April 28-30

Thursday was a dreary day from start to finish, it rained well into the late afternoon. With more in the forecast for the evening hours we postponed the night's street hockey schedule with May 15 as the makeup date. On Friday Jenny was in town, we met for lunch at the plaza. In the evening I made my first regular-season visit to the ballpark on North Prince Street, the Barnstormers hosted the Somerset Patriots. The Stormers won five of seven on their season-opening road trip, they opened at home on Thursday and got the game in despite the adverse conditions. The Patriots took the Thursday game and on this night made it two straight. It was a chilly night with light mist following through the middle innings but I was under cover in the grandstand which was about all that made it tolerable. The Stormers trailed 3-0 in the third, in the bottom half they scored twice thanks to three former big-leaguers. With two out infielder Jeff Kobernus (Washington) doubled and scored on a two-base hit by outfielder Caleb Gindl (Milwaukee), Gindl crossed the plate on another double by ex-Oriole Josh Bell. Somerset posted single runs in the fourth, fifth and ninth to put it away, the final was 6-2. Former Twins property Brandon Bixler made his Barnstormer debut and took the loss, returnees Bryan Evans and Pete Andrelczyk worked in relief along with ex-Arizona Diamondback Matt Reynolds and former Atlanta property Mark Lamm. On Saturday it was still cool and windy, after lunch in Quarryville Jenny and her mother came back to town for the evening's game at the ballpark. I wouldn't have blamed them if they had elected not to come but living fourteen miles out of town doesn't afford them the opportunity to get out much unless it's within our universe. The game started at 7:00, by 9:00 Jenny was getting tired and it wasn't getting any warmer so we headed home. The Stormers were down 2-0 in the seventh when we left, when I got back to town I heard that the game was in extra innings as the 11:00 hour approached. They had a postgame fireworks show scheduled but city ordinances prohibit it after 11:00 so a lot of people were likely going home disappointed no matter how the game turned out. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 25-27

Let's start with some good news: the Royals are in the conference semifinals for the first time since 2013. The club won the deciding game in Toledo 4-1 on Tuesday night, Kevin Goumas scored a hattrick and Nikita Kashirsky added a single in support of winning goalie Martin Ouellette. The win sets up a series against the Wheeling Nailers starting in Wheeling on Friday the 29th. The format for this one is 2-3-2 with games at the Arena on May 4, 5 and 7 as previously noted. On Monday I had another double-dipper going, baseball at McCaskey in the afternoon and street hockey at Reservior Park in the evening. The Red Tornado won its first game of the season on Friday defeating Lampeter-Strasburg on their field, on this day JPM hosted Ephrata in another crossover game. Ephrata scored first and led 6-0 in the fifth inning, in their at-bat JPM put three on the board. Infielder Cristian Viera started it with a base hit, Luis Padilla followed with a fielders choice groundout. Radames Roubert's RBI hit scored Padilla, a Derek Gonzalez walk and a Dylan Esh single loaded the bases. David Padilla drew a walk to force home Roubert with the second run, Chris Rosario followed with a base hit to score Gonzalez. At that point the rally was killed by a controversial catch/no-catch that resulted in a double play thanks to confusion on the basepaths, a play that may be emblematic of the kind of season it has been. An Ephrata run in the sixth made the final 7-3, Devin Ashba worked into the fourth inning with relief from Daleuri Contreras and Jeffrey Acevedo. The game finally ended around 6:45, I immediately headed for the rink where the night's action was already underway. The Blues beat the Owls in a crossover game, in West play the Riot defeated the Hammerheads and the Misfits beat the Kings and in an East game Yorgo's won over the Steamers. On Tuesday it was very warm with daytime temperatures close to 80, we had a late-afternoon thunderstorm that came and went quickly. The night's schedule proceeded without issue, in the East the Steamers won over the Blues. In West action it was H&F Tire over the Misfits, the Riot over the Pub Dawgs and the Owls over the Killbots. I got home shortly after 10:00, just in time to get the good news about the Royals. On Wednesday it was much cooler with some patchy morning rain, my usual morning lunch visit with Jenny was the extent of the day's activities. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 23-24

Saturday lunch in Quarryville with Jenny and her mother, on the next day we were back at the Arena for game #6 of the series with Toledo. The Royals needed a win to clinch the series but it was not to be. If the recap of this game sounds familiar that is because it played out almost exactly as game #4 had on Wednesday. The visiting Walleye scored late in the first and early in the second to take a 2-0 lead, late in the period Cam Reid scored on a power play to bring the Royals within one. The third period was scoreless until a Toledo empty-netter brought the final score to 3-1 (again), Martin Ouelette was the Royals' goalie of record. It all boils down to a single game on Tuesday the 26th in Toledo, the winner advances to the conference semifinals. The organization has dates reserved for the next round, if we are there the games would be May 4, 5 and 7 but that's a long way off. What happens in game #7 remains to be seen, we'll all know in about forty-eight hours. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 21-22

