December 29-31

Wednesday lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the afternoon we were all together on The Road North for the first time since November 21. The Royals had not played anywhere since December 10, after five postponements (four at home) the club was finally back on the ice at the Arena. The Adirondack Thunder was the opponent for the first of their nine scheduled appearances. Cam Strong's goal in the game's second minute gave the Royals a 1-0 lead but the visitors from the North Country tallied twice within forty seconds to go up 2-1 before the game was three minutes old. Midway through the period Dominic Cormier lit the lamp to tie the score, late in the period Mike Crocock (not known as a goal-scorer) gave the Royals a 3-2 advantage. In the second period the Royals extended the lead to 5-2 on goals from Trevor Gooch (back from a stint in Italy in '20-21) and Brayden Low, the Thunder rallied in the third but never drew even, Hayden Hawkey was the winning goaltender in the 5-4 Royals victory. The calendar year ended with a 3:00 Friday New Years Eve game at the Arena, the Worcester Railers visited for the first of eight scheduled appearances. This was a day for rescheduled promotions, the Royals wore holiday-themed sweaters (originally planned for December 18) and it was also the annual Teddy-Bear-Toss game (reset from December 11). On this day the teams battled through two periods of scoreless hockey, four minutes into the third Patrick McNally scored the "teddy-bear" goal giving the Royals a 1-0 lead. At the six-minute mark Thomas Ebbing upped the lead to two, that would prove to be the last score of a 2-0 Royals win. Newly acquired goaltender Tristan Cote-Cazenave (from the University of Quebec Trois Rivieres) picked up the shutout victory in his professional debut. The Royals finish the 2021 portion of the schedule at 10-6-5 overall, 6-1-2 at the Arena. As it stands right now (and the only thing for sure is Nothing's For Sure) the club plays its next two on the road, we're back home on January 7. Thanks for reading, my friends. We'll catch you on the other side in MMXXII, see you there.

December 27-28

Monday afternoon at McCaskey for an "impromptu" junior varsity basketball game. In 2019 our JV squad played a game at Lancaster Catholic which came about largely due to Freddy's former association there, after a one-season absence (where a lot of other things were absent as well) the teams met on this day at 3:00. There was no admission charged and no other game before or after but I'd estimate there were at least a hundred fans in the house give or take. Those in attendance saw a good ballgame which regrettably did not not go JPM's way, the visitors won 38-36. The thought of an annual LCHS-McCaskey varsity game would be intriguing but from an enrollment/power ratings standpoint it would not benefit us to play it, at the JV level there are no such concerns and it gives the teams an extra game to play during a time when they would otherwise be idle. On Tuesday night we were back at JPM for the opening night of our holiday tournament. This was the first time since 2017 we actually had four teams committed, in 2018 we had only three teams involved and the tournament didn't happen at all in '19 or That Year We Don't Mention. In the opener York defeated Mastery Charter South (from Philadelphia), in the nightcap JPM lost to Harrisburg 73-66. Hasan Williams had a huge night with thirty points, J'Nai Ayala-Hunter hit double figures with eleven. Jared Kumah scored nine, Shamell Burke had six, Jonathan Byrd and De'Shaun McFadden had four each and Eric Centeno rounded out the book with a field goal. The key issue in the loss was rebounding, Harrisburg has a good deal of height which our squad always seems to lack. Year in and year out we always have speed, skill and raw athletic ability but rarely a big man who gets the dirty work done inside, I don't know why but we never seem to get some 6' 9" monster who can dominate the backboards. JPM meets Mastery South in the consolation game when the tournament wraps up on Wednesday, I am scheduled to be absent for hockey in Reading. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 20-26

What figured to be a slow week with only one event on the calendar became even slower on Tuesday afternoon. Around 1:00 or so it was announced that our game that night in Ephrata was postponed, Freddy said in the text that too many people are sick right now. I noted that many of the other games in the area went on as scheduled including the JPM-Ephrata girls game so I can only assume the issue was either with us or Ephrata's boys. No immediate word on the makeup date, as it stands right now the next game is at home on the 28th. Sometimes there are occasions where there is absolutely NOTHING going on, what do you do when there is nothing to do and nowhere to go? We're at That Time Of Year which means little to me, I've spoken on it before and all you need to do is go back through this blog to every post on or around December 25 to find out. Jenny's presence in my life is the only (and I mean ONLY) reason I pay any attention to it whatsoever, if not for her it would be less than zero which is about all it is anyway. The Big Day was on a Saturday, it was a dark and rainy day which somehow seemed appropriate. I went to her place in early afternoon and we exchanged presents before supper. Helen made an excellent meal of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, carrots and pumpkin pie for dessert. Jenny's sister Carol joined us along with Carol's daughter Amber and her daughter Mariah, later on Carol's other daughter Nina and her family dropped in from Parkesburg (they are the relatives Jenny and Helen usually spend Thanksgiving with). All things considered everything went well, it certainly beats sitting around the house doing nothing. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 17-19

Friday afternoon at McCaskey for the short bus ride southwest through the city to Millersville and the game at Penn Manor. I had originally planned on a longer trip in the opposite direction but we all know the story by now. They are doing a major renovation at PM, each of the last five years we've been there has featured a different traffic pattern due to the ongoing construction. When we arrived they gave me the key to our "locker room" which was actually an unfinished classroom, I asked the guy about the old locker rooms and he told me they no longer exist. The JV squad won its game handily, the varsity won by sixteen but it was a better game than the margin indicates. Every team we play within our league gives us their best shot and especially when it's on their floor, Penn Manor hung around and never folded. We managed to win each of the four quarters by margins of four, eight, three and one, when the smoke cleared the club had its first win 69-53. Some of the guys tried to downplay the victory because our opponent is quite frankly not expected to be a contender but you know that had they won the game they would have celebrated it like it was the NBA title, the World Series and the Stanley Cup all rolled into one. Thirteen players got in for JPM (all that are currently healthy) and eight got into the scoring column: Shamell Burke had a career night with 24, Hasan Williams added 14 and Jonathan Byrd scored 12. Jared Kumah had seven points, J'Nai Ayala-Hunter scored six with Eric Centeno, De'Shaun McFadden and Elias Garcia rounding out the book with two points each. The boys are back on the floor on the 21st for a divisional crossover game in Ephrata. Saturday lunch and an errand run with Jenny was all that happened the rest of the weekend, with hockey in Reading in the toilet there was little else going on. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 15-16

The madness continues. Wednesday lunch with Jenny and her mother, while I was there an alert came down that the Royals weekend games at the Arena were postponed. We were scheduled for a three-in-three against the same opponent but apparently there are further health issues involved which blew the weekend sky-high. I have to admit that when the vaccines first became available I didn't get it immediately. Jenny and Helen got it in May on their doctor's recommendation, since they are the two people I'm around the most I decided to get it in August. I was never anti-vax, I just wasn't entirely sold on it at first and I'm still not sure I completely am but since they didn't have any problems I figured "why not" and I've had no issues either. In the evening I was at McCaskey for the second home game of the season and my first at the mic. One of the parents working the concession stand saw me and said she was glad I was back, she said my voice and a McCaskey basketball game simply go together. This was a divisional game with Manheim Township and for the Home Team it was a night of abject frustration. The JV squad lost by fourteen and the varsity came out on the wrong end of a 65-55 verdict. We trailed by three at the half and by eleven after three quarters, the last quarter was like climbing a mountain and never reaching the top. Freddy used nine players but only five got into the scoring column: Hasan Williams led with 18, Jonathan Byrd had 17, Shamell Burke hit double figures with 14, Jared Kumah and Elias Garcia had three apiece. The varsity mark stands at 0-3 but it's not indicative of the team's play or talent, we simply have played three very good opponents (Township is expected in be in the hunt within the division). The boys are back on the bus for a Friday night game at Penn Manor, since we have no hockey at the Arena I'll be able to work it. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 13-14

Went to New Holland on Monday morning to finally put the matter of my car repairs in the rearview mirror (weak pun intended). They still don't know what caused the Check Engine light to come on, they said sometimes the recharge of a weak battery can make unpredictable things happen. They swear everything is OK and the whole thing was simply a fluke. The rental was also turned in without issue, with it all I only drove it for a total of seventy-two miles. Went over to basketball practice after supper to get the scorebooks from Freddy since the boys have two games this week I'll be working. The operation has twenty-seven players overall, the varsity has fifteen players on the roster including four returnees, four from the '20-21 JV squad and seven completely new to the organization. On Tuesday we boarded the bus for the season's first road game, the destination was Reading High School. McCaskey has always been known for playing a very tough non-league schedule, Chester's reputation speaks for itself and all Reading High did in the '20-21 season was win the state championship. A game against RHS is never an easy assignment but it's especially difficult in their building, on this night both JV and varsity took relatively one-sided losses. The JV lost by thirty-six, the varsity lost 79-56. We trailed by twenty-four at halftime but managed to win the second half which is a good sign given that we were in an environment where the home team often plays not just to win but to humiliate their opponent. Jared Kumah (14) and Jonathan Byrd (11) hit double figures, Hasan Williams had nine points, Shamell Burke added eight, Elias Garcia scored seven, Nyaud Frazier had four and John Stewart rounded out the book with three points. We got back to town around 10:45 which was enough time for me to wind down and write this blog post. It's a quick turnaround for JPM, we're at home on Wednesday against Manheim Township. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 11-12

More from the "You Can't Make This $hit Up" department: I'm on my way to Jenny's place for Saturday lunch when I discover a missed phone message, the service center called to tell me my car was ready for pickup. They said they have no idea what caused the Check Engine light to come on, they could find absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever. They test-drove it for about twenty miles and everything is running perfectly, the man said the only explanation he could offer was "it was a fluke". Since this was going to be a busy day and they were only open until 3:00 I elected to take care of it first thing on Monday morning. In years past Jenny's apartment complex had a holiday party for its tenants, gifts were distributed but you had to be present to receive them. There hasn't been a party since 2019 (thanks to the Ongoing BS) but gifts are still distributed to those who are at home when it happens, this was the day for it and for that reason Jenny and Helen were staying home instead of coming to the Royals game in the evening. As it happened they made the right choice because the game never happened. At 2:00 (five hours before the scheduled faceoff) the ECHL announced that the game was postponed due to league health protocols, apparently several members of our opponent had "tested positive" and they wouldn't have enough men to play. That news effectively ended the day, there was no immediate word on a makeup date. The Royals went 2-4-1 on a very difficult road trip and hadn't played at home since November 21, as it stands right now they next play at home on Friday the 17th. Basketball season started at McCaskey on Saturday night, the hockey postponement would have made me available to work but I decided against it. They had substitutes for me in place and I'm not the kind to show up at the last minute and say "OK, I'm here now, you can go home", as a professional that's a stunt I wouldn't pull on anybody. I didn't even attend as a spectator because my presence may have only raised questions and I didn't want to be a distraction (a similar situation occurred years ago in Reading and it became a social media topic). Perennial state power Chester was the opponent, the JV won their game 57-51 but the varsity fell 74-56. Sunday was typically quiet except for a few hours in late afternoon, the McCaskey football team had its season-ending banquet at a local benevolent organization. I was informed of it earlier in the week, it was the usual player recognitions and award presentations with a good meal included. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 1-10

