December 26-31

The last week of 2022 began in the typical Monday manner, on Wednesday night we were all together in downtown Reading for the final home game of the calendar year. The Royals hosted longtime rival Wheeling for the last of the Nailers' three regular-season visits to Berks County. Offensive highlights were in short supply for the Royals on this night, the club trailed 2-0 late into the third period. Jacob Gaucher broke the shutout bid in the final four minutes but the Royals could not find the equalizer, Kaden Fulcher was goalie of record in the tough 2-1 loss. The club finishes the '22 portion of its home schedule at 9-4 (thirteen down, twenty-three to go), the overmark stands at 16-8-1. The Royals play their next four on the road, the next home date is on January 7. On Thursday we were back at McCaskey after a two-game absence, this was night #2 of our annual holiday tournament. Perennial participant York was in along with Harrisburg, Lampeter-Strasburg (from LL League Section III) completed the field. L-S beat Harrisburg in the consolation game, the championship game between JPM and York required overtime. With one-tenth of a second (that's 0.1) left in regulation and McCaskey trailing by one Jonathan Byrd was fouled and awarded two free throws. He missed the first but converted the second to tie the score and force OT, in the extra period York outscored JPM 7-2 and took it 75-70. Jon was the Red Tornado's tournament all-star team selection but after the game he took personal responsibility for the loss (which was of course in no way his fault). The loss ends a five-game win streak after starting 0-3, the boys carry a 2-0 division record and an overall 5-4 mark into the New Year. The old year ended on a wet Saturday with temperatures in the 50s (this after the previous weekend when it felt like the start of a new Ice Age), we had our usual lunch visit in Quarryville. There was a New Years celebration scheduled in downtown Lancaster in the evening but I was home warm and dry, since my party days are long over and I don't own a scuba outfit I couldn't have cared less. Thanks as always for joining me, my friends. See you in 2023, take care. 

December 22-25

Earlier in the week I had a message from Jerry Johnson, McCaskey Class of 2001 and current athletic director/basketball coach at La Academia Charter School here in town. Their program is still relatively new, it started in 2019 and they play most of their games on the road since they have no home gym. Jerry worked out a deal to play some games at Stevens College (a small two-year technical school on King Street not far from where the late dek hockey rink was at Reservoir Park) and he asked if I'd be available. I was not for the game on the 21st because of the Royals (and had there been no hockey I would have been at JPM anyway) but the following night worked out. Thursday was a miserably rainy day, it was still coming when I arrived at Stevens an hour before the 6:00 start. I had never been in this gym before but it is an excellent facility for a school its size, I was told it has only been around about ten years or so. I noticed a plaque in the lobby honoring the memory of the late Steve Powell, longtime JPM coach who was an advocate for the college and a member of its board of trustees. This game was varsity-only (L.A. doesn't have a JV squad) and very competitive, visiting Columbia (from LL League Section Four) won 50-48. I did two games for Jerry in 2021 when they played "home games" in the state playoffs and I'm more than willing to help when I can because he's a good man and a class act. The all-day rain was gone by Friday morning, it ushered in a weekend of bitterly cold temperatures. We had our usual Saturday lunch in Quarryville, daytime highs were in the teens with wind chills below zero. On Sunday (which to some people was a holiday of some kind although it's been nothing to me for decades) Helen invited me in for her traditional dinner of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, lima beans, carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie for dessert. I was there around 3:00 or so, the meal was ready a short time later and it couldn't have been better. Of course the most important thing was being with Jenny for a few hours, it sure as hell beat sitting around my place doing absolutely nothing. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 19-21

Monday night at McCaskey for one last girls basketball game, this was their fourth home date and the fourth I was able to make. In most years they may have one or two at the most, having four (consecutive or otherwise) is very unusual. Unfortunately the run is probably over, from here on out the girls have seven home dates remaining and they are all on days I'm elsewhere (either with the boys or at the Arena). On this night Conestoga Valley visited from the eastern suburbs and it was a good one for JPM, both JV and varsity earned victories. On Wednesday evening it was a hockey night on Penn Street in downtown Reading. The Maine Mariners were in town for the first of two regular-season visits, the first time they were at the Arena since the playoffs in May. The Royals played twice on the road over the past weekend and went 2-0, on this night they kept that ball rolling but it was a battle. If you enjoy high-scoring hockey this game was right up your alley. The visitors drew first blood in the game's eighth minute, fifty-one seconds later Shane Sellar tied it at 1-1. Twenty-eight seconds after Sellar's score Charlie Gerard put the Royals ahead, Jacob Gaucher's goal late in the period made it 3-1 at the intermission. In the second Gerard struck again to put the Royals up by three but the Mariners roared back with three of their own to square it at 4-4. Eleven seconds after Maine tied it Gaucher untied it with his second of the night, entering the third period the Royals led 5-4. The Mariners scored the equalizer early in the final frame but the issue was finally decided late in the period on Alec Butcher's game-winning strike. Alec's GWG was the Alaska native's first goal scored at home and it made a winner of new goaltender Kaden Fulcher, a former Detroit Red Wing property recently added as a free agent. The 6-5 victory is the Royals' fourth in a row and the club's fifteenth in the last seventeen games. since that 1-4-1 start the record is up to 16-6-1 overall and 9-3 at home. The next home date is on Wednesday the 28th when the Wheeling Nailers visit. Saw online where the JPM boys beat Lebanon at home in my absence, that improves their mark to 4-3 overall and 2-0 within the division. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 16-18

