September 26-30

The weather turned noticeably cooler over the weekend, on Monday evening at the rink we started week #2 of street hockey season. Winners on this night were the Riot over the Hammerheads, the UniLords over the Kings and the Misfits over the Blues. On Tuesday Jenny was not in town, she asked if we could do our midweek lunch a day early. At the rink in the evening the Kings beat the Pub Dawgs, the UniLords defeated the Owls and the Steamers knocked off the Riot. Rain moved into our area on Wednesday afternoon and stayed around into the evening hours, had there been games scheduled at the rink they would have been postponed. The dreary conditions hung around into Thursday, we had some heavy rain in the morning and afternoon. There was more in the evening forecast, at 5:00 Don and I talked it over and we postponed the night's schedule. It turned out to be the right move, by 7:00 the rain was coming down steadily. We play three games a night starting at 6:15, the makeup games were plugged into the time slot after the 8:00 games on October 4, 17 and 20. On Friday morning I was up north in Berks County for the first time in many months. The Reading newspaper had done a series of stories over the summer highlighting the top baseball players in the city's history, I had been a part of the selection committee. On this day the author of the stories invited the group to lunch, we met at a cafe in the northern suburbs. We had only been all together one other time (that was at a meeting in February when the idea was conceived), the voting process was all done by e-mail. Most of us have known one another for a long time but for me it was special because my association with pro ball in Reading has been over since 2012 and I don't see these people as often anymore. I appreciated being asked to be a part of the committee because having your opinions wanted and respected is a good feeling that doesn't always happen (especially where they should know better but ego and arrogance prevent it). After the gathering broke up I made a trip to the newly-opened Royals ticket center which ironically is only about a mile from the cafe we ate at. The hockey club begins its sixteenth season with an exhibition game at the Arena on October 7, they established this satellite location for ticket sales over the summer. I dropped in to pick up the ticket packages for Jenny and her mother so we'll be all set for the home opener on the 15th. I finally arrived home around 4:00 or so, with the weather still damp and misty I elected to stay in for the evening and relax (no football games to work since both JPM and LCHS were away). Take care, thanks for reading.

September 23-25

Friday night football in Lancaster, the Red Tornado opened league play at home against Conestoga Valley. Quite a few familiar faces in the house on this night, two of CV's assistant coaches used to play in the league at Reservoir Park and another is a Berks County native who recognized me and gave me the old "aren't you the PA guy in Reading?" bit. At halftime a member of our event staff told me that a fan said to her "your PA guy sounds like Verne Lundquist" (the longtime network broadcaster best known for college football). I would never put myself on that level but it's certainly a nice compliment, at least he didn't say I sounded like crap (or another word somewhat stronger in more ways than one). CV scored the game's first touchdown but JPM responded on a Jathan Gonzalez scramble to tie matters at 7-7. The Red Tornado fell behind by fourteen in the second quarter, just before halftime Greg Nunez (in at defensive end) picked off a CV pass attempt and took it home to make it 21-14. The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, JPM's came courtesy of an R.J. Godwin scoring rush but in the final stanza the game fell apart. CV extended the lead to nine on a safety, two added touchdowns put the lid on a 43-21 decision. JPM drops to 2-2 overall, the next home game is on October 14. The rest of the weekend had little going of note, I had planned on going to York on Saturday night but the Sugar Land Skeeters had other ideas. The Skeeters eliminated the York Revolution in the first round of Atlantic League playoffs, the clincher was in York on Friday. The Revs finished the regular year at 74-66, here in Lancaster the Barnstormers checked in at 67-73. I was at thirty-seven of the Stormers' sixty-six home dates (that grows to forty if you count two exhibition games and the All-Star Game) and for good measure I made it to York thirteen times (impressive in itself since they did away with the Sunday 5:00 games which were always good for me). The end of baseball season is a sure sign of autumn, ice hockey season is just around the corner. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 19-22

