Providence Hosts Mudville After 2–2 Showing in Maryland
Kai & Jon Henson
July 11, 2019
RISING SUN, Md. – In their first-ever appearance at the
Weekend at the Winery 1864 festival in Rising Sun, Maryland (June 22 – 23), the
Providence Grays split the weekend, going 2-2 with a pair of triumphs over the
storied New York Mutuals vintage club. The Grays take the field again this Saturday
(July 13, 11 a.m.) hosting the Mudville Base Ball Club (Holliston, Mass.) at the Salem (Mass.) Willows for two underhand contests.
Game one for Providence at the Dove Valley Winery was
against the Mutuals, and the New York nine held a slim 2-0 edge after the first
two frames. However, the Rhode Islanders had a resounding third inning, plating
nine runs as captain Brian Travers started things off with a two-run single
scoring catcher Johnny Carlevale and rightfielder Ryan “Loggy” Logsdon. The
Grays batted around, and Travers went on to drive in four runs in the frame as
well as RBI from Gil Faria and Jay Gildea to take a commanding lead.
Four scores over the fourth and fifth extended Providence’s
total to 13, but New York chipped away making it 13-5 after five full. Another
four Mutual tallies in the final two innings made it a four-run game, but the
Grays shut down the rally to open the weekend with a victory.
Providence faced off with the host Rising Sun Base Ball Club
to wrap up day one and stranded the bases loaded after singles from Travers,
Mike “Banquet” Swanson, and Jerry McCormack in their half of the first. The
hosts capitalized, racing out to an early 7-2 advantage after three stanzas.
The Grays then went down one-two-three in the fourth and fifth while Rising Sun
built a 10-2 lead, and it proved insurmountable as they claimed an 11-6 win.
Sunday began in the same fashion as day one with the Grays battling
New York once again, but this time the Mutuals pounced first with five runs in
the top of the first. Providence got two back in the bottom half and then took
the lead in the second as six of the first seven batters in the inning scored, beginning
with a single from Jon “Bones” Henson. Faria followed with another base-hit and
Kai Henson drove in Bones to start the scoring. Carlevale, shortstop Mike
Duggan, McCormack, and Loggy all collected RBI as the Grays led 8-6 after two.
The Mutuals hung in there though, keeping pace as they
trailed just 12-10 after four innings. Providence padded their lead with a
seven-run sixth behind hits from K. Henson, Carlevale, McCormack, and Loggy as
well as a few New York errors. This pushed their edge to 12 (22-10) after six
and it was enough for the Grays to pick up their 12th win of the season.
The final game of the weekend saw Providence square off with
the Brandywine BBC of West Chester, Pennsylvania, who jumped out to a quick 2-run
lead in the first frame. The Grays pulled ahead in the bottom of the first,
scoring three runs off hits by Carlevale, Travers, McCormack, and a sac fly
from Faria. A scoreless second for both squads maintained the margin before Brandywine
tallied three in the third to Providence’s one to fix the score at 5-4 in favor
of West Chester after three. Good defense on both sides produced a scoreless
fourth inning, but the Pennsylvanians finally broke through in the fifth,
plating 7 runs to take a significant 12-4 lead. The Grays were unable to tally
an ace in their fifth frame but pushed five more base runners across home plate
through the last four innings, while holding Brandywine to just one more run:
West Chester 13, Providence 9.
The Grays return to action this Saturday (July 13) against
the Mudville Nine at the Salem Willows in Salem, Mass. Providence welcomes the
doubleheader with the gents from Holliston as ample preparation for the festival
in Gettysburg (July 20-21).
Nestled on the waterfront at the far end of Salem Neck, the
Willows (165 Fort Ave, Salem, Mass.) offers a spectacular location to watch
some 1860s base ball and enjoy the adjacent beach and family amusements. Join
us for our first pitch at 11 a.m. and follow the rest of the Grays season on the Facebook page and at ProvidenceGrays.com.
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Photos: Steph Travers
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