Rhetorical Questions

One morning last week I went out the front door on my weekly food shopping expedition only to find that without any warning the town had blocked off our street for a construction project.  While I was trying to figure out how to maneuver around the obstacles, one of my neighbors called out "Are we having fun yet?" - a rhetorical question if there ever was one.  Yesterday, for three, hot hours at Greenway Meadows Park in Princeton that very same question hung in the balance while the Neshanock played our long time friends, the Diamond State Club of Delaware. Hosted once again in fine style by the Historical Society of Princeton and Eve Mandel, the teams played two seven inning games by 1864 rules. The Delaware team won the toss and sent the Neshanock to the striker's line where Flemington tallied once, a run that was matched by Diamond State in their half.  The Neshanock scored again in the second, but the visitors battled back to score twice in the third and go ahead 3-2.  The back and forth affair continued in the top of the fourth when Flemington tallied three times keyed by a triple off the bat of Danny "Lefty" Gallagher.  

All photos courtesy of Kelly Prioli 

After Diamond State got one back in the bottom of the inning, things looked promising for Flemington when the Neshanock loaded the bases with none out.  Unfortunately the promise wasn't realized primarily thanks to a home-to-first double play which helped Diamond State escape the inning without allowing a run. If baseball ever develops a statistical category for "missed opportunities," loading the bases with none out and not scoring should be at the top of the list.  And, is almost always the case, not taking advantage of such a chance, didn't go unpunished.  The visitors tallied twice in both the fifth and sixth while shutting the Neshanock out the rest of the way.  Diamond State's 8-5 victory was well earned through timely hitting and almost flawless defense - just one muff.  Jeff "Duke" Schneider got two hits while Chris "Sideshow" Nunn managed a clear score, but otherwise there wasn't much Neshanock offense.  Fortunately, no one asked if we having fun..

Dani Dondero made her Neshanock debut yesterday and we hope she will be back

After a brief break, the action resumed and Diamond State led 3-1 as the game went to the bottom of the fifth.  Finally Flemington got something started on offense when "Lefty" and Dan "Sledge" Hammer singled.  But the next two strikers made out without a run scoring and it looked like another entry in the Neshanock's missed opportunity column.  Fortunately, Dave "Illinois" Harris and Joe "Mick" Murray delivered clutch hits to tie the game after five innings.  Keeping Diamond State off the scoreboard was now key and the Neshanock did just that, allowing just one hit in the process.  In the bottom of the sixth, father and son combination, Jim "Jersey" Nunn and Matt "Fly" Nunn proved once again that in baseball sometimes it's not how hard you hit the ball, but where you hit it.  Their two extremely well placed "blows," put runners on first and second with none out. And they didn't stay there for long as "Duke's" clutch hit drove in "Jersey" with the lead run and sent "Fly" to third.  Unfortunately, the Neshanock couldn't capitalize, but the game headed to the last inning with Flemington clinging to a one run lead. 

The tension mounts during the late innings of the second game

The final inning got off to a good start when Neshanock pitcher Bobby "Melky" Ritter recorded the key first out on a hard hit ball he snared on one hop.  Things took a turn for the worst after that, however, as Diamond State put runners on first and second with only one out, placing very much in doubt exactly how much fun the Neshanock were going to realize from the day's efforts. The next Diamond State hitter drove the ball into right field where "Duke" caught it on one bound for the second out.  He then fired the ball to "Melky," while the Delaware runner streaked for home with the tying run.  "Melky" flipped the ball to "Sledge" who applied the tag for a game ending double play and a hard fought 4-3 win.  Both "Duke" and "Lefty" had two hits with the latter earning a clear score in the process.  The Neshanock played better defense in the second game, aided by solid pitching from "Melky" and "Illinois."  It was a dramatic and hard-fought Neshanock victory, satisfying to the point there was no question we had, indeed, had fun.