June 27-29

A relatively slow Friday with no baseball on the docket, on Saturday Jenny, her mother and I were at (of all things) a baby shower. Jenny's older brother Frank has a son named Joe, he and his significant other (her name is April) were the beneficiaries. The event was held at a fire hall about five miles east of the city, there were about thirty people there. Jenny has another brother and a sister who live in New Jersey, they traveled together to be in attendance and it gave Helen a chance to spend some extended time with them. There was plenty of food, nobody went home hungry and by all accounts everybody had a good time. On Sunday morning in Rothsville it was hockey week #5 at Lions Park. The heat was nowhere as oppressive as the previous week but it was still warm, thirty-five players were in attendance. Warwick won over Hillside in the shootout, Ephrata won in regulation over Township. There are no games on July 6 for the holiday weekend and the 13th is also open since Don is on vacation and I will be otherwise involved. Right now the games on the 20th are the final regular season games, if I'm not home from Philadelphia we'll have no choice but to play them on the 27th. There is no question that this Spring season has been a mess, between starting five weeks late because we needed new netting and two additional dates being postponed it hasn't been the smoothest ride plus nobody figured on my personal situation. All we can do is go one step at a time in more ways than one. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 25-26

Back at the health campus on Wednesday morning for another visit with the surgeon, everything is on track for my mid-July "vacation" in Philadelphia. At the ballpark in the evening, after the Stormer win on Tuesday this night was all Revolution from the proverbial word Go. The visitors scored four runs in the second inning on a passed ball, Jalen Miller's two-run home run and a Frankie Tostado RBI double, they added four more in the sixth on a Marty Costes RBI single, a run-scoring single by Tostado and William Simoneit's two-run single. The Stormers got single runs in the sixth and eighth on home runs from Mason Martin and Nick Ward but it was nowhere near enough, the final was 8-2. The respective starters were of record, Foster Pace for the Revs and Keylan Killgore for the Stormers. On Thursday Jenny and I finally had our midweek lunch, it didn't happen on Tuesday or Wednesday for the obvious reasons. At the ballpark in the evening for the rubber match, the Revs again blew out to a quick 4-0 lead. A solo home run by Tostado in the first was followed by a Jeremy Arocho two-run shot and an Alexis Olmeda round-tripper in the second. Nick Lucky went yard in the bottom half to put the Stormers on the board but the Revs replied with a solo shot by Simoneit in the third to go up 5-1. In the home third Lucky's RBI double and Joseph Carpenter's two-run single brought the Stormers back to within 5-4. In the fifth an RBI double by Bubba Alleyne put the Revs up by two, in the eighth Lucky singled and scored on a wild pitch making it 6-5. In the ninth the Stormers loaded the bases with two out but could not score as the Revs took the series two games to one. Jordan Morales was the winner in relief of starter J.C. Ramirez with Cam Robinson working the ninth for the save, Michael McAvene started for the Stormers and took the loss. Take care, thanks for reading. 

June 23-24

Monday night softball at Garrett Park in Willow Street, on this night Akatsuki played a doubleheader. Peach Bottom rallied to win the opener, in the nightcap Akatsuki fell to Lancaster. On Tuesday I was at the health campus west of town for another test in preparation for the upcoming surgery, I see the surgeon on Wednesday and have another test on July 1 which should be the final hurdle. In the evening we were at the ballpark, the Stormers continued the homestand with a visit from our friends West Of The River. Although I'm a Lancastrian born-and-raised I have friends in York as well, I personally have never viewed the Revolution as The Enemy. On this night the Revs took a 3-0 lead in the third on a William Simoneit two-run home run and a solo shot by Jalen Miller, the Stormers got two back in the bottom half on home runs by Dave Matthews and newcomer Evan Alexander. In the fifth Alexander went yard with a man on putting the Stormers up 4-3, the lead expanded to 6-3 in the sixth on a Nick Lucky RBI hit and Danny Amaral's run-scoring double. The Revs closed to within two on Ryan Higgins' RBI double in the seventh but the scoring ended right there as the Stormers took it 6-4. Cody Stashak saved it for winning pitcher Noah Skirrow, Rev starter Michael Horrell went all the way and suffered the loss. The ALPB's own particular version of The War Of The Roses continues on Wednesday and Thursday. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 21-22

