August 27-31

Saw on the Internet where the Wednesday night ballgame went fourteen innings, it was almost midnight when it finally ended. The Revs scored six runs in the fourteenth on just two hits and won 10-4, three Barnstormer errors in the inning aided the cause. The season series ends 15-13 in the Stormers favor, what matters now is the final push for a playoff spot. Both teams qualified in 2014 (the Revs as the first-half division winner and the Stormers as a wild card) but the likelihood of both teams making it in again is minimal. Jenny called around 9:45 on Thursday morning, Helen was being discharged. I picked them up at the hospital and took them home, we had our usual lunch date (we were going to have it on this day anyway because of my mother's eye appointment, funny how stuff like that works out). Helen said the doctors have no idea what caused her chest pains (???) but she has had similar episodes before and it was usually acid reflux or a bad reaction to a medication. She has a pacemaker and given that plus her age it's always a cause for concern. On Thursday evening I was at McCaskey for a football scrimmage, the Red Tornado hosted Lancaster Catholic. It's always strange for me when these teams face each other since I do the PA for both schools. A new PA system was recently installed at the stadium, we took the opportunity to test it before the scrimmage started by explaining to the fans what they would see. The JV squads took the field first, each team ran ten plays. That was followed by the varsities running twenty plays each. The night finished with two twelve-minute running-time periods played under game conditions (down-and-distance, penalty calls, etc). The season begins the weekend of September 4, I'm at LCHS on Friday at 7:00 and JPM on Saturday at 1:00 (a rare doubleheader). The rest of the weekend was quiet except for Saturday lunch with Jenny, no baseball anywhere until the first day of September. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 26

Wednesday began with a morning trip to the health campus, my mother had an eye doctor appointment. Her cataract surgery was in May of 2014 but there are still the periodic followups involving eye drops and pupil dilation for which she needs a driver. In the evening we were back at the Clip for the final game of the Revolution/Barnstormers series, as the night went on my mind ended up being more concerned with other matters. Just before game time Jenny called, her mother was having chest pains and an ambulance was bringing her into town  Jenny was riding in with her and was planning to stay until she was discharged. Under the circumstances there was little I could do, I just asked her to keep me apprised as the night went on. In the game itself the Revs scored in the first on an Eric Patterson RBI groundout, in the bottom half Mike McDade's RBI groundout and a Brian Cavazos-Galvez base hit gave the Stormers a 2-1 lead. A Jerry Owens fielders choice in the fourth scored another to make the score 3-1 but in the Revs fifth a Mikey Reynolds RBI single and a two-run double by Salvador Paniagua gave the vistors a 4-3 lead. By the time the seventh inning rolled around it was almost 10:00, I called curfew and headed home. Jenny and I had been talking via text message all evening, shortly after I arrived home she called to say Helen was being admitted for overnight observation. I checked the progress of the ballgame online and saw where the Barnstormers tied it in the ninth on a Kevin Rivers home run, they were headed to extra innings dead even at 4-4. I guess we'll find out how everything works out on Thursday morning. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 25

Back at the ballpark on Tuesday night for game #2 of the Revs/Stormers series. This was not a night for the respective starting pitchers, both were out of the game by the fourth inning. The Revolution came out strong in the first inning, Bryan Pounds' bases-loaded double chased home three runs and Mikey Reynolds' RBI hit scored Pounds to make it 4-0. Mike McDade's run-scoring single in the bottom half put the Barnstormers on the board, a two-run double by Kent Matthes in the third closed the deficit to 4-3. The Revs replied quickly with three in the fourth, an RBI hit from Eric Patterson and a two-run single by Pounds gave the visitors a 7-3 lead. In the bottom of the fourth the Stormers replied just as swiftly, RBI singles by Matthes and Jerry Owens plus a two-run base hit by McDade squared the score at 7-7. The Barnstormers took their first lead of the night in the fifth, one run scoring on a Charlie Cutler single and another on a passed ball to give the home team a 9-7 advantage. Brandon Boggs' RBI hit in the sixth brought the Revs back to within one, in the seventh the lead changed hands for the last time on a Salvador Paniagua two-run home run. Stephen Penney was the winning pitcher in the Revs' 10-9 win with Mike DeMark recording the save, Blake Hassebrock took the loss for the Barnstormers. The clubs meet for the twenty-eighth (and final) time on Wednesday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 24

