June 23rd
Article and Photos by Karen Geronime
Fans of the great American pastime were treated to not one, but two, excellent base ball matches. The Applejacks of LaCrescent traveled north to the idyllic St Croix valley to take on the Red Sox team of Afton. Fans were treated to fine base ball weather and impressive displays of hitting, crisp fielding, and great sportsmanship between the adversaries. Game one of the doubleheader was a back and forth slugfest. The Jacks led early, fell behind in the middle innings and mounted a strong top of the ninth, scoring 6 aces to tie the Red Sox at 20-20. Alas, the Red Sox, with the final at bat, eked out the winning run and won 21-20. In all, the Applejacks had 41 hits in game one, led by Roundabout and Kegger, tallying 6 hits each! Every Jack had at least 3 hits. Centerfielder, Weasel, delighted teammates and spectators by climbing over the fence twice to limit Red Sox batters to a double and triple instead of home runs. Weasel was overheard saying, “the fence was pretty fun!” After some much needed rest following a 2 hour first game, the Applejacks were loose and ready and quickly tallied an ace to start the game. The teams treaded aces through the first 4 innings with each squad enjoying small leads. Defense took over in the 5th and 6th innings with only 2 aces total being tallied. The match was tied at 7 as the 7th and final inning began. The Jacks tallied 3 aces to build a nice 10-7 lead. The big bats responded for the Red Sox. The game’s final play was a 3- run Red Sox homer giving them the match at 12-10. Handshakes and hurrahs were exchanged. For the combined matches, hitting prowess was exemplified by Roundabout with 10 hits and 7 aces, and Weasel, with 8 hits and 4 aces. Stretch, Swiss, Whitey and Kegger all had 7 hits. In all, the Applejacks combined for 63 hits and 30 aces on the day. The Red Sox were very gracious in victory and hospitality, providing the Applejacks with lunch and beverages.
The Apple Jacks Base Ball Club (https://sites.google.com/site/lacrescentapplejacks) is a community outreach program of the La Crescent Area Historical Society and respectfully acknowledges its eminent corporate sponsor, Merchants Bank- La Crescent.
Deetz Brothers Dugout Action
Line `em up Roundabout midswing
Skunk, on deck Weasel