Friday night at McCaskey for the first of a back-to-back at home. Penn Manor visited for the opener of the league's regular season and the first of the ten games counting towards the division standings. On this night the issue was resolved early on and emphatically, the Red Tornado ran out to an 18-0 lead midway through the first quarter. By halftime the lead was up to thirty-two, the thirty-point mercy rule kicked in at the start of the second half. The final was 72-50, three players hit double figures for JPM: De'Shaun McFadden led with eighteen, Eric Centeno had sixteen and Elias Garcia scored fifteen. Jonathan Byrd netted eight points, Wednesday hero Markelle Caine had five, Nemias Tirado and Aiden Burgess contributed four each and Stanley Moise scored his first two varsity points. Saturday was a quick turnaround for the team and myself, in the morning I was with Jenny for lunch but by 2:30 I was back at JPM. On this day Lancaster Catholic visited for a non-league game that has been years in the making. It's something Freddy has wanted to do since he came to McCaskey from LCHS in 2018 and it finally came together, in many ways this day was like an old-fashioned reunion (even for me to a certain degree thanks to my past association with LCHS). The JV squad entered and exited the weekend still looking for its first win, on the good side the varsity evened its overall mark at 3-3 with a tough 58-47 win. Not everybody on the LCHS roster is a "city kid" but there is still a good degree of familiarity, the game was well worth the price of admission. De'Shaun McFadden scored eighteen points (for the second consecutive game) to lead JPM, Jonathan Byrd and Nemias Tirado had eleven each, Eric Centeno scored eight points, Elias Garcia had six and Markelle Caine had four. There was a time when LC/JPM was a big deal in basketball but over the years it's fallen off somewhat thanks to the difference in the schools' enrollment sizes, maybe this day was the start of a new trend. In '21-22 JPM started 0-3 and didn't reach .500 until the last game of the season, this win pulls the club even through six games. I'll be away from the next two thanks to hockey with the Royals, my next time with JPM is on the 29th for the second night of our holiday tournament. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 12-15

The weekend rain was gone on Monday morning, Tuesday was another game night for the girls at McCaskey. JPM hosted Wilson (our old friends from suburban Reading), the JV suffered an uncompetitive loss while the varsity won by three points. The varsity is 5-1 thus far after winning only three games in '21-22, they have one last home date I should be able to make on Monday the 19th. On Wednesday I was On The Bus With The Boys for the first time, the destination was the borough of Manchester in northeastern York County for a date at the appropriately-named Northeastern HS (a number of schools in York Country are named for the region of the county they serve, there is also an Eastern, Northern, Southwestern and West York). I've been through the area before but not for a long time, this was my first time there for any athletic event. The JV squad fell to 0-2 with a one-point loss, the varsity game was also a one-pointer that ended in our favor. We trailed by ten entering the last quarter, in the final seconds with JPM trailing by one Jonathan Byrd was fouled and awarded two free throws. Jon uncharacteristically missed both, on the second attempt Markelle Caine pounced on the rebound and laid it in to put us ahead by one. NE quickly inbounded but a desperation heave at the buzzer missed badly, we escaped with the sorely-needed 56-55 win. Markelle was game-high with sixteen, Nemias Tirado also hit double-figures with twelve. Byrd had nine, Eric Centeno scored eight, Aiden Burgess added five, De'Shaun McFadden added four and Robert Lewis rounded out the book with a field goal. In '21-22 the club earned its first win in the season's fourth game but did not follow up in game #5, the current roster gets a chance to break that pattern with back-to-back home dates on the 16th and 17th. Thursday was one Miserable Day, rain moved in overnight and stayed well into the evening. Early-morning temperatures were low enough to cause icy conditions, by the time I went out there were no such issues. I made what rounds I needed to and came home glad to be inside and dry. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 9-11

Back at the Arena on Friday night, the Royals continued their mini-series with Allen. This was the club's annual Holiday Game, the Royals wore appropriately-themed specialty sweaters that were placed online for auction. The Royals entered on a five-game winning streak and the Americans were on a seven-game slide, both runs were ended on this night with a 3-1 Allen win. Shane Sellar scored the lone goal for the Royals, Pat Nagle was goalie of record. Saturday afternoon was spent at McCaskey, the girls basketball squads hosted Milton Hershey (from the town in Dauphin County world-famous for chocolate manufacturing) with the JV game at 1:00. Both JV and varsity were victorious, they play at home again on Tuesday the 13th. Sunday was a bleak and rainy day, the kind of day where I wouldn't have minded staying home and dry but duty called in Berks County one last time for the weekend. Faceoff at the Arena was at 3:00 for the Royals/Allen rubber match. This was billed as "Undie Sunday", fans were invited to bring new packaged undergarments to throw on the ice for charity when the Royals scored their first goal (similar to the Teddy Bear Toss, it gives the phrase "dropping one's drawers" a whole new meaning). The game was scoreless midway through the second period before Dominic Cormier sent the Unmentionables flying to give the Royals the lead. Twenty-eight seconds later Charlie Gerard dented the twine making it 2-0, twenty-nine seconds after that the Americans replied to cut the lead in half. In the final period newcomer Jordan Timmons (from Long Island University) gave the Royals a 3-1 advantage but the pesky Americans wouldn't go quietly, they pulled to within one and pressed for the tying goal but Pat Nagle and company closed the door for the 3-2 win. The Royals stand at 13-6-1 (8-3 at home), the club is on the road for two games before returning home on Wednesday the 21st. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 7-8