I had gone to the rink after supper on Sunday to do some prelim work for the start of the new season, it was by design because rain was in the forecast for overnight/early morning on Monday. There were leaves on the rink surface, I ran the Billy-Goat around to get rid of them. When the rain arrived overnight the surface of the rink was bare and that makes a big difference. The weather cleared in early afternoon, the opening night of our 75th championship season went on without issue. The first season at Reservoir Park was in the fall of 1979, we've played every spring and autumn since then. We have nine teams in the league for the new season, down two from the spring. One team disbanded for lack of players and another broke up because their captain wanted to move them to our so-called "upper" division and half the roster told him they wouldn't play if he did (I was always told that playing stronger competition makes you better but maybe that's just me). As it is we are playing a fourteen-game full crossover schedule format, every team gets two games against six opponents and one game with the remaining two. We play three games each on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. The opening night lineup featured the UniLords over the Blues, the Riot over the Owls and the Steamers over the Misfits. On Tuesday the three teams that hadn't played on Monday made their season debuts. The Owls defeated the Kings, the Hammerheads beat the Pub Dawgs and the UniLords won over the Riot. Wednesday lunch with Jenny in Quarryville was the highlight of that day, on Thursday we wrapped up the week at the rink. The Misfits beat the Pub Dawgs, the Hammerheads prevailed over the Blues and the Steamers knocked off the Kings. The regular season runs through November 3. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 16-18

Friday night at McCaskey for week #3 of football season, the Red Tornado hosting Reading High in the last of the three non-league games. It goes without saying that I always run into familiar faces when RHS and JPM get together, this night was no exception. The Red Tornado went up 7-0 in the opening quarter on an R.J. Godwin TD run but RHS responded with two touchdowns of their own, at halftime JPM trailed 13-7. In the second half the momentum turned suddenly and stunningly thanks largely to a renewed defensive effort, RHS received the kickoff and fumbled on their first play from scrimmage. Defensive back Richard Scarborough scooped up the loose ball and returned it for the six-pointer, Nick Allen's PAT put JPM ahead 14-13. QB Jathan Gonzalez found tight end Greg Nunez for another score, on RHS's next possession an ill-advised pass from the end zone was intercepted and cashed in for six by D-back Anthony DeLeon. Early in the final quarter Gonzalez rushed for a touchdown, on the next series he connected with wideout Isaiah Speller for another score. The thirty-four unanswered points ended the competitive portion of the game, RHS added a late cosmetic TD to bring the final score to 41-19. JPM improves to 2-1, the league schedule opens on the 23rd at home against Conestoga Valley. The rest of the weekend was quiet except for Saturday lunch with Jenny but business is about to pick up with the start of street hockey season on the horizon. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 14-15

Wednesday morning in Quarryville with Jenny and her mother, we celebrated Helen's birthday a day early (she turned 79 on Thursday). The annual Solanco Fair was underway, after lunch we went over to the fairgrounds and walked through the exhibit tents. After supper I was back at the ballpark for the last ballgame in Lancaster in 2016, the Barnstormers and Revolution meeting for the twentieth and final time. The Stormers were officially eliminated from playoff contention when Sugar Land won their game on Tuesday, before this game the ballclub announced its end-of-season awards. Pete Andrelczyk won the community service award for the third straight year and closer Cory Burns was voted by the fans as the team MVP. The Revs went up 1-0 in the first on an Andres Perez base hit, the Stormers tied it in the bottom half on a Trayvon Robinson RBI triple. The visitors took the lead again in the third on a Perez sac fly, in the bottom of the fifth the home team went ahead for good on a two-run double from Dean Wilson. The Stormers' lead grew to 4-2 in the sixth on Robinson's RBI double, in the ninth Isaias Tejeda's run-scoring double drew the Revs to within one but the Stormers held on for the 4-3 win. The starting pitchers were of record, Joey Maher on the plus side and Ty'Relle Harris on the minus with Cory Burns earning the save. The Barnstormers wrap up the home schedule at 32-38, they finish the season with a weekend series in Bridgeport. The Revolution finishes at home over the weekend, in the playoffs they meet Sugar Land in a rematch of the 2014 semifinal round. A possible game #4 is on the 24th in York, I plan to be there if it works out. On Thursday Don and I firmed up the plan for the fall street hockey season, we start at Reservoir Park on Monday the 19th. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 13

Saw on the Internet where the Barnstormers won the nightcap on Monday by a score of 11-6, the game wasn't over until almost 11:30. I empathize with the good folks working at the ballpark in situations like that because I lived that life for 35 years (truth be known, I'd probably still be living it had it not been poisoned by ego and arrogance). On Tuesday the Revs and Stormers met in game #3, on this night the Barnstormers' offensive awakening continued with two runs in the first inning on a Trayvon Robinson home run and a Sean Halton RBI double. In the third Josh Bell went yard with two men on, Halton followed with a solo shot to put the Stormers up 6-0. The Revs got back into the ballgame in the fourth, a Michael Rockett RBI hit and a two-run double by Bryan Pounds made it 6-3. The Stormers added two in the sixth on a sac fly by Robinson and an RBI hit by Bell to extend the lead to five. Jared Mitchell's solo home run in the seventh brought the Revs within four, in the ninth ex-Stormer Travis Witherspoon's two-run home run made it 8-6 which would prove to be the final score. Cory Burns saved it for winning pitcher Joe Gardner, James Simmons took the loss for the Revs. The win puts the Stormers up 10-9 in the season series with one game left, that insures that the Community Cup stays east of the river in 2016. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 12