Monday night baseball at The Clip as the Revs and Barnstormers met for the twenty-sixth time in 2015. The ALPB used to play a balanced schedule (twenty games against each of the other seven clubs) but in recent years the league has favored geographic rivalry. Many feel that twenty-eight games against a single opponent (in a 140-game season) is way too much, in the major leagues the maximum number against another club is nineteen out of 162. On this night on North Prince Street the visiting Revs took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on an Andres Perez solo home run and a James Simmons RBI double. Lance Zawadzki's two-base hit in the bottom half got the Stormers on the board, in the fifth they plated four more. Kent Matthes' two run double gave the Barnstormers the lead, Luke Hughes picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded walk and another run scored on a Rev fielding error. Brian Pounds went yard in the sixth to bring the Revs within 5-3 but in the late innings the Stormers iced it away. Zawadzki's RBI double in the seventh made it 6-3, in the eighth another four crossed the plate on a Zawadzki sac fly and RBI hits from Hughes, Mike McDade and Brian Cavazos-Galvez. The starting pitchers in the 10-3 Barnstormers victory were involved in the decision, Nate Reed won it while Logan Williamson suffered the loss. Since the rivalry began with the advent of the Revolution in 2007 each club had won the Community Cup four times, this victory clinched the 2015 Cup for the Barnstormers. The competition for the cup may be decided but the division race has a long way to go, both teams are very much in the hunt for the postseason. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 17-23

Every once in a while there comes a period of time where absolutely nothing of any note takes place, the last several days are a prime example. I had my car at the garage on Monday for the annual state inspection and had lunch with Jenny on Wednesday and Saturday, other than that it was largely a colossal bore. The Barnstormers were on the road the entire week but on Friday the Revolution returned to York for a weekend series against Somerset. The Patriots won the first two games scoring twenty-nine runs in the process, I took in the Sunday game (the ever-popular 5:00 start). The Revs took a 1-0 lead in the fifth on an RBI double by ex-San Francisco Giant property James Simmons but Somerset replied in kind in the sixth to tie the game. That 1-1 tie extended long into the evening, in the fourteenth inning the Patriots broke through and took a one-run lead. In the bottom half the Revs mounted a comeback of their own. Former Houston Astro farmhand Telvin Nash started it with a double and scored on a base hit by Simmons, Jose Constanza's RBI single scored Simmons with the winner as the Revolution gutted out the 3-2 win. Both teams went deep into the bullpen, Beau Vaughan (the last of seven Revs relievers) was the pitcher of decision. The Revolution heads back out onto the road, the first stop is in Lancaster on Monday for a three-game series. The Barnstormers lead the season series over the Revs 14-11 with three games to go, one more win for the Stormers would bring the Community Cup east for the first time since 2012. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 14-16

Friday night on North Prince Street for game #2 with the Skeeters, on this night it was just about all in Sugar Land's favor. A four-run fifth and one more in the seventh were enough for a 5-3 Skeeters win. Offensive highlights were few for the Barnstormers, all of their runs scored on a three-run Anderson Feliz home run in the bottom of the seventh. Nate Reed started for the Barnstormers and suffered the loss. There was a special attraction booked for in-between innings and the postgame, that plus a fireworks show drew a crowd announced as the sixth-largest in franchise history. On Saturday Jenny and her mother were in town for the ballgame, the Stormers got back into the win column with a come-from-behind 10-6 decision. It didn't start well as the Skeeters scored three runs in the first, in the second inning a sacrifice fly from Yusuke Kajimoto and an Anderson Feliz RBI hit brought the Barnstormers within one. A six-run uprising in the fourth turned the game completely around. An RBI double by newcomer Derrick Pyles tied the score at 3-3, that was followed in quick order by a Kajimoto two-run single, a two-run Feliz home run and a solo shot off the bat of Kent Matthes. In the fifth Feliz delivered again, his two-RBI double extended the advantage to 10-3. Sugar Land got three back in the seventh but starting pitcher Chad Beck survived the early turbulence and picked up the win. On Sunday the series wrapped up in ninety-degree afternoon heat, I marked the occasion by staying inside in the air conditioning. August 16 is Jenny's birthday and since we didn't see each other on Sunday I had given her gift on Saturday. Jenny has modest tastes and she didn't ask for anything specific but she was happy with what she got (it was something she had hinted at back in the spring and probably thought I forgot about but I did not). Jenny and I have been together since the latter part of 2001 and she means the world to me, I can't imagine being without her. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 13