Wednesday night hockey at the Arena, the Allen Americans (from the greater Dallas, Texas area) visited for the first time since December 2018. This was the opener of a three-game series, on this night Max Newton gave the Royals a 1-0 lead just over a minute after the game started. The visitors from The Lone Star State battled back to take a 2-1 advantage at the period's midpoint, just over a minute later Charlie Gerard answered accordingly to tie the game 2-2. Mason Millman's goal fifty-eight seconds into the second period put the Royals ahead for good, five minutes later Devon Paliani lit the lamp on a breakaway to put the club up by two. In the final period Newton's second goal of the night put away a 5-2 victory, Pat Nagle (back from the Phantoms) was goalie of record. The mark stands at 12-5-1 (7-2 at home), the series with Allen continues on Friday the 9th. Thursday night was Opening Night at home for boys basketball at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted perennial state power Reading High. JPM has only four returnees from '21-22 and only one of them has more than one season of varsity experience, the roster is very definitely a work in progress. The JV squad made its season debut and took a twenty-five-point loss, the varsity game was more of the same as JPM lost 69-40. Eric Centeno led with 16, Jonathan Byrd and Elias Garcia had six each, DeShaun McFadden scored five points, Markell Caine had three, Nemias Tirado and Robert Lewis added two points each. The club stands at 0-3 out of the gate but it's not entirely surprising, all three games were against very strong opposition. Twelve of the team's twenty-two games are against non-league opponents and the entire point is to play the strongest competition, perhaps taking a couple of lumps and finding out what you need to do to improve. The boys play next on Wednesday the 14th on the road in northeastern York County. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 5-6

The new week began in typically quiet fashion on Monday, Tuesday night was the first winter sports event in the gym at McCaskey. I rarely get to see our girls basketball team play since most of their games coincide with when the boys are in action, on this night Warwick was the opponent for a non-league game. The LL League realigned for the new season from five divisions to four, the previously-mandated crossover games against the teams in Section Two are a thing of the past. Under the new alignment the girls play the same divisional opponents as the boys, two games each against old foes Hempfield, Manheim Township, Penn Manor and Cedar Crest plus new addition Lebanon with the remaining twelve games on the schedule against non-league opposition. In years past Warwick was either a divisional opponent or a crossover opponent, this time around the game had no bearing on league record whatsoever. This was a varsity-only game, the scheduled JV contest was postponed early in the afternoon. The girls program has struggled in recent years (3-19 in the '21-22 season), on this night they improved to 2-1 on the young season with a 60-39 win. As it stands they have three more home games in December that I may be able to see if the schedule holds up. The boys will have their turn on the home floor on Thursday night. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 2-4

Friday night: back at the Arena on Penn Street, the Royals were at home for the first time since November 20. The club was 2-1 on the road over the holiday weekend, on this night the Norfolk Admirals were in town for the first game of a back-to-back. Norfolk has struggled badly thus far, they entered with the league's worst record and were 0-11 on the road. In the opener on Friday the Ads scored in the first minute of play, another strike midway through the period gave Norfolk a 2-0 lead. Trey Bradley's goal just fifteen seconds later got the Royals on the board at 2-1, in the second a three-goal salvo put the club ahead for good. Scores from fellow rookies Brendan Hoffmann (from OHL Erie) and Jacob Gaucher (pronounced "go-Shay", from Baie-Comeau in the QMJHL) gave the Royals a 3-2 advantage, Max Newton lit the lamp late in the period extending the lead to two at the intermission. Norfolk cut the lead to 4-3 early in the third but replies from Newton and Bradley (with Trey's into the empty net) put the lid on a 6-3 Royals win. On Saturday it was the annual Teddy Bear Toss game, Jenny and Helen donated a number of stuffed animals to the cause. In the 2021 TBT game the fans had to wait until the third period to unleash the avalanche, on this night it happened fifteen minutes into the opening frame. Kamerin Nault (recently returned from injury) scored the "teddy-bear" goal giving the club a 1-0 lead, in the second Devon Paliani and Charlie Gerard struck forty-eight seconds apart making it 3-0 after two. The Admirals battled back and broke the shutout bid in the third but Dominic Cormier's empty-netter with eighteen seconds left salted away the 4-1 victory. Nolan Maier was goalie of record both nights as the Royals improve to 11-5-1, 6-2-0 at home. Since starting 1-4-1 the club has won ten of eleven, the only blemish coming on the last road trip. The boys stay at home for a three-game set with the Allen American on the 7th, 9th and 11th. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 25-December 1

