September 14-15

Saturday afternoon: after lunch Jenny and her mother came into town for their final ballgame of the season. Helen's birthday is the 15th but since we were together on this day we had supper at the same restaurant we had visited on Jenny's birthday in August (a different location but the same franchise). At the ballpark the ALPB's War Of The Roses continued as the Revolution came east from York. The Barnstormers had won the opener on Friday, on this night the Revs squared the series with a 2-1 victory. Henry Castillo's two-run home run in the fifth gave the Revs the only runs they needed, the Stormers' lone marker came on a Josh Bell RBI single in the sixth. Mitch Atkins earned the win with Jameson McGrane picking up the save, Jonathan Albaladejo suffered the loss. The series ended on Sunday afternoon, the final home date for the Stormers in 2019. I'm well-known as a non-aficionado of day games but the last game is a special occasion (and the heat and humidity is not as oppressive in September as it would be in the peak of summer). Before the game the organization named its annual award winners, Devon Torrence received the club's community service award and Caleb Gindl was selected by fan vote as team MVP. The Revolution took a 1-0 lead in the first on Telvin Nash's solo home run. a two-run double by James Skelton in the second made it 3-0. The Stormers got on the board in the third on Melvin Mercedes' RBI double, K.C. Hobson's two-run homer onto the picnic deck in right field evened it at 3-3 in the fifth. In the seventh the Revs loaded the bases with nobody out, Pedro Echemendia was summoned from the bullpen and worked out of the jam to keep the game tied. In the bottom of the inning Gindl reached on a two-out single, Mercedes followed with a fly ball down the left-field line that stayed just fair onto the berm giving the Stormers a 5-3 lead. In the ninth the Revolution mounted another bases-loaded threat but Matt Marksberry was able to save the win for Echemendia, Robert Carson took the loss for the Revs in relief of starter Dan Minor. The Barnstormers finish with a home record of 26-45 (one extra game added thanks to a road rainout), they play the final week on the road looking to avoid the worst winning percentage in club history. The Revs return home for the last week looking to nail down a postseason berth. Take care, thanks for reading.