Earlier in the week there was talk of higher temperatures, on Saturday the blast furnace officially opened for business. In the afternoon I was with Jenny and Helen, we were at a public park in the southern end of the county for a birthday party. Jenny's friend Courtney has three daughters, Shania (the middle daughter) turned eight on the 19th. In the evening I was back at the ballpark in my usual guise as a spectator for game #2 with Long Island. On Friday there were several people who dropped by the window at the PA booth to comment on my presence, on this night I saw several others in the course of my travels. Touched base with John before the game, he appreciated that I had sat in for him as well. On this night the Stormers took advantage of three Long Island errors and a two-run single by Nick Lucky to build a 4-0 lead. The Ducks got one back in the third, in the bottom half the Stormers went up 6-1 on a balk and Lucky's sacrifice fly. Alex Isola's RBI double in the fourth made it 7-1, in the fifth Mr. Lucky hit the jackpot again with a solo home run putting the Stormers up by seven. Long Island made it close with three in the seventh and three more in the eighth, in the ninth Cody Stashak set the side down in order to preserve the 8-7 win for starting pitcher Noah Bremer. Sunday was a hockey day in Rothsville despite the heat, Township beat Hillside and Warwick won over Ephrata. Just about every team played shorthanded because it was just that uncomfortable, only twenty-eight players of the fifty enrolled were there. Hopefully it cools off before we're there again on the 29th. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 16-20

The new week began with damp and rainy weather, the entire week's schedule at Garrett Park was postponed. Had an EKG done on Tuesday at a local heart facility in preparation for what is to come in July, I had a silent heart attack back in 2014 from which there have never been any reoccurrences but they thought the EKG was a good idea anyway. Little else happened until Friday evening when the Stormers returned home from a three-city road trip, the Long Island Ducks were the opponent. Friend and colleague John Witwer has been the Stormers' PA announcer since the franchise began in 2005, on this night he was away on one of his extremely rare absences. The organization contacted me to sub in for him and everybody seemed to be satisfied, Stormers play-by-play broadcaster Dave Collins (who I have known since 1993 when we were both in the Eastern League) said my presence on the mic legitimately made him happy. I've been doing the ballgames at McCaskey for ten years but this was my first pro game since it all ended Up North in 2012 and I'll admit it was satisfying especially when you're working with good people in a place where THE GAME is what matters. In the game itself the Stormers won 8-2, Mason Martin's solo home run in the first was followed by two more in the second on a wild pitch and a Yeison Coca RBI single. Joseph Carpenter's RBI hit and a bases-loaded walk to Coca made it 5-0 in the sixth, Nick Lucky's three-run bomb in the seventh put the game away. LI broke the shutout in the ninth but it mattered little, Keylan Killgore won it with relief from Jackson Rees, Phil Diehl and newcomer Gerson Moreno. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 13-15

Friday the 13th (the lone such date on the year's calendar) in York for the first time in 2025, the Gastonia Ghost Peppers were the opponent. The Revolution won the Atlantic League title in 2024 defeating Charlestown in the Finals after eliminating the Stormers in the Semis. For Gastonia this was their lone appearance in York, we had seen them in Lancaster on Opening Weekend. The game was scoreless into the last of the fourth inning before Jeffrey Wehler's solo home run put the Revs ahead 1-0. Gastonia scored twice in the sixth and carried that 2-1 lead into the home eighth, with two out the Revs loaded the bases. Bubba Alleyne was hit by the pitch to force home the tying run, William Simoneit followed with a walk scoring the lead run. In the ninth Cam Robinson closed out the 3-2 win, Noah Denoyer won it in relief of starter J.C. Ramirez (an old friend from Days Past in Happier Times Up North at a place I never talk about anymore). The rest of the weekend was quiet save for Saturday lunch with Jenny and her mother, there was no Sunday hockey in Rothsville. Mother's Day is usually the big issue but this time there was enough demand that we postponed for Father's Day. As it happened it rained overnight into Sunday, the games may not have happened anyway but we'll never know because it was a decision we were not forced to make. Take care, thanks for reading. 

June 9-12

Three nights of softball at Garrett Park from Monday through Wednesday. The Monday doubleheader featured Kelly's dropping both ends, the opener to Lancaster (no nickname, just the city) and the nightcap to Peach Bottom. Tuesday saw Akatsuki victorious over Lancaster in game #1, Memorial beat Akatsuki in game #2. On Wednesday it was the Silver Bullets' turn to play two, losing the opener to Peach Bottom and the nightcap to Akatsuki. On Wednesday morning I was at the health campus for a consultation with the specialist assigned to my case. When they did the biopsy on May 23 the blockage in my pancreas was relieved but the mass itself was not removed. The specialist is based in Philadelphia, in July I'll be there for surgery to have it removed. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't at least a little worried but this is a procedure the specialist does several times a week and he doesn't foresee any major problems. I have some more tests coming up and we'll consult when he's in town again on the 25th (he's only in Lancaster every other Wednesday). Take care, thanks for reading.