The first few days of December were as quiet as the last few of November had been but it didn't stay that way for very long. The laptop I had for close to ten years finally died, I got a good deal on its replacement at a local electronics store. This is the third laptop I've owned, the first lasted from its acquisition in August of 2002 until May of 2012 and the second from then until now. On Monday the 6th I stopped in at basketball practice at McCaskey, the boys start their season on the 11th at home versus Chester (and I'm out of it for hockey in Reading). Freddy Ramos is back for his fourth year at the helm, assistant coach Cedric Horne is taking over as head man with the JV squad and Jason Yurchak and Nick McArdle are back on staff as well. I gave Freddy a list of the games I'll be absent from (right now there are five, two home and three road), he was going to give me the scorebooks but I told him it wasn't necessary since I'll miss the opening game. On Thursday I took the car back to the service center in New Holland, the door and radio were being fixed the next day. They called in the afternoon to tell me it was done, when I arrived they tried to bring the car up front and discovered the battery was dead. Somehow the parking lights were left on the entire time it was sitting in the parking lot, they took it back inside to get the battery recharged. While it was inside the Check Engine light came on, they told me they would keep it there to get it figured out and give me a loaner at their expense in the meantime. There is a well-known car rental company attached to the service center, they gave me a 2021 model with 29,000 miles on the meter and a Florida license plate. It will definitely be needed, between lunch with Jenny and her mother in the morning and the hockey game in Reading in the evening there is travel on my calendar for Saturday that simply will not take NO for an answer. As for my car I assume the door and radio are OK, I wouldn't know because I never had a chance to check any of it out personally. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 22-30

Not much going on over the last week of November with the Royals on the road, street hockey finished for the season and basketball at JPM still on the horizon. Jenny and her mother were invited to a relative's house for the holiday, after we had lunch on Wednesday I took them there and the relatives brought them home on Thursday night. The relatives live about fifteen miles east of Quarryville in Chester County so it's not a bad trip all things considered. For me Thursday was a lot like a Sunday with three pro football games on TV and little else. On Friday I took my car to the service center in New Holland, there were some issues specific to my make and model that required attention. The radio has been dead for some time and the inner bar on the drivers side door was broken, since I have a lot of down time right now I made an appointment to have the work done. The issues sound worse than they really are, the door opens and closes with no problems and I rarely use the radio when I'm driving by myself but it should be fixed and I finally had the time to get it done. They brought me home on the courtesy shuttle, on Saturday morning they called to say they needed to order parts. We scheduled another day to have the work completed and in the afternoon they drove the car back into my place. Since they had it there they did an oil change and tire rotation (which was due anyway) but the door and radio will have to wait for the parts to arrive. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 19-21

Friday afternoon on The Road North for the start of a busy weekend at the Arena. The Royals have five sets of back-to-back home dates plus five sets of three-in-three at home, this weekend was the first of those. The Newfoundland Growlers were in town from Atlantic Canada for games on Friday and Saturday. On Friday the visitors scored once in each period and carried a 3-0 lead into the final five minutes. Goals from Dominic Cormier and Thomas Ebbing made it interesting down the stretch but the Growlers held on for the 3-2 win. Saturday was Hockey Fights Cancer Night, the Royals wore special lavender-themed sweaters which were later auctioned for the cause. On this night the club fell 2-1 in overtime, Jacob Pritchard's third-period score was the lone tally for the Royals. Kirill Ustimenko (back from a stint with the AHL Phantoms) was goalie of record both nights and deserved a better fate. To illustrate how tight these games were: on both nights the game-winning goal scorer was #1 star with Usti and the opposing goalie alternating between #2 and #3. On Sunday we played our seventh home game and for the fifth time the Norfolk Admirals were the opponent. There was a good deal of hostility when the Ads visited the previous weekend but this day was tame by comparison, there were just eight minor penalties issued for sixteen total minutes evenly divided. Niagra University product Jared Brandt gave the Good Guys an early 1-0 lead, in the third period Jacob Pritchard upped the advantage to two. Norfolk got on the board with twelve minutes to go but the Royals were able to hold the fort and claim the tough 2-1 win, Three home games all decided by one goal with only eleven total goals scored. Recent acquistion Hayden Hawkey (third-year pro from Providence College) made his Royals debut and picked up the win in goal. The 1-1-1 weekend brings the home mark to 4-1-2, overall the club stands at 6-2-4. The boys play their next seven games on the road, the next home date is on December 11 versus Adirondack. As it stands right now that is the next major event on the calendar. Take care, thanks for reading. 

November 15-18

Went to the rink on Monday afternoon after lunch to get some cleanup work done ahead of the evening's scheduled game. I had also been there on Sunday after we were done in Rothsville, the place was absolutely buried thanks to a Thursday rain and high winds from the southeast. I got the bulk of the work done on Sunday before I simply ran out of gas (not the Billy-Goat, ME because I was just plain dog-tired), I finished the job as best I could on Monday. In the evening we played the losers bracket final, the Misfits defeated the Hustle in double overtime to earn their way into the championship round on Wednesday. Tuesday was a quiet day outside of the morning errand run, on Wednesday Jenny and her mother had separate medical appointments. Helen's appointment was just north of town, she was finished around 10:00 or so. From there we went south through the city to Willow Street, Jenny was discharged from her appointment shortly before 11:00 and we went to their place for lunch. In the evening at Reservoir Park the Fall 2021 season came to an end, LWG defeated the Misfits finishing the tournament undefeated at 3-0 and claiming the championship. The Misfits lost their first game but fought back through the losers bracket to finish as the runner-up at 2-2, the Hustle was 1-2 and the Hammerheads were the first team out at 0-2. There were six possible matchups in this tournament and five of them occurred, the only one that didn't was the Hustle vs the Hammerheads. I was in favor of this format as opposed to the traditional series format simply for the variety it offered and in my opinion it worked perfectly. Although it's good to have the season over before the start of the winter/ugly weather season we can all be proud that the league is back after its long and unwanted absence. Eighty-one players participated on the six teams and without them none of it would have been possible. Thursday was another uneventful day, in the evening rain moved into the area was was expected to stay around overnight into Friday. Take care, thanks for reading. 

November 12-14

Back at the Arena on Friday evening for game #2 of our three-game mini-series with Norfolk, on this night the visitors scored the first goal and the last goal with the Royals scoring five in-between. First-year pro Kenny Hausinger (from UMass-Lowell) evened the score midway through the first period, Joshua Winquist's marker two minutes later gave the Royals a 2-1 lead at the intermission. In the middle period Frank DiChiara found the net to make it 3-1, another lamp-lighter from second-year Dartmouth College product Cam Strong upped the advantage to 4-1. Brayden Low finished the home team's portion of the scoring in the third as the Royals avenged the Wednesday night OT loss with a convincing 5-2 victory. On Saturday Jenny and her mother were along for Military Appreciation Night, the Royals wore camouflage-themed sweaters with the club's 20th-anniversary logo front and center. The playoff-style "hate factor" was in evidence from the outset, there was a fight two minutes into the game and two more in the final seven seconds. The first period ended 0-0 but from there the scoring was all Royals, goals by Frank DiChiara and Kenny Hausinger two minutes apart gave the Good Guys a 2-0 lead at the intermission. In the final period DiChiara scored his second of the evening (and third of the weekend), Jacob Pritchard's empty-netter in the closing moments closed the door on a 4-0 win. Pat Nagle was the winning goaltender both nights, his Saturday shutout featured thirty-eight saves on as many Norfolk shots. The club improves to 5-1-3 (3-0-1 at home), the homestand continues with the Newfoundland Growlers in town on Friday the 19th with a return match on the 20th and a return visit from Norfolk on the 21st. On Sunday we were in Rothsville at Lions Park for the Sunday league's Grand Finale and an amazing story unfolded. Ephrata had only five players available (a goalie and four runners), they won their semifinal over Township in overtime. Hillside defeated Warwick in regulation time in the other semifinal, after a brief recess Ephrata met Hillside in the championship game. Ephrata rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 4-2 to pull even in the third, after Hillside went up 5-4 Ephrata tied it with four seconds left in regulation. The overtime period was over almost as quickly as it had started, Ephrata scored in the first minute to win the championship in one of the more incredible ways you may ever see. If something like that happened at the professional level it would be talked about for years (and around here it might be anyway). Take care, thanks for reading.

