On Friday, the Neshanock played a rare night game under artificial lighting. While the lights lacked historical accuracy, it was an opportunity to support two worthy organizations and teach baseball history to a new audience. The hosts for Friday's game were the Lawrence Historical Society and the Lawrence Little League. Thanks to Joe Ciccone and Paul Alfieri, the respective presidents of both organizations and their members for hosting the game. Thanks also to Scott "Snuffy" Hengst and Tristan of the Logan Club of Lambertville who helped out the Maidenhead team, organized for this event. Maidenhead was the original name of Lawrence Township when it was formed in 1697.
Predicting how well any baseball game will be played is difficult, but it's especially true of vintage contests with a local town team almost all of whom are playing 1864 baseball for the first time. But it didn't take long on Friday night to realize the local players adapted very quickly. Flemington managed only one tally in the first two innings while the Maidenhead team scored five times in the second for an early 5-1 lead. Fortunately, the Neshanock rallied for three runs in the top of third thanks to a clutch hit by Mark "Gaslight" Granieri. But Maidenhead kept adding runs while limiting the Neshanock's offensive production and led 8-5 as the game went to the top of the seventh.
In their half of the seventh, Flemington rallied for four runs, keyed by another clutch hit, this time from Paul "O'Neill" Cincotta. Maidenhead tied the game in the bottom of the inning and after neither team scored in the eighth, the game went to the ninth knotted at 9-9. Flemington broke the tie when Rene "Mango" Marrero's double sent Chris "Sideshow" Nunn across the plate. Another clutch hit by "O'Neill" added a second run, but a two-run lead is seldom safe in 1864 baseball. Fortunately, for Flemington, Derek "Marqui's" Schneider's insanely well-placed hit, added two more tallies for the Neshanock. The runs were badly needed as Maidenhead threatened in their last at bat, but Flemington was able to hold on for a 13-10 win.
The Neshanock had a well-balanced attack featuring three players with three hits each and six with two. "Sideshow," "Mango," and Ken "Tumbles" Mandel were the three hit contributors. "Tumbles" joined by "Mango" also provided plenty of ancillary entertainment besides their contributions at the striker's line. The two-hit group was led by "Gaslight," followed by Meshack "Shack" Desane, "O'Neill," Jeff "Duke" Schneider, "Marqui" and Bobby "Melky" Ritter. "Melky" handled the pitching responsibilities while Chris "Lowball" Lowry gave another solid performance at first base.
The prior post explored the characteristics of great baseball games - one of my favorite topics. Watching Friday's game shortly after writing that post helped me appreciate what happened on the field in Lawrence Township. The game didn't meet any of the criteria for a great game, but it was still great baseball. Great, because it was friendly competition with equal emphasis on both ""friendly" and "competition." Both teams took the game seriously and played to win. But the players also treated each other not just with respect, but the friendship that comes from the enjoyment of playing in a close and exciting baseball game. Played that way, no matter the game's significance, we experience the essence of baseball, what makes it so special, indeed what makes it the greatest game of all.
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