Out and about on Black Friday morning, in my highway travels I happened to drive by the local shopping mall. The place has been around since 1971 and has expansive parking areas that are usually about 75% empty. On this day the traffic to get in was backed up onto the main road and the traffic to get out was backed up in the mall itself, if there was anywhere to park a car I surely didn't see it. I had not planned to go into the mall on this day to begin with and there was no way I would have tried, it was the textbook definition of Insanity. On Saturday the basketball team had a 10:00 scrimmage at home with Susquehanna Township, I was there for about an hour before I headed south for lunch with Jenny. She and her mother had appointments in Willow Street on Tuesday morning, I took them home and we did lunch along the way. In the evening the boys scrimmaged at home against league football foe Wilson, it got underway at 6:00 (there was a time when one of the scrimmages was at home and the other on the road in alternating fashion, a few years back it got twisted around somehow and it's never been corrected). Right now it looks like the organization will have twenty-eight total players evenly divided between varsity and JV. The varsity has four returnees (Jonathan Byrd, Eric Centeno, Elias Garcia and De'Shaun McFadden), six players from the '21-22 JV squad and four players new to the program. The club looked pretty good from what I saw in the scrimmages but every year is a brand-new year, you never really know what you have until the games start for real. The season begins with a tipoff tournament in Coatesville on December 2 and 3 (and I'm out both nights for hockey at the Arena), my personal season debut is the first home game on December 8. Take care, thanks for reading. 

November 20-24

Sunday morning dawned with temperatures right around thirty degrees and wind chills in the teens, the first order of business was the final date of fall hockey in Rothsville. On Saturday we got word that the third-place game was canceled, one of the teams was going to be severely shorthanded and they elected to forfeit. The championship game started as scheduled at 11:15 with twenty-three of the twenty-seven eligible players present, Township claimed the title with a 4-3 decision over Hillside. It's interesting to note that we've played four seasons in Rothsville with the same four basic teams and we've had four different champions (Warwick in the summer of '21, Ephrata in the fall, Hillside in the summer of '22 and now Township). A total of fifty-one players participated in the six-game season which was regrettably shortened from the scheduled nine thanks to four dates being ruined by rain. We were done around 12:15, I got into the car and cranked up the heat for the drive north on 222. By the time I arrived at the Arena I was warm and toasty but the walk from the garage to the building wasn't much fun, I couldn't wait to get inside and out of the wind. The Royals hosted Adirondack in the back end of the weekend set at 3:00 and made it two straight with a 3-2 win. Goals by Trey Bradley and Yvan Mongo gave the Royals a 2-0 lead after one, in the second Colin Felix upped the advantage to three (Colin is the son of the late Chris Felix who was the AHL Phantoms team trainer when the club was established in 1996). The visiting Thunder broke the shutout midway through the third, another score in the last minute made it a one-goal game but they could not find the equalizer. Nolan Maier was the goalie of record in the club's sixth straight victory, the Royals improve to 7-4-1 overall and 4-2 at home. High school winter sports practice began on Friday, on Monday I dropped in at basketball workouts at McCaskey. Freddy Ramos is back for Year #5 as head man, all of the assistant coaches are back as well. The boys start the season on December 2 and I'll be absent because that is the next Royals home date. On Wednesday we did lunch in Quarryville, from there I took Jenny and Helen to their relatives' place in Parkesburg. They stayed overnight and had the holiday meal on Thursday, in the evening Jenny called to let me know they were home. Take care, thanks for reading. 

November 14-19

Another quiet week extended into Friday night when the Royals returned home for the first time in thirteen days. The club went 3-0 on the road trip, on this night the division-rival Adirondack Thunder made the first of their six regular season visits. This was billed as "La Noche De Los Reales" (the night of the Royals), the marketing effort was geared towards the area's Latino community. In-arena host Mike Keller had a Spanish-speaking co-host, most of the fan-interaction activities were conducted bilingually. The Royals entered on an overall four-game win streak, on this night it was extended to five with a 5-2 decision. Goals by Will MacKinnon and Max Newton ten seconds apart gave the club a quick lead in the game's first five minutes, in the second period an early score by Devon Paliani (second-year pro from LaSalle, Ontario) and a late marker from Shane Sellar upped the lead to 4-0. The visitors from the North Country got on the board late in the second, in the third each team scored once with Sellar picking up his second of the night. Nolan Maier earned the win in net as the Royals improve to 6-4-1 overall, 3-2 at home. The clubs took Saturday night off since a concert was booked at the Arena, the back end of the two-game series is on Sunday afternoon. Take care, thanks for reading. 

November 7-13

The dearth of evening activity continues, we're in a proverbial Black Hole right now but it won't be much longer before business picks up. The one noteworthy achievement for the week was the playing of two hockey games in Rothsville on Sunday morning. We had originally planned on a nine-game season starting on September 11 with the championships on this day and the 20th as a backup week in case of rainouts. We were postponed on four occasions including the opening week, it was decided to play those games on this day with the other three canceled, it meant the nine-game schedule was knocked down to six. Once we get past November 20 we're into the holiday weekend and then into December and nobody is going to want to still be going by then. What made playing on this day an achievement was the weather leading into the weekend. A storm system moved north from Florida during the week and arrived here on Friday with a drenching all-day rain, Saturday was clear but there was a brief shower after midnight into Sunday morning. By daybreak the rain was gone and temperatures were in the 40s with a brisk wind. When I arrived in Rothsville the rink was completely dry, the big issue was leaves (not of lot of trees around the rink but the wind still carries them). Some of the guys swept them into piles with their sticks and I used my "bearclaws" to scoop them up and off the surface to the outside. It wasn't perfect but we made it work. On this day Township beat Ephrata and Hillside won over Warwick, on the 20th Warwick meets Ephrata in the consolation game and Township matches up with Hillside for the championship. The long-range forecast for that weekend looks good, we'll keep our fingers crossed. Take care, thanks for reading

