Sunday, May 8, 2016
May 7-8
Had our usual Saturday lunch in Quarryville, on the way back into town we drove by a ballfield where a city youth league plays on weekend afternoons. As we were approaching it I saw a man wearing a jersey with "ZAWADZKI #7" on the back, when he turned around I recognized Barnstormers infielder Lance Zawadzki. He is one of Jenny's favorite players, she had a photo opportunity with him at a game in 2015. We immediately pulled over to see what was happening, it was a fundraiser for the league and Lance was there representing the Stormers along with pitcher Pete Andrelczyk and newcomer Justin Jackson (Justin is a former Toronto Blue Jays property and a rarity in pro ball, a pitcher who also plays other positions). We talked with the guys for a few moments before they had to leave, Lance said he actually remembered the photo with Jenny. Sometimes it's funny how things happen, had we driven by there five minutes later we would have never known the ballplayers had even been there. In late afternoon we made the trip north to Reading for game #5 with Wheeling, a raucous Arena crowd witnessed a scintillating 3-1 Royals victory. One had to wonder how the clubs would respond after the Game #4 marathon on Thursday, the off-day before this game had to be welcome. On this night the Royals drew first blood, Cam Reid's goal twelve minutes in made it 1-0. The Nailers took advantage of a power-play chance to tie the game early in the second period, seven minutes later Justin Crandall scored on a backhander to restore the Royals' lead. From there Adam Morrison and the defense corps held the fort, in the closing minutes Kevin Goumas found the empty Wheeling net to cement the victory. The Royals take a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series, the final two are in Wheeling on Monday the 9th (for sure) and Wednesday the 11th (if needed). The club has an overall stronger record on the road than at home but obviously there are no guarantees, there is still one more win required for the club to play any more games at the Arena. On Sunday we had brilliant sunshine and temperatures in the 60s, after better than a week of unsettled weather maybe the monsoon season is finally over. Take care, thanks for reading.