Monday morning lunch at the mall as is per usual, in the evening I was back at the ballpark. The Barnstormers' final home series began on this night with the York Revolution visiting from west of the river. Every season the teams play for the Community Cup, the Stormers won the season series in 2015 but entering Monday the 2016 series stood 8-8 with four games remaining. The last time the Revs were in town the final game was rained out, on this evening the makeup doubleheader got underway at 6:00. In the opener the respective starting pitchers were the story. Ex-Phillies property Frank Gailey worked seven scoreless innings for the Revs with one-time Dodger property Luis Gonzalez matching it for the Barnstormers. R.J. Hively took over on the mound in the visiting eighth (the first extra inning in a doubleheader game), with two out Michael Rockett singled and Bryan Pounds followed with a RBI double to put the Revs up 1-0. In the bottom half ex-Stormer Nate Reed entered and closed out the Revs' win for Gailey, Hively was the Stormers' pitcher of record. The game ended around 8:15 or so, the nightcap got started at 8:50. I hung around for about two innings and elected to call it a night. The clubs hook up for single games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 10-11

The morning newspaper had a story about the incident at the game in York on Friday night. Apparently an argument broke out between two spectators on the home side of the stadium, security staff escorted the participants from the venue and the dispute was renewed in the parking lot. It escalated to the point where firearms became involved, the police were called in and the entire area was placed on lockdown. The game itself was stopped at that point, JPM was up 26-6 with eight minutes to go so the game was declared official (talk about a hell of a way to win a game). By all accounts the incident involved nobody from McCaskey or the city of Lancaster, they just happened to be the opponent present when it took place. All I can say is I'm singularly happy I was elsewhere. I was with Jenny in Quarryville on Saturday morning, after lunch she and her mother came back to town for the evening's ballgame on North Prince Street. Since this was their last game for the season we sat in the main grandstand instead of on the hill, a friend had given me some vouchers for the seats. The Bridgeport Bluefish were the opponent, they had won the opening game of the series on Friday. On this night the Fish took a 1-0 lead in the second, the Barnstormers replied in the bottom half on a Sean Halton two-run home run. Bridgeport responded in kind with a two-spot of their own in the third, K.C. Hobson's solo homer in the home half tied the score at 3-3. The Bluefish took a one-run lead in the fourth, that advantage held up until the Stormers batted in the eighth. Josh Bell started the inning with a single, Halton followed with an RBI double to tie the score. Halton tried to stretch his hit into a triple but was out at third for the first out of the inning. Mike Jacobs was the next batter, his solo home run to right field gave the Barnstormers a 5-4 lead. In the ninth Cory Burns shut the Fish down to save the win for Pete Andrelczyk, Connor Root had started but worked only into the fourth inning on a warm and humid evening. The series wrapped up on Sunday but I was typically absent, with temperatures in the 80s and pro football opening its season on TV there was no incentive to go outside. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 9

The unusually warm weather was out in force on Friday, in the evening I was at the sauna bath known as the press box at Rossmere Stadium. When the high school football schedule was released I noted three occasions when Lancaster Catholic played at home on the same night as McCaskey. In August the Royals announced an exhibition game on another night when LCHS is at home so on this night I was making both my season debut and exit at Rossmere Stadium. The Crusaders hosted Waynesboro in a non-league game, Waynesboro is about 75 miles west-southwest of Lancaster and only about two miles north of the Mason-Dixon Line. I remember going there for a basketball game with JPM back in 1993 and it was a brutally long trip, we never went back and nobody ever complained about it. The intense heat was allowed for by the officiating crew, on several changes of possession the teams were permitted extra time to re-hydrate on the sidelines. I had a wet towel around my neck for some comfort but it didn't help much, I spent as much time wiping my face as I did calling the game. When I work football I watch the game through my binoculars but this night was difficult because the heat was causing both the binoculars and the lenses of my eyeglasses to fog up, I managed to muddle through but it wasn't easy. Waynesboro scored an early TD but the Crusaders evened it on a touchdown pass from QB Brian Downey to wideout Andrew Miklos. In the second quarter Waynesboro went up 14-7 but just before halftime Downy found tight end Ricky Poillon in the end zone to tie the score. In the third quarter LCHS put ten points on the board, a field goal by Connor Engle was followed by another Downey/Mikos TD connection. Waynesboro scored a late touchdown but the Crusaders held on for the 24-21 win to even their record at 1-1. The extra breaks for water contributed to the game running later than usual, we started at 7:00 and weren't done until almost 10:00. When I arrived home I took the mother of all showers and sat down in the AC to relax. Saw on the Internet where McCaskey won their game in York, apparently there was an incident outside the stadium that caused the game to be called early. There weren't a lot of details available but maybe we'll know more in the morning. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 6-8