Saw on the Internet where the Barnstormers won the game in York on Wednesday night, it took extra innings to decide it. Between that and the rain delay the game wasn't over until almost 11:30, by that time I was home, showered and camped out watching the late MLB game on TV. The franchise in York began in '07, this was the first time I can recall attending every game of a series there but it all came together at the right time (important games, not far to travel, little else on the schedule, etc.). The fact that they run a good operation and I like it there doesn't hurt, either. On Thursday night the Barnstormers returned home to host the Sugar Land Skeeters in the opener of a weekend set. The Skeeters visited for a weeknight series during street hockey season back in May, this was my first look at them in Lancaster (I saw a game they played in York in June). This series was a rematch of the 2014 Atlantic League Championship Series and no fan of either team has forgotten how that ended. On this night the game stayed 0-0 through four innings, all the scoring took place in the next two. Sugar Land went up 1-0 in the fifth but the Stormers replied quickly with four in the bottom half, one run scoring on a fielding error and three more on a Mike McDade home run. The Skeeters closed to within 4-3 in the sixth, a Luke Hughes RBI double and a Zach Collier sac fly restored the three-run advantage. From there the bullpen shut it down as the Stormers took it 6-3, Joe Gardner was the winning pitcher with support from ex-Oakland property Blake Hassebrock, former Pittsburgh Pirate Daniel Moskos and original Barnstormer Scott Patterson. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 11-12

Returned to Santander Stadium on Tuesday for game #3, before it started I took a walk out to the right-centerfield area and said hello to Cannonball Charlie. "Charlie" (his real first name is Jason) is a popular part of the game-night experience in York, whenever the Revs hit a home run the entire neighborhood knows about it. After the crazy back-and-forth affair on Monday the Barnstormers won on this night in comparatively mundane fashion. Mike McDade's first-inning single gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, that was increased to four in the fifth on an Anderson Feliz RBI hit and a two-run single by Kent Matthes. The Revolution scored its lone run in the eighth on a Brandon Boggs base hit but it was of little importance as the Stormers won it 4-1. Bryan Morgado was the winning pitcher, Rommie Lewis the loser. Had the usual Wednesday morning lunch visit with Jenny, in the evening the series in York was scheduled to wrap up but Mother Nature threw the proverbial monkey-wrench into the plan. The game started on time at 6:30, as the evening progressed the skies grew very dark to the west. Mike McDade homered in the second to give the Stormers the lead, Eric Patterson's solo shot in the third tied the score 1-1. The Barnstormers reclaimed the lead on a run-scoring wild pitch in the fifth but Andres Perez's RBI hit in the sixth knotted the score once again. The real fun started in the seventh when the rain finally arrived, as it picked up in intensity the umpires stopped play and called for the tarp. By then it was past 9:00 and with the half-hour drive home figured in I decided to bag it and head east. The clubs meet again in Lancaster for the final three games of the season series on August 24, 25 and 26. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 10

Monday morning lunch at the mall, in the late afternoon we made the return trip west for game #2 of the Stormers/Revs series. If you enjoy up-and-down roller-coaster rides this game was for you. Eric Patterson's RBI double in the first gave York a 1-0 lead, in the second the lead grew to three on a Luis De La Cruz sac fly and a Mikey Reynolds RBI hit. The Barnstormers got on the board in the third on a Zach Collier double and a Kent Matthes groundout to close within 3-2. In the fifth Anderson Feliz's RBI hit tied the game, he would score the go-ahead run on a Matthes sac fly. Charlie Cutler singled with a man on third to extend the Stormer lead to 5-3 but the Revs got one back in the bottom of the inning on a bases-loaded walk. York took a 6-5 lead in the sixth on a two-run single by Wilson Valdez, in the visitors half of the seventh Matthes went yard over the Arch Nemesis to knot the game at 6-6. The Barnstormers regained the lead in the eighth on Brian Cavazos-Galvez's RBI hit but the Revs (as the home team) had the last at-bat and they made it count. In the bottom of the ninth a bases-loaded single by Yeicok Calderon tied the score, Reynolds followed with the game-winning hit as the Revs rallied for the wacky 8-7 win. Both clubs went deep into the bullpen, Edward Paredes (on the plus side) and Marcus Walden (on the minus side) were the pitchers of decision. The series is squared at a game apiece, one wonders what may be in store in the form of an encore on Tuesday and Wednesday. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 7-9

