Elkton Eclipse

Well, it appears no one has been writing since June because we were all so busy. We hosted the first ever 19th Century Base Ball Tournament in Gettysburg, PA and it was a rousing success. We had six clubs competing for the championship over 2 days . In addition, we had very special guests in attendance including General Robert E Lee, General Ulyses S Grant and our esteemed 16th President of these United States, Mr. Abraham Lincoln. The great support of our spnosors and partners like Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, Gettysburg Eddies Restaurant and Hickory Hollow helped make this a fantastic event. If we could have had the icing on the cake and it would have been that much seeter but we fell to our rival Talbot Fairplays 14-8 in the finals. We are already planning next year’s event so stay tuned.

The Eclipse ventured to Ft Delaware on Pea Patch Island for a wonderful event hosted by our friends from the Diamond State BBC. The Eclipse played the normal solid defense and put up runs late to seal the game 18-8. I contributed on defense but unfortunately I was 0 for 3 at the dish. I enjoyed the boat rides and the tour of the fort and the cannonade on the roof. Afterward a few of us headed to Crabby Dicks for a beverage. Then my family and I headed to another Diamond States sponsor Kathy’s Krab House for some fine eats and finding the entire Diamond State Club in attendance. I am looking forward to this weeks match at McMillan Farm when the Delaware Club comes calling. I hope to get off the shnyde.

The boys from Elkton traveled to Pea Patch Island this past Sunday to play the Diamond State BBC of Delaware. With the temperatures in the 90 degree range, both clubs were laboring to put up hits and runs as both clubs played exceptionally well yesterday. The Eclipse put together a few innings where multiple runs were scored and were able to win the match 18-8. Diamond State was not laying down so easily as they made the score at one point during the match 9-5. The Eclipse managed to put runs on the board in the later innings to give the Eclipse a comfortable score of 18-8. A special thanks to the workers at Fort Delaware for hosting us and with such great hospitality!

The Eclipse look to next Sunday when they again take on Diamond State BBC of Delaware at McMillain Farm. Huzzah to both clubs as they battled not only each other, but the elements as well!

The Eclipse ferried over to Pea Patch Island to take on the much-improved Diamond State BBC of Delaware this afternoon on the grounds outside Fort Delaware. After a nice ride over and a quick tour of the fort (including watching a cannon being fired), the teams were ready to brave the 90+ degree heat and get down to some base ball. The Eclipse got some timely hits, and played our usual tight defense, but the game remained a close affair into the late innings. The boys from Elkton were able to pull away late and secure the victory by a final tally of 18-8, but the game served as a reminder that both sides are in for a battle when they meet again next weekend.

On a personal note, I went 2-4 on the day, and hit the ball fairly well each trip. However, Dubs stole the day with his booming homerun to cap off the game for the Eclipse, and I can’t really compete with that.

The men from Elkton traveled to Delaware City this past weekend to play a long time rival, the Waterbury Conners. Waterbury is a well known team to play discipline base ball and execute the plays needed to get the victory. The Eclipse came in with high hopes of defeating the Waterbury Conners, however, a turn for the worse happened on Saturday. The Waterbury Conners played an excellent match to beat the Eclipse 15-8. The Eclipse attempted many comebacks, however, came up short with superb defense from Waterbury. The Eclipse hope to have another chance to play this team in the future to hopefully change the outcome.

The Eclipse would like to thank Delaware for hosting this fine event which has the potential to be a classic tournament in the future. Huzzah to both the Eclipse and the Waterbury Conners!

