Victories Hard to Come By For Apple Jacks By Bill “Ho Hum” Ohm

By Bill “Ho Hum” Ohm

It is a good thing that enjoying oneself is a bigger priority than winning when the Apple Jacks Base Ball Club plays vintage base ball by the rules of 1860. Four games were played over the weekend without an Apple Jack victory.

On Saturday, the Jacks were in Afton to take on the Afton Red Socks. While La Crescent had about three inches of rain that day, there were only sprinkles in Afton. The games were not impacted. The results were 27-1 and 25-8 in favor of the red hose. What really hurt was the large number of runs that the Afton team scored with two outs.

Sunday’s games took place at the beautiful ball field at the Highland Prairie Lutheran Church. The Apple Jacks came a lot closer but still fell to the Highland Prairie Hayseeds by scores of 13-9 and 8-3. What helps make such weekends palatable is that the local nine is not in a league. Therefore, there is no sadness in looking at the standings each Monday morning – there are no standings!

Participants in one or more games were: Joel “Hefty” Affeldt, Jared “Bear” Alexander, Dan “Skunk” Deetz, Steve “Biscuit” Geronime, Mike “Mickey“ Jaquette, Kevin “Hurricane” Knerzer, Scott “Roman” Pechacek, Gary “Big Wease” Pericak, Jason “Weasel” Pericak, Logan Pericak and John “Rook” Wilke. Joan “Lady Joan” Ohm served as Tally Keeper.

In July the Jacks will be in Winona (10^th), Stillwater (17^th) and Rochester (18^th).

The current Jack’s roster ranges from high schoolers to those who are well past retirement age. We even have one woman on the team. We have five fathers playing with their eight sons. On Sunday there were even three generations of Pericaks on the field – Gary, Jason & Logan. If you are interested in playing, please call Captain Joel “Hefty” Affeldt at 608-769-1782 or Bill “Ho Hum” Ohm at 507-895-6912. A great opportunity to meet new friends and to travel in Minnesota and beyond!

The Apple Jacks Base Ball Club is a community outreach program of the La Crescent Historical Society. Merchants Bank of La Crescent is a major sponsor.