After Rocky Point, Grays Head to Maine for Rematch With Dirigo

Jon Henson

August 27, 2019

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Fresh off hosting the first Rocky Point Historic Base Ball Festival on August 17, the Grays will continue the season this Saturday, August 31, as they hit the road to play two with the Dirigo BBC at the Ever After Mustang Rescue in Biddeford, Maine. Providence (21-11) fell to the Connecticut Bulldogs 24-15 in the first match (1884) of the festival in Warwick, then came from behind in the final game of the day (1864) for a win against Dirigo, 10-9. The Mainers will have a chance to redeem themselves in what promises to be a well-matched doubleheader of two 1864 style matches this weekend.

Rocky Point Recap

The Providence Grays hosted the first Rocky Point Historic Base Ball Festival on Saturday, August 17. Five vintage teams from the Northeast battled in five games following the rules of 1884 (in game one) and 1864 (in the remainder) on two fields with action throughout the day. Rhode Island welcomed the New York Mutuals Base Ball Club, Connecticut Bulldogs Historical Base Ball, Dirigo Base Ball Club of Maine, and the Boston Union Vintage Base Ball Club as they joined the Grays to inaugurate this festival by the bay.

Providence and Connecticut squared off in the opening match of the day at the park by the bay, with an opening ceremony that included former MLB players and Rhode Island baseball legends, father and son Dave and Mike Stenhouse throwing out the first pitch. When action commenced, the Bulldogs struck first and plated two fast runs in the opening frame and held the Grays scoreless for a 2-0 lead after one. The Grays got on the board in the second, with an RBI single from right fielder Jamie Maynard, who also scored on a wild pitch to even things up going into the bottom of the second. Connecticut responded with another run in the second, off a base hit from second baseman Pascucci who scored on a single from lead-off hitter, center fielder Donnelly to regain the lead 3-2.

The Bulldogs added three more in their third, with hits from pitcher Hardy and first baseman Leiper and 3 RBI from Bulldogs third baseman Kornhaas to extend their lead to 6-2 after the Grays couldn’t plate a run in the bottom of the third. Connecticut did not score in the fourth, and Providence left fielder Aidan Pirruccello-McClellan smacked a home run in the Grays half, followed by another clean single from Maynard who was then driven home on an RBI base knock from pitcher Mike “Banquet” Swanson to keep it close, 6-4.

The Connecticut battery did offensive damage of their own in the fifth with both pitcher Hardy and catcher Fransden banging triples to get things started, then Kornhaas struck well with another single to plate two more for the Ivy Leaguers. Providence found their bats and answered back in the bottom of the fifth, as short stop Mike Duggan, third baseman Dave “Oppy” Oppenheimer, and right fielder Dave “Taco” Watson, each reached base on singles, scoring two runs in the process to fix the score at 8-6 after five full. After a scoreless sixth inning for Connecticut, the Grays put one more across in their half with a single from captain Brian Travers and an RBI single from Duggan to close the gap to 8-7 in favor of the Bulldogs.

Connecticut tallied another ace in the seventh as first baseman Leiper reached base on a single and was driven in by a base hit from third baseman Hurtgen for the Bulldogs’ ninth tally of the contest. The Grays went off in their seventh, scoring seven runs off singles from Travers, Duggan, catcher Tony McClellan, Aidan Pirruccello-McClellan, and a wallop of a triple from second baseman Ryan “Loggy” Logsdon to give Providence its first lead of the day, a big one, 14-9 going into the late innings. Connecticut would have none of this, however, righting the ship and tying things up with a five-run eighth inning off hits from center fielder Fox, left fielder Long, captain Ciccarello, right fielder McColgan, and another triple from pitcher Hardy. Providence regained the lead in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single from center fielder Connor Pirruccello-McClellan before the Bulldogs assured victory with a ten-run ninth with singles from Fox, Hardy, and Leiper, and doubles from Long and Fransden to secure the win for the visitors from the Constitution State. Final: Connecticut 24, Providence 15.

The Grays second game was an 1864 matchup with their friends from up north in their first meeting of the season. The Mainers struck first and put across four quick runs off Jon “Bones” Henson’s pitching, with consecutive singles from the first four Dirigo batters (White, Hubbard, Hastings, and Gildea), and a single from the seventh hitter Faria. Providence was held scoreless in their first, then Dirigo plated three more runs in the top of the second, with singles from pitcher White, short stop Hubbard, and a sacrifice from catcher Hastings to put the score at 7-0 early in favor of Dirigo. Third baseman Aidan reached base on a single in the bottom of the second for the Grays and was driven in by a single from pitcher Henson to get Providence on the board.

Dirigo captain Jake Newcomb drove in a run in the top of the third to make it eight total tallies for Maine before Providence began to chip away at this seven-run lead, scoring once in the fourth and two runs each in the fifth and sixth while Bones’ pitching and the Providence defense held Dirigo to only one run in the sixth to put the score at 9-6 Dirigo going into the seventh inning. The seventh was a scoreless affair for both squads, but in the eighth, Providence unleashed, scoring four runs off singles from Aidan, Oppy, Bones, catcher Johnny Carlevale, and Maynard to give the Grays their first lead of the match 10-9 going into the top of the ninth. Providence sat the Dirigo batters down in order in the final frame, 1-2-3 to hang on for the come-from-behind victory in the final match of the inaugural Rocky Point Historic Base Ball Festival. Final: Providence 10, Dirigo 9.

Rocky Point Historic Baseball Festival final scores:

Connecticut Bulldogs - 23

Providence Grays - 15

Boston Union - 1

New York Mutuals - 6

Boston Union - 11

Dirigo - 12

Connecticut Bulldogs - 7

New York Mutuals - 16

Dirigo - 9

Providence Grays - 10

Rocky Point Historic Baseball Festival standings:

New York Mutuals - 2-0

Connecticut Bulldogs - 1-1

Dirigo - 1-1

Providence Grays - 1-1

Boston Union - 0-2

 

August 31 in Biddeford, Maine

The Grays will travel north to Biddeford this Saturday, August 31, for a rematch with the Dirigo squad, playing two 1864 matches at the EverAfter Mustang Rescue, 463 West Street in Biddeford. The afternoon outing promises to be closely contested between two evenly-matched clubs coming off a nail-biting first match of the season just two weeks prior. Dirigo will look to even things up in the first game then take a series lead in the second while Providence looks to extend its victories as the season turns the corner toward the final stretch.

First pitch in Biddeford on Saturday is 1 p.m. Follow the action on the Grays Facebook page and at ProvidenceGrays.com.