November 8-11

Monday night at Reservoir Park for the second night of the postseason tournament, on this night we played the losers bracket semifinal and the winners bracket final. The Misfits rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final minute of regulation to force overtime against the Hammerheads, in the extra session they completed the comeback to advance to the losers bracket final. One must give the Misfits credit for the literal last-minute comeback but at the same time you have to feel badly for the Hammerheads, that's one rough way to have your season be ended. LWG advanced to the championship final with a win over the Hustle who will meet the Misfits in the losers bracket final. Tuesday was a quiet day with only a morning errand run of consequence, Jenny and I had lunch together on Wednesday morning. In late afternoon I was on 222 North headed to the Arena on Penn Street for the first time in seventeen days. This was the first of six straight at home, the Norfolk Admirals were the opponent. By the time this homestand is over we will have played seven games at home, five of them will have been against Norfolk and we won't see them again until March (gotta love the ECHL schedule). On this night the Royals started quickly, Jacob Pritchard's score fifty seconds into the game made it 1-0 right out of the gate. Midway through the period Patrick Bajkov struck to extend the lead to 2-0 at the first intermission. In the second the visitors from Virginia got on the board but the Royals replied on a score from Dominic Cormier (second-year pro from the University Of Ottawa) to go back up by two. In the third the Ads scored early and at the period's midpoint to tie and force overtime, the extra session lasted all of seventeen seconds before Norfolk completed the comeback and won 4-3 (eerily similar to the game on Monday at Reservoir Park except that Norfolk's rally didn't all happen in the last forty-two seconds). Pat Nagle was goalie of record as the Royals drop to 1-0-1 at home and 3-1-3 overall, the club is at home on Friday and Saturday against (guess who?). There was no dek hockey in Lancaster on Wednesday night (both Don and I were absent), we had planned on playing on Thursday but fate intervened in the cruelest possible manner. When I got home after the Royals game on Wednesday there was a phone message from one of the competing captains, one of his players had lost his father on Tuesday evening and they were asking for a postponement. Don and I talked it over and agreed (under the circumstances how can you say no), we'll figure on Monday the 15th weather permitting. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 1-7

The first week of November had little to offer except for two nights of dek hockey in Lancaster and one morning/afternoon in Rothsville. On Monday night the regular season ended at Reservoir Park with LWG winning over the Misfits, Risky Business over the Hustle and the Hammerheads over HSC. For Risky Business and HSC it was the final game as the bottom two finishers were eliminated from playoff contention. On Wednesday the postseason double-elimination tournament began with the winners bracket semifinals, LWG beat the Hammerheads and the Hustle defeated the Misfits. That places LWG versus the Hustle in the winners bracket final and the Hammerheads versus the Misfits in the losers bracket semifinal (with the loser of that game eliminated) on Monday the 8th. Jenny and I had lunch on Tuesday thanks to a morning appointment she had in town, on Saturday we ran some errands together after lunch. On Sunday we were at Lions Park for the last week of the Sunday league, these were the makeup games rained out on October 31. No weather issues on this day, the skies were clear with brilliant sunshine. Ephrata beat Warwick via shootout, Hillside won over Township in regulation, That sets up the semifinals on the 14th with Ephrata versus Township and Hillside versus Warwick, after a brief intermission the winners meet for the championship. This is a one-day event thanks to the rainout on the 31st and my scheduled commitments elsewhere on November 21st, let us hope the weather cooperates. Take care, thanks for reading. 

October 30-31

On the road on Saturday morning into northeastern Berks County for one final turn on the PA at Kutztown University. The Golden Bears played at home on the 16th (I was absent) and will again on November 13 (I will be absent again), this day was the last of four games for me in the Air Chair. It was Homecoming weekend and the atmosphere was a lot of fun to be around (although I've spoken before on how I enjoy the college gameday experience there to begin with, there's just something unique about it that is hard to describe). KU alum and Pro Football Hall-Of-Famer Andre Reed was in HIS house (the stadium was named for him several years ago), he was a special-guest participant in the pregame coin-toss. The halftime homecoming ceremonies were well-organized and very uncomplicated, something a guy in my position can always appreciate. The Golden Bears' opponent was Millersville University (from the Lancaster suburb of the same name) and it's interesting to note that although MU is in the shadow of my city I've never had any dealings there professionally or otherwise, for some reason our paths have simply never crossed. In the game itself the Bears were never seriously challenged in a 30-7 win, the victory clinches a berth for KU in the league championship game. Sunday dawned with rainy weather which was expected to continue well into the afternoon, it was decided to postpone the day's hockey schedule in Rothsville until November 7. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 25-29

There is a time-honored expression about "the best-laid plans", Monday night at the rink was the textbook example. There was rain in the forecast but for much later in the evening, we had the usual three-game slate starting at 6:30. The first game went just fine but the second was a completely different story altogether. It began to rain lightly during the second period, suddenly the winds picked up and the skies opened. Had the game been uncompetitive we could have stopped it after the second period and declared it official but the score was close and we knew the trailing team wasn't going to want to quit. We got it finished in regulation time (the idea of a shootout on a puddled surface would have been thoroughly ludicrous) but the third game was postponed, the teams agreed to play it on Wednesday as the last game of that evening. Monday's winners included LWG over HSC and the Misfits over Risky Business. On Wednesday we started at 6:15, the teams involved in the makeup played their scheduled games at 6:15 and 7:00 respectively before coming back for the makeup at 8:45. The Hammerheads beat Risky Business, LWG won over the Hustle and HSC defeated the Misfits, in the makeup the Hustle won over the Hammerheads. Each team plays its final regular-season game on November 1, the playoffs start on the 3rd. We've trying something different this time around, instead of the traditional best-of-3 and best-of-5 series format we're seeding the top four finishers into a double-elimination tournament. It's something we've discussed before and personally I like it because it affords some variety in terms of possible matchups. Jenny and I had lunch on Wednesday and Friday since I would be out of town on Saturday, on Friday afternoon another round of the wet stuff blew through and stayed into the evening hours. High school football season ended on this night, I saw on the internet where McCaskey lost its game (played in the driving rain) to finish their year at 2-8. The average margin of decision in the club's two wins was 43-13, in the eight losses it was 44-10 (draw your own conclusions) Take care, thanks for reading.

October 23-24

Saturday night in downtown Reading at the Arena for the Royals home opener, the start of our 21st year as a franchise and our 20th on the ice (a distinction that shouldn't need to be made but we all know the story). The Norfolk Admirals were the opponent, the clubs had met in Norfolk the previous night where the Ads won in overtime. On this night the Royals avenged that loss with a hard-fought come-from-behind 6-4 victory before a crowd of better than 5500. Norfolk led 3-2 after one period, at the second intermission it was 4-4 before the Royals pulled ahead for good in the third.  Patrick Bajkov led the way with a hat-trick, the club also got scores from newcomers Joshua Winquist (nine-year pro from St. Albert, Alberta) and Patrick McNally (seven-year man from Glen Head, New York), the game-winner came early in the third period courtesy of Matthew Strome (a '19-20 Royal recently assigned from the AHL Phantoms). Kirill Ustimenko got the start in goal but struggled early on, Pat Nagle picked up the win in relief. It was a very physical game, at the final horn Norfolk frustrations boiled over resulting in three game misconducts being issued (two Ads and one Royal). The Admirals visit a total of seven times with five of those coming within our first seven home games overall, the clubs match up again on November 10 when the Royals return home from a four-game road trip. There was some rain overnight into Sunday but the morning's games at Lions Park went on without issue. On this day Ephrata beat Township and Hillside defeated Warwick, the regular season wraps up on the 31st. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 18-22

The new week followed a familiar pattern: Monday and Wednesday night hockey at Reservoir Park, Tuesday and Thursday with little else but the morning errand run. LWG won on both nights with decisions over Risky Business and the Hammerheads, the Hustle also went 2-0 for the week with wins over HSC and the Misfits. Monday's third game featured the Misfits over the Hammerheads via shootout, on Wednesday Risky Business beat HSC in regulation. At this point we're right where we should be, every club has twelve games in the books with three to go. Friday was the final home football game at McCaskey for the season, the Red Tornado lost to Manheim Township 62-21. It was Hall-Of-Fame/Homecoming weekend, the ceremonies at halftime were almost as much of an endurance test as the previous week's pregame had been. The game itself was reasonably competitive for most of the first half, after the break MT turned it up a notch and JPM simply couldn't keep up. All three touchdowns came on the ground, Josiah Gray scored twice from 25 and 59 yards and Basir Epps added a 33-yard TD run with Dale Sallie going 3-3 in the extra-point department. With one road game remaining the record stands at 2-7 which may not sound like much but two wins is two more than the program has had lately. It takes time to build a program especially when it's virtually from rock-bottom but progress is slowly being made. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 16-17

Saturday lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the afternoon we were all together on the road Northeast for the first time in Forever. After eighty-four weeks pro hockey was finally back in downtown Reading, the Royals hosted the Adirondack Thunder in an exhibition game at the Arena. The clubs had met on Friday in Glens Falls where the Royals won 4-0, on this night they completed the sweep with a 4-2 win. Kirk MacDonald is back as the club's head coach, former Adirondack player James Henry is the new assistant coach. Familiar names on the roster include goaltender Kirill Ustimenko, defensemen Garrett Cecere, David Drake and Mike Crocock plus forwards Brayden Low, Frank DiChiara and Thomas Ebbing. The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the first period on scores from Grant Cooper (rookie from Clarkson University) and Patrick Bajkov (pronounced "BY-kahv", a fourth-year pro from Nanaimo, British Columbia) but the Thunder rallied to tie it midway through the second. Frank DiChiara put the Royals back up 3-2 at the intermission, in the final period Jacob Pritchard (fourth-year pro from UMass-Amherst) scored the game's final goal. Veteran goaltender Pat Nagle (most recently in the AHL with Grand Rapids) earned the win in his Royals debut. It was only an exhibition game but the crowd was into it all night and there is no question it felt good to be back in the Air Chair at the Arena. The club's home schedule features divisional opponents Adirondack, Worcester, Newfoundland, Maine and new entrant Trois-Rivieres (Quebec) plus non-division opponents Norfolk and Wheeling. The season starts on Friday the 22nd in Norfolk, the Royals host the Admirals on Saturday the 23rd. On Sunday we convened at Lions Park in Rothsville for week #6 of Sunday hockey, winners on this windy day were Ephrata over Hillside and Township over Warwick. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 14-15

Not much going on Thursday outside of the morning run, Friday was football night at McCaskey. This was Senior Night for the players and the cheerleading squad, the pregame was supposed to start at 6:30 to allow for the game to go as scheduled at 7:00. The pregame began a few minutes late (typical), there were no less than twenty-one football players and twelve cheerleaders involved along with their families. Once we got it started it was like the theme song from the old TV western "Rawhide" (...Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...), the whole thing was done in about twenty minutes. When it was finished I turned off the mic, took a deep breath and said to myself "Damn, that was GOOD". The game itself wasn't bad either although ultimately disappointing for the McCaskey faithful. At halftime visiting Penn Manor held a 7-3 lead, the JPM points coming on a Dale Sallie field goal. PM added a touchdown in the third quarter and carried an eleven point lead into the fourth, a Basir Epps TD carry brought the Red Tornado to within 14-10. In the closing minutes JPM took the lead on a Matthew Remash TD pass to Zyaire Corteguera, with 1:30 on the clock it was 17-14. None of that seemed to faze Penn Manor, on the ensuing kickoff they marched straight down the field and into the end-zone with forty seconds left to win it 21-17. Any coach will tell you there is no such thing as a moral victory but the fact that it was competitive is a good sign, close games have been in short supply in recent years. The club stands at 2-6 with two games left, Manheim Township visits on the 22nd. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 11-13