The early part of the weekend was quiet, on Saturday Jenny and I had our usual lunch date. On Sunday the Barnstormers arrived in York for the opener of a huge four-game series with the homestanding Revolution. Both teams finished out of the running in the first-half standings, in the second half they are in the thick of the race. The Stormers entered the series having won three-of-four in Brideport, the Revs were coming in fresh from a four-game sweep of Southern Maryland. On this late afternoon/early evening at Santander Stadium it was all Barnstormers from the word go. Zach Collier singled and scored on a Mike McDade groundout in the first, in the fourth McDade doubled and came home on a Lance Zawadzki fielder's choice grounder to make it 2-0. In the fifth a Luke Hughes solo homer, a run-scoring hit by Yusuke Kajimoto and a Kent Matthes RBI groundout upped the advantage to five. In the sixth Zawadzki's solo shot ended the scoring as the Barnstormers won it 6-0, starters Nate Reed (Stormers) and Logan Williamson (Revs) were the pitchers of decision. The series continues through Wednesday, if all goes well I plan to be at all three. I don't usually make a point of seeing more than one game per series in York but this is a big series, it's happening at a time where my weeknights are largely free and although it's a thirty-mile drive from Lancaster it's not an unpleasant trip (highway just about all the way). We'll see how the week plays out. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 4-6

Not much going on Tuesday or Wednesday save for a lunch visit with Jenny. On Thursday I met Marty at his place in Salunga and we made the drive west to York for the evening's ballgame, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs were the opponent. I had planned to going to the Friday game but switched because Marty had something else going that night. I have only seen the Crabs twice in Lancaster and once in York thus far, all of those games were back in May so I wanted to see at least one game of this series and which night it was made little difference to me. The Revolution had won the opener in walkoff fashion on Wednesday, on this night the Revs made it two straight with a 9-1 victory. Andres Perez's two-run double in the first broke the ice, in the second the Crabs scored their lone run. In the bottom half RBI singles by Eric Patterson and Wilson Valdez plus a run-scoring wild pitch extended the lead to 5-1, in the fourth a Brandon Boggs solo home run and another wild pitch plated two more. A seventh-inning RBI hit from former Atlanta Brave Jose Constanza and an eighth-inning RBI double by Perez salted the game away, Rommie Lewis pitched seven innings for the win with relief support from Beau Vaughan and Edward Paredes. It was overcast with a slight chance of rain, some light precipitation fell during the middle innings but it was of no real concern. The series continues through Saturday, on Sunday the 9th the Barnstormers come into York for a four-game series that is shaping up to be very important. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 1-3

The new month began on a Saturday and for Jenny and Helen it was another baseball night in Lancaster. I must admit I miss the old 6:00 starts on Sundays (that used to be the night Jenny and her mother would attend) but I doubt the Barnstormers bring the Sunday nights back anytime soon, for me a 5:00 Sunday in York is the next best thing. On this night the Somerset Patriots scored twice in the first but the Barnstormers evened it in the bottom half on a Kevin Rivers RBI triple and a Kent Matthes sac fly. The next five scores belonged to Somerset, by the seventh inning it was 7-2 Patriots. A Mike McDade solo home run and an Anderson Feliz RBI hit drew the Stormers within three, in the eighth a Luke Hughes two-run double made it 7-6. In the ninth the Barnstormers had the tying run on third but couldn't push it home as the Patriots held on for the 7-6 win. Ray Hanson started for the home team and took the loss. There was the usual Saturday night fireworks show after the game but the ladies and I made the usual Saturday night exit when the game ended. The teams continued the series on Sunday afternoon in brilliant sunlight and high-80s temperatures, I continued my practice of staying in and staying cool. The Barnstormers won to take a 2-1 series advantage, on Monday night in the wraparound game they played their own particular version of Home Run Derby. The Pats took a first-inning 1-0 lead but a Zach Collier solo shot in the bottom half knotted the score. In the second inning Lance Zawadzki went yard with a man on but Somerset rebounded with two in the third and one in the fourth to go ahead 4-3. Luke Hughes homered in the sixth to tie the game once again but Somerset scored twice in the seventh to go up 6-4. A Mike McDade RBI groundout in the bottom in the inning drew the Stormers within one, in the ninth Collier's second home run of the night squared the game at 6-6. Anderson Feliz followed by reaching on a Somerset error, Kent Matthes' double to right-center scored Feliz with the winning run in an improbable 7-6 victory. Marcus Walden (the last of six Barnstormer pitchers used) picked up the win, Nate Reed started and worked five innings. The ballclub plays its next eight on the road including a four-game set in York from the 9th to the 12th, the next home game is Thursday the 13th against Sugar Land. Take care, thanks for reading.