Rising Sun

In what can best be described as a typical Michigan summer day, the Early Risers traveled west for another match against the Eclipse ball club.  Hines Park was the venue for the match as the Eclipse promised to generously host the club from Detroit as has been the custom for several years now.  The Early Risers were retired without incident after an opening single from Pokey.  In the bottom half of the inning, Frisco managed to secure first base with a well-placed infield ground ball.  Toes stubbed his swing but it was enough to advance Frisco ninety feet.  An out later, Tin Man continued to do what most of the vintage ballists are well-accustomed to… he plated the runner with an unobstructed hit.  However, the scoring for the Eclipse on this match would be as common as an actual eclipse itself.  On this day, the hurler for the Early Risers, Hatchet, manipulated the ball to avoid making solid contact on the wood that was held firmly by any Eclipse striker.  He continually kept the striker baffled and quickly disappointed any hopes the team in black and orange would have in taking advantage of the new field with all of its indiscernible terrain.  A modest and charming fellow, Hatchet, quickly found himself least likely to win an election if he ran for a political office.  The Early Risers did not find much success easily plating runs of their own, but they did manage to tally a few in the third inning.  Snurek began the inning with a hard strike and Puddin, displaying the bright colors not seen this side of the Rouge River, followed with a safe hit of his own.  Wrench clamped down on the finest offering he witnessed and plated Snurek while Pokey shook Puddin home with a fine strike that gave the Early Risers the two to one lead. 

Unable to draw even on their ensuing plate appearance, the Eclipse took to the field in the fourth inning to keep the game close.  Scallywag opened the inning with the first of his two hits on the day and traveled the other two hundred and seventy feet to touch home. 

Now faced with a two run deficit, the Eclipse responded with exceptional care in fielding the sphere and tried once again to use the attention to detail while swinging their bats.  It wasn’t until the seventh inning when Mac lead off his team’s order with a clean hit.  Frisco was unable to advance him, but replaced him on the bases after Mac was forced at second.  Frisco advanced on another well-placed ground ball off the bat of Toes and a few pitches later, he stole third.  Bender singled him home and the Eclipse trailed by one run again, 3-2.  Unfortunately for the Eclipse, the Early Risers continued to field well and managed to hold on to the short lead for the remainder of the match.

The Eclipse prepare to host the Wahoos from Royal Oak in their second consecutive Fourth of July appearance after the 10am parade in downtown Northville.