June 28-30

Friday night at the ballpark, the Barnstormers' homestand continued with a visit from the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. On this night the Stormers took advantage of two big innings to win going away. The visitors from Waldorf, MD scored a single run in the top of the first, the Stormers matched it in the bottom half when Darian Sandford walked and scored on an error. The Crabs reclaimed a one-run lead in the second but in the third the Barnstormers batted around and put together a four-run inning. Sandford started it with a walk, Michael Martinez singled and Dan Gamache followed with an RBI hit to tie the score. Joe Terdoslavich's double plated Martinez to put the Stormers ahead, K.C. Hobson's RBI single scored Gamache to make it 4-2, a wild pitch brought Joey T home with the inning's fourth run. In the fifth the club repeated the feat with another four-run bat-around. Back-to-back doubles by Sandford and Martinez made it 6-2, Gamache reached on a base hit and Caleb Gindl followed with an RBI hit to score Martinez. Gamache touched in on an RBI groundout by Terdoslavch to put the Stormers up by six, another wild pitch brought Gindl home with run #9. In the sixth Hobson singled and scored on Parker Morin's RBI double to make it 10-2, in the ninth the Crabs picked up a cosmetic run to bring the final in at 10-3. Jonathan Albaladejo (back from a stint on the DL) started on the hill and went five innings for the win. The clubs met again on a brutally hot Saturday evening, the weather was enough to keep Jenny and her mother at home. Saturday is usually their night at the ballpark but after we had lunch they elected to stay in and I really couldn't blame them. On this night the offensive highlights were fewer, the Stormers took a 1-0 lead in the second when Joey T singled and scored on K.C. Hobson's RBI double. The Blue Crabs tied it in the fifth and went up 3-1 in the seventh, in the eighth the Stormers loaded the bases with two out. Joey T drew a walk to force in a run but the rally went no further, SM held on to win 3-2. Kyle Davies was the pitcher of record for the Stormers, he pitched well over seven innings and deserved a better fate. The series ended in the afternoon heat on Sunday but I of course was not there, after supper I took my car to the garage in advance of its annual inspection on Monday. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 24-27

Monday night baseball at McCaskey, the Jr. Tornado hosted Conestoga Valley in LancCo Midget League action. The Good Guys rallied from 4-1 down in the seventh inning to tie the game, in the ninth they walked it off at 5-4. On Tuesday Jenny was in town for a medical appointment, she and her mother brought the access van into the city and I took them home with a stop for lunch along the way. Tuesday evening marked the end of the spring dek hockey season at Reservoir Park, the Tradesmen defeated the Misfits to win the championship in a three-game sweep. The season began on April 23, we played nine weeks plus one night of week #10. We're planning on another summer draft season starting in the latter part of July. On Wednesday I was at the ballpark, the Barnstormers were hosting the Somerset Patriots. The series began on Tuesday and continued with a day/night doubleheader on this day, hockey kept me away on Tuesday and the heat kept me from the opener on Wednesday. For the Stormers 2019 has been a struggle from the proverbial word go, the club started slowly and has battled to find its footing. On this night they lost 2-1, the lone marker coming on an eighth-inning home run by Joe Terdoslavich. Buddy Baumann pitched a complete game and took the tough-luck loss surrendering just two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts. The series wrapped up on Thursday night with a single game, on this evening the offensive highlights were few and far between. Somerset scored single runs in the first, fifth and ninth and made them stand up for a 3-0 win, the Stormers mustered only five base hits and never seriously threatened. John Anderson started and worked six innings with support from ex-Colorado Rockies property Logan Sawyer and returnee Scott Shuman. The ballclub stays at home for a weekend series with Southern Maryland. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 17-23

Monday night at the rink for playoff hockey, we played the games postponed from the 13th. These were the second games of the semifinal series, the Tradesmen and Misfits both won to advance to the championship round. Had either series needed a third game it would have been on Tuesday, since that was not necessary we decided to start the finals immediately. We would generally take a night in between but since both teams played the night before there was no unfair advantage involved. The Tradesmen won on both Tuesday and Thursday to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-three series, game #3 is set for Tuesday the 25th. The hockey games were the highlight of the week, there was little else going in terms of evening activity. On Sunday my mother had an opportunity to get out of the house, she had an appointment at her usual hair salon. She had her hair done on two occasions while she was at The Hotel in April but not since, earlier in the week she said she felt mangy so I stopped in at the salon on Thursday and made the appointment. The lady at the salon asked how my mother was doing and wondered why she hadn't seen her lately, I gave her the abridged version of what's been happening. The Barnstormers spent the week on the road, they are finishing a stretch where they played fifteen out of eighteen days away from home. The three home dates against York came between an eight-day trip and a seven-game trip, they return home on the 25th. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 14-16

