Many thanks to Mark "Gaslight" Granieri for playing multiple roles on Saturday. In addition to his accustomed roles as Neshanock catcher and official blog photographer, he also served as guest blogger. All verbiage and pictures that follow by Mark Granieri.
On Saturday, the Neshanock won both ends of a double header by the scores of 10-3 and 11-3 against the New Brunswick Liberty on the Liberty’s home grounds at East Jersey Old Town Village in Piscataway, New Jersey. Flemington relied on the able arms of Bobby “Melky” Ritter in the first game followed by Bob “Riverboat” Smith in the second game. Both contests were an agreed upon seven innings of play, the first using 1858 rules followed by 1864 rules in the second.
In the first game, the Neshanock held a slim 4-2 lead after six innings before scoring six runs in the top of the seventh. The fatal blow was struck by Dan “Sledge” Hammer who hit a three run homer to extend the lead to 7-2 and earn a clear score in the process. But his home run not only capped hitting for the cycle but also hitting for a “natural” cycle where the order of hits followed the progression in order of single, double, triple and finally home run. According to Wikipedia, the rare event of a cycle has occurred 342 times with the even rarer feat of a natural cycle occurring only 15 times. The first natural cycle was by Lon Knight (Philadelphia Athletics) in 1883 and last by Gary Matthews Jr (Texas Rangers) in 2006.
Flemington earned its second victory of the day while scoring seven runs in the 3rd inning. This did not damper the spirits of several “Little Leaguers” in attendance who cheered the home town team by waving Liberty pennants and chanting “Liberty, Liberty, Liberty - Liberty” in rhythm with the modern day Liberty Insurance TV commercials. “Sledge” ended his day by hitting a lone home run over the left field fence and earning another clear score.
Crowd watches Neshanock leadoff hitter Chris "Sideshow" Nunn
The day’s other clear score was earned by Chris “Lowball Lowry in second contest.
Newest Neshanock father Tom “Hawk” Prioli made his 2023 Neshanock debut.
A Manly Pastime eagerly awaits the return of its founder, John Zinn.
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