Three Hands Lost, and a Whitewash to Boot!
Carroll Park, Bay City, MI – It was a clear, blue sky that greeted the visiting Grangers of Rochester Hills as they entered our humble town, and a bubbling crowd of spectators who anxiously awaited the match between two very fine ball clubs. The Grangers entered the contest having already defeated Bay City in Rochester Hills by a score of 22-12, and held a record of 6 wins to 2 losses. Bay City had just come off a tight scratch in Midland and held a record of 7 wins to 3 losses. Bay City had hoped that perhaps this day would see them on the winning side against the Grangers, and help speed them on their way to the upcoming World’s Tournament in Detroit.
The coin toss before the match saw Bay City come out on top, but in this instance they decided to allow the Grangers to strike first in the contest. The results appeared near disastrous, as the first Granger striker, “Barnraiser” McKay, placed a clean safety between the third sacker and the short stop for the Bay Citys. The next striker, “Moonlight” Otlewski would also make his first and now there were runners at first and second. “Anvil” Wynne would step to the plate for the Grangers and lace a fine single to left. Due to respect of the Bay City left fielder, Branden “The Rope” Revette, the Granger gentlemen chose not to try for their ace just yet, and left the bases packed. Mr. Johnson, the next striker, would lose his hand, and would then bring “Goodfella” Prasetek to the stripe. “Goodfella” drove a hard liner to center field and it scooted past the Bay City defense, as a result three runs would score and Mr. Prasetek would make his third with ease. The next two strikers would lose their hands and “Goodfella” would be held out of the scoring.
The Bay City nine would start their first innings down 3-0 to the gentlemen from Rochester, and they appeared to have their work cut out for them. The Independent strikers did not shrink from their duty as “Tanner” LeRoux would make his first on a drive to the short stop. LeRoux would then make his second by theft. The next striker “Big Wood” David would then move him onto the third sack by losing his hand to the right side of the infield. Bay Citys third striker was none other than “Kid” Garcia who promptly drove a howitzer to the long field that scored Mr. LeRoux and allowed Kid to reach his second. The string of scoring strikers would not stop there as Mister McInerney struck a ball that allowed Kid to tally, and then Misters Dinauer and Revette each reached base safely and would later score along with the aforementioned Mr. McInerney. By the time the Bay Citys had lost all three hands for the innings they had scored 5 aces and sent nine men to the plate. Bay City now led the contest at 5-3.
Perhaps two weeks of travel, as the Grangers had traversed to Macinac Island just last weekend, and a vicious Bay City defense was too much for the Granger strikers as they would be whitewashed for the rest of the contest. The Independents would treat the home crowd to diving catches and brilliant throws throughout the concluding 8 innings. If Henry Chadwick himself had been in attendance of the match he would have marveled at the home town nine’s “scientific” base ball play.
Although the Grangers would not add to their tally total for the day, the Bay Citys would add 4 more runs in the third innings when Misters O’Laughlin, David, Garcia and McInerney would all tally. Mr. O’Laughlin would be the subject of much admiration during the fifth innings when he would drive a howitzer to the long field and allow Misters Banister and Brissette to each score an ace and the strike would allow Mr. O’Laughlin to safely reach his second. Unfortunately Mr. O would be left standing on second and would not tally. Previously in the innings though, Mr. Johnson would “High Step” it home on an infield daisy cutter by Mr. Brissette. That would bring the total of Bay City runs to 12, and that would be more than enough on the day.
In all, the spectators were allowed to see ball playing at its finest, as whitewashing was the color of the day. The Bay Citys would be whitewashed in six of their innings, while the Grangers were skunked in eight of theirs. Hearts and bats were both broken by fine plays by the champion caliber clubs, and many bully plays were abounded. It was grand play by all, and most left the ball grounds hungry for the next match in the town by the bay.
