a entertaining game.  Tree shook off a bit of rust to keep the Gothams to 7 aces, while Wickets had to face the gauntlet of Atlantic bats and held them to 18.  For the Atlantics, TC and Willy Mo roped 4 hits each, while Toothpick and Dreambucket gathered 3 hits a piece.

Special Note:  Look under tournaments/festivals for information on the Philadelphia Base Ball Exhibit and Fair on August 20-21 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.  13 MAVBBL clubs will be participating.  Come out and see most of the clubs in the Mid Atlantic play base ball the way it was played in Philadelphia in 1864!