The start of a new week both on the calendar and for dek hockey at Reservoir Park, winners on Monday included the Hammerheads over Risky Business, LWG over the Hustle and the Misfits over HSC. On Tuesday I was on the road in late afternoon, the first stop was a popular tavern located just south of Reading. The long-awaited return of ECHL hockey at the Arena is almost here, this occasion was the annual preseason party for the Royals' season ticket holders. In past years it had been at the Arena with the team in attendance but current league player protocol prevents that, the gathering at the tavern was strictly fans-only. I stopped by to get the ticket package Jenny and Helen use and to touch base with everybody, the event started at 4:00 and seemed to be well-attended. From there I was downtown at the Arena proper, the game-operations crew (of which I am a member) was meeting at 5:30. Every years we have new people involved including college students working as interns, the meeting was probably more for their benefit than mine although it was still good to be back and get acquainted. It was the first time I'd been in the building since before the BS started in March of The Year We Don't Mention and it felt good to be back. Had lunch on Wednesday in Quarryville, in the evening we reached the two-thirds mark of the season at the rink. The Hammerheads beat HSC, LWG won over the Misfits and the Hustle defeated Risky Business. One of the captains commented on how quickly the season is going, the fact that we've had no major weather issues (only four games postponed and all have been made up) has played a big part in that. Let's Keep It That Way. Take care, thanks for reading. 

October 9-10

Up and at it early on Saturday morning, at 10:00 the McCaskey girls soccer team played its annual Senior Day game in the stadium and I handled the PA duties. The program has struggled in recent years but on this day they put it all together for a one-sided 10-1 victory and by all accounts everybody (except maybe the opponent) went home happy. After the game I headed south for lunch in Quarryville, in the evening Jenny and Helen were along for the game at the ballpark. They like to come on Saturdays but the hot summer weather often plays a role, this was only their third game of the season. High Point took an early 3-0 lead, in the bottom of the third Kelly Dugan's solo home run put the Stormers on the board. In the fourth Blake Allemand walked and scored on an error making it 3-2, in the sixth Allemand walked again and touched home on Cleuluis Rondon's RBI double to tie the game at three. In the ninth the Rockers scratched out a run and won it 4-3, Logan Sawyer (a 2019 Stormer recently added from the Frontier League) took the loss in relief of Zach Smith. Sunday was a hockey day in Rothsville, there were some puddles on the rink from an overnight rain but we got them cleared with leaf blowers and the games went on without issue. Warwick beat Ephrata and Township won over Hillside, we were done shortly before 1:00. I came back to town and went immediately to the ballpark, I arrived just as the game's second batter was coming up. I'm well-known for eschewing day games because of the afternoon heat but that was not a factor on this day, it was overcast and breezy with temperatures in the low-60s (and besides, it was the last game of the season and you HAVE to go to the last game). On this day the Barnstormers won easily 9-1 putting the game to bed with a five-run seventh inning. Offensive highlights came from Alejandro De Aza with three hits, two runs scored and two RBI, Devon Torrence with two hits and two RBI, Blake Gailen with a double and two RBI, team MVP Caleb Gindl had two hits and scored twice and Melvin Mercedes picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Augie Sylk went six innings for the win with relief from newcomers Kyle Johnson (former New York Yankees property). Tyler LaPorte (Southern University product) and ex-MLBer Ryan Eades. The Stormers finish at 56-63 (with one road rainout cancelled), over in York the Revolution finished 56-64. Long Island and Southern Maryland meet in the North Division playoffs, Lexington and West Virginia pair up in the South. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 6-8

Wednesday morning lunch with Jenny and her mother in Quarryville, in the evening we were back at the rink at Reservoir Park. Winners on this night were LWG over HSC, Risky Business over the Misfits and the Hustle over the Hammerheads. Four weeks are in the books, all outstanding postponements have been made up and every team has played eight games with seven to go. On Thursday we were back at the ballpark for the third game of the series with Long Island. The visiting Ducks had evened the series with a win on Wednesday, on this night they made it two-out-of-three. The Barnstormers trailed 4-0 in the fourth, Kelly Dugan began the inning with a walk and Blake Gailen doubled him to third. Devon Torrence followed with a two-run double to bring the Stormers to within two but Long Island put it away with a five-run sixth inning. The final was 9-2, Brent Teller started for the Stormers and suffered the loss. On Friday the High Point Rockers visited from North Carolina for the final series of the regular season. The game was scoreless into the fourth inning, Blake Gailen's solo home run over the picnic tents in right field gave the Good Guys a 1-0 lead. In the sixth the Stormers loaded the bases with none out on a walk and two errors, Caleb Gindl scored on a double-play groundout and Kelly Dugan touched home on Trayvon Robinson's RBI single making it 3-0. Nile Ball started for the Barnstormers and carried a shutout into the ninth but the Rockers finally broke through and tied the game 3-3. In the bottom of the ninth Nick Shumpert singled, advanced to third and scored on a wild pitch (of all things) to give the Stormers a 4-3 walkoff win, Scott Shuman was the pitcher of decision in relief of Ball who certainly deserved the win. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 4-5

Monday night at Reservoir Park for the start of week #4, this night featured an unusual circumstance. On September 15 the last game of the night was postponed by rain, the teams agreed to reschedule on this night since they were already playing each other. The makeup game was at 6:15 with the rematch at 8:00 and the other games falling in at 7:00 and 8:45. LWG swept the "doubleheader" from the Hammerheads, in other action Risky Business beat Hambones SC and the Misfits defeated the Hustle. On Tuesday the Barnstormers returned home for the start of the season's final homestand, the Long Island Ducks were the opponent. Caleb Gindl's solo home run gave the Stormers a first-inning lead, in the second Blake Allemand singled and scored on Trayvon Robinson's RBI double to make it 2-0. The visiting Ducks tied the score in the third and took a 3-2 lead in the fourth, in the sixth the Stormers forged ahead. LeDarious Clark started the rally with a walk, back-to-back hits from Blake Gailen and Allemand tied the score at 3-3. An RBI double by relief pitcher (and University Of Miami product) Ben Wanger scored the lead run, Anderson De La Rosa followed with a two-run single giving the Barnstormers a 6-3 advantage. Long Island replied with three runs against Wanger in the seventh to tie it 6-6 but in the bottom half the Stormers put together a six-spot to go ahead for good. Clark got it going with a leadoff double, Gailen singled and Allemand doubled to score Clark with the go-ahead run. Back-to-back walks to De La Rosa and Cleuluis Rondon scored run #8, a Melvin Mercedes RBI groundout made it 9-6. Gindl walked to load the bases for Alejandro De Aza, his bases-clearing triple put the Stormers up by the final score of 12-6. Augie Sylk started but was long gone by the time the late-inning fireworks took place, newcomer Jake Mulholland (from Oregon State University) was the winner in relief. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 2-3

On the road northeast on Saturday morning for a game day at Kutztown University, the Golden Bears hosted division rival East Stroudsburg (from the northeastern Pennsylvania borough of the same name). Kickoff was at noon at Andre Reed Stadium, KU jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter but ESU got on the board in the second with a touchdown making it 14-7 at the half. With ten minutes left in the final quarter East Stroudsburg evened the score but in the closing moments the Golden Bears put together the game-winning drive. A sixty-seven-yard pass play set up a first-and-goal from the three-yard-line, from there the Bears scored with forty-four seconds left to pull out a heart-stopping 21-14 win. KU's next home date is on October 16 but I'm out of the mix that day, my next game in Kutztown is on the 30th. On Sunday we were back in Rothsville at Lions Park for week #4, the games on this day were rematches from week #1. Ephrata beat Township and Warwick defeated Hillside, we started at 11:00 and were finished right around 1:00. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 27-October 1

The final week of September was week #3 of dek hockey at Reservoir Park, winners on Monday included LWG over the Misfits, the Hustle over Risky Business and HSC over the Hammerheads. Had lunch with Jenny and Helen on Wednesday, in the evening at the rink the games were rematches from opening night. The Hammerheads defeated the Misfits, the Hustle beat HSC and LWG won over Risky Business. Thursday was the makeup date for the games postponed on the 22nd, on this night the winners were LWG over the Hustle, the Misfits over HSC and Risky Business over the Hammerheads. Friday was the first day of the final quarter of 2021, we were all together again for lunch in Quarryville since I was going to be out of town on Saturday. I spent the evening at home on a Friday for the first time since August 13, no complaints on my part since I'll be on the road early in the morning. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 24-26

High school football season reached its midpoint (already?) on Friday evening, I was at McCaskey as the Red Tornado hosted Conestoga Valley in a league-mandated crossover game. The LL League is scheduled to undergo a massive reorganization in 2022, the schools in Berks County are joining as associate members for football only and the divisional crossover games will be abolished. This will grow the league to 37 (!!!) teams in five divisions, for McCaskey it means Reading High will be on the schedule as a sixth divisional opponent. JPM entered on this night at 2-2 and exited it at 2-3 as a result of a 35-7 loss, the only score coming on a Shymere Covington kickoff return (85 yards) in the second quarter. The clubs plays its next two on the road, the next home date is October 15. On Saturday Jenny and her mother were in town at a relative's house, the family was celebrating Helen's birthday albeit ten days late. In the evening I was at the ballpark, the Barnstormers were hosting Southern Maryland (fresh from their midweek series in York). The Stormers won the Friday opener 8-0 behind seven shutout innings from Dominic DiSabatino, on this night Brent Teller got the start and repeated the feat. He allowed one hit and struck out six in his seven innings of work but didn't factor in the decision as the Stormers lost in frustrating fashion. Blake Gailen's home run over the picnic pavilion in the second inning gave the Stormers a 1-0 lead which held up until the eighth when the Crabs tied it, in the tenth SM put together a three-run inning against losing pitcher Garret Granitz and took it 4-1. On Sunday the Blue Crabs took the rubber game but as usual I was in Rothsville for week #3 at Lions Park. Township defeated Warwick via shootout and Hillside beat Ephrata in regulation time, we're back on October 3 with the rematches from week #1. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 20-23