Ballists H.L. Runs
LeRoux ss 2 1
David 3rd 3 1
Garcia 1 2
McInerney 1 2
Dinauer D. 2nd 2 1
Revette lf 2 1
Koch 1st 3 0
Dinauer J. 2 0
Freehling c 3 0
Johnson c 2 1
Decuf cf 2 0
Banister rf 1 1
Brissette p 2 1
O’Laughlin p 1 1
Total 27 12
Moonshots and Dogpiles
Chippawassee Park, Midland, MI - A beautiful afternoon and interested spectators greeted the Bay City Independents at the onset of their second match of the season against the River Hogs of Midland County. The Bay Citys were victorious in their first match of the season, which was held in Bay City in late May. Although Bay City has not yet lost to the club from Midland, they have been involved in several well played matches that could have seen them on the losing side of the ledger.
The Bay City nine won the coin toss between the clubs and elected to strike first. As is their custom of late, the Bay Citys tore out to a furious start and tallied 3 runs in the first innings. Tanner LeRoux would lead things off by hitting a clean safety and sped home after “Big Wood” David swatted a shot to the garden which allotted him second sack. Dean “Sawmill” Koch would reach his first on another finely placed drive and Mr. David would then move on to third sack. Doc Garcia then strode to the plate and crushed the apple to the long field and allowed Misters David and Koch to then tally. “Twinkle-Toes” Brissette would then stike a fine blow for the Bay Citys, but Mr. Garcia was thrown out while trying to score an ace for his club and there was one hand lost. The scoring would end as the next two hands would be lost, and Mr. Brissette would be left standing on third. The match was 3-0 for the Independents.
Midland would kick up its heels as well in their first innings, as “Horse” Brandt safely attained his first, but was then thrown out trying to take his second by a flaming shot from Branden “The Rope” Revette all the way from left field. It was a bully play, and would be far more important to the outcome of the match then it first would seem. The next striker, Mr. Miwry, would lose his hand as well, and that would bring Mr. Kain to the plate with no runners on. After a handshake from the Bay City catcher, Mr. Kain settled in at the plate and promptly deposited one of Twinkle-Toes Brissette’s pitches into the long field. The ball traveled so far that by the time the Bay City left fielder retrieved the ball Mr. Kain was already at third and steaming home. Kain would make his homerun easily, but the next striker would lose his hand and Kain would be the only tally for Midland. At the end of one innings the score stood 3-1 in favor of Bay City.
In the second innings the Independents would pick up where they left off the first, as Mr. Dinauer, the Bay City second sacker, and Mr. Freehling would each take their first on a pair of clean hits. Then “The Rope” strode to the plate and whalloped the apple into left field nearly as far as Mr. Kain had the previous innings. Misters Dinauer and Freehling would both score and Mr. Revette would hold at the second sack. Mr. McInerney would be the next striker and he would drive “The Rope” home with another fine blow for Bay City. Bay City’s luck would run out though, as the next three strikers would lose their hands due to some fine fielding on the River Hogs part. That would leave the score at 6-1 in favor of the Bay City club, and it would stay that way for some time as each club skunked the other for consecutive innings.
In the fourth innings the River Hogs would find their form at the plate, and they tallied three more runs thanks in large part to a triple by Mr. Miwry and another fine strike by Mr. Kain. The River Hogs would tally twice more in their turn during the fifth innings, and the score would stand a tight scratch at 6-6.
In the sixth innings Ray “The Banker” Banister would strike first, and strike he did. Banister reached his first, and when the throw to the infield went errant he took his second on some fine playing of the points. It was a bully play, for the next striker Mr. LeRoux was able to reach his first and moved Mr. Banister on to the third sack. Mr. Banister would later score what turned out to be the winning run when Dean “Sawmill” Koch drove a bound out to the left fielder for Midland. That would end the scoring on all parts as the rest of the match was a whitewash due to another fine fielding effort by both clubs. The match would end with Bay City 7, Midland 6.
