ELIZABETH, ELKTON, DELAWARE and LEWES SWEEP WEEKEND

The Mid Atlantic Vintage Base Ball League got started on its 6th season at three sites this past weekend:  at Smithtown, Elkton and Hoboken.  Up in Smithtown, 3 long time rivals got together in the Flemington Neshanock, Elizabeth Resolutes and host Brooklyn Atlantics.  In the first match of the day, the Resolutes jumped all over the Neshanock and won the first game of the year 21-4  The Elizabeths came right back with another convincing 12-7 victory over the host Atlantics.  Brooklyn then dealt Flemington its second straight loss 26-1 to end the day.

Meanwhile down in Elkton, Maryland the host Eclipse entertained its longtime friend and rival the Talbot Fair Plays.  Outings between the 2 clubs always ends in something interesting and this day was no different.  In the first game, Elkton jumped all over the Fair Plays to go out to a 24-1 lead before Talbot plated 11 runs in the 9th before finally sucuming to the 3rd hand dead and losing the first match 24-12.  The second match went much better from the visitors from Talbot County as they jumped out to a small lead and finally went up 10-7 in the 6th.  Elkton pecked away at the lead until there were 2 hands dead in the 9th and the score was 10-9.  Elkton was able to get the tying run across the plate in the 9th and then whitewashing Talbot in the 10th before getting the winning run the 10th to sweep the day.

The Diamond State Base Ball Club kicked off their 2014 campaign with a trip to Jersey City, NJ for a pair of matches against the Hoboken Nine. A steady wind whipped around the field and caused excitement for the fielders on both sides.

In the first game, the host club jumped out to an early advantage by tallying seven aces in their first turns at bat. However, the Diamond State strikers came alive quickly with a resounding second inning that saw 18 tallies fill the tallykeeper’s ledger. Despite a strong effort by their opponents, powerful striking and skillful running of the bases allowed the Delaware nine to maintain a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game, finishing with a victory by the final tally of 33-17. The Diamond State club was lead at the striker’s line by Boots with 6 hits. Boots, Buzz and Lobo each smacked home runs.

The second match had the makings of a much closer affair, as the two sides traded the advantage back and forth through their first several innings. However, the Diamond States were able to mount a strong rally in the middle innings to take a double-digit advantage that they were able to maintain for the 27-17 victory. The Blue and Black’s performance was buoyed by 6 hits (including 3 triples) from Blackbart and home runs from Split and El Jefe.

Finally, down on the lower Delaware Shore, the Lewes Base Ball Club started its season off on the right foot with a pair of victories over the Brandywine BBC of West Chester 31-10 and 22-12.