November 1-6

The eleventh month of the year began in the usual manner, these days there just isn't much on the calendar but that will pick up once basketball starts at McCaskey. On Friday evening the Wheeling Nailers were at the Arena for the opener of a two-game series. Wheeling is one of six cities still in the league from the Royals' inaugural year in '01-02 and one of only three who have played straight through with no break in the lineage, the others dropped out and reentered at different points (I guess that technically makes the Royals the league's fourth oldest club, it all depends on how you look at it). On this night the Royals fell behind 1-0 in the first period, midway through the second Charlie Gerard evened it at 1-1 but the Nailers replied in kind to lead 2-1 after two. In the third the Royals outshot Wheeling 12-3 but could not find the equalizer, the Nailers held on for the 2-1 win. Saturday was Military Appreciation Night, the club wore camouflage-themed sweaters and during the second intermission each branch of the military was recognized in special ceremonies. On this night the Royals took a 2-0 first-period lead on a pair of goals from Merrimack product Max Newton, early in the second Shane Sellar lit the lamp to extend the advantage to three. After the Nailers got on the board newcomer Trey Bradley (four-year pro from Colorado College) put the Royals up 4-1, another Nailer score late in the period made it 4-2. In the third Wheeling outshot the Royals 17-2 and closed to within one but could come no closer, Nolan Maier was in net for the second straight night and earned a split of the weekend's activities. The club stands at 2-4-1 in the early going (2-2 at home), they play their next three on the road before coming home on Friday the 18th. Rain moved in overnight into Sunday morning and ruined another day of hockey in Rothsville, we'll have makeups on the 13th and try for the championship round on the 20th. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 29-31

Saturday night on Penn Street in downtown Reading for the 21st home opener of Royals ECHL hockey (yeah, it should be the 22nd but we all know the story), the Indy Fuel (from the capital of the Hoosier State) were the opponent for a two-game set. As a non-divisional opponent the Fuel are an infrequent visitor, this was their first appearance at the Arena since March of 2019. All of the usual bells and whistles were out in force for the opener but the guys from Indiana ruined the party with a 3-1 decision. First-year pro Yvan Mongo (University Of Ottawa) scored his first pro goal for the Royals, fellow rookie Nolan Maier took the loss in net. Sunday was a busy day that started early with two games of morning hockey in Rothsville, on this day Township won via shootout over Warwick and Hillside beat Ephrata in regulation. We started right on time at 10:30 and were done by 12:20 or so, I immediately hopped into the car and highballed it north on 222. I was out of the parking garage and in the Arena shortly after 1:00, plenty of time to get set up for the 3:00 faceoff. This was the Royals' Halloween game with the club wearing orange/black holiday-themed sweaters. The visiting Fuel took an early 1-0 lead, late in the period RPI product Shane Sellar (who got into three games the Royals in '21-22) scored his first as a pro to tie it 1-1. In the second Indy went back up 2-1 but in the third the Royals rallied back. Early in the period Notre Dame product Adam Karashik (on assignment from the AHL Phantoms) scored his first pro goal to tie the game 2-2. moments later fellow Phantoms assignee Charlie Gerard (a short-term Royal at the beginning of '21-22) lit the lamp to give the Good Guys the lead. Down the stretch Indy pressed for the tying goal but Pat Nagle and the defense corps held the fort for the 3-2 win and a split of the weekend series. The Royals stay home for a back-to-back with our old friends from Wheeling on November 4 and 5. With it all I arrived home at 6:30, nine hours after I had left and I was more than glad to be there. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 24-28

Another typical slow start to the new week, these days the morning errand run is about all that goes on. The boys basketball schedule at McCaskey is coming together, once that begins the weeknights will be somewhat more active. On Friday night we were at JPM as Penn Manor visited for the final game of football season, before the game we had the usual Senior Night recognitions for fifteen players and fifteen cheerleaders. It is always suggested to keep the bios short and sweet but some of the kids simply cannot resist the urge to tell us The Story Of Their Entire Existence, we started it at 6:30 and I somehow managed to have it all finished in about fifteen minutes or so (it makes you wonder what some of them will talk about once they've actually Lived a Life). The game itself was a virtually copy of just about any other game we've seen in recent years: the opponent runs out to a huge early lead and most of not all of the second half is played in the mercy rule. On this night it was 42-0 Penn Manor at halftime, the only score in the second half belonged to JPM when Jose Garcia rushed ten yards for a touchdown, the two-point conversion attempt failed. After winning their opener 30-24 the club lost its last nine games by a combined 422-66, that's an average of roughly 47-7. The program's last winning season was 2010, in twelve years since the overall record is just 25-94 (a .210 winning percentage). I don't know where blame could be assigned (if there is any to assign), the players are giving their all and the coaches are doing their jobs. It's just a frustrating situation all around. District Playoffs are on the horizon for those who qualified but at McCaskey the Season Is Over. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 22-23

