June 14-17

Tuesday night on the PA at McCaskey for the Lancaster Junior Tornado's first County Midget League home game. Under normal circumstances I would have other commitments at this time of year that would preclude me from any personal involvement, in past seasons I'd be lucky to see one or two games as a spectator. Since those other commitments have yet to return I have the time to give and besides: it's for the kids so Why Not? The boys had not played since their first game on June 1 in Mount Joy, two other games were postponed including a home game which has not yet been rescheduled. The team's presence in the league is under the auspices of the city's recreation commission, although the team utilizes the high school's nickname and facilities plus the coaching staff and a number of the players it would be incorrect to refer to the Jr.Tornado as "McCaskey" because the school itself is not directly involved. On this night the "JrT" (if you will) hosted Strasburg/Willow Street, at 6:00 game time it was a comfortable seventy-seven degrees with winds out of the northwest at seven MPH. In the home first Kye Watson singled and advanced to third on Landis Fluck's base hit, Alex Rodriguez' RBI groundout gave the JrT a 1-0 lead. SWS tied it in the fourth, put five on the board in the fifth and added two more in the seventh, the final was 8-1. Chase Travitz was the pitcher of record with relief support from Rodriguez and Nathan Book. On Thursday the ballclub played in Ephrata, after supper I made the twelve-mile drive northeast. Ephrata (like SWS) is a regular crossover league opponent for McCaskey during high school season, they also play at their district's high school field. On this night the JrT scored in the fourth when Landis Fluck singled, stole second and touched home on Alex Rodriguez' RBI hit. That would be the lone run in a 10-1 loss, Alex started on the hill with Lars Holland, Tobe Kuntz and Braulio Rivera working in relief. The boys are next scheduled for the 22nd at McCaskey versus Penn Manor. Take care, thanks for reading.