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.