Saturday afternoon in Kutztown for the Golden Bears Homecoming and one last turn on the mic for me. The Bears hosted division rival Lock Haven (from the city of the same name, about 140 miles northwest of Lancaster), game time was in mid-afternoon at 3:00. Before kickoff there was a ceremony honoring relatives of football players who were cancer survivors, halftime was unsurprisingly busy as well. There were two dance team exhibitions, the naming of the Homecoming Spirit Court Champion (the equivalent of Homecoming Queen), a brief performance by the KU Band and recognitions of the winners of a campus poster-making contest all within the space of twenty minutes and we had it done with four minutes to spare. In the game itself the Bears were in control from the start, at halftime it was 28-0 with the final score at 35-7. KU has one last home game on November 5 (I'm out for hockey at the Arena), if they have any playoffs at home I should be good IF I'm needed. On Sunday we were in Rothsville for week #4 of hockey at Lions Park, it should have been week #7 but we all know that story. One new man debuted bringing the enrollment up to forty-seven altogether, on this day both games were decided via overtime shootout. Hillside won over Warwick and Township outlasted Ephrata, we're back on the 30th weather permitting. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 17-21

In a perfect world we'd be playing weeknight dek hockey at this time of year but regrettably we live in an imperfect world, as a result there is little happening right now from Mondays to Thursdays. On Tuesday the ECHL announced the member clubs' season-opening rosters. The Royals' 23-man roster is unusual for this day in age in that it is exclusively North American, there are twelve players from Canada and eleven from the United States. The club has one player on assignment from the NHL Flyers and seven from the AHL Phantoms, twelve of the twenty-three are entering their first full season of professional hockey. It is a very young squad and there will undoubtedly be growing pains but in time it will come together. On Friday afternoon I was at the ballpark on North Prince Street for a special fundraiser event billed as the "Battle Of The Unions". This was originally scheduled for a Sunday in September but was rained out, the Barnstormers management offered this date as a makeup opportunity. The event was to raise funds for autism awareness, it was built around a round-robin softball tournament featuring teams comprised of city police, firefighters and municipal workers. Each team played two five-inning games with the top two seeds meeting for the championship. There were a number of extra attractions originally booked that did not happen thanks to the rainout/reschedule but the event was still successful, over four-thousand dollars were donated for the cause (one can only wonder how much better the original Sunday might have been). We started around 4:15 and were done shortly after 9:00, for the record the firefighters won the tournament over the police. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 15-16

Saturday night at the Arena for live on-ice action, the Royals hosted the Adirondack Thunder in the back end of a home-road exhibition series. The Royals lost 4-1 on Friday night in Glens Falls, on this evening ADK made it two straight with a 3-1 verdict. Kamerin Nault (five-year pro from Winnipeg, Manitoba) scored the lone goal for the Home Team, rookie goaltender Nolan Maier (from the WHL Saskatoon Blades) took the loss. The Royals are essentially a brand-new club with a lot of fresh faces on the roster, it's a work in progress but in many ways that's what the ECHL is all about. The regular season starts with three on the road before the home opener on the 29th. The Royals host their six divisional opponents (old friends Adirondack, Maine, Newfoundland, Trois-Rivieres and Worcester plus new division-mate Norfolk) for a total of twenty-five home dates, outside the division we'll see the Allen Americans, Atlanta Gladiators and Wheeling Nailers three times each with the Indy Fuel visiting twice. Sunday was a pleasant day for outdoor hockey at Lions Park in Rothsville, the league got to play games for a second straight week with no weather issues. On this day Hillside won over Township and Ephrata beat Warwick. Five new players joined up bringing the total participation to forty-six, we're back again on the 23rd. Take care, thanks for reading. 

October 13-14

Thursday afternoon on the road north and my first time at the Arena since mid-May when the season ended with a handshake line. This was an orientation/run-through night for the newer members of the game staff, several of the intermission on-ice contests were rehearsed. My part of it consisted largely of running the clock to simulate the end of a period, making a mock shots-on-goal announcement and then running intermission time starting from eighteen minutes. The object is to complete the on-ice activity by the thirteen-minute mark because that is when the Zambonis must enter. On the whole everything went well and it was good to be back in The House. On Friday night it was football gameday at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Cedar Crest on Homecoming. Since an opening-week 30-24 win on the road JPM had lost six straight by an average score of 46-6, three of the losses were by shutout. On this night the downbeat reached seven with a not-as-close-as-it-looks 42-19 loss. Cedar Crest ran out a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, three more touchdowns in the second made it 35-0 at halftime and insured running time in the second half. CC added one more TD in the third while JPM found the end zone three times. Matthew Remash threw scoring passes to Quimeak Talton (51 yards) and Liam Cox (11 yards), the club also scored defensively when Jose Garcia picked up a fumble and took it thirty-five yards to paydirt. Cox converted on his lone PAT attempt, the other two were failed two-point tries. Two games remain on the schedule, the last one at home is on the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading. 

