Diamond State Earns Split at Berks Festival
On July 26, the Diamond State BBC traveled to the inaugural Berks Vintage Base Ball Festival in Leesport, PA. In the first match of the day, the Diamond States met the Pioneers of Whatley, Massachusetts for the first time in the club’s history. Playing under the fly-ball rules of 1873, the New England nine jumped out to an early advantage. However, the Delaware bats came to life in the middle innings, tallying 4 aces each in the 5th and 6th innings and another 3 in the 8th. Despite an ace in their final trip to bat, the Black and Blue came up short by the final of 15-14. The Diamond States were led at the striker’s line by Blackbart and Split with 5 hits apiece.
In the second match of the day, the Diamond States met their familiar opponents from the Flemington Neshanock. The Delaware nine was at home under the more-familiar 1864 rules, producing a steady offensive barrage while holding the New Jersey bats in check for a 12-2 victory. The Blue and Black were led by at the line by Memphis, BlackBart (4 hits apiece) and Lightening (3 hits including a home run). With the split on the day, the club’s season record stands at 14-6.
The Diamond State Base Ball Club will play their next match on Saturday, August 2 at the Twin Lakes Brewing Company in Greenville. They will play host to the Brandywine Base Ball Club of West Chester, PA beginning at 1:00 pm.
Whatley Pioneers 15 – Diamond State 14
| Player | Hits | AB | Aces | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SB |
| Blackbart | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Boots | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Corey | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lightning | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Memphis | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sonny | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Split | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Thunder | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Triple B | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Diamond State 12 – Flemington Neshanock 2
| Player | Hits | AB | Aces | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SB |
| Blackbart | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Boots | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ethan | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lightning | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Memphis | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sonny | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Split | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Thunder | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Triple B | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