This game would conclude with Midland bowing again to Bay City, but drawing ever nearer to victory. It would seem most poetic that before the post match congratulations, a Midland hound burst from the crowd and deposited a most “foul” message of what he thought of Bay City taking the match. After much laughter the two clubs would join together for some refreshments and talk of next year.
Ballists H.L. Runs
LeRoux ss 2 1
David 3d 2 1
Koch 2 1
Garcia 1st 4 0
Brissette p 2 0
Johnson c 3 0
Garcia A. 1 0
Dinauer 2nd 2 1
Freehling c 2 1
Revette lf 2 1
McInerney cf 0 0
Decuf cf 3 0
Banister rf, p 2 1
Total 27 7
A Presidential Pardon of a PONDerous Defeat
Carroll Park, Bay City, Michigan – The eyes of the Union fell upon Bay City as our hometown played host to the President of these United States, Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln found the time in his busy campaign day to glad hand the Bay City faithful at the ball grounds and even played every day gentleman as he took his turn striking and threw out a pitch or two. Mr. Lincoln took the time to preach about the grand game and its benefits to our nation during this time of war and hardship. He spoke of how this game can bring us laughter and joy, in a time of many tears. He could have also been speaking of the match that was played to determine the championship of the state of Michigan as well, for this game would bring laughter, but also tears to the Bay City faithful.
In order to determine the championship of the state the Bay Citys played host to the Kent Club of Grand Rapids. Earlier in the season the Bay City nine fell to the Kents by a score of 14-4 in a contest that did not even resemble a fair accounting of the Independents. On this day, the hometown boys hoped to put on a better show for the spectators visiting Carroll Park.
The Bay City club chose to strike first in the contest and was whitewashed in their innings. They then returned the favor to the Kents and left them skunked as well, thanks in large part to a fine turn of two hands by the Bay City infield of LeRoux, Dinauer, and Garcia. In the second innings the Independents’ striking would be off due to some fine striking by Justin “Doc” Garcia, Branden “The Rope” Revette, Al “Kid” Garcia, and Dean “Sawmill” Koch. Each of the aforementioned strikers would reach the garden with a variety of daisy cutters and howitzers and score aces in their turn. The most excitement in the innings came when Scott “Umpy” Umphrey reached his first and then barreled home on a fine strike from Jason “Buttons” McInerney. The Bay Citys now took the lead in the contest at 5-0.
The second innings were not closed however, and the Kents still had to take their turn with the willow and take it they did. Through a calamity of nerves, poor bounces, and fine striking the Kent Club would tally 4 runs before losing a hand, and then 6 more before losing a second. By the time the innings had ended the gentlemen from Grand Rapids would hold the upper hand at 10-5.
The third innings would be a near mirror of the first for the Independents as they were skunked again by the Kents. The Bay City defense would come up strong as well in the face of adversity. The Grand Rapids gentlemen had already tallied one ace with 2 hands down and now had the bases full when David “The Tally Express” Turner came to the stripe. Turner, the Kent pitcher extraordinaire, drove a howitzer deep to the right field where the Independents own Ray “The Banker” Banister was patrolling. Turning his back to the plate and running at full steam Banister would reach with one hand and find the apple, seemingly as easy as Newton napping under the tree. The play brought cheers from the Bay City faithful, and a reprieve of 3 more aces that most assuredly would have tallied. As it was, the Kents now held a lead of 11-5.
The Independents could easily have folded their tents and headed for home, as they sometimes have in contests with the Kents, but this time they mounted a return charge in the fourth innings. The rally cry would come from the bats of Dennis “Double D” Dinauer and Sean “Tanner” LeRoux. Each of the Bay City infielders would reach their second and their first respectively. Mr. LeRoux would take his second on the next pitch from Mr. Turner and both strikers would tally on a two hands lost hit by “Shoeless Jeff” Dinauer. It was at this time that Doc Garcia would step to the plate for the second time in the contest. Turner, of the Kents, let loose of one of his prime slows and Garcia sent it flying. The ball rocketed beyond the arbors that surround the field and was promptly deposited in the pond where the water fowls “foul”. While Dinauer and Garcia blazed a trail around the bases, Mr. Pazoulli, the Kent center fielder entered the pond beyond his waist and produced the spongy sphere. Despite his efforts, Garcia would have a home run that drew awe from the spectators, and ire from the nesting ducks. At the close of the innings the Bay Citys would now have forward momentum in the contest, and had closed the lead to 11-9 in favor of the Kents.