Thursday afternoon at McCaskey for baseball, this was a game postponed twice previously. It was rained out on April 8 and rescheduled for April 12, wet grounds on that day forced postponement again. The boys had a home game on Wednesday that I missed because of the Royals playoff game, I was told that the PA went unmanned in my absence. On this afternoon the club began the second half of its schedule still looking for its first win, Cedar Crest was the opponent in a divisional matchup. Before the game one of Crest's assistant coaches recognized me from my professional background, one of those "hey, aren't you the guy from Reading" moments I get every so often. CC scored twice in the second inning, in the bottom of the third the Red Tornado fought back. Catcher Joe Cunningham doubled and Derek Gonzalez reached on an error, they both scored an a single from Michael Abrew. The momentum was short-lived, Crest scored single runs in the fourth and fifth and made then stand up for a 4-2 win. Devin Ashba started on the mound and went the distance as the club drops to 0-11, the next home game is on the 25th against Ephrata. We were done shortly after 6:00, I got to the rink in time of the evening's street hockey schedule. Don knew I would be running behind, he had things up and running in good order. In the West division game the Owls beat the Hammerheads, crossover action featured Yorgo's over the Riot and the Steamers over the Pub Dawgs. Not much going on Friday, in the evening the Royals won in Toledo to go up 3-2 in the series and set up a possible clincher on Sunday at the Arena. Take care, thanks for reading

April 19-20

Tuesday night at the Arena in downtown Reading, the Royals hosting the Toledo Walleye in game #3 of the conference quarterfinals. The teams split the first two games in Toledo, on this night the Royals struck first late in the opening period on a score from Maxim Lamarche. The Walleye evened the score midway through the second period, a minute-and-a-half later Yannick Tifu replied to make it 2-1. Ian Watters' goal early in the third period upped the lead to two but the Walleye found the net with two minutes left to pull within one. In the closing minute Joe Rehkamp hit an empty-netter to cement the 4-2 win, Martin Ouellette was the goalie of record for the Royals. On Wednesday night in game #4 the Walleye drew first blood, a second score early in the second period put the Royals in a two-goal hole. Brandon Alderson got the club in the board late in the period but that was to be the only score for the home side, a Toledo empty-netter locked up the 3-1 verdict as Adam Morrison took the loss in goal. The series is square at two games apiece, what began as a best-of-seven and became a best-of-five has been reduced to a best-of-three. The pivotal game #5 is in Toledo on Friday with the series returning to Reading on Sunday the 24th. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 16-18

Went to Quarryville on Saturday morning for Jenny and her mother, we stopped at the sub shop and got lunch to go because we were coming back into town. The Barnstormers hosted their annual fanfest at the ballpark, the gates opened at noon and the exhibition game versus the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs started at 1:00. There were all sorts of special attractions going on as well but for most of those in attendance it was their first opportunity to see the 2016 edition of the Stormers in action. On this day the local club scored early and often in a one-sided 11-0 victory. The Blue Crabs eliminated the Barnstormers in the semifinals in 2015 and went on to the ALPB championship series where they lost to Somerset, the Stormers begin the regular season in Waldorf against the Crabs on Thursday the 21st. On Saturday night the Royals played game #2 of their first-round playoff series in Toledo, the Royals had won the opener on Friday but on this night the Walleye returned serve to tie the set at 1-1. The next two games are in Reading on the 19th and 20th. Sunday was an uneventful day (as will be the case for the most part during the coming months), on Monday I did my usual morning lunch at the mall. In the evening we were at the street hockey rink, week #2 got underway with four games on the schedule. In the West division the Owls beat H&F Tire and the Misfits defeated the Pub Dawgs, in crossover play the Blues beat the Killbots and the Steamers prevailed over the Kings. Four more games are up for Tuesday but I am absent because of Royals hockey at the Arena. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 14-15