The new week began with a Monday morning visit to my broker, it was one of those periodic meetings we have to discuss my portfolio and the best course of action. In the evening we were at Reservoir Park for the start of week #2, winners on this night included the Misfits over Risky Business, LWG over HSC and the Hustle over the Hammerheads. On Tuesday Jenny and Helen had morning appointments in Willow Street, we stopped at the local sub shop on the way to their place and had lunch a day early. In late afternoon I made my way west for probably the final time in 2021, in York the Revolution hosted the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the opener of a three-game series. The early innings of this game were all Revs and it resembled an old-fashioned Home Run Derby, it started in the first on Jack Kenley's two-run shot giving the home team a 2-0 lead. In the second James Harris and Nellie Rodriguez each went yard with a man on base to make it 6-0, Carlos Castro's solo home run in the third extended the lead to seven. The visiting Crabs put a run in the board in the seventh, after the stretch the Revs salted the game away with a five-spot. Three straight singles loaded the bases for Osmy Gregorio, his RBI groundout made the score 8-1. J.C. Encarnacion followed with a two-run single, he advanced to third on a double by Harris and scored on Kenley's sac fly. Carlos Franco's RBI double scored Harris with the inning's fifth run and the last of the night, the final was 12-1. The offensive output was only half the story for the Revolution, on the mound Eduardo Rivera got the start and went all the way for a (in this day in age) rare complete game victory allowing four hits and striking out eight. Wednesday was one of those iffy "it may, it may not" days, there was weather moving up from the south but most of the day was relatively dry until late afternoon. Don and I talked it over and we decided to err on the side of caution, the evening's games at the rink were postponed until Thursday the 30th. The rain picked up overnight into Thursday, by the time I went out for the morning errand run it was just about all over and by the time I was home my day was just about all over. Take care, thanks for reading. 

September 17-19

Friday night: sat in on the PA at the football game in Landisville, Hempfield AD and old friend Steve Polonus had contacted me about this back in August. He told me he considers me his #1 backup option if I'm available which on the surface would seem unusual since my main association is with a rival school. Whenever I'm at Hempfield I always get a few "Frenchy, what are you doing here?" reactions but at the same time nobody seems to object to my presence. Exeter (from suburban Reading) was the opponent, before the game I was approached by a member of their support staff who asked me if I announcing the game. He said he remembered and respected me from my days at the ballpark on Centre Avenue (a time in my life I rarely speak of anymore) and he offered assistance with their club's pronunciations which was a huge help. When we were done he addressed me as Mr. Bauman out of respect and I told him it was OK to call me by my nickname as 98% of those who know me already do. It's always nice to have what you do be appreciated, it's just a pity it doesn't happen everywhere. The game itself was a barnburner all the way, Hempfield won 17-14 when a game-tying Exeter field-goal attempt was blocked in the closing seconds. On Saturday I was on the road northeast in the morning, kickoff at Kutztown University was at 12-noon. This was KU's second home game and my second on the mic, I'm available for two of their last four home dates and right now it looks like I'll be working those as well. On this day the Golden Bears hosted Seton Hill (from the suburban Pittsburgh area, not to be confused with Seton HALL) and won 14-3, the next home date is on October 2. On Sunday morning we were in Rothsville for week #2 of the Sunday hockey league. Nine new players made their season debuts, six who played in the summer season and three brand-new to the league. Hillside beat Township and Warwick defeated Ephrata, we started at 11:00 and were done shortly before 1:00. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 14-16

Many years ago a popular TV western series did an episode called "West Of The River", I own it on DVD and I'm always reminded of it whenever I go to York. On Tuesday night I was there as the Barnstormers started a road trip with a series against the Revolution marking the last meetings between the clubs in 2021. The Stormers took a 2-0 lead in the second on RBI hits from Cleuluis Rondon and Trayvon Robinson, in the home fourth an RBI double by Osmy Gregorio and James Harris' three-run home run gave the Revs a 4-2 advantage. The Barnstormers pulled even in the fifth on an run-scoring single from Alejandro De Aza and a Blake Gailen RBI groundout, in the bottom half Nellie Rodriguez walked and scored on J.C. Encarnacion's RBI fielders choice putting the Revs back up 5-4. That would prove to be the final score, Jim Fuller saved the win for Rev starter Austin Nicely with Nile Ball taking the loss for the Stormers. On Wednesday Jenny's mother Helen turned 84 years of age, we had lunch together as usual at their place. In the evening we were at the rink for night #2 of dek hockey. There were thunderstorms in the mid-state that were expected to hit our area later in the evening, we were hoping to get in and out before they arrived but it didn't happen. It began to rain during the third period of the second game, before the third game we huddled with the captains and it was mutually agreed to postpone it to another time. HSC beat Risky Business via shootout and the Hustle defeated the Misfits, we're back for week #2 on Monday the 20th. Over in York they had a doubleheader going, the Revs won the opener which was delayed by lightning and eventually shortened by rain, the second game was postponed to Thursday. For me that day's errand run was the only event of note, I spent the evening at home relaxing and prepping for a busy weekend. In York the Barnstormers swept the doubleheader but the Revs won the season series 13-12 allowing York to retain possession of the Community Cup. In fourteen seasons the Revs have won it seven times to the Barnstormers' six with one tie. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 13

The thirteenth day of September 2021 was a momentous day for the players and followers of Lancaster Dek Hockey, for the first time in 658 days (or 94 weeks if you prefer) there were games played under the lights at Reservoir Park. Don and I had been at the rink on Sunday after we were finished in Rothsville, we were back on Monday afternoon to get some more major work done. We have enough trouble keeping the place up during the good times thanks to where the rink is located, over the time we were down it was damn near impossible. The player benches and the penalty box are very popular among the city's homeless and the fact that the doors are locked makes no difference to them whatsoever, if they want in they'll get in and they DO get in. We were there for about three hours getting things cleaned up so the games could go on as scheduled, by the time we were finished it was as good as could be expected. We have six teams playing a fifteen-game schedule ending on November 1, games are on Mondays and Wednesdays starting at 6:30. On opening night Lancaster Water Group (LWG) beat Risky Business, the Misfits defeated the Hammerheads and the Hustle outlasted Hambones Social Club (HSC). Sixty-two players participated and for the record twelve of them also played in Rothsville on Sunday. Don refereed as usual, he said that during the course of the evening it was obvious that everyone was glad to be back. It's been a long time coming and no question about it, Take care, thanks for reading. 

September 10-12

Friday was football night at JPM, the Red Tornado hosted Lebanon. Sometimes it's hard to figure out sports especially at the high school level. In week #1 the club ended a horrendous 26-game losing streak, the next week they played at home with a wave of momentum and lost 54-7 to a team that had lost by fifty points the week before. Lebanon had lost to JPM's week #1 victim during week #2 so if Team A beats Team B and Team B beats Team C what happens when A meets C? The question on this occasion was answered quickly and resoundingly, the Red Tornado scored two touchdowns in the first two minutes and rolled to a surprisingly one-sided 60-6 victory. The club scored nine TDs, five on the ground, three through the air and one defensively. Shymere Covington ran for two touchdowns, single scores came on carries by Basir Epps, Marquise Washington and Kasir Taylor. Zayden Desanctis, Issac Burks and Will Almeyda caught scoring passes from Matthew Remash and the defensive TD came when Taylor picked up a fumble and (as the expression goes) "took it to the house". Dale Sallee was 6-9 in the PAT department as the club improves to 2-1. The clubs plays on the road in week #4, the next home game is on the 24th against Conestoga Valley. Had Saturday lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the evening we were at the ballpark. The Barnstormers were hosting the Long Island Ducks, the visitors had won the Friday opener and made it two straight on this night with a 6-2 win. The lone scores for the Stormers came on a Blake Gailen two-run home run in the fourth inning, Augie Sylk started and took the loss. The Ducks finished the series sweep with a Sunday victory but I was of course not there, this day marked the start of the new season for the Sunday hockey league at Lions Park in Rothsville. We have the same basic format as the Spring/Summer season, there are four teams playing an eight-game schedule through October 31. The games were at 11:00 and 11:45, all the better for everyone to get home in time for the early pro football kickoffs on TV. Winners included Hillside over Warwick and Ephrata over Township, a total of thirty-three players participated. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 8-9

The continuing story of the Atlantic League in 2021 (also known as Can You Top This?) added a new wrinkle on Wednesday night at the ballpark on North Prince Street. There was rain in the forecast but it was not expected until much later in the evening, the game began as scheduled shortly after 6:30. The Barnstormers took the lead in the third on an error allowing two runs to score, in the fourth Jake Hoover tripled and scored on Nick Shumpert's RBI double to make it 3-0. In the visiting fifth the Revolution tied it on RBI hits from Melky Mesa and Nellie Rodriguez plus a Stormer error, in the bottom half the Stormers regained the lead with Blake Gailen scoring on a LeDarious Clark groundout. In the sixth the Revs responded on another RBI hit from Mesa to even the score at 4-4, it stayed that way until the eighth. Rodriguez went yard for the Revs giving them a one-run lead but in the bottom half Caleb Gindl's sac fly scored Trayvon Robinson to tie it at 5-5. The game moved into extra innings with each club scoring once in the tenth, in the eleventh the Revs put three on the board on base hits from Josue Herrera (two ribbies) and Osmy Gregorio (one) to go up 9-6. In their half the Barnstormers closed to within one run on a two-run home run from Alejandro De Aza, they had the tying run on first with one out when the rain finally arrived Hard And Fast. Time was called, the field was covered and after the required wait time the game was called shortly after 11:00. On Thursday the clubs reconvened at 6:00 for the completion of the suspended game and it required all of four minutes to accomplish as the Revs held on for the 9-8 win. Victor Capellan (who was on the mound when time was called on Wednesday) came back to finish it for the save, Alberto Rodriguez was the winner with Blake Gailen (pitching the eleventh inning on an emergency basis) taking the loss. The regularly-scheduled game was shortened to seven innings by mutual agreement, back-to-back home runs by Jack Kenly and Melky Mesa gave the Revs a 2-0 lead in the third. In the fourth Carlos Franco walked and scored on J.C. Encarnacion's RBI groundout, in the Stormer fifth LeDarious Clark doubled and scored on Jake Hoover's RBI hit to make it 3-1. In the sixth Blake Gailen doubled, back-to-back RBI hits from Kelly Dugan and Devon Torrance drew the Stormers even at 3-3. Naturally OF COURSE the game went into extra innings, the Revs scored twice in the eighth on an sac fly by Osmy Gregorio and a Lenin Rodriguez RBI double. In the Stormer half Blake Allemand's RBI double made it a one-run game but the rally went no further as the Revolution swept the series with a 5-4 verdict. Issac Sanchez was the winner with Jim Fuller picking up the save (both formerly with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization), Gabriel Moya took the loss. The Revs lead the season series for possession of the Community Cup 11-10 with four games remaining in York (including a doubleheader) from the 14th to the 16th. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 6-7