The momentum would carry to the field as the Bay Citys sent the Kents down in the order of their striking in the fourth innings, and would whitewash them again in the fifth. The Independents, however would creep ever closer, when Al “Kid” Garcia tallied again in their fifth innings. Mr. Koch and Mr. McInerney would be left standing at third and second base to close the innings and the Bay City opportunity to take the lead would be lost. At the close of the fifth innings the score would stand at 11-10 Grand Rapids.
The Bay City nine would be whitewashed in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, while the Kents would tally one run in each of the sixth and seventh innings. The run in the seventh innings came on an odd play when Mr. Page of the Kents had a strange object fall from his trousers while traversing from third to the home base on a fine hit from the moist center fielder Mr. Pazoulli. Remarks from the crowd varied from howls of laughter to slanderous objections as to whether the object was detached from Mr. Page in order to distract the fielders. In any case, the run would tally, and the pond swimming Mr. Pazoulli would be tagged at home to end the innings. The Kents would also add 3 runs in the eighth innings to bring their ever growing lead to a near leviathan 16-10.
Having been skunked in the previous three innings, the ninth began near the same for the Independents. Their first striker would lose his hand on a fine play by the Kent short stop Mr. Dekker. Their second striker, Kid Garcia, would make his first on a finely placed ball, but disaster nearly struck as Sawmill Koch barely made his first after Mr. Garcia was forced at second. With new life Mr. Umphrey strode to the line and uncorked a fair foul that left the Kent defense scrambling. After a series of throws Mr. Koch had scored and Mr. Umphrey now stood at second. Buttons McInerney now came to the plate in the hopes of extending the innings and bringing the match ever closer. Buttons drove a daisy cutter through the infield and Mr. Umphrey would just barely evade a tag at home to score the second run of the innings. That was as close as Bay City would get as the next hand was lost and the contest finished. The Kents could now claim sole possession of the State Championship with a win of 16-12. Someday the Independents will throw off the black veil that the Kents seem to have them under, but today would not be that day.
Ballist H.L. Runs
LeRoux ss 1 1
David 3d 2 0
Freehling 3 0
Dinauer J. 2d 2 1
Garcia J. 1st 1 2
Revette c 1 1
Johnson J. p 3 0
Garcia A. 1 2
Koch 0 2
Umphrey lf 1 2
McInerney cf 1 0
Bannister rf 2 0
Decuf cf 2 0
Brissette p 2 0
O’Laughlin 2 0
Johnson A. 2 0
Dinauer D. 1 1
Total 27 12
Bay City 12, Rochester Hills 22
Van
Hoosen Farm, Rochester Hills – The Independents took
their carriages into the wilderness again, and
visited the comely, burgh of Rochester Hills to once
more enter into the championship fray of Michigan.
The Rochester Grangers are well known to be one of
the best clubs in not only Michigan, but also the
western part of these United States. The Bay City
nine has been fortunate enough to defeat the Grangers
in the past, but never in Rochester Hills. This would
be their third effort at Van Hoosen Farm, and they
were hopeful that they would put on a better showing
on this day.
The temperatures were sweltering on this day, and
there was no hope for shade on the ball grounds as
the two clubs assembled for the coin toss. The Bay
City nine won the toss, and elected to strike first.
The Bay City gentlemen were able to tally one ace in
their at bats in the first innings behind the fine
striking of Branden “The Rope”
Revette and
Trevor “Big Wood” David. The Grangers were able to
answer that run with one of their own when Mr.