2016 marks the nineteenth season for the Atlantic League Of Professional Baseball, the twelfth for Lancaster as a member city and the tenth season for the York Revolution. Training camp opened on Monday, on Thursday the Barnstormers and the Revs met for an exhibition game at the ballpark on North Prince Street. The Stormers made playoffs in 2015 but lost in the semifinal round, the Revs finished out of the running for the postseason. A 1:00 start on a Thursday is not designed to draw a large attendance (exhibition games are not heavily promoted) but the turnout was respectable, there were several hundred hardcore fans in the park. Both teams have a fair share of returnees on their rosters, most of the players in this game are among those who are "on the bubble". The Revs led 5-4 after nine innings but the teams played another inning to allow some of the pitchers the extra work (rules in exhibition games tend to be rather lax, one inning actually ended before the third out was recorded). In the evening we finished week #1 of street hockey at the rink with three games, one of each category. The East game saw Yorgo's defeat the Blues, in the West the Killbots beat the Hammerheads and in the crossover game the Steamers prevailed over H&F Tire via overtime shootout. Each team has two games in the books, we're back at the rink on Monday the 18th. On Friday Jenny was in town, we had lunch at the sub shop at the plaza. In the afternoon we were back at McCaskey for baseball, the Red Tornado hosted Elizabethtown in a game that was over virtually from the proverbial word Go. E-town won 15-1, the game was stopped by the mercy rule after five innings. JPM's lone score came in the fifth, infielder Dylan Esh reached on a single and scored on an RBI hit from fellow infielder Derek Gonzalez. Head coach Tyler Horst used four pitchers, Daleuri Contreras started and took the loss with Jonny Dombach, Jonathan Metzler and Chris Rosario working in relief. The program has struggled in recent seasons, this loss drops the record to 0-7 and clearly the only way to go is up. The boys play next at home on Wednesday the 20th (I'm out because of Royals playoffs) and Thursday the 21st. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 11-13

The weather forecast for the early part of the week was not especially encouraging but we got lucky, the rain came mostly during overnight hours which allowed us to start street hockey season at Reservoir Park. We have eleven teams, ten are back from the Fall season plus one new squad. On Monday we had four games on the docket, two within the West division and two crossovers. In the West games the Hammerheads beat the Pub Dawgs and the Riot defeated the Kings, the crossovers saw the Steamers over the Owls (new team) and the Misfits over the Blues. McCaskey's makeup ballgame at home on Tuesday was postponed due to wet grounds from the overnight rain, it was reset for Thursday the 21st. That allowed me to be at the rink on Tuesday from the get-go, on this night we had three West games and one crossover. Yorgo's (the former UniLords) beat the Killbots in the crossover, in the West the Misfits won over the Riot, the Owls beat the Kings and H&F Tire vanquished the Pub Dawgs. On Wednesday we had no games, a local bike polo club worked out a deal to use the rink one night a week and Wednesday was the day agreed upon. In the morning we had our usual lunch date in Quarryville, in the afternoon we were at JPM for a regularly-scheduled ballgame. The Red Tornado hosted Penn Manor in a divisional game and came out on the wrong end of a 2-0 decision. JPM had just one baserunner the entire game, that came on a scratch infield single by outfielder Radames Roubert. Devin Ashba started on the mound and deserved a better fate, Jeffrey Acevedo finished it in relief. The ballclub remains winless, they host Elizabethtown in a crossover game on Friday. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 9-10

The expected precipitation arrived overnight into Saturday, in the morning it was snowing hard and the flakes were large. There was a newspaper story saying how this would be our area's "onion snow", that may well have been the case because it was all over by the time I left for lunch with Jenny and her mother. The drive south was wet but otherwise no issue at all, by afternoon the snow that had laid on grassy areas was just about all gone as well. In the evening we were at the Arena for the final game of the regular season, the Wheeling Nailers were the opponent. Before the game we honored all those who have been season ticket holders for the entire fifteen-year history of the franchise, after that a video spotlighting the players who won end-of-season awards was shown on the videoboard. At its conclusion team president Drew Bell announced that there was one more to be presented, he then named me as the recipient of the 2015-16 Team President's Award. I had a feeling something was up because Drew had asked me if I could make it to the radio show on awards night, when I indicated it might be iffy because of baseball he said it was OK if I couldn't. When I read the publicity for the awards on Wednesday they mentioned one more would be presented on game night, when I arrived on Saturday certain parties were being very secretive and I more or less put two and two together. All I can say is it's always nice to have what you do be appreciated and respected, I can attest that it doesn't always happen everywhere. In the game itself the Royals suffered another frustrating home-ice defeat, a one-goal lead in the third period melted away as quickly as the morning snow in a 4-2 loss to Wheeling. Justin Crandall and Ian Watters scored for the Royals, Martin Ouellette (back from the Phantoms) got the start in net. The final mark is 36-26-10, 16-15-5 at home. The club matches up with the Toledo Walleye in the first round of playoffs, the series starts on the 15th in Toledo. Games #3, #4 and #6 are at the Arena, the first of those is on Tuesday the 19th. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 6-8