Friday night at the ballpark on North Prince Street, the York Revolution visited for the latest round in the Atlantic League's War Of The Roses. This was my first look at the Revs in 2019 since I've haven't been west of the river as yet (and may not be for a while). Longtime Rev manager Mark Mason is still at the helm, he has several familiar names from 2018 on his roster. On this night the visitors from the White Rose City scored early and often on the way to a never-in-doubt 12-3 victory. Every member of the lineup got into the act as the Revs built a 9-0 advantage. Alexi Casilla led the way with four hits, four runs scored and two RBI, one-time Barnstormer James Skelton had three hits, three runs scored and two runs batted in. Carlos Franco had five hits and two RBI, Melky Mesa had two hits, two runs scored and one "ribbie". Ryan Dent had a hit and scored twice, Telvin Nash had a base hit and two RBI. Isaias Tejeda had a hit and an RBI, J.P. Sportman singled and scored and Wellington Dotel picked up a base hit. All three of the Stormers runs scored on infield groundouts (RBIs credited to K.C. Hobson, Michael Martinez and Dan Gamache) as they were outhit 19-5. The starting pitchers were of record, Mitch Atkins for the Revs and Kelvin Vasquez for the Stormers. On Saturday the clubs met for a day/night doubleheader, the Revolution took the afternoon game in comeback fashion (and in my absence) 4-3. Jenny and her mother were along for the nightcap which saw the Revs jump out to a 5-0 first-inning lead. Wellington Dotel's three-run homer got it started, Angelys Nina had an RBI hit and the fifth run scored on a wild pitch. Michael Martinez went yard in the bottom of the first to get the Stormers on the board but Henry Castillo's RBI hit in the top of the third made it 6-1 Revolution. In the home third the Stormers climbed back into it on a Martinez RBI hit and sac fly from Dan Gamache, it stayed 6-3 until the bottom of the seventh when Darian Sandford picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded walk to make it 6-4. That would prove to be the final score, Jameson McGrane won it for the Revs in relief of starter Philip Walby with Matt Marksberry suffering the loss. On Sunday I was taking my personal day at home while the Revs were completing the four-game sweep with a 7-2 verdict. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 10-13

Monday morning errand run in the vicinity of the mall, on Tuesday morning my mother was at the heart doctor. They gave everything a listen and reviewed her medications, she has another appointment in mid-July. In the evening we were at the rink for opening night of dek hockey playoffs, the Misfits and Tradesmen each won to take a 1-0 lead in their respective series. Jenny and I had our midweek lunch date on Wednesday, after supper I was at McCaskey. The county Midget League season is underway, on this night the Lancaster Jr. Tornado hosted Lititz. The league teams are basically each area's high school squad minus the graduated seniors, in many ways it's a sneak preview for the following spring. The Jr. Tornado had an early lead but couldn't hold it as Lititz rallied back for a 9-6 win. Thursday was supposed to be the day for hockey playoff games #2 but the weather got in the way. We had some rain in the morning and early afternoon but in the latter part of the day the skies brightened. I was watching the radar closely, at 5:30 Don called on his way home from work. I told him there was a sizable storm system moving towards us from the west that would probably hit us around 7:00 just as the first game would be starting. I recommended erring on the side of caution and he agreed, the games were rescheduled for Monday the 17th. It proved to be the right decision, the rain arrived just before 7:00 and brought it for about a half-hour. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 6-9

