June 26-30

Not much going on Friday or Saturday except a lunch visit in Quarryville, it was all just as well since Saturday was a miserably rainy day. It was another "Santander Sunday" the next day, the Revolution hosted the Bridgeport Bluefish in a 5:00 doubleheader thanks to the Saturday game having been postponed. The Bluefish took a 5-0 lead in the opener and held on for a 5-3 win, it was almost 7:30 by the time it ended so we decided to bag the second game. The Revs would win the nightcap in extra innings, I saw on the Internet where it was almost 11:00 before they were done. The next Sunday game in York is on July 12 when the Barnstormers visit. On Monday morning I did my usual lunch at the mall, in the evening we had a single playoff game at the rink. When we were last there we asked all the teams about playing on this night, the only willing participants were MSB and the Killbots. This was the deciding game of their semifinal series, the Killbots won to advance to the West finals. On Tuesday the other two series were set to continue but once again the weather had other ideas. We got started OK at 7:00 but with the knowledge that rain was forecast for later in the evening, the hope was that we could get done before it hit but it didn't work out that way. The Steamers and UniLords were in overtime when the rain started, Jenny called and said it was pouring in Quarryville. I knew from radar that what they were getting there would eventually hit us so we postponed the second game and rescheduled it for Wednesday. The only issue was getting the game in progress done without incident. The UniLords won the game to take a 2-1 advantage in the East final, they can wrap it up on Wednesday as well. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 23-25

We had intended to continue street hockey playoffs on Tuesday night but once again Mother Nature showed her nasty side. Around 5:00 strong storms blew through and effectively ended the evening. On Wednesday the weather cooperated, we started the East Finals and West semifinals. The UniLords and Steamers are meeting for the East title, the West matchups are the Killbots vs MSB and the Kings vs JBE Auto Transport. Each series played its second game on Thursday amid less than ideal conditions. It began to rain lightly right before game time and continued throughout the evening, it was never enough to stop us but just enough to be a nuisance. We managed to get the entire night's schedule completed but not without some grousing about the weather, chiefly from the teams that lost (what a surprise). All three series stand tied at a game apiece, we spoke to all the teams about playing on Monday. The only captains that agreed were from the Killbots and MSB, they play their deciding game on Monday the 29th with the other two continuing on Tuesday the 30th weather-permitting. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 19-22

Friday night on North Prince Street for the start of a busy baseball weekend. The Atlantic League's "War Of The Roses" moved east as the York Revolution trekked across the river for a four-game series of the "wraparound" variety. In the Friday opener the Revs won 3-1 thanks to an Andres Perez two-run double and a Nick Ferdinand solo home run, Kevin Rivers went yard to account for the lone Barnstormers score. Logan Williamson was the winning pitcher for the Revs, the Stormers' Dan Osterbrock took the loss. On Saturday Jenny and her mother cam into town for game #2, at the ballpark the Barnstormers hosted an umbrella giveaway. It was ironic as they came in handy when rain arrived during the middle innings and stayed for the duration. The Stormers took a 2-0 lead in the first on a Kevin Rivers two-run shot to the picnic deck in right field but RBI hits from Luis De La Cruz, Wilson Valdez and former New York Yankee property Yeicok Calderon gave the Revs a 3-2 edge in the fourth. The Barnstormers tied the game 3-3 in the fifth inning on a Revs error and broke it wide open with a six-run seventh. Jerry Owens' bases-loaded single scored two runs, Yusuke Kajimoto tripled home two more, an RBI hit by Rivers scored Kajimoto with the fifth run of the inning. Rivers would score the last run on a sac fly from Wilson Batista (recently returned from a stint in the Mexican League). The game was effectively over at that point, with the rain coming down the ladies and I opted for the exits. In the bottom of the eighth play was suspended, after the required wait the game was called official as the Stormers won 9-3. The bullpens figured in the decision, ex-Toronto property Marcus Walden won it for the Barnstormers while former Chicago White Sox Leyson Septimo suffered the loss. On Sunday (in my usual absence) the Barnstormers rebounded from an early deficit to win 9-4, on Monday in the finale a similar situation unfolded. A two-run single by ex-Yankee prospect Anderson Feliz gave the Stormers a 2-0 lead in the second, former Boston property Shannon Wilkerson's fourth-inning hit tied the game at 2-2. The Revs scored four in the sixth on a Nick Ferdinand solo shot and a three-run bomb by Yeicok Calderon. In the eighth the Stormers replied in almost identical fashion, Brandon Jones' RBI hit was followed by a Keith Castillo three-run shot to tie matters at 6-6. In the tenth inning Feliz drew a two-out walk and stole second, Yusuke Kajimoto' base hit scored Feliz with the winner as the Barnstormers won 7-6. One-time Phillies property Kyle Simon won in relief, Josh Judy suffered the defeat. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 15-18

