August 11-14

Had my car at the service center on Monday morning for the annual inspection, it didn't take long since the emissions had been checked when I had the oil change done in June. That plus lunch at the mall was the extent of the day's activities. The weather turned nasty on Tuesday, rain arrived overnight and stayed around all day. The Barnstormers were supposed to open a series with the Somerset Patriots but shortly before 5:00 it was announced that the game was postponed. Incredibly this was the first home rainout for the Stormers, since the Patriots return in September the makeup doubleheader will be during that series. On Wednesday the rain was gone but the temperatures were much cooler, in the evening we were at the ballpark for game #1 of the truncated series. The Stormers went 4-3 on their recent road trip, on this night the ballgame stayed scoreless until the sixth inning when the Patriots took a 1-0 lead. Gabe Jacobo's RBI double in the bottom half tied the game but Somerset went back ahead with one in the seventh, two more in the ninth salted away a 4-1 Pats victory. Dan Osterbrock worked into the seventh inning and took the loss but deserved a better fate. Recently the Barnstormers have struggled to score runs, on Thursday night that was on display as the club suffered a maddening defeat. Ben Francisco's two-run double in the fourth inning broke a scoreless tie, that 2-0 advantage lasted until the ninth when Somerset plated three runs (the last one on a throwing error) and escaped with a 3-2 win. Chris Schwinden pitched seven shutout innings but in the ninth Jason Urquidez was victimized and took the loss. The homestand continues on the weekend as the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs visit. Take care, thanks for reading.