July 24-25

Noted recently that this blog had exceeded 20,000 page views, I don't know who reads the pablum I write here but whoever you are I thank you. Had lunch with Jenny on Wednesday and checked in at the care center on the way back into town, on Thursday my visit with my mother was the first thing on the calendar. When I visit her she never wants me to leave and I can certainly understand, if I were in her place I'd feel the same way. I can't begin to imagine what the last several months have been like for her even though I've basically lived it right along with her. On Wednesday night the Barnstormers continued the series with Somerset and made it two straight  with a 5-3 win. The Patriots took a 2-0 lead in the fourth, K.C. Hobson's solo home run in the fifth cut the lead in half. A four-run uprising in the sixth put the Stormers up for good, RBI hits by Joe Terdoslavich and Anderson De La Rosa were sandwiched around a two-run double by former Washington Nationals property Destin Hood (who spent the first half of the season on the DL). Somerset added a meaningless run in the ninth off closer Cody Eppley who saved the win for Jonathan Albaladejo. On Thursday the Stormers completed the sweep with a no-doubt-about-it 10-0 verdict. Andrew Aplin's two-run single in the first broke the ice, a two-run double by Greg Golson later in the inning made it 4-0. In the fourth Caleb Gindl picked up a ribbie on a fielders choice, Joey T followed with a three-run bomb to extend the lead to eight. Single runs in the seventh on a Golson base hit and in the eighth on a RBI double by Hood ended the scoring but the offensive fireworks were only half the story. Buddy Baumann started on the mound and went all the way on a four-hit shutout, he K'd five and walked only one. The Barnstormers had a subpar first half and started the second half poorly but a sweep over Somerset (traditionally one of the league's strongest franchises) could be a sign that things are turning around. The ballclub stays home over the weekend to host Southern Maryland. Take care, thanks for reading.