McKay would tally for the Rochester Hill nine
after securing second base on his opening strike.
At the end of the first innings the match would be
tied at 1-1.
The Bay Citys would open the second innings by
tallying two more runs when Misters Johnson and
Brissette would ring the bell after successfully
reaching first sack, and then taking their third and
second on a muffed ball by the Granger Catcher. A
clean safety by “Hooks” Freehling brought the runs
home safely. These runs would put the Independents
ahead in the contest again at 3-1. The Grangers
though, would not easily be put down in their second
innings. After Mr. Wynn lost the first hand for the
Grangers, the Rochester strikers would pound the pill
with impunity pushing 9 runs in before losing
another. The Granger uprising would only be put down
through a bully effort by the Bay City second sacker,
Dean “Sawmill” Koch. There were runners at second and
third sack with only one hand down when “Kaz”, the
Granger striker, stepped to the line and drove a
howitzer towards the aforementioned Mr. Koch. With
all of the sand of a charging Billy Yank, Mr. Koch
flung his body in front of the sphere and bottled it
in style. The catch caught the runner on second,
Lefty Wynne, napping and Mr. Koch was able to flip it
to second sack and get two hands on one play. After
two innings the Grangers had taken the lead for the
first time at 10-3.
The Bay City nine, short handed and being pounded by
both the blistering heat and the Granger strikers
strode to the stripe with defiance in their hearts
and power in their bats. The fine striking of “Doc”
Garcia, “Sawmill” Koch, “Shoeless Jeff” Dinauer, and
“High-Steppin” Johnson would put three more runs in
the Independent’s ledger for the day and bring the
hometown nine a little closer to the leading
Grangers. Ray “The Banker” Banister would step
between the lines for the Bay Citys and pitched some
whitewashing against the Grangers in the third. At
the close of the third innings the score stood at
10-6 in favor of the Rochesters.
In their fourth innings the Bay Citys would even the
match with 4 more runs with Misters Banister,
Revette, David, and Decuf adding their names to the
scoring list. The most powerful drives in the innings
belonged to Mr. Revette and Mr. Dinauer who were each
able to reach their second on long drives to the out
field. The Granger strikers would tally in their
fourth innings as well, but Mr. Banister and the Bay
City defense would hold them to only two aces. At the
end of the fourth innings the contest was still a
tight scratch at 12-10 in favor of Rochester Hills.
The fifth innings would start in fine fashion when
“Twinkle-toes” Brissette and “Hooks” Freehling would
each reach base with no hands lost. They would take
their third and second on another muff by the Granger
catcher. The Bay City hopes at tying the match would
fade as the next three strikers would find their
hands lost to sky balls, and foul tics to the
catcher. After having failed to tally for the first
time in the contest the Independents took to the
field, and found themselves scrambling in the heat
when Granger striker after Granger striker reached
base safely. At the conclusion of the fifth innings
the score now stood at 17-10 in favor of the
gentlemen from Rochester Hills.
Being down, but not yet defeated, the Bay City nine
tried to muster their strength once more behind the
muscle of “Doc” Garcia and “Sawmill” Koch. Each of
these two gentlemen were able to reach their second
with mighty blasts to the long field. Mr. Koch would
be driven to the home plate by yet another safety
from Mr. Dinauer to bring the score to 17-12. The Bay
City rally would crumble again due to some fine
fielding of the Grangers, and the home town boys
would once again leave strikers on the bags. The
Granger batsmen would answer again for 4 more runs to
make it 21-12.
By now both clubs had been beaten into submission by
the blazing sun, and their efforts had worn them
thin. Whitewashing would be the color of the
concluding innings with only the Grangers finding one
more ace in the seventh innings. The Bay Citys would
find their Waterloo in Rochester Hills again this
season, and would depart with a loss of 22-12.
However, the Independents could take solace in the
fact that they stood in and took the Granger shots
with grace and resilience and were defeated, but not
disgraced.