October 10-12

Monday evening was Senior Night for the girls soccer team at McCaskey but the game was not on home grounds. Franklin And Marshall College was established in Lancaster in 1853, the school is named for Benjamin Franklin and Chief Justice John Marshall. I've had dealings with F&M in the past, from 2001 to 2007 I did the PA for their football games but that's another story for another time. The college opened an artificial-turf stadium for soccer in 2007, in recent seasons McCaskey has played there occasionally. I've driven by the place any number of times but this was the first time I was actually in the facility. Although there was a press box and seating areas on one side of the field the clock operator and I worked from a portable booth on the opposite side where the player benches were located. The senior recognitions started around 5:45, the game kicked off shortly after 6:00 and was eerily similar to the boys' game at the stadium the week before. JPM trailed 2-0 in the second half before rallying to force overtime, in the OT visiting Donegal was awarded a penalty kick and converted it for the 3-2 win. Definitely a movie we've seen before. On Tuesday Jenny and her mother came into town after lunch, in late afternoon we made our way to Berks County and an outdoor restaurant just south of Reading. After a three-year absence the annual Royals Meet-And-Greet for season-ticket holders was back with the players actually present, there had been a similar event in 2021 at the same venue but league protocols required the players to be absent. Former assistant coach James Henry is the Royals' new head coach, he succeeds Kirk MacDonald who has taken a coaching position in the USHL. Former ECHL veteran Jason Binkley is the new assistant coach, he was most recently an assistant coach in the SPHL. Most of the '21-22 team has moved on either to other teams or retirement, right now there are five returnees on the roster: defensemen Will MacKinnon, Garrett McFadden. Dominic Cormier and Mike Chen plus forward Tyler Kirkup. The club plays an exhibition game in Glens Falls with the Adirondack Thunder on Friday the 14th with the rematch at the Arena on Saturday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 8-9

At it early on Saturday morning with the 48-mile drive into northeastern Berks County and another football gameday at Kutztown University, the Golden Bears hosted division-rival Bloomsburg (from the town of the same name located about a hundred miles due north of Lancaster along the banks of the Susquehanna River). When I arrived they were having issues with the scoreboard clock, at 12-noon game time it still wasn't working at all. The game proceeded with the official time kept on the field and the referee giving updates at regular intervals. None of this seemed to faze the Bears at all, they had the game under control virtually from the start and won easily 24-0. There were relatively few penalties and both teams ran from scrimmage more than they passed, it made for a rapidly-played game that was over by 2:30. As it stands I'll have one more game in Kutztown, that is their Homecoming game on October 22. It was a very pleasant day weather-wise and those conditions carried over into Sunday where we finally got some hockey played at Lions Park in Rothsville. After two consecutive weeks rained out (and three of the first four) the teams actually got to play, these were the same matchups as September 18 (the only other day we've been there). On this day the tables were turned as both teams defeated on the 18th responded with wins of their own, Hillside over Ephrata and Township over Warwick. Six new players made their season debut raising the total thus far to forty-one, after two games against the same opponent the teams get a fresh matchup on the 16th. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 3-7

The miserable weather continued well into the new week, on Wednesday the boys soccer club at McCaskey was scheduled for its Senior Night games at the stadium. When I received notification that it had been postponed I wasn't entirely surprised, in the e-mail Jon mentioned that parts of the field were literally underwater. The games were rescheduled for Thursday when the rain was long gone, the sun was out for the first time in almost a week and it was virtually a perfect day and night for an outdoor event. The activities started with the JV game at 5:00, the Red Tornado and visiting Conestoga Valley played to a 1-1 tie. The Senior Recognitions followed around 6:30 or so, the varsity game kicked off shortly after 7:00. JPM trailed 3-1 with ten minutes left but rallied to tie it and force overtime, in the sudden-death period CV ruined the party with the game-winning goal. JPM head coach Adam Wood is an old dek-hockey friend, every year he and Jon try to get me there for their Senior Day if I'm available. Most of the time it's not an issue but in 2021 another commitment kept me away, I'm glad it worked out this time around because it's for the kids and my presence always seems to be appreciated. On Friday evening I was at home on a Friday for the first time in six weeks but it was all good because Saturday will start early. Take care, thanks for reading. 

