The Bovina Dairymen played the out-of-town villains on Saturday, spoiling Founder’s Day—a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Fleischmanns Yeast Company—with a 17-5 victory over the host Mountain Athletic Club.
The Dairymen started quickly as leadoff man Alex “AT” Taylor (3-6, 3 R) singled and cleanup hitter Troy “Train” Tucker (2-6, 2 RBI) drove him home for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Bovina would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game, as the Dairymen scored at least one run in seven of nine frames. In what makes for an aesthetically pleasing scorebook, production was evenly distributed up and down the lineup. Looking over the book on Monday morning, one can return to a sunny Saturday on the Bush Kill and see in the hieroglyphs a story: The crack of the bat; sizzling fair food; the uncertain temperature of a hot sausage with cool ketchup; slippery ballfield clay inside a pair of cleats; a silent film reel—young men frothing as one of their own rounds the bases with a grin.
Bovina plated five runs in the second, and as seven hitter Jesse “Lights Out” Bright (1-5, 2 R), Ben “Diesel” Cairns, leadoff Taylor, and Captain Nick “the Stick” Frandsen (2-6, 3 R) went station-to-station, while Luke “Burns-eye” Burns (1-6, 2B, 2RBI) cleaned up the inning with a 2-RBI double. The Dairymen tacked on two more in the third behind three errors by the Mountain Athletic Club and a single from Cairns. Cairns, a last-minute lineup replacement for the injured John “Chico” Finn, hit out of the number nine spot and finished a team-best 4-5 with 3 RBI on the day.
The blast of the day came in the Dairymen fifth, as “Iron” Mike Brown, coming from an off-season knee surgery, hit one high and deep down the left field line, dropping the ball just beyond the left field fence for the game’s only dinger. High-fiving his way to the dugout after touching ‘em all, Iron Mike was heard to mumble that with a sore knee, hitting home runs just makes running the bases easier. Truer words never were spoken.
Dairymen ace “Train” Tucker (1-0) threw a masterpiece from the mound, allowing one run in six innings while striking out ten and walking three. The sole blemish on Tucker’s day was a shot down the line in the sixth that kicked up chalk as it skipped for an RBI triple. “Stick” Frandsen finished the day on the mound for the Dairymen, allowing four runs over three innings while striking out two, walking two, and plunking two.
Number five hitter Brenden “Bona-fide” Cairns again backstopped for the Dairymen, making countless fine plays that don’t make the book. To this hot, sweaty, and all-too-often thankless task we say: hurrah! Any man willing to sacrifice his body for the team like that shall never lack for a pat on the back from the Dairymen. “Bone-fide” Cairns finished the day 3-5 with two runs scored.
Final notes. The game was played by the rules of 1895. Mike “Griz” Griswold (0-5, 2 R) reached base on an error three times. Newcomer Troy “Steel toe” Bauer (0-4, BB, FC) forgot his cleats before the game, and without complaint, stopped at a store on the way to the game to purchase a brand-new pair. NY State Senator Jim Seward threw out the first pitch. Game attendance was approximately 150.
Great job, boys and girls! Rest up, ice, and stretch. The Dairymen are off the next two weekends. Next game is Saturday, June 29th at Fleischmanns.
Yours,
Nick Frandsen
Captain, Bovina Dairymen
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