Monday morning lunch at the mall, the rest of the day was spent indoors in the AC. With no baseball anywhere and street hockey playoffs having the night off as well there was little reason to be anywhere. We had spoken to the teams about playing on Mondays during the playoffs but we made it optional since it had been an regular season off-day, at least on this night there were no takers. On Tuesday the West Division quarterfinals got underway, each series played its second game on Thursday. The one remaining East semifinal played its deciding game on Wednesday, the Steamers defeated the Oil Riggers to advance to a best three-of-five finals against the UniLords. All four of the West quarterfinals ended in two-game straight sweeps on Thursday with the Killbots, JBE Auto Transport, the Kings and MSB all advancing to two-of-three semifinal series. The East finals and West semifinals are all slated to begin on Tuesday the 23rd weather-permitting. That is a caveat we must add at this time of year because weather conditions can be incredibly unpredictable. On Thursday there were strong storms in the forecast for the later evening hours, the rain arrived during the third period of the last game. We got the game finished before the hard rain hit, as we were locking up to leave one of the guys commented on our good fortune. I had to agree that we were definitely living right. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 12-14

Friday night baseball at The Clip as the Barnstormers hosted the Somerset Patriots in the second of a four-game series. The Patriots won the opener on Thursday, on this night they made it two straight. Dan Osterbrock started for the Stormers and fell behind 2-0 in the first, by the fourth inning Somerset led 7-0. The Stormers came alive in the eighth, two hits and a walk loaded the bases with none out. Dan Coury drew a walk to force home a run, Kevin Rivers followed with a grand slam onto the right-field picnic deck to bring the Barnstormers within two. The comeback would go no further, an insurance run for Somerset in the ninth brought the final score to 8-5. On Saturday Jenny and her mother were along for another fireworks night although as is always the case we were gone before they ever started. On this night the Patriots took a 1-0 lead in the second, in the bottom of the third Yusuke Kajimoto's RBI double scored Kevin Rivers to tie the score. That 1-1 tie carried into extra innings, in the bottom of the tenth former Atlanta Brave Brandon Jones singled and scored on Juan Apodaca's game-winning hit as the Stormers took it 2-1. Reading-area native Nate Reed started and worked seven innings, he was followed by Pete Andrelczyk for two innings and winning pitcher Scott Gracey for one. The series ended with a Patriots victory on Sunday afternoon but as is my wont I was absent. Some may talk about my distaste for day games but it's really very simple: sitting in the afternoon heat with the sun directly overhead and little opportunity for shade is not enjoyable. The ballclub is at home again from the 19th to the 25th. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 8-11

The West Division was scheduled to complete its regular season on Monday but once again Mother Nature had other ideas. Severe weather was in the forecast for the late afternoon/early evening hours, I spent most of the day monitoring the updated forecasts and radar. At 5:00 nothing had happened but there was no question that it was coming, I called around to the respective captains and postponed the night's schedule. I'm sure there were some people who wondered what I was thinking, around 6:30 or so they all found that the old fox knew what he was doing. It got very dark and windy, once the rain started it came with a vengeance and stayed for most of the evening. On Wednesday we finally got the games played without further incident, having been postponed twice they ended up being makeups of makeups. Three of the four games had implications for playoff seeding: MSB beat the Kings, the Misfits defeated McCleary's, Brendee's beat the Hammerheads and JBE Auto Transport won over the Killbots. On Tuesday and Thursday the East Division played the first two games of its best two-of-three semifinal series. The Unilords eliminated the Blues in two straight, the Steamers and Oil Riggers split their two games. The decider in that series is on Wednesday the 17th, the West quarterfinals (also a 2-of-3) start on the 16th. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 5-7