Had our usual Wednesday lunch date in Quarryville, on Thursday the morning errand run was accompanied by heavy rain. The Friday afternoon baseball game at McCaskey was postponed due to wet grounds, it was reset for Tuesday the 12th. The boys were also scheduled for a Saturday morning non-league game at Exeter (suburban Reading), that was postponed in advance due to the impending weather conditions. They are calling for rain and the possibility of SNOW for early Saturday morning so I guess you would call it a preemptive move. The Royals do a weekly one-hour radio show on Tuesday nights which emanates from a local sports bar/grille, play-by-play voice Mark Thompson is the host. The club announced its end-of-season player awards on the most recent broadcast, Adam Comrie (who has been in the AHL since mid-January) was named by fan voting as the club's MVP. Justin Crandall won Top Offensive Player and Top Rookie, Ian Watters was Defensive Player Of The Year. Derik Johnson was named Unsung Hero, Mike Marcou won the Heart Award and team enforcer Derek Mathers received the Scrapper Of The Year Award. Scott Tanski and Yannick Tifu shared the Comminity Service Award, Yannick also won the Fans Choice Award as most popular player. The club finished the road portion of its schedule with a 4-3 loss in Wheeling on Friday night but clinched a playoff berth in the process, game #72 is at the Arena on Saturday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 4-5

Rain was in the forecast for Monday, in the morning I had a phone call from Don. We'll start the spring street hockey season on Monday the 11th, we have eleven teams in two divisions. We had eleven in the fall league as well but for the spring season the split is 3/8 instead of 4/7, the crossover portion of the schedule stays in place with every team meeting each opponent from the opposite division once. I was able to work the format out quickly since it's essentially the same as the fall league. It starting raining in the early afternoon but the game at McCaskey was still on as scheduled, when I arrived at the ballfield it was coming down steadily. The plan was to start around 4:30 (fifteen minutes later than scheduled) but the rain never let up and the game was postponed to Tuesday. The rainout afforded me the opportunity to put the finishing touches on the hockey schedule, on Tuesday morning I took copies to Don's wife at her workplace which is only a few blocks away from where I live. Jenny was in town on business, we got together for a few minutes for drinks over her lunch break. In the afternoon we reconvened at JPM for the rescheduled ballgame, this was the league opener against Manheim Township. The LL baseball league uses the same schedule format as basketball, two games each against your five division-mates and one each against the teams from Section II (basketball is eliminating the crossovers in '16-17 but that's another story). On this day the sun was out and the skies were clear but it was COLD with temperatures in the mid-40s and winds out of the west at 20 miles per hour. The Red Tornado dropped to 0-3 with a 4-0 loss, the club had its opportunities but could not get the big hit at the right time. Devin Ashba pitched five innings and suffered the loss, David Peguero finished it in relief. The boys play a road game on Wednesday, they are home against Cedar Crest on Friday the 8th. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 1-3

The Royals began the new month with a Friday night win in Wheeling, on Saturday we were back in downtown Reading for a back-to-back with the Norfolk Admirals. The Ads entered the weekend out of contention for a playoff spot but you would have never known it, both games were a battle-and-a-half. In the opener on Saturday the Royals led early on a score by Yannick Tifu but Norfolk scored twice in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Nikita Kashirsky tied it late in the period, with four minutes left in regulation time Tifu struck again for the GWG as the Royals prevailed 3-2. Rookie goaltender Matt Skoff (the Penn State product) picked up the win in his professional debut. In the Sunday rematch the Admirals took a 1-0 lead in the second period, that edge held up until the midpoint of the third period when all hell broke loose. The Royals caught a break when Mike Marcou's shot deflected off a Norfolk defender into the net to tie the game, moments later Mike Pereira (back from the AHL) put the Royals ahead in exactly the same fashion. At that point Norfolk frustration boiled over, on the ensuing power play Pereira netted his second of the game to make the final score 3-1. Adam Morrison got the start in goal on this day and earned his second win of the weekend. The Royals' overall record improves to 36-24-10, 16-14-5 at the Arena. Over the last twelve games the mark is 9-1-2, the club appears to be coming together at the right time with several returnees from the AHL filtering down and getting back into the lineup. The Royals are on the cusp of clinching a playoff spot, it could happen before they next play on Friday the 8th in Wheeling. That is the first of a back-to-back with the Nailers, the teams finish the regular season at the Arena on Saturday the 9th. Take care, thanks for reading.