After Split in the Catskills, Providence Treks to New Jersey and Long Island This Weekend

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After a doubleheader split in Bovina Center on May 22, Providence Grays (7–1) return to action this weekend as the squad traverses the Hudson on the season’s first overnight trip. Providence meets the Resolutes BBC of Elizabeth in Rahway River Park, New Jersey, on Saturday, June 4, then travels on Sunday, June 5, to the Smithtown Historical Society on Long Island to face their longtime friends and rivals, the Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn. The club is honored to be invited once again to the Village of the Branch to join Brooklyn in celebrating Old Dutch Day, an event that honors the legacy of Al “Old Dutch” Dieckmann (1946 – 2001), a major contributor to the emergence of historically accurate 19th century play whose spirit lives on in the clubs that take the field today. 

Image: Douglas Merriam, in
"The Old Ball Game,"
Doug Stewart,
Smithsonian Magazine, Oct. 1998

The trek to the Catskills on May 22 provided the Grays with a pastoral setting for 1864 base ball as well as fierce competition in the likes of the host Bovina Dairymen and the Polecats BBC of Delhi. The Dairymen handed Providence their first loss of the season in game one, a 27-11 rout that found the Grays facing strong batting and solid defense from the young Bovina crew. Sparks of life in that loss ignited in the second match, as Providence broke out of the offensive doldrums, plating 22 aces while holding the Polecats to just 6 runs across the nine frames.

Saturday’s return to Rahway commences at 11 o’clock, with the Grays and Resolutes squaring off in a match following the rules of 1870. The afternoon action features overhand pitching as allowed in the rules form 1884.

Game one on Sunday will be played by the rules of 1864, while the matinee will follow the book as it was written for the 1884 season. First pitch in Smithtown is 10 a.m. 

If you’re in the tri-state area this weekend, there’s plenty of old school action to keep you entertained. Follow along on Facebook and Instagram for game updates and results