June 27-30

Monday morning at the mall for lunch, in the evening we finished the spring street hockey season at the rink. The Killbots won over the Misfits to clinch the West division championship three games to one. It had to be a satisfying victory for many of the Killbots after losing in the Finals in each of the previous three seasons. We may run an informal summer draft league if there is enough interest, we would need enough individuals signed up to form at least four teams. It's been advertised for the last few weeks, we'll know more by mid-July. On Tuesday I was at the ballpark, the Barnstormers hosted the Bridgeport Bluefish in game #2 of a four-game series. The Stormers won the opener on Monday, on this night they took a first-inning lead. Popular outfielder Blake Gailen (back with the ballclub from injury) and Kevin Ahrens reached base on back-to-back singles, sacrifice flies by Josh Whitaker and Josh Bell made it 2-0. Gailen's RBI double in the second put the Stormers up by three but the Bluefish fought back with two in the fifth and one in the seventh to tie the score. In the bottom of the inning Bell singled, Sean Halton followed with a two-run home run to put the Stormers back ahead 5-3. That would prove to be the final score, Al Yevoli won it in relief of Bryan Evans with Cory Burns picking up the save. On Wednesday in game #3 the Barnstormers played severely shorthanded, between injuries and excused absences the ballclub had just one available bench player. As a result manager Butch Hobson's lineup did not include a designated hitter, starting pitcher Terry Doyle was in the batting order. The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when K.C. Hobson singled and advanced to third, Doyle helped himself with a sac fly RBI to make it 1-0. In the Bridgeport seventh the 'Fish put four on the board, the Stormers got one back in the eighth on a Caleb Gindl RBI hit but it wasn't enough as the Bluefish won it 4-2. Doyle suffered the tough-luck loss but deserved a better fate. On Thursday the homestand concluded, on this night Bridgeport broke up a scoreless game with one in the sixth and four more in the seventh, they carried a 7-0 advantage into the ninth. The Barnstormers put together a last-ditch rally on RBI hits by Sean Halton and Jeff Kobernus (back from injury) plus a two-single from Charlie Cutler but the 'Fish held on for the 7-4 win, Kelvin De La Cruz was the pitcher of record for the Stormers. The ballclub travels to York over the weekend, I plan to do the Friday game if the weather holds up (there are thunderstorms in the afternoon forecast). Take care, thanks for reading.

June 24-26

Friday night baseball on North Prince Street and my first look at the Atlantic League's newest franchise. The Camden Riversharks were a part of the ALPB for fifteen years, during the winter the franchise was sold and moved to New Britain, Connecticut. New Britain (aka "The Hardware City") hosted an Eastern League club from 1983 to 2015, chiefly as an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. In 2016 the city's new ALPB franchise debuts as the New Britain Bees. This was game #2 of a four-game series, the Barnstormers lost the opener on Thursday night in a game played despite the weather conditions. On this night it was more of the same, the Bees led 2-0 in the fourth when the game went into a rain delay. After a one-hour and seventeen-minute wait play resumed, New Britain added two more in the seventh to go up by four. The only score for the Stormers came on a Charlie Cutler solo home run in the ninth, Bryan Evans was the pitcher of record in the 4-1 loss. On Saturday the rain was long gone, as the old cliche says "it was a beautiful night for a ballgame". Jenny and her mother made their customary Saturday appearance, before the game Jenny got photos with some of the players. Back in May we had a chance meeting with Pete Andrelczyk and pitcher/infielder Justin Jackson, on this night they were kind enough to grant a photo request and for good measure Caleb Gindl and outfielder Josh Whitaker posed with her as well. The game itself was all Stormers from the word Go, Lance Zawadzki's first-inning grand slam made it 4-0. In the second a solo home run by K.C. Hobson and a two-run shot by Gindl upped the lead to seven. A six-run seventh inning put it away on RBI hits from Jackson, Cutler, Sean Halton and Kevin Ahrens, two more runs scored on an error and a wild pitch. The final count was 13-3, starting pitcher (and ex-York Rev) Kelvin De La Cruz worked into the sixth inning and earned the win. On Sunday the series finished with a rare 5:00 game, for that very reason I made an even rarer Sunday appearance. On this late afternoon/early evening the Stormers took a 1-0 lead in the second thanks to a Sean Halton long ball, the Bees tied the game with a single in their half of the fifth. In the sixth inning Lance Zawadzki became the first player in club history to hit a grand slam home run in consecutive games, his shot over the picnic tents in right field put the Stormers up 5-1. A solo home run by Josh Bell in the eighth wrapped up the 6-4 win, Tanner Peters worked six innings for the victory with Andrelczyk picking up the save. The ballclub starts a series with Bridgeport on Monday, street hockey playoffs continue at Reservoir Park as well. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 20-23

