July 30-31

Thursday night at the ballpark for the final game of the series with Bridgeport, the Barnstormers completed the three-game sweep with a 4-3 victory. Kent Matthes gave the ballclub a 1-0 lead with a first-inning single, a Lance Zawadzki home run in the fourth extended the lead to two. The Bluefish picked up a run in the fifth, in the bottom half Kevin Rivers singled and scored on an error to restore the two-run lead. Bridgeport battled back with runs in the sixth and ninth to tie the game, in the bottom of the ninth Zach Collier singled, moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt and scored the winner on another Matthes RBI hit. Shunsuke Watanabe started and worked six innings, Pete Andrelczyk was the pitcher of record. The newspaper story on Friday noted that this was the Barnstormers' twenty-fifth win in their last twenty-seven against Bridgeport, a steak dating back to the 2014 season. On Friday night the Somerset Patriots arrived at the ballpark sporting the Atlantic League's best record. Well-known figure skating star Johnny Weir was in attendance, the Stormers gave away a bobblehead figurine modeled after him. He threw out a first pitch before the game and signed autographs during it, they said the waiting line for his autograph stretched around the stadium (but I wouldn't know because I was sitting in Section 25 WATCHING THE GAME). On this night the Barnstormers prevailed by the same final score as Thursday's game. Anderson Feliz's RBI double in the second and a Kent Matthes fielders choice in the third gave the Stormers a two-run lead, a Somerset run in the fourth was offset by a Luke Hughes home run in the bottom half. The Patriots scored again in the fifth but Matthes replied in kind with a solo shot of his own to make it 4-2. Somerset made it close with a run in the eighth but the bullpen closed it out from there, Marcus Walden recorded the save for winning pitcher Bryan Morgado. The series continues through the weekend and wraps around to Monday evening. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 27-29

Monday morning lunch at the mall, I saw in the newspaper where Lititz won the youth tournament's championship game on Sunday. I would have attended had there been no game in York but given the choice a pro game will win out just about any time. On Tuesday the Barnstormers returned home for the start of a seven-day homestand. When the stadium on North Prince Street opened in 2005 the naming rights were purchased by a publication called Clipper Magazine, the ballpark is invariably called "the Clip" or sometimes just "CMS" for short. A three-game series with the Bridgeport Bluefish opened on Tuesday, the 'Fish took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third. Zach Collier's two-run single in the bottom half tied the game, a two-run home run by Mike McDade gave the home team a 4-2 advantage. In the eighth the Stormers put the game away with a seven-run salvo. A bases-loaded single from McDade scored two runs, a sac fly by newcomer Charlie Cutler (recently added from the Los Angeles Angels organization) made it 7-2. The uprising was capped by a Collier grand-slam as the Barnstormers won it going away 11-2, Joe Gardner started and worked seven innings for the victory. On Wednesday Jenny and I had our usual midweek lunch date, in the evening at the ballpark the Stormers won game #2 in more mundane fashion. A sac fly by former Oakland Athletic Luke Hughes in the second inning made it 1-0, Zach Collier scored on a wild pitch in the fifth to extend the lead to two. The Bluefish got on the board in the sixth, in the bottom half Anderson Feliz's RBI hit restored the two-run lead. Another Bridgeport run in the seventh made it closer but the Stormers held the fort for the 3-2 win, Pete Andrelczyk saved it for winning pitcher Nate Reed. The series wraps up on Thursday, the Somerset Patriots arrive for a four-game set on Friday. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 20-26

The new week started very quietly with little going on Monday or Tuesday. Jenny was in town on business on Tuesday, in the afternoon she came to my place for supper. This was all arranged because she had to be at a local facility by 8:30 that evening for what was called a "sleep test". I had her there shortly after 8:00, at 10:00 Wednesday morning I picked her up for the trip home and our usual lunch date. In the evening I was at the ballpark on North Prince Street for the opening round of the annual local youth tournament. The city newspaper started its sponsorship of this tournament back in the 1940s, the "Midget" bracket (ages 14 to 16) has played its games at the stadium every year since the ballpark's opening in 2005. On Wednesday the top half of the quarterfinal bracket featured Hempfield over Strasburg/Willow Street (in a rematch of the 2014 title game) and Cocalico over Elizabethtown, the bottom half played on Thursday with Garden Spot defeating Manheim and Lititz eliminating Donegal. The semifinals were played on Friday, Cocalico and Lititz were victorious to set up the Sunday championship game. Saturday was uneventful except for lunch with Jenny, on Sunday I made the trip west for York for the 5:00 game at Santander Stadium. The Revolution hosted the Camden Riversharks in the finale of a three-game set, the Revs had won each of the first two in walkoff fashion. On this occasion the Sharks took an early 1-0 lead, York tied it on a solo home run by former Atlanta Brave property Mikey Reynolds. The Revs added a single run in the fourth on a Yeicok Calderon triple and an Andres Perez sac fly, in the fifth an Eric Patterson sac fly extended the lead to 3-1. Camden closed to within one in the seventh but a two-run home run by Perez in the eighth made it 5-2 Revs. The Riversharks scored one in the ninth and had the tying runs on base but ex-bigleaguer Tony Pena (Diamondbacks/White Sox) ended the rally and saved the 5-3 decision for starter Shawn Hill. The Revolution is in a stretch of 32-of-46 days on the road, the next "Santander Sunday" is on August 9. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 17-19