Friday night baseball at Santander Stadium in York, the Revolution hosted the Sugar Land Skeeters. As a rule I wouldn't take in a Friday game in York when they play at home on Sunday as well but this was another "oddball weekend" in the Atlantic League. The last time I saw the Skeeters was that rainy night in Lancaster in October of 2014 when the Barnstormers won the ALPB title on Gabe Jacobo's walk-off home run, ironically this game would end in eerily similar fashion. Sugar Land posted single runs in the second and sixth innings, in the seventh ex-Texas Ranger Brandon Boggs went yard for the Revs to make it 2-1. Andres Perez hit a two-out two-run bomb in the eighth to put York in front but the Skeeters tied it the ninth. In the bottom half new addition Nick Ferdinand (just signed from the Phillies organization) nailed one over the Arch Nemesis in left field to give the Revs the 4-3 win. The eerie irony of it all is that the same pitcher who surrendered the now-retired Jacobo's home run in Lancaster was Ferdinand's victim on this night in York (the only thing missing was the rain). Anthony Lerew started for the Revs, Josh Judy worked the ninth inning and lost the save opportunity but picked up the win. Saturday was quiet except for a morning errand run, that was by design because Sunday was going to be busy. Every year I try to get Jenny and her mother to one game in York, it's always a Sunday when the Barnstormers are the opponent. We had a late lunch on the way to the ballpark for the 5:00 game, the Revolution wore special jerseys for a cancer-awareness fundraiser. In many ways this game was a battle of attrition, both clubs have struggled recently but under differing circumstances. The Revs entered with a record of 5-16 at Santander Stadium while the Stormers are just 4-18 on the road. York took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Nick Ferdinand reached on an error and scored on a single by Luis De La Cruz, in the sixth Ferdinand homered to extend the lead to two. In the eighth Andres Perez doubled and scored on Ferdinand's single to bring the final score to 3-0. Rev starter Rommie Lewis went the distance on the five-hit shutout, Dan Osterbrock started for the Stormers and deserved a better fate. The series continues for three more days, the Barnstormers return home for a weekend set with Somerset. The next Santander Sunday in York is on the 28th against Bridgeport. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 1-4

The new month began on a Monday, there were showers and thunderstorms in the forecast but nothing happened for most of the afternoon. Around 5:00 Marty called, he wanted to know if I was planning on the Barnstormers game. He swung by at 6:00, as we were driving to the ballpark it started to rain. The tarp was on the field when we arrived, just after the scheduled 7:00 start it was announced that the game was postponed. Tuesday was a virtual rerun of Monday, late afternoon storms rolled through and the rain continued for most of the night forcing us to postpone the evening's schedule at the rink. One of the team captains recently commented to me how lucky we've been thus far with the weather, he hoped he wasn't jinxing things by saying so. When I called him to tell him of the postponement I told him "you jinxed it". We scheduled the makeups for Monday the 8th, all four games are within the West Division. On Wednesday it was windy and much cooler but the rain was long gone, Jenny and I had lunch together in Quarryville. In the evening we were back at the Rink for two East games and two West games. In the East the Steamers beat the UniLords and the Oil Riggers defeated the Blues via OT shootout, the West featured the Kings over the Killbots and JBE Auto Transport over MSB. On Thursday we played the final two games of the East Division's regular season plus two more Westies. The UniLords beat the Oil Riggers and the Steamers won over the Blues, the Misfits defeated the Hammerheads and Brendee's beat McCleary's. The East Division's semifinals begin on Tuesday the 9th and continue on the 11th, the West starts its quarterfinals on Wednesday the 10th. Take care, thanks for reading.