Monday morning at the mall for lunch, in the evening we were at the rink for game #2 of the West Finals. The Killbots won on this night to take a 2-0 advantage into game #3 on Tuesday. There were storms in the forecast during the afternoon on Tuesday but most of the bad weather stayed south of us along the Mason-Dixon Line. Game time was at 7:00, shortly after 6:00 a rogue shower that wasn't even on radar passed over but by game time it was gone. The Misfits faced a win-or-it's-over scenario on this night and emerged victorious to force game #4 on Thursday. Wednesday was a quiet day except for my usual lunch visit with Jenny. On Thursday the weather situation was much like Tuesday, there were showers all around but we went largely untouched. In late afternoon a major system was moving in from the northwest, at 6:00 I was at the rink when the rain starting falling. Inside of ten minutes it was an absolute deluge, the rink surface became severely puddled so we had no choice but to postpone. At 7:00 game time it was still raining, no question that we made the right call. Game #4 is on Monday the 27th, game #5 if needed would be on Tuesday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 17-19

Friday night baseball on the other side of the river, on this night I got my first look at the Bridgeport Bluefish in 2016 as they visited York in the opener of a weekend set. The Atlantic League's trade winds blew between Lancaster and York late Thursday night, the Barnstormers sending outfielder Travis Witherspoon to the Revs in exchange for pitcher Kelvin De La Cruz. Witherspoon had played a role in the Stormers' six-run inning against Sugar Land on Wednesday, his Revs debut on this night played out in an eerily similar fashion. The visiting Bluefish scored single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, they added two more in the seventh for a 4-0 lead. In the home seventh the Revolution loaded the bases with one out, Witherspoon's two-run double put the Revs on the board, That was followed in consecutive at-bats by an Isaias Tejeda RBI groundout, a run-scoring hit from ex-Tampa Bay Ray Joel Guzman and a two-run home run by Telvin Nash. When the smoke cleared the Revs led 6-4, the bullpen closed it out from there. Reliever Luis Perdomo won it in relief of starter James Simmons (no relation to the Revs outfielder of the same name), Mike DeMark earned the save. The victory was noteworthy for the franchise, it was win #238 for Revs manager Mark Mason which is the most in club history. Mason was pitching coach for three years under former manager Andy Etchebarren, he took over the top spot when Etch retired after the 2013 season. On Saturday we had our usual lunch date in Quarryville, the rest of the weekend was spent indoors away from the heat and humidity. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 15-16

Wednesday morning in Quarryville for lunch with Jenny, at the ballpark in the evening the Barnstormers continued their series with Sugar Land. The Skeeters broke on top 2-0 in the first, in their half of the inning the Stormers evened it quickly. Travis Witherspoon walked and scored on a Caleb Gindl sacrifice fly, Kevin Ahrens singled and scored on Sean Halton's RBI triple to make it 2-2. In the fifth Ahrens went yard to put the Barnstormers ahead, the lead grew to 6-2 in the seventh on an RBI double by Gindl and a two-run single by Josh Bell. A six-spot in the eighth put the game out of reach thanks to a Mike McDade solo home run, a K.C. Hobson RBI double, a two-run single from Witherspoon and Bell's bases-loaded walk, the last run scored on a double-play. The Skeeters picked up a cosmetic run in the ninth to make the final score 12-3, starting pitcher Tanner Peters (Oakland A's system) earned the win with relief support from Pete Andrelczyk and Cory Burns. Rain moved through the area on Thursday morning and early afternoon, by mid-afternoon the radar was encouraging although it was still very overcast. At 5:30 Don and I talked it over, we decided to proceed with game #1 of the West finals at the rink. It was misting lightly at 6:00 (despite the clear radar and forecast for 0% chance of rain) but by game time at 7:00 it was gone, the game went on without incident. The Killbots won over the Misfits to take a 1-0 series lead, game #2 is set for Monday the 20th. Saw on the Internet where the Barnstormers lost the rubber game of their series on Thursday, they are back home on Thursday the 23rd. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 13-14