Friday night at the ballpark as the Atlantic League version of the War Of The Roses moved east of the Susquehanna River. On this night it was all Barnstormers virtually from the word go. Yusuke Kajimoto started the game with a double and scored on a base hit from Brian Cavazos-Galvez, BCG went yard in the third to make it 2-0. In the fifth the Stormers added two runs on a wild pitch and a Kent Matthes sac fly, in the next inning two more thanks to a Kajimoto sac fly and a Zach Collier RBI hit. A single run went up in the seventh on a Keith Castillo base hit, in the eighth the exclamation point was added. A bases-loaded single by Matthes was followed by a run-scoring fielding error, a grand slam to dead center off the bat of ex-Oakland Athletic Luke Hughes brought the final score to 13-0. Bryan Woodall worked eight innings for the win, one-time Phillies property Frank Gailey started for the Revs and took the loss. On Saturday we did our usual lunch in Quarryville, in the evening we were back for game #2. Before the game Jenny got a photo with Barnstormers mascot Cylo and another with Lance Zawadzki. After the one-sided loss on Friday the Revolution evened the series on this night. The Barnstormers scored in the fifth inning on an Anderson Feliz triple and a Zach Collier RBI single, in the Revs' half of the sixth Brian Pounds went yard with the bases loaded to give the visitors a 4-1 lead. That would be the final score as Logan Williamson won it for the Revs, Bryan Morgado suffered the loss for the Barnstormers in relief of starter Pat Misch (former San Francisco Giant making his ALPB debut). They had the usual fireworks show after the game but of course we were long gone before they ever went up. The series ended on Sunday with an afternoon Stormers victory, that win gives the Barnstormers an 11-10 advantage in the season series for the Community Cup with seven games remaining. The clubs meet again in York from August 9-12 then back in Lancaster from the 24th to the 26th. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 14-16

Tuesday night at the rink as we started week #13 of street hockey, the Kings and Killbots resumed the West finals tied at a game apiece. The Kings won 3-1 to take a two-to-one series lead, they clinched the championship on Wednesday with a 2-1 victory that will probably be talked about for a long time. It was a 1-1 game with just over a minute left in regulation time when a altercation started in front of the Killbots net, it escalated to the point where everybody on the rink was involved (except the Kings goalie, he was smart enough to stay out of it). By the time we had it sorted out three players were ejected (two for fighting) and the Kings were awarded a five-on-three power play. As play resumed a Kings player took a penalty to reduce the advantage to four-on-three, with fifty-five seconds left the Kings scored to break the tie. The remaining time was successfully killed off as a team that finished sixth out of eight during the regular season claimed the playoff championship. Along the way they eliminated the #3, #2 and #1 seeds so nobody can say it was a fluke, it was simply a matter of peaking at the right time. The spring season at Reservoir Park is finally in the books, a mere eighty-five days after it began. On Thursday I was back at the ballpark, the Barnstormers hosted Long Island in the finale of their series. After winning the (regularly-scheduled) opener on Monday the Stormers struggled through back-to-back shutout losses on Tuesday and Wednesday. On this night they salvaged a series split with a no-doubt-about-it 8-1 win. Lance Zawadzki's second-inning home run made it 1-0, in the third former New York Yankee property Andeson Feliz scored the second run on the front end of a double-steal. Keith Castillo's RBI single in the fourth and a run-scoring double by Brian Cavazos-Galvez extended the lead, in the sixth a sac fly from Feliz and a two-run shot by ex-Phillies prospect Zach Collier effectively put the game away (one final run scored on a wild pitch in the eighth). New pitcher Ray Hanson (from the LA Angels organization) made his Atlantic League debut and pitched five innings for the win. The Stormers stay at home for the weekend, the York Revs come to town for three games. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 11-13