Monday was the unofficial Last Day Of Summer (as I have always called Labor Day), in the evening Don and I finalized plans for the long-awaited return of Lancaster Dek Hockey. November of 2019 was a long time ago, in many ways it feels like we're starting over from scratch. We have six teams (which is enough to make having the league worthwhile), if all goes as planned we'll start on Monday the 13th. On Tuesday the Barnstormers returned home as Our Friends From West Of The River visited for the final time in 2021. On this night the Revolution jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the first out was recorded. The first three men reached base for Nellie Rodriguez, his RBI walk was followed by Carlos Franco's grand-slam home run. Caleb Gindl went yard in the Stormer half to make it 5-1, the Revs added two in the third on a Josue Herrera round-tripper and a Lenin Rodriguez RBI hit to go ahead by six. The Barnstormers pulled to within 7-4 in their half of the third on Blake Gailen's two-run single and a Kelly Dugan RBI groundout, in the fourth Gindl's two-run home run (his second longball of the night) brought the score to 7-6. The Revolution broke it open with a four-run sixth inning, Melky Mesa had an RBI hit, a second run scored on a groundball double play and relief pitcher Alberto Rodriguez (no relation to Nellie or Lenin) got into the act with a two-run double. Two more Revs runs in the eighth on a Franco RBI hit and a Wellington Dotel groundout brought the final score to 13-6. Alberto Rodriguez was the winner in relief of starter Joey Lara, Dominic DiSabatino took the loss for the Barnstormers. The series continues on Wednesday and Thursday. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 3-5

Friday night was a football night at McCaskey, the start of my thirty-fourth season on the mic as the Red Tornado hosted York (not the Revs, the high school). JPM opened its season the week before with a road victory over Reading High which ended a horrendous losing streak dating back almost three years, the irony is that the last win before this was also against RHS. The program has a new head coach, former assistant Ben Thompson has taken over for the departed Sam London who has returned to college coaching. Whatever momentum the club may have had from their opening win was completely absent on this night, the game result was unfortunately and very depressingly familiar. York scored sixteen points in the first quarter and tripled that total before halftime, the entire second half was played under the mercy rule. The final was 54-7, the lone score for JPM came in the fourth quarter when Kasir Taylor hit paydirt on a quarterback keeper and Dale Sallie kicked the extra point. Starting the year by erasing that zero in the win column was a good way to begin but the fact is the program still has a long way to go. On the bright side we had Real Live People in attendance for the first time since 2019, I'd say the home side was about 70-75% capacity and the visiting crowd was respectable as well. There were a few suggestion announcements made in regard to fan safety but for the most part it was Business As Usual and it's certainly about time. The boys play at home on the 10th against Lebanon. On Saturday morning I was at it early, the destination was northeastern Berks County for the season-opener college game in Kutztown. The SID there is a Berks County guy who knows me largely by reputation, I'm on his "as needed" list and this was one of those occasions. The host Golden Bears defeated Assumption University (from Worcester, Massachusetts) 19-0 before an enthusiastic crowd that also appeared to be very unrestricted (the fact that the program didn't play at all the previous year probably added to the enthusiasm). This may have been one of the most rapidly-played college football games ever, it kicked off at 12-noon and was over right around 2:30. As it stands right now I'll be there again on October 30 but there are two other games I could do if needed, we'll see what happens. On Sunday I had lunch with Jenny and her mother since we missed out on Saturday because I was out of town (anybody who tries to take that away from us will have the damnedest fight they've ever seen). Take care, thanks for reading.

August 30-September 2

The new week started with an ominous weather forecast, a tropical storm had reeked havoc in Louisiana over the weekend and its remnants were expected in our region by Wednesday. I had planned to attend the ballgame in York on Wednesday but given the forecast I decided to go on Tuesday instead. Late on Monday night the Revolution management announced they were postponing the Wednesday game ahead of time and playing a doubleheader on Tuesday (they say great minds tend to think alike), after the morning errand run on Tuesday I had an early supper and headed west across the Susquehanna. The first game started at 4:00, I figured the crowd would be light at that hour especially with the late notice and I was right. I arrived a few minutes before game time, parking was no issue and I walked into the ballpark just in time for "and the home of the brave". The Revs were hosting the Long Island Ducks, in the early going there was a light mist falling which caused some initial concern but it amounted to nothing. The Ducks scored a single run in the first and added three in the second, in the home second Wellington Dotel went yard to put the Revs on the board. In the third former Oriole property Lenin Rodriguez singled and scored on Melky Mesa's RBI single, Osmy Gregorio's solo home run in the fourth brought the Revolution to within 4-3. Long Island went up by two in the fifth, a home run by Mesa in the bottom half made it a one-run game once again. In the seventh (the last inning of regulation) the Ducks went ahead 6-4, in the home half James Harris hit the Revs' fourth solo home run of the game to make it 6-5 but the rally ended there. Jhoendri Herrera (who ironically pitched briefly for the Ducks earlier in the season) started for the Revolution and took the loss. I didn't stay around for very much of game #2, the Revs won 7-6 to earn a doubleheader split. The expected weather arrived overnight into Wednesday morning, there was some rain around in the morning when I went for lunch with Jenny and her mother. On the way back into town the rain picked up, by the time I got home it was coming straight down and steady. In the evening there were reports of flooded roads all over the place, all things considered I didn't mind being at home. The system moved northeast and out of the area overnight, Thursday was a mild and sunny day. Had a haircut appointment in the afternoon but little else on the schedule which was just fine because the weekend will be busy. High school football season started the previous weekend, on Friday McCaskey plays its home opener and on Saturday I'll be making a special-guest-starring appearance on the mic at Kutztown University. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 27-29

All summer long we've written in this blog about how bizarre the Atlantic League has been in 2021, it's often been said that you never know what you're going to see when you go to the ballpark and this particular weekend proved that axiom 100% correct. The West Virginia Power visited on Friday night for the series opener, there was rain and lightning in the area but the game started on time. Each team tallied in the first inning, the Stormers' run coming when Caleb Gindl singled and scored on Alejandro De Aza's RBI triple. In the third inning the Power had runners on first and second, two balks called on consecutive pitches allowed the lead man to score giving the visitors a 2-1 lead. In the fourth inning the rain arrived but it was never more than an annoying mist, just enough to make things wet and miserable. In the top of the sixth the stadium fire alarms were somehow activated, it was a false alarm but the sirens sounded for several minutes before they were finally silenced. West Virginia upped their lead to two in the seventh, in the bottom half Anderson De La Rosa doubled and was pinch-run for by Nick Shumpert. Jake Hoover laid down a sacrifice bunt, on the play to first Shumpert never broke stride and scored from second base bringing the Stormers back to within 3-2. The ballclub pulled even in the eighth on a solo home run by De Aza but in the ninth WV scratched out a run and won it 4-3, Scott Shuman took the loss in relief of starter Nile Ball. On Saturday we had our usual lunch in Quarryville, Jenny and Helen elected to stay home from the game since the forecast was "iffy". At the ballpark in the evening it was cloudy and breezy but no rain, after West Virginia scored twice in the first inning the Stormers got on the board in the second when Kelly Dugan singled and scored on Hoover's RBI single. In the third the Stormers put together a five-spot, the rally started with back-to-back walks to Gindl and Blake Allemand plus a De Aza hit loading the bases. Dugan and LeDarious Clark kept it going with consecutive two-run singles, Anthony Peroni's RBI double scored Clark giving the Stormers a 6-2 advantage In the fourth Cleuluis Rondon singled and advanced to third on a hit by Gindl, Allemand's sac fly RBI made it 7-2. The Power picked up a pair in the fifth to close within three but the Stormers put it away with two in the eighth. Gindl hit a high fly straight down the right-field line for a solo home run (disputed by the WV manager who was ejected), De Aza drew a walk and came home on an RBI double by Dugan bringing the final to 9-4. Starting pitcher Tommy Shirley (who has been on and off the active roster due to injury) pitched seven strong innings for the win. The homestand ended in the Sunday afternoon heat with a Barnstormers win, the ballclub hits the road until September 7. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 25-26

Back at the ballpark on Wednesday night for game #2 with Lexington, after the madness we witnessed on Tuesday this night was rather mundane by comparison. The Barnstormers took a 3-0 lead in the third on a Kelly Dugan three-run homer, in the fifth they scored twice more. Alejandro de Aza started the inning with a base hit, after two were retired Devon Torrence reached on an error scoring De Aza. Anderson De La Rosa followed with an RBI single bringing Torrence home for a 5-0 lead. The visitors got three on the board in their half of the sixth inning, in the home half Blake Allemand singled and scored the evening's final run on a Trayvon Robinson RBI hit. Augie Sylk (who interestingly is the great-grandson of the legendary entertainer Bing Crosby) worked into the sixth inning for the win with relief from newcomer Cameron Gann (late of the Arizona Diamondbacks system), Gabriel Moya and Scott Shuman. In the rubber game on Thursday the Stormers again took an early lead, this time it was in the first inning. Allemand and Caleb Gindl drew back-to-back walks, consecutive base hits from De Aza (one RBI) and Dugan (two RBI) gave the Stormers a 3-0 advantage but from there it was just about all Lexington. The Legends matched the Stormers with three in the second and added three more in the third, a single run in the fourth and two more in the seventh made it 9-3. The Stormers scored in the eighth on a solo home run by Dugan but it mattered little, the final was 9-4. Dominic DiSabatino started and was clearly not at his best, he worked into the third inning and suffered the loss. The homestand continues with West Virginia visiting over the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading. 