Monday morning lunch at the mall, in the evening we were at the rink for the respective game #2s of the West semifinals. On this night the Killbots and the Misfits punched their tickets to the championship round with two-game-straight sweeps. Had either series needed a third game we would have played them on Tuesday but that was not required. We pitched starting the best-of-five finals on Tuesday instead of waiting until Thursday but since we made it optional one team opted not to do it (had Tuesday been semifinal game #3 it would not have optional). On Tuesday Jenny was in town, we had lunch at the plaza. In the evening I was at the "Clip" on North Prince Street, the Barnstormers opened a three-game set with the Sugar Land Skeeters. The visitors from suburban Houston took a 2-0 lead in the fourth, that advantage held until the Stormers batted in the sixth. Lance Zawadzki started the inning with a base hit, newcomer K.C. Hobson followed with a game-tying two-run home run. K.C. is the son of Barnstormers manager Butch Hobson, he joined the club in early June from the Toronto Blue Jays system. The 2-2 tie was snapped in the ninth, Sugar Land plated a single run and held on for the 3-2 decision. Bryan Evans started for the Stormers and worked seven innings, reliever Scott Gracey suffered the tough-luck loss. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 9-12

Thursday night at Reservoir Park for the start of West Division semifinals. The top four regular-season finishers qualified, in the openers on Thursday the Killbots beat the Riot and the Misfits prevailed in double overtime over H&F Tire Service. Both series are best-of-three, the second games are set for Monday the 13th. On Friday Jenny was in town, we made a convenience-store visit for iced tea during the lunch hour. The rest of the day was quiet largely because of unusual circumstances. The Barnstormers hosted a concert at the ballpark on Wednesday night, with the removal of the stage and field maintenance required the organization elected to delay the start of its weekend home series until Saturday. On Saturday it was HOT, daytime temperatures were in the high 80s. At the ballpark the Stormers hosted Somerset in the series opener, as is usually the case on Saturdays Jenny and her mother were there with me. As a rule I generally find an unoccupied seat in the grandstand but when they are with me we always sit in lawn chairs on the hill in left field. On this night the Barnstormers took a 1-0 lead in the second, Sean Halton doubled and scored on Mike McDade's RBI single. The Patriots tied it in the fourth but a Lance Zawadzki round-tripper in the fifth made it 2-1 for the home team. Somerset scored single runs in the sixth and seventh to go up by one but in the bottom of the inning Zawadzki went yard with a man on to put the Stormers back ahead 4-3. The carousel kept spinning in the eighth as the Pats evened the score once again, in the Stormer eighth McDade's two-run shot onto the picnic deck in right field was the decisive blow in a wild 6-4 victory. New addition Kevin Munson (Arizona Diamondbacks organization) earned the win in relief of starter Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Cory Burns worked a scoreless ninth for the save. Sunday's weather was much like Saturday's, to the surprise of nobody I spent the day indoors in the comfort of air conditioning. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 6-8

Morning lunch at the mall was about all that happened on Monday, we had intended to play games at the rink in the evening but none were scheduled because we had no available game officials. It was just one of those strange occasions where everybody had plans or commitments that were unavoidable, we had no choice but to take the night off. On Tuesday the weather turned cooler and breezy, we picked up hockey playoffs right where we left off the previous Thursday. The East Finals ended on this night, Yorgo's won the title in a three-game sweep over the Steamers. Both remaining West quarterfinals finished as well with the Kilbbots and H&F Tire advancing to the semifinal round which begins on Thursday the 9th. On Wednesday morning a band of storms moved through from the west, most of the drive south to Quarryville for lunch was in a steady rain. In the afternoon the skies cleared and the sun reemerged, after supper I made another trip across the river to York. The Long Island Ducks were in town for the second of a three-game series, on Tuesday the teams played a 1-0 game that took slightly more than two hours. On this night we saw the opposite extreme as the Revs took advantage of two big innings for a 11-7 win. Six runs scored in the second thanks to a Brian Pounds RBI double followed by a grand slam by former Yankee property Isaias Tejeda and a solo shot from Telvin Nash. Five more crossed the plate in the fourth courtesy of a three-run double by Pounds and two bases-loaded walks. Revs manager Mark Mason used five pitchers, former Cleveland property Kelvin De La Cruz started with reliever Mariel Checo (from the Yankees organization) picking up the win. My next time in York will probably be on the 17th when the Revs host Bridgeport. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 3-5