Temperatures were higher than normal during the middle part of the week, on Thursday they reached into the 90s. The Barnstormers returned home on Tuesday for a three-game series with the New Britain Bees. The ballclub's postseason hopes took a major hit as they scored just six runs in the three games and suffered three losses. In the Tuesday opener The Stormers went up 1-0 in the first, Trayvon Robinson reached on an error and scored on a sac fly by Josh Bell. New Britain replied with single runs in the second and third, a two-run sixth extended the lead to three. In the home seventh Kevin Ahrens doubled and scored on Dean Wilson's RBI groundout to make it 4-2 (Wilson is a recent addition, in 2015 he played for Evansville in the Frontier League). That would prove to be the final score, Justin Jackson was the pitcher of record. On Wednesday in game #2 the Bees scored in the first but the Stormers pulled even in their half, Caleb Gindl walked and scored on a fielder's choice. That would be the lone run for the club in a 3-1 loss, Tanner Peters (just back from a stint on the DL) took the loss in relief. Thursday's game was decided early on, New Britain scored four in the second and were never headed in a 14-3 win. The Stormers scored single runs in the third on a Yusuke Kajimoto home run, in the eighth on a K.C. Hobson single/Sean Halton sac fly and in the ninth on a Chase Patterson double/Caleb Gindl groundout. Patterson is a catcher/outfielder formerly of the Miami Marlins system, he has been seldom-used most of the season but has earned more time down the stretch. Joe Gardner (a Stormer in '14 and '15, recently returned) started and took the loss. The Bridgeport Bluefish come to town for the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 5

I've always considered Labor Day Monday to be the end of summer largely because when I was a kid the first day of school was always the very next day. I had lunch at the mall as usual for a Monday, in the afternoon I made the drive west for one final regular season game in York. The Revolution hosted Southern Maryland for a special 5:00 holiday start, this game was over almost from the proverbial word Go. The Blue Crabs scored two in the first and added one in the second, a seven-run salvo (including four home runs) in the third made it 10-0 for the visitors. Josh Wilson hit a solo shot in the sixth to get the Revs on the board but that was the lone score for York in an 11-1 loss, Tony Pena started on the mound and took the loss. The Revs play at home on the season's final weekend but in all likelihood this was my last time there until playoffs. A possible game #4 of the first round is on Saturday the 24th, I'd like to make that if it works out. Take care, thanks for reading

September 1-4

The ninth month of 2016 began on a Thursday, the Barnstormers hosted Long Island in the final game of their series but I was not there. We had our organizational meeting for the fall street hockey season at the rink. We had about seven or eight teams represented but not all were there, the target date to start is Monday the 19th. On Friday Jenny was in town (no migraines on this day), we had lunch together at the plaza. In the evening I was at McCaskey for the opening weekend of high school football and my 29th year behind the mic on the PA. Former head coach Jack Neal was in attendance, he was the head man at JPM from 1986 to 1997. I asked him if he wanted to hear something that would us all feel old and noted that it was my 29th year, he agreed that time marches on and there's nothing any of us can do to stop it. State College HS was the opponent, they are from a town in the central part of the state perhaps much better known for college football. SC was a state-ranked team and JPM is starting over with a new head coach so nobody seemed to be expecting a competitive game. SC led 14-0 at the half but in the third quarter JPM took advantage of a turnover and a short field to get on the board. Returning QB Jathan Gonzalez rushed for a TD, kicker Nick Allen's PAT made it 14-7. Another SC touchdown and a field goal put the visitors ahead by seventeen, on the game's final play Gonzalez ran for his second score to bring the final to 24 13 (the PAT was not attempted because no time remained on the clock). New coach Eric Spencer is a former head coach at the high school level and has collegiate experience as an assistant, he is returning to the sidelines after several years away for family reasons. He takes over for Rob Monzon who stepped down at the end of 2015 for family considerations of his own. Anyone who knows anything about football knows that it takes time to institute a new system, how this season plays out is anybody's guess. The next home game is on the 16th against Reading High. The rest of the weekend was quiet except for Saturday lunch with Jenny. Take care, thanks for reading.