Thursday night at Reservoir Park for the final night of regular-season play, as the evening progressed each result played a role in determining the playoff field. Winners were the Express over the Pub Dawgs, the Tradesmen over the Knights, Risky Business over the Owls and the Misfits over the Hammerheads. When all was said and done the semifinal matchups were established with the Tradesmen meeting Risky Business and the Misfits facing the Knights, those are best-of-three series scheduled to begin on Tuesday the 11th. A total of 127 players participated among the eight teams with 110 playing the required number of games to be playoff-eligible. Saturday lunch with Jenny was the lone highlight of an otherwise quiet weekend, the Barnstormers were out of town and there was little else going on. On Friday we had a phone call from the doctor (or more accurately one of his nurses) who performed my mother's endoscopy, they asked for an update on how she is doing. I gave them a progress report and they said they would forward it to the doctor for further evaluation. Ever since she developed the throat irritation in March all of her nourishment has been in one form of liquid or another because swallowing anything solid has been painful to near impossible. She had a stomach tumor removed in 2007 which affected her level of appetite but she was at least able to eat enough to be satisfied, she hasn't had anything that has required chewing since the throat issue began. She's getting all the nourishment she can handle, the problem is it simply isn't enough and you don't have to have a medical degree to realize it. We'll see what the doctor has to say when they get back to us. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 3-5

The new week at the rink began a night early, on Monday we played the games rescheduled from May 28. Winners were the Knights over Risky Business and the Tradesmen over the Misfits (both in regulation), the Hammerheads over the Express and the Owls over the Pub Dawgs (both in OT shootout). On Tuesday we got back on regular schedule, the Knights defeated the Hammerheads, the Tradesmen beat the Pub Dawgs, Risky Business prevailed over the Misfits and the Express bested the Owls via shootout. Jenny and I had our usual lunch get-together on Wednesday, in the evening I was on North Prince Street. The Barnstormers hosted the Sugar Land Skeeters in the middle game of a three-game series. The visitors from Texas took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, in the home fifth Greg Golson (recently-returned member of the 2014 championship club) singled and scored on a Zach Shank RBI groundout to make it 2-1. The Skeeters extended the lead with a four-run seventh, a Golson solo home run in the bottom half brought the Stormers to within 6-2. In the eighth Darian Sandford singled and touched home on a Joe Terdoslavich sac fly but a three-run ninth for the Skeeters ended any doubt, the final score was 9-3 Sugar Land. Buddy Baumann started on the hill and took the loss. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 1-2

The new month began on a Saturday, after lunch in Quarryville Jenny and her mother were in at my place. My mother came downstairs and sat in the living room with us for about two hours, it was good for her to do so but unfortunately she isn't up to it on a regular basis just yet. Coming down and going back up once in a great while completely tires her out, there is no way she would be able to do it several times a day. At the ballpark in the evening the Barnstormers held their annual Salute To Veterans which always takes place on or around the Memorial Day holiday. In the game itself the Stormers built a big lead early over Southern Maryland and coasted home with a 14-4 win. Caleb Gindl doubled in the first and scored on Joe Terdoslavich's RBI two-base hit, K.C. Hobson's RBI groundout plated Joey T with run #2. The ballclub put up a six-spot in the second, Zach Shank and Devon Torrence (former Houston Astro property and one-time college football player at Ohio State) reached on back-to-back hits and Gindl walked to load the bases. Dan Gamache reached on a botched fielders choice to score Shank, Terdoslavich walked to force home Torrence to make it 4-0. Josh Bell kept the line moving with an RBI single, Hobson's sac fly scored Gamache to up the lead to six. Anderson De La Rosa's two-run double capped the inning, after it was 8-0 Stormers. The Blue Crabs got on the board with a single run in the third, in the bottom half the Stormers added four more. Torrence reached on an error and Gindl drew a walk, Terdoslavich and Bell followed with back-to-back RBI hits to make it 10-1. Hobson's two-run single scored Joey T and Bell to put the Stormers up by eleven. Each team scored once in the fourth, the Stormers run coming when Shank walked and scored on Gamache's sac fly. In the fifth Hobson went yard to make it 14-1, SM scored twice in the sixth to get back within ten. As soon as the Blue Crabs were retired in the seventh the umpires called time and had the field covered, the winds had picked up and there was lightning in the skies to the west. Something was indeed on the way and it arrived in short order, after the required wait the game was called official. John Anderson worked the first six innings for the win with ex-Atlanta Brave property Kelvin Vasquez working the last inning. The rain cleared out overnight, the series wrapped up on Sunday with another Stormers victory but I was taking a personal day at home. Take care, thanks for reading.