I have known a young lady named Erin for many years, we first met when she was in college in the Reading area in the early 90s. At that time I was involved in pro baseball there and Erin was looking to break into the business, she has been actively involved in sports ever since at various levels both amateur and professional. Erin and her husband live in the Lancaster area, their son Ethan is nine years old and he plays baseball in a suburban youth league. Their championship game was on Friday night, Erin contacted me on Thursday and asked me if I might be available and interested in doing the PA for it. It rained overnight into Friday, there was more in the forecast for the afternoon which luckily did not happen. The game was at a field about five miles from my place, it got underway as scheduled at 6:00. I was told that the nine-and-ten-year-old division of that league usually plays its games at a different field, since this was a championship game they used the field the 11-12 division uses because it had a PA setup and a snack bar. Several of the adults in attendance seemed to know who I was, I'm sure Erin had a hand in that. The game itself was fun to watch, it's always interesting to watch kids that age play and learn the game at the same time. For the record Ethan's team lost 14-11 but at that age level there really aren't any losers. On Saturday we had our usual lunch in Quarryville, after that Jenny and Helen came back to town with me. In late afternoon we made our way across the river for their annual visit to York. In past years we always did a Sunday game with the Barnstormers as the opponent but since the Revs no longer do Sundays at 5:00 we had to pick another spot. On this night the Stormers were in town and they had a tote bag giveaway so it was as good a night as any. The Revs had won the series opener on Friday, on this night it was all Barnstormers. In the third Lance Zawadzki walked and scored on a sac fly by Kevin Ahrens, in the fifth inning Zawadzki was hit by the pitch and scored on a Caleb Gindl RBI hit to make it 2-0. A ninth-inning three-run homer by Mike McDade salted away the 5-0 Stormers victory, former Toronto property Austin Bibens-Dirkx (spelling is accurate) pitched six innings for the win while Micah Owings took the loss for the Revs. Chances are this was my lone Saturday game in York, under normal circumstances I would do the Friday game instead but this weekend was an exception. The series wrapped up on Sunday with a 1:00 game but I (of course) stayed in and stayed cool, in late afternoon several strong storms passed through our area but by evening they were long gone. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 1-2

Wednesday marked the start of the new month, Jenny and I marked the occasion with our usual midweek lunch in Quarryville. In the evening I was at the ballpark on North Prince Street. The Barnstormers hosted the Long Island Ducks in the middle game of a three-game set, my first look at the Ducks in 2016. Caleb Gindl's RBI double in the first inning gave the Stormers the early lead but Long Island scored three in the second. The home team replied swiftly with a four-spot in their half of the inning, a run-scoring single by Lance Zawadzki (just back from injury) was followed by an RBI double from ex-Atlanta Braves property Kevin Ahrens and a two-run single by Josh Bell. The Ducks picked up a run in the fourth but a two-run home run by Mike McDade in the fifth extended the Stormers' lead to three. An RBI single by Charlie Cutler in the eighth put the lid on an 8-4 win, Terry Doyle worked six innings for the decision with bullpen support from Pete Andrelczyk, Matt Reynolds, Scott Gracey and Cory Burns. On Thursday evening street hockey playoffs continued at the rink, Yorgo's won over the Steamers to go up 2-0 in the East Finals. In the West Quarterfinals H&F Tire beat the Owls in the opener of their series, the Misfits and the Riot wrapped up their respective series to advance to the semifinals (although not against each other, that potential matchup can't happen until Finals). Playoffs continue on Tuesday the 7th. Take care, thanks for reading.