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PATENAUDE BELTS GRAND SLAM AT CONTINENTAL
2ND-YEAR 1B’S OUTBURST HELPS BRING ECKFORD TO .500 IN A WILD VICTORY

BROOKLYN (June 28, 1866) – At Wheat Hill in Brooklyn both teams’ bats were in full song during a truly thrilling affair that finished with 33 runs, 34 hits, 22 errors, and a late barrage that made the result closer than it should have been:

Eckford started well, exiting the first half of the game ahead 7-2 thanks to eight hits over the 3rd & 4th innings. However, starting in the bottom of the 6th Continental’s bats roared to life and they cut the deficit to two. Eckford then scored seven times in the top of the 7th to take a nine-run lead, but Continental matched those seven runs during the 7th & 8th to bring the score to 14-12 going into the 9th. Eckford scored four more runs in the 9th thanks to a pair of singles, and it turned out they needed all four runs as Continental scored three times in the bottom half and had men on base at the final out.

Nine players had multiple hits and seven drove in multiple runs, but one player clearly stood taller than the rest, and that was Eckford’s second-year 1B Albert Patenaude:

• T1: Ground Out to SS off A. Bonham
• T3: 1-run Single past SS off A. Bonham (scored)
• T4: 1-run Single b/w SS & 3B off A. Bonham
• T6: Fly Out to CF off A. Bonham
• T7: GRAND SLAM to RF off F. Ledford
• T9: Single past 3B off H. Kerr
• TOTAL: 4/6, GS, 3 R, 6 RBI, 7 TB

Patenaude’s rarest of hits, the Grand Slam, was far and away the highlight of the afternoon. Eckford’s hard-fought victory brought their record back to the .500 mark at 21-21, with the team in third place at nine games behind in-form leaders Excelsior. Continental is faring worse than last year – 19-23 and eleven games back.