July 27-31

The Sunday weather forecast was not encouraging, with nothing special going on I never left the house. In the early evening some strong storms rolled through but by late evening they were all gone. Had lunch at the mall on Monday morning, in the evening Marty joined me for the ballgame on North Prince Street. This was game #2 of a three-gamer as the Stormers hosted York, the Revolution took the opener on Sunday afternoon before the rains came. There was more rain in the forecast on this night, it arrived shortly after 6:00 and delayed the 7:00 start until 8:30. At that point Marty and I made a pact: five innings or 10:00, whichever came first. The Revs took a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI hit by Eric Patterson, in the fifth they added three more on another Patterson single, a Chad Tracy sac fly and a crucial Barnstormer error. It was past 10:00 by then so we headed for the exit, the game finally ended past 11:30 with the Revs victorious 5-2. Obviously there are times when weather will keep us from a game but the Barnstormers are often an exception simply because there is no travel involved. On Tuesday night the series concluded under perfect weather conditions. The Revs again took a early lead on Chad Tracy's first-inning RBI double, the Stormers tied it in their half on a bases-loaded walk to Ben Francisco. It stayed that way until the home seventh, a two-run single by Yusuke Kajimoto gave the Barnstormers a 3-1 lead. York would get one back in the ninth on an Eric Patterson RBI hit but it ended there as the Stormers salvaged the finale 3-2. Pete Andrelczyk won it in relief of Chris Schwinden, Jason Urquidez saved it. Logan Williamson started for York and suffered the loss. Wednesday and Thursday were quiet except for lunch with Jenny, the Barnstormers come back home on Saturday the 2nd. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 24-26

Thursday lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the evening I was at the ballpark as the Barnstormers opened a series with the Bridgeport Bluefish. This was the ballclub's first home date in eleven days, the four-day All-Star break was followed by a six-day road swing. On this night the offensive highlights were few and far between, the Stormers managed only six base hits in a 4-0 loss. Losing pitcher Chris Schwinden worked seven innings and certainly deserved a better fate. On Friday night in game #2 the Bluefish ran out to a 7-0 lead in the second inning, the Barnstormers scored the next five on a wild pitch, a two-run double by former Philadelphia Phillie Ben Francisco and a Juan Apodaca two-run home run. In the fifth Bridgeport added a run to make it 8-5 but a Brett Carroll two-run bomb brought the Stormers back to within one. In the home seventh the game was finally evened, a sac fly by Francisco scored Gabe Jacobo with the tying run. In the ninth the Bluefish retook the lead but it didn't hold, Apodaca's RBI single sent the game into extras. The Stormers finally prevailed in the eleventh, Francisco's fourth hit of the night scored Jacobo from second base for the 9-8 win. Manager Butch Hobson used six pitchers, Jason Urquidez picked up the win. On Saturday Jenny and Helen were along for game #3, a game that held little if any suspense. The Barnstormers took the early lead on a Lance Zawadzki home run, a two-run Brett Carroll homer in the fourth made it 3-0. The ballclub struck for two more in the fifth on an Andrew Clark sac fly and an RBI double from infielder Jaime Pedroza (a 2012 Barnstormer recently added from the Chicago White Sox organization). Bridgeport got back into the game with a three-run sixth inning but the Stormers got one back on a double-play grounder, a five-run seventh inning put the game away. An RBI hit by Clark, a Dayton Buller two-run single and a two-run double from Cole Garner put the icing on an 11-3 victory, starting pitcher Joe Gardner (a new addition from the Chicago Cubs' system) worked into the sixth inning for the win. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 19-23

