The only thing more sweltering than the heat on Sunday was the sheer athleticism on display from both teams. On a day when Monitors captain, Honest Jon, deemed “slightly less humid than normal”, the Eclipse traveled west to take on the Monitor Base Ball Club of Chelsea in their home opener in front of another large contingency. The Monitors tallied first with the aid of a one-out double from Moonlight and then proceeded to shut down the mighty Eclipse bats in the bottom half of the inning. It was only an inning later that Jaundice continued his assault with the lumber that normally takes two people to lift. His scorching single to right gave the Eclipse their first lead on the day that they would not relinquish. A tally in the bottom of third from the Eclipse’s newest member, Louie, allowed a little breathing room only to see it choked down to one run again with the meat of the Monitors lineup in the top of the fourth. Frisco opened the Eclipse half of the fourth inning with a double and would eventually score on Mac’s first RBI of the season. A batter later, in what probably was the hardest hit ball of the afternoon, TinMan launched a searing drive to center that was eventually apprehended by the centerfielder while evading a tree, some may credit to Moonlight, but in reality was a ghost. As disappointing as that was for TinMan to not record a hit on that plate appearance, he nobly shrugged it off and proceeded to record the VBBA’s web gem of the week. Deke’s rocket towards third in the top of the sixth inning was plucked from the air faster than green grass goes through a goose. And he did so with one hand in a game we still play bare-handed! Huzzah! Because Crusher isn’t one to let the limelight shine away from him with a crowd on hand, he also demonstrated his ability to play defense with his very own one-handed grab in the 8th with a sinking liner off the bat of Gearhead. A remarkable defensive effort by both teams kept the game close. Offensively the Eclipse were paced by Cuppa, who went 3 for 3 at the plate with 2 runs scored. Also contributing with the hardwood with 2 for 3 performances were Louie, Bender and Jaundice. Stitch managed 2 RBIs and a solid combined pitching effort with TinMan. Next up for the Eclipse is a May 31 showdown with the Woodstock Actives who continue their annual meeting for the thirteenth consecutive year. This will be the home opener for the 2015 season at Ford Field, next to Mill Race Village in downtown Northville.