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 thing going. Hempfield was the opponent, they were up 9-0 into the bottom of the second. 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. 

April 27-30

The last week of April began chilly and windy, the Stormers were at home on Tuesday but I elected to stay in. Since my surgery I've found that I don't tolerate lower temperatures and cold wind as well as I used to, there were occasions during the winter when I was walking from the Arena to my parking garage (a half-block's walk) and literally couldn't wait to get into my car and jack up the heat. On Wednesday night we were at the Arena for game #3 of the ECHL North Division Semifinal, the Royals' regular season mark of  36-26-10 earned them a date with the division champion Wheeling Nailers. The Royals lost each of the first two games in Wheeling by scores of 4-0 and 5-1, on this night they fell three games behind with a 2-0 shutout loss. The Nailers scored late in the first and early in the second and made them stand up, Yaniv Perets was goalie of record for the Royals. The club faces a win-or-go-home game #4 on Friday the 1st, if game #5 is needed it is Saturday the 2nd. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 25-26

Saturday was every bit the raw and rainy day they were calling for, after lunch with Jenny and her mother I came back to the city and stayed in for the rest of the day. It proved to be the right choice, in late afternoon the Stormers postponed their ballgame and rescheduled it for Sunday as part of a doubleheader. There was no street hockey in Rothsville on Sunday due to a personal absence on my part, that absence was because I was at the ballpark in a working capacity. Friend and colleague John Witwer had contacted me about this date back in October when the league schedule was released so it's been on my calendar for some time. This day reminded me of why I always hated doubleheaders in my days in the business, the first game started at 1:30 and we were finally done about five hours later. In the opener Long Island won 13-0 behind starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (ex-bigleaguer with a Cy Young Award win to his credit), he went the full seven innings allowing just one baserunner on a walk in the sixth inning. There were about four thousand fans in attendance and it seems like half them were rooting for Bauer and the Ducks, when the game ended he received the Ambassador's Reception from his teammates and most of the crowd. In game #2 the downbeat continued for the Stormers as the Ducks completed the weekend sweep with a 6-2 decision. The Stormers took a 2-0 lead in the second, Joseph Carpenter singled and advanced to third on Nick Lucky's bloop double. Tyler Robertson's sac fly scored Carpenter, two batters later Evan Ulrich singled to score Lucky. From there it was all Long Island, three runs in the fourth followed by single scores in the fifth, sixth and seventh put the game away. Noah Bremer started and suffered the loss, Quinton Martinez took the decision for the Stormers in the opener. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 24

April 24: a big day for baseball in My Town, both at the high school and professional levels. In the afternoon we were at McCaskey for a non-divisional game with Reading High, this was a makeup game from back in March. The Red Tornado took a 1-0 lead in the first when Nate Lutz singled and touched home on Andrew Carlisle's sacrifice fly. Single runs in the second, third and fourth gave RHS a 3-1 advantage, in the home fifth JPM took the lead back in one of the strangest innings you might ever see. Jayden Quinones started it with a walk and Danny Santana was hit by the pitch, after the first out Carlisle was hit by the pitch to load the bases. Shanahan Padin and Niko Bergeron were both plunked to force home Quinones and Santana to tie the game, after the second out Chris Ruggiero took one for the team forcing Carlisle home with the lead run 4-3. Three runs without a base hit scoring on a walk and FIVE hit batsmen, it's doubtful anyone had that on their bingo card. The Red Tornado held on for the 4-3 win, Padin worked the final three innings in relief of Bergeron and earned the decision. It's the ballclub's second win on the season (they won one on the road in March), the next home game I'm present for is the last one on May 4. We were done by 6:15 or so, I made my way to the ballpark on North Prince Street. The Stormers were opening their twenty-second season hosting the Long Island Ducks, just as the game was beginning it started to rain lightly. The Stormers had little offense on this night, they trailed 6-0 in the seventh before getting on the board courtesy of a Tyler Miller double and Tyler Robertson's sac fly. Luke Albright started and took the loss with Cole Patten, Phil Diehl, Alex Garbrick and Matt Stil in relief. The series continues through the weekend although Saturday could be doubtful thanks to the weather. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 20-23

At McCaskey on Wednesday for another divisional ballgame, Penn Manor provided the opposition. It is no secret that the program at JPM is struggling, on this day Penn Manor hung up twenty-six runs (that's 26). they scored twelve runs through five innings before sending twenty-one batters to the plate and scoring fourteen in the sixth. The highlight for JPM was that the club scored four runs of their own, twice each in the fourth and fifth. Shanahan Padin and Chris Ruggiero started the fourth with back-to-back singles, Nate Lutz's two-out double scored Padin and Ruggiero came home on a passed ball. In the fifth Elijah Santiago singled and scored on Ruggiero's fielders-choice groundout, Niko Bergeron walked and came home on a wild pitch. On the one hand it's nice to be able to talk about some offensive highlights for a change but a twenty-two run loss cannot be considered palatable under any conditions. Ruggiero started on the mound with Lutz, Santiago and Danny Santana in relief. The club stays home for a non-league game on the 24th. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 13-19

