May 15-17

Back at the ballpark on Friday evening for game #4 with High Point. On this night the Stormers trailed 1-0 in the second, Nick Lucky started the inning with a triple and scored on Marc Flores' single, David Smith followed with a solo home run to put the Stormers up 2-1. The visiting Rockers tied it in the third but the Stormers went back up 4-2 on Jake Thompson's RBI hit in their half of the third and a bases-loaded walk to Thompson in the fourth. High Point got one back in the fifth before RBI doubles by Smith and Tyler Robertson in the home fifth extended the Stormer lead to 6-3. The pesky Rockers wouldn't go away, two run in the sixth and a single marker in the seventh drew the score even at 6-6. Nick Lucky started the home seventh with a home run over the picnic tents in right field to restore the Stormer lead at 7-6, from there the bullpen closed the door as Phil Diehl won it in relief of starter Alex Garbrick with Andrew Schultz earning the save. On Saturday night the Stormers came out on fire scoring ten runs through the first three innings on the way to a 13-3 win. Thompson got it started with a first-inning RBI hit, later in the inning Lucky went yard with two men on. In the second an RBI hit by Jeremy Arocho, a two-run home run by Thompson and Evan Ulrich's two-RBI bomb made it 9-0, a third-inning RBI double by Thompson put the Stormers up by double digits. The teams traded runs in the sixth with the Stormers' coming on an Arocho home run, after High Point scored twice in the seventh the Stormers put the icing on the cake in the eighth with another three-run home run by Lucky. Jason Bollman started went went six for the win with A.J. Alexy, Ronnie Voacolo and Zach Mizrahi going an inning each in relief. The series ended on Sunday with another Stormer win but after a week off for Mothers Day we were back at it for street hockey in Rothsville. Four new players joined up bringing the total to fifty-four, thirty-nine were present on this day. Both games required the shootout to determine a winner, Ephrata beat Hillside and Warwick defeated Township. We'll be back at Lions Park on May 31 after we take ANOTHER week off for Memorial Day. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 11-14

Tuesday night at the ballpark as the Stormers opened a series with the High Point Rockers. The Atlantic League is utilizing a new schedule format in 2026, with a few exceptions every Monday is an off-day followed by a six-day series against the same opponent. It's a format that has been used in affiliated minor leagues since 2021 and it works well at those levels. On this night the visitors from North Carolina scored first before Jake Thompson's solo home run evened it in the bottom of the first. The Rockers forged ahead 4-1 entering the bottom of the eighth, the Stormers got one back when Thompson singled and scored on a catchers interference call. In the ninth Jeremy Arocho walked and came home on Tyler Miller's infield groundout but the rally went no further, the final was 4-3. Luke Albright started and took the decision with relief from Ronnie Voacolo, Cole Patten, Zach Mizrahi and Phil Diehl, Wednesday was one of those rainy "iffy" type of days that don't seem to agree with me very much anymore, at the ballpark the game went on but I elected to stay in. Saw on the internet that the game was called after six innings due to the rain, the Stormers winning 3-1. On Thursday the teams met up for an 11:00 school kids' game (which is generally not my wont), the Stormers won on this day as well to take a 2-1 lead in the series. The Rockers stay in town for the final three games over the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 4-10

I was once asked why I always conclude my blog entries with "take care, thanks for reading". The answer is very simple: I know this blog has a following, I know there are those who take the time to read it whenever a new post appears. I don't know exactly who reads the tripe and drivel I write about in here but I appreciate those who do and I hope they continue to do so. There are some occasions when it barely pays to come online and post, the past seven days were a perfect example. The only item of any note came on Monday, the ballclub at McCaskey played its final home game. There had been a home game on May 1 in my absence, since that had been the team's Senior Day the game itself on this day was the only matter of any concern. Visiting Hempfield led 9-0 going into the bottom of the second when Jayden Quinones reached on a fielders choice and Julian Stoltzfus was hit by the pitch, a wild pitch scored Quinones and Andrew Carlisle's base hit plated Stoltzfus to make it 9-2. In the third Shanahan Padin walked and Caleb Melendez singled, Padin scored on a Stoltzfus base hit and Melendez came in on another wild pitch. Two more runs scored in the fourth when Carlisle singled and Padin reached on an error, both would score on (you guessed it) wild pitches. All of this meant little to Hempfield, they won the game going away 17-6. Niko Bergeron started and took the loss with Chris Ruggiero working in relief. The boys finished their season with a road win on Wednesday, the final record checked in at 3-17. Outside of a Tuesday doctor appointment, a Thursday haircut and lunch with Jenny on Wednesday and Saturday the rest of the week was a zero, on Sunday we took the day off from Rothsville since it was Mothers Day. Take care (and I mean that), thanks for reading

May 1-3

Friday night at the Arena for Game #4 with Wheeling, the Royals facing a 3-0 series deficit. The season would ultimately end on Saturday but not before the Royals staved off elimination with a scintillating overtime win in game #4. The visitors from West Virginia took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period, Connor Kurth drew the Royals even before the intermission. Early in the second period the Nailers took the lead back and held it into the dying moments of regulation time. With twenty-six seconds left and the goaltender on the bench for the extra attacker Carson Golder struck the motherlode to tie the game 2-2. Nine minutes deep into overtime Kurth stole a pass in the neutral zone and scored on the breakaway to win it 3-2. On Saturday in game #5 the teams played through sixty minutes of regulation play and twenty more of overtime with no score, eight minutes into the second overtime period the Nailers got a break in the offensive zone and ended the game 1-0 and the series four games to one. Yaniv Perets was in goal both nights and deserved an award for his performance. Wheeling moves on to meet either Maine or Adirondack in the division finals, for the Royals it's the end until training camp in early October. On Sunday we were in Rothsville after two weeks' absence, on this day Ephrata beat Township in OT shootout and Hillside defeated Warwick. Seven new players joined the ranks bringing the total up to fifty overall, after another week off for Mother's Day we'll be back on May 17. Take care, thanks for reading.