Saturday was a notable day for my mother, she turned 80 years of age (and there are many who would say she doesn't look it). In the afternoon Dick came into my place, from there we made our way southeast to Wilmington. We had planned a visit there back in June but the weather forecast ruined it. On this night the Wilmington Blue Rocks hosted the Lynchburg Hillcats in Carolina League action. Before the game there was a POW/MIA salute, part of it was the unveiling of a stadium seat which will remain symbolically unoccupied in memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. In the game itself the Rocks fell behind early, a late comeback fell short as the Hillcats won 6-4. On Sunday Jenny and I had our weekend lunch a day later than usual, on Monday I had my usual midday meal at the mall. In the evening I was at the ballpark for the youth tournament championship game. Whenever a championship is contested the fervent hope is that it will be competitive, nobody enjoys a one-sided blowout (except the team that is winning). On this night the fans in attendance were treated to a memorable game. The first three innings were scoreless, the fourth and fifth innings were mirror-image. Hempfield scored three in the fourth and one in the fifth, Strasburg/Willow Street put one on the board in the fourth and tied it with three of their own in the fifth. In extra innings Hempfield loaded the bases with one out but a SWS double play ended the threat. In their at-bat SWS got a runner to second with two out, a bloop single into shallow right field scored the winning run as SWS won it 5-4. Not much going on Tuesday or Wednesday save for another eye appointment for my mother (Tuesday) and a dental checkup for me (Wednesday), the Barnstormers are at home over the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 14-18

The Atlantic League is in its All-Star break, the game was played on Wednesday night in Sugar Land, Texas. The Barnstormers were represented by Cole Garner, Lance Zawadzki, Chris Schwinden plus manager Butch Hobson and coach Stan Cliburn, the York Revs sent Johan Limonta, Eric Patterson, Wilson Valdez and Rommie Lewis to the festivities. With no pro games anywhere the youngsters took center stage at the ballpark on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Every summer the local newspaper sponsors a youth tournament, it's a big event that started in the 1940s. The midget division (for ages 15-and-16) quarterfinal matchups on Wednesday featured Strasburg/Willow Street over Lancaster (McCaskey players current and future) and Garden Spot over Lititz. The other side of the bracket played on Thursday, Hempfield defeated Saint Leo and Ephrata beat Elizabethtown. The winners paired off in the Friday semifinals, SWS eliminated Garden Spot and Hempfield ousted Ephrata. The first game on all three nights started at 5:15, the crowd tends to be mostly friends and family members but there is no lack of enthusiasm. Hempfield and SWS meet for the championship on Monday the 21st, game time on North Prince Street for the single game is at 7:00. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 12-13

Saturday lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the evening we were at the ballpark for game #3 with Long Island. This was the Stormers' seventh Saturday home date, Jenny and Helen have been to all of them since the club no longer plays Sunday games at night. Another good crowd was on hand for fireworks after the game, they all witnessed some late-game fireworks from the ballclub as well. The visiting Ducks led 4-0 in the fourth before Andrew Clark's solo home run got the Barnstormers on the board. It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth when Clark went yard again to make it 4-2. After Gabe Jacobo reached on a base hit Brett Carroll followed with a two-run shot to tie the game. In extra innings the home team would emerge victorious, Cole Garner scoring the winning run on Jacobo's game-ending hit. Brandon Mann was the starting pitcher but he was not involved in the decision, Pete Parise was the winner in relief. On Sunday Marty and I went west across the river for another "Santander Sunday" in York, the Revolution hosted the Bridgeport Bluefish in the usual 5:00 start. The Revs have been somewhat cold since winning the division first-half title, they came into this game having lost four straight. That streak ended on this day as York defeated the Bluefish 3-1. Each club scored a run in the first inning, the Revs' coming on a Chad Tracy RBI hit. In the seventh Tracy went yard with a man on to provide the margin of victory. Starting pitcher Jorge Martinez won it, Rommie Lewis picked up the save. The next Sunday home date in York is not until August 10, that's probably the next time I'll be there. Saw where the Barnstormers won their game as well to complete the series sweep over Long Island, their next home date is on July 24. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 7-11