The new week began with a bang and ended with a whimper (although one could argue that the bang was a bit of a whimper in itself). On Monday the baseball club at McCaskey was at home to host Cedar Crest, the game ended 19-0 after five innings due to the mercy rule. CC scored in every inning, a seven-run fifth put the game away. Andrew Carlisle went the first three innings on the hill, Chris Ruggiero worked the final two. This was personally my fourth game on the mic thus far (I missed two because of ice hockey in Reading) and I have yet to see the team score a run, they've lost all four by a composite score of 43-0. The boys are next at home on Wednesday the 22nd. In midweek we had a small taste of summer as temperatures rose markedly, the daytime highs on both Wednesday and Thursday broke the record for high temperature on those respective dates. By Saturday the weather was largely back to normal, after lunch with Jenny and her mother I stopped in at the ballpark on the way home. The Stormers are beginning their twenty-second season in the Atlantic League, this was the day of the annual FanFest. Ross Peeples ("The Mayor") is back for his ninth season as manager, returnees on the preseason roster include pitchers A.J. Alexy, Noah Bremer, Phil Diehl, Alex Garbrick, Luke McCollough and Billy Sullivan, infielders Scott Kelly and Nick Lucky plus outfielders Joseph Carpenter and Kevin Watson. The season starts on the 21st, the home opener is on the 24th vs Long Island. Sunday was supposed to be week #2 of street hockey in Rothsville but Mother Nature did an early-morning #1 and the day was ruined. No games on the 26th (I am absent due to another commitment), we'll be back at Lions Park on May 3. Take care, thanks for reading. 

April 11-12

Back at the Arena on Saturday night for game #2 with Wheeling. It's not uncommon for a team to experience a bit of a letdown after clinching a playoff berth (although it seems to be more prevalent in baseball), on this night we saw the hockey version. The Royals had wrapped up their postseason spot on Friday, on this night they came out flatter than a pancake. The Nailers scored three times in the first five minutes and were never seriously challenged. The final was 6-2, Owen McLaughlin and Kyle Haskins scored for the Royals with Keith Petruzzelli taking the loss in goal. On Sunday morning we were up and at it early for opening day of street hockey at Lions Park in Rothsville. This is the league's eleventh season already which isn't bad for something that was put together on a shoestring budget in the spring of '21. We're using the usual format with four teams playing each other three times each, on this day Ephrata beat Hillside and Warwick won over Township. Forty-three players participated, the next games are on April 19. From there we highballed it north to the Arena for the last home game of the regular year. This game reminded me somewhat of that playoff series with Trois-Rivieres in 2025 when the Royals lost games in some of the cruelest ways possible. Midway though the first period Austin Saint lit the lamp for a 1-0 lead which held all the way to the closing moments, with exactly one minute left in regulation Wheeling scored to force overtime. In the extra period the Nailers took it 2-1 with fifty-eight seconds left, Yaniv Perets took the loss and deserved a better fate. The Royals' final home record is 23-9-4, they end the season with two on the road before starting playoffs. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 6-10

Not much going early in the new week, on Wednesday we were at McCaskey for baseball. Manheim Township visited for a divisional game and won 5-0, the Red Tornado had baserunners in just about every inning but couldn't get the big hit when it counted. The best thing was that the game went the full seven innings, no mercy rule on this day. Niko Bergeron got the start and went all the way on a complete game but it's hard to win when you simply can't score. The boys play at home on the 13th versus Cedar Crest. On Friday we were at the Arena for the last home weekend of the season, the Wheeling Nailers were the opponent. This was Wall-Of-Honor night, 2016-2019 Royal Chris McCarthy was inducted in a pregame ceremony. Fun Fact: Chris came out of a six-year retirement in January to play three games for the Royals when the club was shorthanded by injuries (which has actually been most of the season but that's another story). In the game itself the Royals clinched a postseason berth with a tough 3-2 win over Wheeling. Jacob Frasca, Jake Willetts and Connor McMenamin were the goal-scorers, Yaniv Perets was the winner in net. The club will finish either third or fourth in the division and meet either Wheeling or Maine in the first round, the remaining four games (two home, two away) will tell the story. Take care, thanks for reading. 

March 30-April 5

The final two days of March found us at McCaskey, one day planned and the other not so much. On Monday the ballclub was back home, Garden Spot visited from New Holland for a non-league game. It's no secret that the program is struggling, on this day GS left town with a mercy-rule 10-0 win, A seven-run fifth inning put the game away. Niko Bergeron took the loss with Chris Ruggiero, Nate Lutz and Andrew Carlisle in relief. During the game a Garden Spot fam approached me and complimented my work, whenever it comes unsolicited from a stranger is when it matters the most. The boys play next at home on April 8 vs Manheim Township. When I got home after the game I had a phone message from the athletic office, the girls softball team was playing at home on Tuesday and I was needed. The young man who usually does their games was going to be absent, he has filled in for me at basketball several times in recent seasons and above all Fair Is Fair. The varsity softball field is tucked in behind the school between the gymnasium and the (currently a shell of its former self) football stadium, the PA setup is exactly the same as what we're doing right now at baseball. On this day the girls lost to Warwick 7-1, the lone run scoring for JPM in the sixth inning. I don't know when or if I'll be needed there again but the moral is to always be prepared because you never can tell. The rest of the week was quiet save for Easter Sunday dinner with Jenny and her mother, Helen made ham loaf with carrots and sweet potatoes and there was plenty to go around, Take care, thanks for reading