The usual morning lunch with Jenny was about all that happened on a hot Saturday, once I got home I got the AC blowing. On Sunday we made the return trip to York for the rubber game of the Stormers-Revs series. After losing the Friday heartbreaker the Barnstormers won big on Saturday 11-6, on this day they claimed the series win. Juan Apodaca's RBI groundout in the fifth gave the Stormers a 1-0 lead, newcomer Kent Matthes (from the Oakland A's organization) went yard in the sixth to make it 2-0. Run-scoring hits by Apodaca and Yusuke Kajimoto upped the edge to four in the seventh, a two-run double from Matthes made it 6-0. The Revolution got on the board in the ninth on a Nick Ferdinand two-run home run but it mattered little as the Stormers took it 6-2. Bryan Woodall worked six innings for the victory, Rommie Lewis started for the Revs and suffered the loss. On Monday the Barnstormers returned home for the start of a four-game set with the Long Island Ducks. The first order of business was the completion of a suspended game from May 18, the last time the Ducks were in town. The game that night was delayed at the outset by rain, it finally started at 9:30 and was stopped by another storm two hours later. At that point the white flag was waved, on this night the game was resumed at 6:00 with the score 3-3 in the sixth inning. The Barnstormers quickly broke the tie on a Lance Zawadzki two-run double but the Ducks scored single runs in the seventh and ninth to force extra innings. The matter was finally resolved in the bottom of the thirteenth, Zawadzki's two-out solo home run onto the picnic deck in right field gave the Stormers the 6-5 win. The completion of this game officially ends the Atlantic League's first-half schedule, the Barnstormers finished it 28-42. The regularly-scheduled game began shortly after 9:00, I hung out for two innings and called it a night. The series continues through Thursday, the homestand itself through the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 6-10

Had the usual Monday lunch at the mall, the rest of the day was quiet since there were no ballgames anywhere. On Tuesday the West finals began at the rink, game #2 followed on Wednesday. The Kings and Killbots split the first two games, the pivotal third game was set for Thursday night but it didn't happen. Around 6:00 or so a wicked thunderstorm with high winds blew through and wiped out the evening, the series picks up with game #3 on Tuesday the 14th. On Friday morning I stopped by the rink to survey the damage, the rink surface was covered by leaves, twigs and broken tree bark. I went back after lunch and ran the Billy-Goat in an effort to clean up the worst of it. Even though we don't play again until the 14th I figured I'd get it done because it's not going to happen by itself. In the evening I made the drive west across the Susquehanna, Santander Stadium was the site for the start of the Atlantic League's second half. The Revolution hosted the Barnstormers in the opener of a three-game weekend set. Both clubs were below .500 in the first half, the Revs finished 24-46 while the Stormers stand at 27-42 with one suspended game yet to be resolved. Each team was well-represented at the league's All-Star Game: the Revs sent Stephen Penney, Logan Williamson, Luis De La Cruz, Andres Perez, Bryan Pounds and Brandon Boggs to the festivities while the Barnstormers had Pete Andrelczyk, Shunsuke Watanabe, Lance Zawadzki, Brain Cavazos-Galvez and Kevin Rivers plus manager Butch Hobson and coaches Rich Rundles and Ross Peeples. On this night in York the game stayed scoreless through seven innings, in the eighth the Stormers broke the deadlock when Wilson Batista doubled and scored on a Mike McDade RBI hit. In the ninth the Revs tied it on an Eric Patterson single and a Bryan Pounds game-tying double, with two out and the bases loaded Brandon Boggs was hit by the pitch to force home the winning run. For the Revolution the 2-1 victory is nothing less than remarkable, for the Barnstormers it is a frustrating defeat of the highest magnitude. The respective bullpens figured in the decision, Edward Paredes on the plus side and Pete Andrelczyk on the minus side. The series continues on Saturday and concludes on Sunday, the Barnstormers return home on Monday the 13th. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 1-5

The second half of 2015 began on a Wednesday, Jenny and I had our usual lunch visit. In the evening we resumed street hockey playoffs at the rink. The East finals concluded on this night as the UniLords defeated the Steamers to clinch the title four games to one. The one remaining West semifinal was decided as well, the Kings ousted JBE Auto Transport to claim a finals berth opposite the Killbots. Since league rules provide for a day off between series there were no games on Thursday, the West finals begin on Tuesday the 7th. On Friday the Barnstormers returned home for the opener of a three-game set with the Camden Riversharks. The Sharks played a series on North Prince Street in early June but this was my first look at them since the exhibition game back in April. In the Friday opener the Stormers took a 1-0 lead in the second on a home run from ex-Toronto property Mike McDade, in the fifth newcomer Jake Luce (pronounced "loo-chee") reached on a Camden error and scored on a Jerry Owens sac fly. Brian Cavazos-Galvez went yard with a man on in the sixth to extend the advantage, the Sharks got on the board in the eighth but it wasn't enough as the Barnstormers won it 4-1. Joe Gardner pitched eight innings for the win, Marcus Walden worked the ninth for the save. On Saturday Jenny and Helen came into town as usual, there was a huge holiday fireworks show scheduled for after the game which we (of course) did not plan to stay for. There was rain in the forecast for the late afternoon but the game managed to get started on time. On this night Camden took a 2-0 lead in the third and added three more in the sixth as they won easily 5-0. Relief pitcher Bryan Morgado made a spot start for the Stormers working five innings and taking the loss, he was followed for an inning each by Kyle Simon, Scott Patterson, Scott Gracey and Chad Beck. The series wrapped up on Sunday afternoon, I was not there as usual as the Sharks won again to take the series. The first half of the Atlantic League season is over, the Somerset Patriots and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are in the postseason as a result of winning their division titles. The second half starts after the all-star break, the game itself is in Bridgeport on Wednesday the 8th. Take care, thanks for reading.