Roxbury Nine vs. Elizabeth Athletic Club
May 5, 2007
It was a bright sunny spring day in Rahway Park, NJ this Saturday past when
the Roxbury Nine crossed bats with the Elizabeth Athletic Club (EAC). These
are the same two clubs that battled for the coveted Harry M. Keator cup last
Labor Day in Kirkside Park. However, nine hard fought innings of 1891
barehanded play allowed our Roxbury boys and Keator Cup Champions to deliver
their second win of the season.
Hubbard started the Roxbury offensive attack with a base on balls and quickly stole his way to second and saw third on a passed ball. A. Walker popped out, and brother Matt got on with a walk and stole second with M. Hynes bringing them both across the plate for the first two tallies of the game. Ellsworth, followed with a single, and a line drive in the gap by Fairbairn brought Ellsworth and Hynes across the plate. ODonnell singled Fairbairn in allowing the Nine to put 5 on the board in the top of the first.
Eighteen year old Keator started in the pitcher’s box for Roxbury with 46 year old and Roxbury veteran, Ellsworth catching. The Roxbury battery upstaged the EAC by only giving up one run in the first and shutting the EAC down for the next four innings. Roxbury put two more on the board in the top of the fourth and one in the fifth. Keator seemed to weaken a bit in the fifth as the EAC threatened by tallying four of their own making the score 8-5 at the bottom of the fifth.
Fairbairn and O’Donnell crossed the plate for Roxbury in the top of
the sixth as R. Funck relieved Keator and silenced the EAC in the same inning.
It was a series of short answers for the remainder of 
the game. Roxbury put
up one in the seventh while the EAC posed another threat by marking three
more runs in their side of the inning. Hubbard and O’Donnell crossed
the plate for Roxbury in the eighth, but the EAC kept chipping away at Roxbury’s
lead by scoring two of their own. The Ninth was quiet for the Roxbury Club,
but Funck brought an intimidating performance to the pitcher’s
box in the bottom of the ninth as Roxbury handed the EAC a 13-10 loss.
Keator gets the win for Roxbury and veteran Ellsworth was all business as he postured himself behind the plate for all nine innings. Our Roxbury boys are off to defend the Gotham Cup in NY City’s central park on May 19th and 20th and open their season in Kirkside Park pn Saturday May 26th. For more information contact the Town of Roxbury Parks Department at 607 326 3722 or visit www.roxburyny.com