The new week started slowly outside of an eye appointment on Tuesday for my mother, on Thursday we did our usual lunch visit in Quarryville. In the evening we were back on North Prince Street, the Barnstormers hosted the Long Island Ducks in the opener of a four-game series. The Atlantic League's second-half schedule started on Monday, the Stormers opened with three games in Camden. On this night the Ducks took a 2-0 first-inning lead, the Barnstormers replied with five in the second. Cole Garner's two-run double highlighted the uprising, runs also scored on groundouts by Andrew Clark and Casey Frawley, the fifth run scored on a base-loaded walk to newcomer Brett Carroll (ex-bigleaguer signed from the Toronto Blue Jays system). After the Ducks batted in the third the umpires called for the field to be covered, with dark skies to the west and the wind shifted it was clear that something was headed our way. The delay began at 8:15, by 9:45 it was still raining so I decided to call it a night. Saw on the Internet where the game resumed after 10:30 and didn't end until 12:30am, the Barnstormers won by the final score of 9-5. On Friday the weather was much more conducive to a night at the ballpark, Marty joined me for game #2. On this night the Ducks scored single runs in four of their nine at-bats while the Stormers put together big innings. They put three on the board in the second on a RBI hit from Dayton Buller (a recently returned 2013 Stormer) and a two-run double by Grant Zawadzki (younger brother of Lance and a recent college graduate). Brock Kjeldgaard's solo home run in the fourth extended the lead, in the fifth the club added four more on RBI hits from Cole Garner and Andrew Clark and a Casey Frawley two-run double. An eighth-inning two-run home run by Clark put the exclamation point on a 10-4 win, Chris Schwinden worked six innings for the victory. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 5-6

Saturday lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the evening we were back at the ballpark for game #2 between the Revs and the Stormers. On Friday York was denied the chance to clinch their playoff spot, on this night they made no mistake in punching their postseason ticket. In the first inning Justin Greene singled and scored on a RBI hit from Chad Tracy, in the next inning Greene's second hit of the night scored Travis Garcia for a 2-0 Revs advantage. Those two markers would be all the Revolution would need as they nailed down the first-half pennant with a 2-0 win. The Barnstormers never seriously threatened until the ninth inning, the first two men reached base but the next three were retired. Rev starter Alain Quijano worked eight innings for the win, Rommie Lewis picked up the save. Former big-leaguer Cory Wade (late of the Kansas City Royals organization) made the spot start for the Barnstormers and took the loss. The Barnstormers may still qualify for the playoffs in September but it will have to be either as the second-half champion or as a wild-card entry. On Sunday it was very warm with daytime highs in the 80s, the Revs and Stormers finished the series with a 1:00 game. Had it had playoff implications I would have gone but since it was largely meaningless I elected to stay home and stay cool. Had I been there it probably would have turned some heads since I'm a well-known non-fan of day games (Dick Myers once called me a vampire because I only come out at night). For the record the Stormers won the game, the season's second half starts on Monday the 7th. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 1-4

July began with daytime temperatures in the low 90s, with nothing special on the calendar there was little reason to go outside. On Wednesday Jenny and I did our lunch date since my mother had another eye appointment on Thursday. On Friday the weather was much more comfortable, as the nation celebrated its birthday I marked the occasion by spending the afternoon with baseball on TV and the evening at the ballpark on North Prince Street. The Atlantic League version of the War Of the Roses continued as the Revolution traveled east from York to face the Barnstormers in the opener of a weekend series. This series marked the end of each club's first-half schedule, the Revs needed one win in the three to be played to clinch the first-half division title and a playoff berth in September while the Stormers needed to sweep the series to stay alive. On this night in Lancaster a crowd of close to 8000 was in attendance (no doubt in part for an advertised GIGANTIC post-game fireworks show), they were treated to an excellent ballgame between two evenly-matched rivals. The Stormers struck in their first at-bat, Cole Garner singled and scored on a base hit by newcomer Gabe Jacobo (late of the Toronto Blue Jays organization). The Revs put three on the board in the second on RBI hits from Ofilio Castro, Travis Garcia and Salvador Paniagua to go up 3-1. The Stormers replied with a three-spot of their own in the third, a Jacobo RBI double and a Lance Zawdzki run-scoring single were sandwiched around a Wilson Batista RBI groundout to make it 4-3 for the home team. That lead would stand up the rest of the way as the visitors were denied the chance to clinch, the Barnstormers picking up the crucial 4-3 win. Dan Osterbrock was the winner with relief support from Ross Peeples, Jason Richardson and Jason Urquidez, Rev starter Jorge Martinez suffered the loss. As the game ended I headed out the front gate, there were people sitting all around the parking lot waiting for the fireworks to go up. As for me it didn't matter, I go the game to watch the game. Take care, thanks for reading.