June 6-8

Back at the ballpark on Friday evening as the Staten Island FerryHawks visited for the first time in '25. On this night the Hawks went up 1-0 in the first, in the bottom half the Stormers took advantage of six walks to score nine runs. RBI hits from Joseph Carpenter and Ariel Sandoval plus a fielders choice groundout by Yeison Coca and an error accounted for four runs, Dave Matthews and Nick Lucky each walked with the bases loaded before the rally was capped by Mason Martin's three-run double. A two-run home run by Matthews in the fourth made it 11-1, in the fifth Lucky went yard with a man on and Alex Isola hit a solo shot putting the Stormers up by thirteen. The Hawks put together a five-spot in the sixth and added one more in the eighth, in the Stormer half Danny Amaral's three-run home run and a solo homer by Martin put away an 18-7 victory. Noah Skirrow was the beneficiary of all the offense and picked up the decision with Michael McAvene, Billy Sullivan and Phil Diehl pitching in relief. On Saturday in game #2 the Stormers spotted the Hawks a 4-0 lead before scoring seven in the third. A Staten Island error, RBI singles by Danny Amaral and Alex Isola, a Mason Martin double and Ariel Sandoval's three-run homer did the damage in an inning eerily similar to the nine-run frame on Friday. After SI got one back in the fifth Martin's home solo home run and backup catcher Andrew Semo's RBI hit made it 9-5. In the home sixth Martin went yard again with a man on to put the Stormers ahead 11-5, the Hawks made it close with three in the seventh but the scoring ended there. Jackson Rees won it in relief of A.J. Alexy who came out of the bullpen for the spot start. The Stormers finished the series sweep on Sunday but I was not there, it was week #3 for street hockey in Rothsville. Two new players debuted bringing the enrollment to fifty, on this day thirty-four were in attendance. Both games were decided in the overtime shootout, Warwick beat Hillside and Township won over Ephrata. No games on the 15th (by popular demand because of Fathers' Day), we're back on the 22nd. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 4-5

Wednesday night at the ballpark for game #2 with Hagerstown, after an eight-run loss on Tuesday the Stormers fell on this night by a count of 13-0. The first two batters for the Boxcars went yard back-to-back in the first inning and the result was never really in doubt from that point, recently-returned Max Green started for the Stormers and suffered the loss. On Thursday the series wrapped up and on this night it was 100% a case of role reversal. After spotting Hagerstown two runs in the third the Stormers came back to tie it on Joseph Carpenter's RBI groundout and Brandon Wagner's solo home run in the fourth. In the sixth newcomer Dave Matthews (the ballplayer, not the musician) gave the Stormers the lead with an RBI hit, Yeison Coca's two-run shot made it 5-2. In the home seventh all hell broke loose, the Stormers sent fifteen men to the plate and the only three who didn't score were the three who were retired. By the time the smoke cleared it was 17-2, the club had nine hits in the inning including back-to-back home runs by Carpenter (a three-run drive over the picnic tents in right) and Ariel Sandoval (solo). Also in on the assault were Nick Lucky with a two-run single, Mason Martin with an RBI hit, Alex Isola with two hits and a ribbie and Brandon Wagner with a run-scoring single. Noah Bremer (another recent returnee from the '24 club) started and went the first six innings, Jackson Rees was the winner in relief. The homestand continues over the weekend with Staten Island coming to town. Take care, thanks for reading. 

June 1-3

The new month began on a Sunday with street hockey in Rothsville, several of the guys commented on how I'm looking better. Fourteen new players joined the ranks raising the total to forty-eight, on this day all but nine were present. Ephrata defeated Warwick and Hillside won over Township, we're back at Lions Park on June 8th. Monday night marked my first time at Garrett Park in Willow Street for the new season, the Southern End League finally had a night that didn't get rained on. The league has six teams playing fifteen games each, thus far better than half the schedule has been postponed. On this night Akatsuki played a doubleheader, losing the opener to Kelly's and the nightcap to Peach Bottom. On Tuesday the Stormers returned home from a week on the road, the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars were the opponent. The Boxcars have continued to struggle since they were last in town (they recently made a managerial change) but on this night you wouldn't have known it. The Stormers trailed 1-0 in the fourth before plating three runs on an infield groundout and two fielding errors, after the Boxcars tied it in the fifth the Stormers took a 4-3 lead in their half on an Ariel Sandoval RBI double. From there the game turned on a dime, two Hagerstown runs in the sixth were followed by two more in the eighth and a five-spot in the ninth bringing the final to 12-4. Keylan Killgore pitched into the sixth inning and took the decision. The series continues through Thursday with Staten Island coming in for the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.