News and Events
Town Ball
April 13, 2007
Students and faculty gather on the campus green each Friday afternoon to play "Town Ball," an antecedant to baseball played in the 18th century that uses pegs instead of bases. The game was reintroduced to Kent County last fall by Instructor of History Ken Miller, who played it as a grad student at the University of California at Davis.
Click to enlarge photos.
Kevin McGarry '08, Keith Schairer '10, Brandon Righi '07, Kate Livie, Samantha Blau '08, and Gillian Bourassa '09 gather before choosing teams.
Keith Schairer '10, Elizabeth Burke '09, Gillian Bourassa '09, and Kevin McGarry '08 listen to the rules: the first team to get 21 "tallies" wins—there are no set number of innings.
Kevin McGarry '08 winds up for a pitch.
Brandon Righi '07 prepares to take a swing.
Albin Kowalewski '06 lands a strong hit.
Dan Holles '08 watches as Meg Chapman '07 gears up for a swing.
Elizabeth Burke '09 prepares to jump over a bunted ball, as any contact with it will get her out.
Katie Madron '07, Kate Livie, and Samantha Blau '08 race to field the ball as quickly as possible.
As Brandon Righi '07 throws the ball to Meg Chapman '07, Albin Kowalewski '06 breaks for a "Wild Weasel," running in a random direction off the immediate field. This manuever is advantageous when the bases are loaded.
Kate Livie watches for an opportunity to tag out Kevin McGarry '08, since bases cannot be tagged to produce an out.
Gillian Bourassa '09 makes slight contact with the ball—giving her an advantage as she runs for first base.
Kevin McGarry '08 launches the ball as Elizabeth Burke '09 watches to see whether she should advance to the next base, depending upon how quickly the ball is fielded to Meg Chapman '07.
Keith Schairer '10 is careful not to hit a fly ball. Unlike baseball, there is only one out per half-inning and there are no strikes.
Albin Kowalewski '06 rounds Kate Livie. There is no set order of base running, but it is strategically advantageous to run them in order.
Elizabeth Burke '09 runs the bases, arranged in a square in contrast to a baseball diamond, as Dan Holles '08 awaits the fielded ball.
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