August 23-24

Monday night at Reservoir Park for the first time since what seems like Forever. Lancaster Dek Hockey has been a casualty of The Ongoing BS, the league last played in November of 2019. The rink is in a city park, when the parks were closed in the spring of 2020 we were shut down through no choice of our own. When the Sunday league in Rothsville started back in May a lot of the guys were asking when we would be back up and running in Lancaster, we told them it all depended on what the city was doing in terms of reopening. We had intended to run a summer draft league which didn't happen because of low registrations, on this night at the rink we had a meeting for the Fall season. There were four teams represented but there are always those who get in at the last minute, Don said we need at least six teams or we won't be able to operate. The last season we played had eight clubs, hopefully we can scrape at least six together for this season. Needless to say it's been a long time, hopefully the interest is still there. Time will tell. On Tuesday night we were at the ballpark, the Barnstormers were back in town for the opener of a three-game series with the Lexington Legends. The Atlantic League in 2021 has been equal parts Twilight Zone, Outer Limits and One Step Beyond (if you're a fan of old late '50s/early '60s TV you'll understand the references), this night was the latest example, The visitors from Kentucky took a 1-0 lead in the first, the Stormers tied it in the second when Devon Torrence singled and scored on Jake Hoover's RBI double. The Legends took a 4-1 lead in the fourth and added five more in the fourth, single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth gave Lexington a 12-1 lead. At this point you would figure the game is over, right? WRONG. In the bottom of the eighth the Barnstormers came alive and put together an incredible rally. Kelly Dugan started it with a base hit and Trayvon Robinson drew a walk, Torrence was hit by the pitch to load the bases with one out. Anthony Peroni's two-run single made it 12-3, Hoover reached on an error allowing another run and Cleuluis Rondon singled to reload the bases. Caleb Gindl doubled into the alley scoring Peroni and Hoover to make it 12-6, Blake Allemand followed with a three-run rocket-shot over the picnic tents in right field to pull the Stormers to within three. Dugan put a cap on the outburst with a solo home run to right-center making it 12-10. In the ninth the Stormers had the tying runs on base with two out, the game ended with the runner on second picked off base on a snap-throw from the catcher. Zach Smith started for the Stormers and took the loss. The series continues on Wednesday and Thursday and one can only wonder: What Next? Take care, thanks for reading. 

August 20-22

Friday night baseball west of the river in downtown York, the Revolution hosted the Gastonia Honey Hunters in the opener of a four-game series. This was a noteworthy occasion in that it marked the Hunters' first-ever appearance in York, the Revs were in Gastonia early in the season and again earlier in August but Gastonia did not play in York during the season's first half (the ALPB's regular season schedule is not balanced in that regard and it rarely is). This was my second time in York in nine days but on this night there were no weather issues, I actually got to see a game and it was another edition of the league's Theater Of The Bizarre. The visitors from North Carolina took an early 4-0 lead, in the bottom of the second Nellie Rodriguez got the Revs on the board with a solo home run. The Hunters added one in the third and four in the fourth to take a 9-1 advantage, in the bottom half Jack Kenley tripled and scored on Melky Mesa'a RBI double, Mesa would come home on Rodriguez' sacrifice fly drawing the Revolution to within six. Gastonia scored twice more in the fifth to go up 11-3, in the home fifth the Revs battled back with a seven-spot. Osmy Gregorio started it with a base hit, the next four batters all drew walks forcing home two runs making it 11-5. Mesa's sac fly scored run #6, after another walk reloaded the bases Josue Herrera followed with a grand slam to right-center bringing the Revs back to within one run at 11-10. At that point the offensive fireworks came to a screeching halt, neither team scored in any of the last four innings as Gastonia held the fort and won it 11-10. Starting pitcher Joey Lara (recently added by the Revs from the Empire League) worked into the fourth inning and suffered the loss. The rest of the weekend was quiet save for my usual lunch visit with Jenny, over in York the series continued with a day/night doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday which fell victim to the weather. Another storm system was moving north through the Atlantic Ocean, we were on the outskirts of it but Sunday was dreary and rainy all the same. Take care, thanks for reading. 

August 18-19

The predicted rainfall for Wednesday did not materialize until mid-afternoon, about a hour before game time at the ballpark it was announced that the game was postponed with a makeup date TBA. It was definitely the right call, around 8:00 or so the heavy stuff arrived and stayed for several hours. On Thursday the storm system was long gone and sunshine was in abundance, at 6:30 the Stormers and Long Island wrapped up the series. After the relative normalcy on Tuesday this night featured another of those wacky "last-shot-wins" games we've seen so often in 2021. The Barnstormers took a 2-0 lead in the first on Blake Gailen's two-run home run over the picnic pavilion in right field, the visiting Ducks scored a single run in the third but the Stormers got it right back in the bottom half on Gailen's second longball of the evening. In the sixth LI got back to within 3-2, Kelly Dugan replied with a three-run bomb giving the Stormers a 6-2 lead. In the seventh the Ducks scored four runs to tie and a single tally in the eighth to go up 7-6. In the home eighth Alejandro De Aza went yard to tie it at 7-7, Dugan worked a walk and Devon Torrence singled to put runners at first and second. Anderson De La Rosa's sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, Jake Hoover's sacrifice fly plated Dugan to give the Stormers an 8-7 lead. In the ninth Long Island drew even once again but the nuttiness finally ended in the bottom of the inning on Blake Allemand's walkoff home run giving the Barnstormers a 9-8 victory. Augie Sylk started and worked the first five innings, Scott Shuman (the last of five relievers used by Ross Peeples) was the pitcher of decision. The Stormers are on the road over the weekend (the reason for no doubleheader on this night), they come home on Tuesday the 24th. Take care, thanks for reading. 

August 16-17

Those who regularly visit this blog (and I know I have an audience for which I'm very grateful) know that every year on August 16 I write about what Jenny means to me because this date is her birthday. Monday was The Big Day, she was spending it here in town babysitting at her friend's house. I took lunch to her and we spent some time together while we ate, it's never a problem because whenever I do the two older daughters always ask me if I can stay and visit them for awhile. The end of this calendar year will mark twenty years we've been together and we knew each other for close to ten years before that so no matter how you look at it it's been a long time, my world would be absolutely empty without her and that's a feeling I don't ever want to experience. On Tuesday night the Barnstormers returned home for the opener of a three-game set with the Long Island Ducks. This was actually the back end of a six-game series, the Stormers won two of three on The Island over the weekend. On this night the game stayed scoreless until the bottom of the third when Caleb Gindl doubled, took third on a flyout to right and scored on Blake Gailen's groundout. Alejandro De Aza kept the inning going with a two-base hit, Trayvon Robinson's RBI single made it 2-0. Kelly Dugan followed with another double (the third of the inning) scoring Trayvon to give the Stormers a three-run lead. Those three runs held up until the ninth when the Ducks put together a two-out rally of their own. One run had scored and there were runners on second and third, the batter hit a deep drive to left field that was run down by LeDarious Clark with a leaping catch to preserve a big 3-1 victory. The win is Zach Smith's first as a professional, he went five innings with bullpen support (one inning each) from Garrett Granitz, Donald Goodson, Gabriel Moya and Scott Shuman picking up the save. The series is supposed to continue on Wednesday but the forecast is not encouraging, the remnants of a tropical storm are moving up the coast and Wednesday is expected to be very wet. As they used to say on television: Stay Tuned. Take care, thanks for reading. 

August 9-15

The Barnstormers finished their homestand on Sunday the 8th with a walkoff win, Blake Allemand was the hero with a home run in the tenth inning. A weeklong road swing began on Tuesday night with a win in York, on Wednesday I made my first trip west of the river since September of 2019. There were thunderstorms in the forecast which were supposed to be quick-hitting and fast-moving but it didn't work out that way, the rain started as I was crossing the bridge outside of Columbia and was still coming hard when I got to the ballpark. The game itself never started, shortly before 7:00 it was postponed and reset as a doubleheader for September 15. At first I wondered why they didn't reschedule it immediately for the next night but the fact that the Revolution was leaving for North Carolina after the game on Thursday undoubtedly played a role in the decision. I had figured on making the trip on this night regardless of who the opponent was, the fact that it would have been the Stormers was a complete coincidence. If all goes as planned I may get back to York when the Revs return home on Friday the 20th. The rest of the week was very uneventful, with the Stormers on Long Island for the weekend after their stop in York and Sunday hockey in Rothsville finished for the season there just wasn't much going outside of Saturday lunch with Jenny. The Stormers come home to host Long Island on Tuesday night. Take care, thanks for reading. 

August 7-8

Back at the ballpark on Saturday night for game #2 with Southern Maryland, Jenny and Helen came into town for their second game of the season. They like to do Saturday games but a lot of it depends on the weather, on this night it was warm but very comfortable with some cloud cover and a good breeze from the south. Talked with Stormers broadcaster and longtime friend Dave Collins before the game, he noted that Ross Peeples' ejection on Friday was his first-ever as a Barnstormer in any capacity (and both Ross and Dave have been in the organization since it started in 2005). He also pointed out that the ballclub was finishing a stretch of thirty home games in the last forty-five days, from June 27 through August 8 the club played just ten games on the road (in July alone the club had eighteen home dates). The Barnstormers were looking to rebound from the controversial loss on Friday, on this night they jumped to a 3-0 lead in the third. Anderson De La Rosa and Cleuluis Rondon reached on base hits, Caleb Gindl tripled into the alley in right-center and scored himself on a wild pitch for the third run. The Crabs pulled to within 3-2 in the fifth, in the seventh Gindl went yard over the picnic pavilion in right putting the Stormers up 4-2. In the eighth it was the home team's turn to put up a six-run inning, RBI hits from Jake Hoover and Kelly Dugan plus a grand-slam to right-center by LeDarious Clark put the capper on a 10-2 victory. Dominic DiSabatino worked seven innings for the win with support from Gabriel Moya and Scott Shuman. On Sunday afternoon we were in Rothsville for the Grand Finale of the street hockey season, no weather issues on this day as Warwick and Hillside met for the championship. We had planned on a third-place game as well but after the rainout the previous week those teams mutually agreed to cancel it since both had been undermanned and they didn't expect a much better turnout on this day. There are those who would downplay this league because it's mostly older players with less intensity and a slower pace of play but this game was everything a championship contest should be. Warwick scored in each of the first two periods and carried a 2-0 lead into the third, Hillside got on the board in the first minute of the period to pull within 2-1. For the final nine minutes it was as good a game as anyone could want, Warwick held on and took it by that 2-1 score. Right now it looks like there will be a Fall season in Rothsville as well, we'll see what happens. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 6

