If This is Monroe Township

For obvious reasons, the Neshanock's web site lists scheduled matches by month.  How else could anyone interested in an August match know when and where the game is being played? In the case of team members, however the reverse can also be true.  If, for example, we're playing at Ringwood State Manor Park, it's obviously May.  Or if we're at historic New Bridge Landing, it's clearly July.  One venue though tells us even more than the month.  When the Neshanock make our annual visit to the Dey Farm in Monroe Township, we know that not only is it September, it's also almost the end of the season.   Such was the case again this past Saturday when the Flemington and Logan Clubs met for a match played under ideal baseball conditions.

All photos by Mark Granieri

Monroe Township has hosted this game at least as far back as 2011 and it's always an enjoyable day, played before attentive fans.  Interestingly, as I mentioned to one person, unlike other venues, I don't think the game has ever been canceled or even hindered by bad weather.  The Neshanock have hosted a number of different opponents at Dey Farm, and we were pleased to invite the Logan Club of Lambertville for their initial visit.  Under the leadership of Sam "Ewing" Ricco and Scott "Snuffy" Hengst, the Logan Club has made great progress at a time when new vintage clubs are badly needed in New Jersey.

One of many fruitless Neshanock attempts to reach base

Saturday's match was a close, low scoring game.  In all but one of the two team's 17 at bats, no more than one tally was scored.  Unfortunately, for the Neshanock, the one exception was the bottom of the third inning when the Logan Club scored five times.  Since Flemington managed only three tallies, the Lambertville team emerged victorious by a final score of 6-3.  The Neshanock's limited offensive production was largely due to "Ewing's" solid pitching and a Logan defense that didn't allow a single Flemington striker to reach base due to a muff.

Ready to cheer for a worthy opponent

And that's a wrap until 2026

All told, the Neshanock had eleven hits, but two players accounted for seven of them.  Matt "Fly" Nunn led the way with a four-hit clear score, followed by Tom "Thumbs" Hoepfner who had three hits.  Four other Neshanock strikers had a single hit, too little offensive production to win the game.  Defensively, other than the third inning, the Neshanock did well, shutting out the Logan Club in their last five at-bats.  It wasn't enough, however, and the Logan Club earned their victory.  While it's never fun to lose, it was a good day at a fine venue.  Flemington still has one more event, the NA tournament next weekend, but for now, thanks to Monroe Township for once again being such good hosts.  God willing, we'll return to Dey Farm in 2026 and once again, we'll know that if it's Monroe Township, it must be September.