The second half of 2021 began with rainy conditions in the morning, around 3:30 or so I got word that the evening's ballgame at McCaskey was postponed due to wet grounds and the discouraging forecast. By 5:30 nothing further had transpired, I made my way over to North Prince Street where the Stormers were planning to proceed with the final game of their series with Long Island. With regards to the weather forecast the teams mutually agreed to play a seven-inning game which proved to be a factor in the result. The game started reasonably on time at 6:35 (advertised for 6:30 but baseball games never start on the exact minute), there was some rain during the middle innings but nothing that halted play. Long Island took a 1-0 lead in the first, in the home fourth Kelly Dugan's two-run double scored Blake Gailen and Alejandro De Aza to give the Stormers a 2-1 advantage. In the fifth Melvin Mercedes' two-run single and an RBI hit by De Aza extended the lead to 5-1, in the sixth the Ducks chipped away with a single run to make it 5-2. In the seventh the game fell apart, LI scored four times and left town in the rain with a 6-5 win. Scott Shuman suffered the loss in relief of starter Cody Boydstun. Jenny and I did lunch on Friday which was just as well considering what happened on Saturday. I came out in the morning and discovered my left rear tire flatter than the proverbial pancake. I called a tow truck which arrived within twenty minutes, I was at the tire center shortly before 1:00. The shop steward told me there were four cars ahead of me and it would probably be about a two-hour wait, since the center is just outside the mall I walked across the parking lot and spent about forty-five minutes inside. They got my car into the shop around 3:00 or so, within a half-hour it was ready to go. When I left the house I had only intended to make a brief errand run which was eventually accomplished, the only problem was it took place about four hours later than I figured on. Nobody ever plans on having a flat tire but at least it happened on a day when there was no major business on the schedule. Sunday was a quiet day at home, since it was The Nation's Birthday there was no hockey in Rothsville (a good thing since afternoon temperatures hit the high-80s). Take care, thanks for reading