The Barnstormers continued their homestand on Friday with the first game of a new series, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs visited for the third weekend out of the last four (the exception was from July 23-25 when the Stormers themselves were out of town). On this night the Blue Crabs would ultimately prevail but not without a touch of controversy. The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the Stormers matched it in the bottom half when Blake Allemand singled and scored on Alejandro De Aza's RBI single. In the second the Crabs went up 3-1, that lead held until the fourth when De Aza walked and Trayvon Robinson singled ahead of Kelly Dugan's two-run hit tying the score at 3-3. In the home fifth Allemand reached on a two-base hit, he trotted home on a two-run moonshot by Blake Gailen (just back from a stint with Team Israel at the Tokyo Olympics) giving the Stormers a 5-3 advantage. SM pulled to within one in the sixth, in the seventh Caleb Gindl singled and scored on a fielders choice putting the Stormers up 6-4. In the visiting eighth we officially entered The Twilight Zone, the Crabs scored twice to tie it 6-6 and had runners at second and third with two out. The man at bat grounded out to seemingly end the inning, as the fans reacted and the Stormers jogged to the dugout nobody seemed to realize that the umpires at home-plate and third base had called timeout. A balk had been called during the pitch allowing the lead run to score and the inning to continue, Stormers manager Ross Peeples argued the point and was ejected. The Crabs took full advantage of the reprieve plating three more to take a 10-6 lead, that would prove to be the final score. Nile Ball started and worked the first six innings, Yoel Espinal was the tough-luck loser in relief. The series continues (as you might expect) on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Take care, thanks for reading

August 4-5

Wednesday night at the ballpark for game #2 of the series and the start of the ALPB's second half. On this night the visitors from York County scored in the first on an error before the homeboys tied it in the second on an RBI groundout by Anderson De La Rosa. In the third the Revolution tore the game open with an eight-spot, Nellie Rodriguez started it with a solo home run making it 2-1. From there the rally continued with an RBI hit from Osmy Gregorio (recently of the Tampa Bay Rays organization), a bases-loaded walk issued to Anthony Dundon (Marshall University product). a two-run double by James Harris and a three-run double by Jack Kenley. The Revs added single runs in the fifth on a Harris solo home run, the seventh on a Kenley RBI single and the eighth on a J.C. Encarnacion round tripper, LeDarious Clark went yard with a man on in the ninth for the Barnstormers bringing the final score to 12-3. Former Houston Astro property Austin Nicely worked eight innings for the win, Zach Smith (from the University of Southern Arkansas) made his first professional start and took the loss. On Thursday night the series ended with one of those roller-coaster rides we've become so familiar with. The Stormers broke on top in the first on an Alejandro De Aza RBI groundout and a Kelly Dugan base hit, three more were added in the second on a Blake Allemand single and a De Aza two-run double. The Revolution got three back in the third on a Rodriguez double and a Carlos Castro RBI hit, the third run scored on a double-play. In the home third the Stormers went up 9-3 on a wild pitch, a Caleb Gindl single and a two-run double from newcomer Jake Hoover (late of the Texas Rangers system). The lead was upped to 12-3 (sound familiar?) in the fourth on a Trayvon Robinson solo home run and RBI doubles from Anthony Peroni and Cleuluis Rondon. In the top of the fifth the Revs put together a eight-spot for the second consecutive night. A solo home run by Kenley started the uprising, that was followed by Rodriguez's two-run shot making it 12-6. A two-run single by Harris, a Kenley RBI double and a two-run hit from Melky Mesa brought the Revs to within one run but in the home fifth a two-run triple by Clark and Peroni's RBI hit gave the Stormers a 15-11 lead. Robinson went yard with a man on in the sixth to make it 17-11, in the visiting eight the game's final run was scored on Kenley's second home run of the night. The Revs used six pitchers and the Stormers used seven as the teams combined for twenty-nine runs and thirty-one base hits. Brent Teller was the winner in relief of starter Augie Sylk, former SF Giant property Eduardo Rivera took the loss. The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs visit on the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 2-3

The new week began quietly on Monday, the next evening marked the start of a new series at the ballpark. The Atlantic League usually plays a 140-game schedule split into two halves, this time around it's only 120 but the halves format is still in place. Long Island and Lexington had already clinched the respective first-half division titles, on this night we had the rare instance of a series-opening game also marking the season's midpoint. The York Revolution traveled east across the Susquehanna for their third visit of the season and it was another wacky you-had-to-be-there-to-believe-it kind of game. The Revs took a 2-0 first-inning lead on Melky Mesa's two-run single, they upped the advantage to 4-0 in the third on back-to-back RBI doubles from J.C. Encarnacion and Josue Herrera. The Barnstormers got on the board in their half of the third on Kelly Dugan's RBI double, the Revs returned serve in the fourth on RBI hits by Mesa and Carlos Castro to go up 6-1. In the home fourth a run-scoring single from Caleb Gindl was followed by a three-run Blake Allemand home run bringing the Stormers back to within 6-5. Neither team (amazingly) scored in the fifth but in the visiting sixth Mesa continued his big night with a solo home run giving the Revolution a two-run lead. In the Stormer seventh Anderson De La Rosa's RBI double made it a 7-6 ballgame and at that point the game REALLY got crazy. The Revs extended the lead to 9-6 in the eighth on a two-run home run from Jack Kenley (recently added from the Detroit Tigers system), the Stormers answered right back on a two-run shot by Allemand (his second of the night) in the bottom half to make it 9-8 (the irony: Kenley and Allemand were both playing second base for their respective teams). In the home ninth the Barnstormers came all the way back, Cleuluis Rondon's two-out single scored pinchrunner Dominic DiSabatino with the tying run. The madness finally ended in the bottom of the tenth when Caleb Gindl trotted home on a wild pitch (of all things) giving the Stormers an incredible 10-9 victory. Needless to say both club's starting pitchers were showered and in street clothes by the time the issue was resolved, Scott Shuman was the winner with former SF Giant property Israel Cruz taking the loss. The Barnstormers finish the first half even at 30-30, the Revs finish at 26-34. The series continues on Wednesday when the entire league wipes the slate clean and starts over at 0-0. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 30-August 1

The Barnstormers were back home on Friday evening, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs visited for the second time in the month of July. There were no weather issues on this night, the game started right on time and the visitors ended it almost from the proverbial word GO. The Crabs scored early and in bunches, in the middle of the third inning they were ahead by a count of 16-0. The Barnstormers scored in the third on a Nick Shumpert RBI double, they added two in the fourth on back-to-back home runs from Blake Allemand and Alejandro De Aza and four more in the seventh on Kelly Dugan's grand slam but through it all the Blue Crabs were never seriously threatened. The final score was 18-7, Augie Sylk started for the Stormers and took the decision. On Saturday night it was the Barnstormers' turn to take a big early lead, they scored four times in the first inning. One run scored on a wild pitch, another on an RBI hit by Devon Torrence and two more crossed the plate on a Blue Crab error. In the fourth Anderson De La Rosa went yard to deep left-field with the bases loaded to put the Stormers up 8-0. SM broke up the shutout with two runs in the eighth, the Stormers got one back in the bottom half on a Shumpert RBI double bringing the final score to 9-2. Nile Ball went seven scoreless innings for the win with relief support from Brent Teller (recently-added Rutgers University product) and Scott Shuman. It rained overnight into Sunday morning, every forecast and radar I saw indicated it would be cloudy in the afternoon but there would be no more rain until later in the day. We were in Rothsville for the hockey league's consolation and championship games, ten minutes before game time at noon DAMNED IF IT DIDN'T. It came quickly and rendered the rink unplayable, we had no choice but to postpone until Sunday the 8th and hope for better luck then. There was off-and-on rain all afternoon and into the early evening, at the ballpark the rubber game of the series went on in spite of the weather. I was not there and apparently there wasn't much to see, the Barnstormers lost 16-0 (sounds mighty familiar). Take care, thanks for reading.

July 26-29

Monday night at the ballpark but not for the professionals, on this night it was the semifinals of the Midget Division of the annual youth baseball tournament. The tournament started in the mid-1940s under the sponsorship of the local print media, there are three divisions: Midget-Midget (age 12 and under), Junior-Midget (14 and under) and the Midget which has played its championship at the ballpark for several years. The tournament is always booked around available dates when the Barnstormers are out of town, as a rule two of the quarterfinals are played on night #1 with the other half of the bracket the next night, the semifinals and championship follow on nights #3 and #4. This time around all four quarterfinals were played in an eight-hour marathon in the afternoon heat on Saturday from which I was absent. The Junior Tornado was there as the #8 seed, they faced the top seed and saw their season ended by a score of 5-3. For me personally it was fun to be involved with the club, it's something that probably wouldn't have been possible under regular circumstances but I'm glad it happened for one season at least. On Monday night in the semifinal doubleheader Hempfield defeated Donegal in the opener, Lititz eliminated top-seed Ephrata in the nightcap. In the championship game on Tuesday Lititz shut out Hempfield 4-0 to successfully defend the title they had won in 2019. The middle part of the week was quiet but the Stormers are back for a ten-day homestand starting on Friday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 23-25

Not a lot happening on Friday since the Barnstormers were on the road, Saturday was a different story. After lunch Jenny and Helen rode back to town with me, the destination was Jenny's friend's house for her oldest daughter's birthday party. Back in June it was the middle daughter's fourth birthday, on this day Ann'Aliyah (the spelling is accurate, it's pronounced "ANN-uh-LEE-uh") turned seven years of age. It was much like Shania's birthday party had been, I suppose there isn't much difference from one children's birthday party to the next. On Sunday we were in Rothsville at Lions Park for street hockey playoff semifinals. During the regular season we allowed players to jump in and play for another team if they were shorthanded but for the playoffs that practice has been outlawed. The league was intended to be for fun first and foremost but if you're going to have playoffs that are meaningful a certain amount of integrity has to be preserved or else it is pointless. During the regular season seventy-one individuals played in the league, twenty-four played for two teams, nine of them played for three and one man completed The Tour by playing for all four. On this day everybody present was right where they were supposed to be, Hillside defeated Township and Warwick won over Ephrata. That sets the schedule for August 1, Township meets Ephrata in the consolation game (for the "bronze medal" if you will) with the championship between Warwick and Hillside following. There is an excellent chance that this league will play another season in the fall, the games will still be on Sundays but we may start earlier in the day so everything is over by 1:00 (all the better for everybody to be home in time for the early pro football games). We'll see what happens. Take care, thanks for reading.