Over the past twenty years the Neshanock have been fortunate to play at a number of historic sites, baseball and otherwise. Of all the "otherwise," few surpass New Bridge Landing in River Edge, New Jersey for historical significance. It was here in November of 1776 that George Washington's beleaguered Continental Army successfully crossed the Hackensack River ahead of pursuing British forces. Although the Americans had to retreat into Pennsylvania, they later rallied for major victories at Trenton and Princeton - an important turning point in the American Revolution. Had the crossing of the Hackensack River been thwarted however, the story might very well have had a different ending. What happened at New Bridge Landing wasn't a victory, but it also wasn't a loss, allowing the Continental Army to fight and win another day. Although of far less cosmic significance, not losing can also be very important in sports. A college football coach once said that far more games are lost than won - meaning that mistakes, more often than not, determine the outcome.
The Neshanock display an unusual degree of balance - all photos by Mark Granieri
That's also very much the case in baseball - allowing teams more than three outs in an innings is perhaps the best/worst example. While losing is never pleasant or desirable, it's easier to accept when the other team wins the game on their own. When the Enterprise Club jumped off to a 5-1 lead after two innings in Saturday's first game, it didn't look like the local town team would need any help from the Neshanock. There was, however, one harbinger of things to come - Flemington's one tally came on a monstrous home run from Danny "Lefty" Gallagher. Fortunately, Flemington kept the Enterprise off the score board in the top of the third, but still trailed 5-1 in a seven inning game where it gets late, early. Hoping to gradually scratch back into the game, the Neshanock put two on with one out in the bottom of the inning. Suddenly with no warning, 11 consecutive Neshanock strikers hit safely, driving in 10 runs and giving Flemington an 11-5 lead. And the Neshanock were far from done - eight straight strikers again hit safely in the bottom of the fourth, an outburst that produced another 11 runs.
"Lefty" getting ready to launch one of his five extra base hits
So clearly had Flemington "won" the first game, the two teams mutually agreed to end the match after five innings for a 22-5 Neshanock win. Three Flemington strikers had three hits apiece with Tom "Thumbs" Hoepfner and Chris "Lowball" Lowry earning a clear score in the process. "Lefty," although he didn't have a clear score, hit two doubles to go with his home run. Following the three hit performers were Mark "Gaslight" Granieri, Gregg "Burner" Wiseburn, Jeff "Duke" Schneider, Joe "Mick" Murray, Ernie (nickname to follow) Albanesius, Bobby "Melky" Ritter and Jim "Jersey" Nunn with two each. "Melky" also recorded a clear score, making it two straight as I was remiss in not mentioning his clear score last week in Randolph. The two teams then took a brief recess both to rest and to allow Brad "Brooklyn" Shaw to perform "Casey at the Bat." Thanks to "Brooklyn" for being our umpire and we're glad he will be with us at Gettysburg and Rochester.
"Melky" working on his first game clear score
When Flemington went to the striker's line in the second game, they had clearly grasped the concept of winning rather than hoping the other team would lose. With runners on second and third and none out, "Thumbs" hit Flemingon's second home run of the day, putting the Neshanock up 3-0. Two more Neshanock tallied in the inning, followed by three in the second and Flemington led 8-0 after just two innings. "Winning" also carried over to the defensive side when a hard hit ball, bounced off third baseman Joe "Mick" Murray only to be plucked out of the air by "Thumbs" for an out. Flemington coasted from there for a 17-6 victory. Both "Thumbs" and "Lefty" had another three hit game, joined by "Sideshow," "Burner," "Duke," Ernie and "Jersey" repeated their two hit performance of the first game, joined by Tom "Hawk" Prioli and Matt "Fly" Nunn. While the two games were one-sided, it is no discredit to the local club which made only three muffs over two games. Let's hope the Neshanock keep playing "winning" baseball this weekend in Gettysburg.
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