Dairymen and women! I write today to inform you of two great victories on Sunday last. One came on the ballfields of Peekskill, where your hometown Dairymen shook off a five-week absence from the diamond to take two victories from worthy opponents.
In the first contest, the Dairymen side began slow as they were forced to re-learn the rules of 1864, and the wily underhand pitching of the always-dangerous Connecticut Bulldogs kept the game close, and through four frames, the Dairymen trailed by a score of 4-3. However, the vaunted Dairymen offense first kicked to life in the fifth, tallying two runs to make the score 5-4 in their favor. The boys from Bovina would not look back, plating five, three, and two in the next three frames behind hitting from every spot in the lineup. Every Dairymen ended the game with at least one run scored. Although the cryptic scrolls of game one taunt my eyes with their mysteries, that's what the scholar gets: the leftover remnants of a great battle; naught but the shadows of great deeds performed by great men. However, it seems safe to say that John "Chico" Finn, Dylan "Hobbes" Tucker, Tyler "Hermes" Dugan, and Jesse "Lights Out" Bright led the day at the plate for the Dairymen.
In the second contest, played by the overhand rules more familiar to the Dairymen, the result was never in doubt. Behind Captain Dylan "Hobbes" Tucker's steady hand on the mound, the Dairymen would end the day with two wins. After shutting out the Olneyville Cadets through the first five frames, the Dairymen allowed only a single blemish in the sixth, while cruising to a 9-1 victory. Every Dairymen hit safely in the overhand game, with Justin "Juice" Betterley, Jack "Sticky" Stanton, Jake "Swan" Sackett, "Iron" Mike Brown, Jesse "Lights Out" Bright, and Michael "Griz" Griswold each tallying two.
However, the second great victory came before the contests, as nine Dairymen raised their hands to signal their support for the day, and nine stood tall for both games--a feat unique to the Bovina squad on a day that featured three other teams shorthanded. It is a testament to your honor and dedication as individuals, and our spirit as a team that Bovina could furnish a full nine for the day. My cap is off to each of you, as it is to Wendy Bee for helping organize the full nine.
Lastly, a special thanks to Collin "Stumpy" Miller, for putting on this whole show. For the man behind the curtain, the game is but the finishing stoke on a masterpiece begun months hence; spun together through small moments at work and correspondence sent late at night, and all held in place with little more than love of the game. Thanks, Stump.
Next game is our last of the season--the Fall Classic at Taste of the Catskills! Game is Sunday, October 13th on Back River Road. Who is IN and who is OUT??
Yours,
Nick Frandsen
Captain, Bovina Dairymen
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