What is Base ball in 1864. Base Ball in 1864 was individual battles between towns on the base ball field. This week we head to Delaware’s Ft. DuPont to battle an adversary from Connecticut.
Main Entry: 1ad·ver·sary
Pronunciation: \ˈad-və(r)-ˌser-ē, -ˌse-rē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural ad·ver·sar·ies
Date: 14th century
: one that contends with, opposes, or resists : enemy
For those of us who have been around since the beginning of the Eclipse this is a big deal. The battle with Waterbury (a club we have never beaten) should be a classic. Waterbury is full of base hits, lots of speed and older gentlemen with boundless knowledge of the game. Elkton is not the same club we were the last time we encountered the Conners and we will be ready for this group of ballists from Connecticut. Please come out to Ft. Dupont on Saturday May 22 to see all the clubs from the area and some from far away battle all day for 19th Century Base Ball Supremacy in the first festival in the First State.

It was indeed a beautiful day for base ball at Talbot Meadows. A crowd of about 50 spectactors stayed to watch while others wandered by walking their pets and gazing at the amazing play on the field. Two of the most talented base ball clubs on the east coast and THE two most dominant clubs in Maryland put on a defensive display rarely seen in sport. Talbot had trouble getting runners on and Elkton was slow to do so. I am sorry so many did not witness this tremendous battle. This match was indeed a classic. Just to emphasize the magnitude the Eclipse felt this match held, the ballists took the field in whatever shape they were. Shaggy, recovering from a knee injury took the field, Pockets with a knee and arm injury came to play, Killer recovering from a torn calf muscle came to play and me with little voice, sore throat and still strugling somewhat with breathing from a recent head and chest cold I CAME TO PLAY. The Defense was indeed solid Sunday with multiple fine plays by, Pants, Dubs, Brew and Ones. Even the muffin, Shady got in on the act as he gunned down the fleet footed 6′ 4″ 300 pound Grizzly bear from Talbot from right field. The Eclipse top three batting averages are well over 600 but, everyone struggled to tally runs on this day. In the end however the Eclipse overcame the Talbot challenge and went on to win both games in the match 7-2 and 8-4. Huzzah. Next week is the Diamond State Tournament at Fort DuPont Park in Delaware City. Many of the finest clubs in the country will be at this tournament.

What a wonderful day of base ball in Easton on Sunday. Both teams– Eclipse and Fairplays– played extremely well. Good sportsmanship was displayed throughout both matches, with the Eclipse being victorious in both games. Defense was the key during the afternoon contests.

It was an unbelievable twinbill on Sunday afternoon in Talbot County as The Elkton Eclipse swept a hard fought double header from the Talbot County Fairplays. There is a lot of history between these two teams, and the matches proved that there will be more written for years to come.
In 19th Century Base Ball matches (the ones that actually took place in the 19th Century) it was not unusual for teams to score upwards of 40 runs or more. In modern day 19th Century Base Ball (an oxymoron, I know), high scoring matches are not unusual although 20 runs is usually the mark for a high scoring game. That’s why seeing the Eclipse win two games by the scores of 7-2 and 8-4 prove that these games were defensive showcases. These low scoring games were only partially a result of the masterful pitching of the Talbot and Elkton hurlers. The main reason these games had low scores was the outstanding defense of the two teams.
Special recognition should go out to “Pockets” and “Schoolboy” of the Eclipse for their timely hitting and to “Hammer” for hitting one of the longest shots ever seen in a vintage base ball game. Huzzah to the Elkton Eclipse on their 9-0 start to the 2010 season!

The Eclipse made a road trip this past Sunday to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to play their rival, the Talbot Fairplays. History has shown that these two teams have played very close games and it is usully a never one-sided match between these two teams. The first game was a defensive battle with spectacular plays by both sides. Eclipse Catcher, Tim “Ones” Bower shut down the Fairplays running game by perfectly throwing out runners at third base to eliminate any threats the Fairplays were attempting to make. The Eclipse broke the game open when we put up 5 runs in the later innings of the game to win the first game 7-2. The same with the second game when the Eclipse, again in another defensive battle, were victorious with an 8-4 victory. Special thanks to the Talbot Fairplays for hosting us at their home field. Huzzah to both clubs on a picture perfect afternoon for base ball!