September 30-October 2

We'll get the Big News out first: on Friday night at the ballpark the Barnstormers won the Atlantic League Championship defeating High Point 6-1 to finish a three-game-straight sweep. It's the third title in the club's eighteen-year history with all coming in eight-year intervals, the prior two were in 2006 and 2014. The Stormers scored three times in the first inning and were never headed, Trayvon Robinson led the way with a solo home run and an RBI double, Jacob Barfield and Trace Loehr contributed run-scoring singles, Melvin Mercedes picked up an RBI on a groundout and another run scored on an error. I had planned to go over to the ballpark after the football game but I never made it, the ballgame started just after 6:30 and ended shortly before 9:00. Series MVP Oscar De La Cruz started for the Stormers and was clearly in no mood to fool around, he went all the way for the club's only complete game in 2022. He allowed just four hits with eight strikeouts, no walks and at one point he retired nineteen consecutive batters. Needless to say I'm disappointed that I had to miss it but anybody who saw me at the ballpark during the season knows that I was there in spirit. The Physical Me was back at an old stomping ground on Friday night, I was at Crusader Stadium in the neighborhood of Rossmere for the first time since November of 2017. I had a long association with Lancaster Catholic football at one time, when it ended I left the door open for them to reach out if they ever needed me. This night was LCHS' Senior Night, we spotlighted the twelve players and their parents in the pregame. The game itself was a battle of unbeatens, Hamburg (from northern Berks County) entered at 5-0 as did the Crusaders and it was a classic. The score was tied 35-35 with just over a minute left, a Crusader field goal gave the home team a three-point lead. On the next possession a Hamburg pass reception carried deep into Crusader territory, on the tackle the defending player forced a fumble which he recovered to clinch the victory for LCHS 38-35. There were a few familiar faces around who recognized me, one said hearing my voice on the PA "brought back memories". I have to admit I enjoyed being back, it's a good place with good people which is about all you can ask for. The game started at 7:00 and ended about 9:45, just for the hell of it I drove over by the ballpark. The game had been over for close to an hour by this time, there were a few people milling around outside but the crowd was long gone. It's just as well the Stormers finished it on Friday because the remnants of that storm system finally arrived. Saturday was damp and misty, an all-day Sunday rain forced postponement of hockey in Rothsville for the second straight week and the third out of the last four. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 26-29

The middle of the new week was uneventful except for Tuesday lunch with Jenny, she and her mother had an appointment in Willow Street that morning. The big news was developing in the southeastern part of the country, specifically in North Carolina for baseball and Florida for weather. Game #1 of the Atlantic League Championship Series was on Tuesday night in High Point, the Barnstormers prevailed in extra innings 6-2. In game #2 on Wednesday the boys rallied from a 6-2 deficit with a seven-run seventh inning, two more in the eighth salted away an 11-6 win and a 2-0 series lead. The series continues on North Prince Street on Friday the 30th with the Stormers needing one win over the final three games for their first league title since 2014. How it all plays out may depend on the weather more than anything else, as the week began a strong storm system was approaching Florida and was expected to track in a northerly direction. They are saying that Friday may be OK but Saturday and Sunday are expected to be more questionable, I guess we'll find out when it arrives. As it stands I'd be absent from the game on Friday (at least at the outset), on Tuesday I had a call from the athletic director at Lancaster Catholic HS. They play at home on Friday and he asked if I'd be available to sub in on the mic. Many will remember that I did the PA there from 1996 to 2017 but over the years there were conflicts with McCaskey that took me away from LCHS. At the end of 2017 it was decided that my substitute (who teaches at LCHS) would take over fulltime since he was actually there more frequently than I was. It was logic that made perfect sense: if your substitute is working more often than the regular guy maybe your substitute should BE the regular guy. The parting was amicable with no hard feelings and I told them to reach out if they ever needed me. That never happened until now and in a way it will feel good to be back if only for one night. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 23-25

Friday night at McCaskey for week #5 of football season. League play began on the 16th and with seven teams in the division this was JPM's bye week, the club hosted Plymouth-Whitemarsh for a non-league game. "P-Dub" (as I was told they call themselves) is from Plymouth Meeting, a northwestern suburb of Philadelphia not far outside the city limits. This was Military Appreciation Night, the Red Tornado wore camouflage-inspired jerseys and a local veterans color guard presented The National Colors in the pregame. Regrettably from there it was all downhill in a big hurry, P-Dub led 24-0 after one quarter and 46-0 at halftime. The entire second half was played under the mercy rule, there was no further scoring because there really wasn't any need. After a 30-24 opening-week win JPM has lost four straight by a total score of 182-28 including two shutouts (both at home), overall they've been outscored by a game average of 41-12. It's frustrating all the way around because the coaches are doing their jobs and the player effort is there, it just seems that the club always makes the crucial mistakes at the most inopportune times and that will just about always spell L-O-S-S. The team plays its next two on the road, they come home on October 14. Saturday was a quiet day except for lunch with Jenny, on Sunday we planned on hockey in Rothsville but the weather had other ideas. There was rain forecast for later in the afternoon but Mother Nature decided to do a #1 in the morning forcing us to postpone for the second time in three weeks. The better news came in late afternoon in Waldorf, Maryland where the Barnstormers won the deciding game of the North Division Championship Series. After losing game #3 on Friday the Stormers rebounded in a big way with a 15-5 win on Saturday, in the Sunday decider they never trailed in a 10-2 series-clincher. The club meets the High Point Rockers (an upset winner over Gastonia in the South Championship) in the League Championship, the first two game are in North Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday before coming north for the duration on the 30th. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 19-22

The new week started with an uneventful Monday but the next two days (or should I say EVENINGS) were anything but. Tuesday night at the ballpark was Game #1 of the playoff series with the Stormers hosting Southern Maryland. On this night the visiting Blue Crabs took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning and added a back-breaking insurance run in the ninth. The Stormers got on the board with two out in the bottom half when Shawon Dunston walked and scored on Andretty Cordero's RBI double (which just barely missed being a game-tying home run) but the rally went no further as SM held on for the 2-1 win. Oscar De La Cruz worked into the sixth inning and suffered the tough-luck decision. It was a tightly-played tense ballgame that merely served as a prolog to what we witnessed in Game #2 on Wednesday night. The start was not promising, Southern Maryland scored four runs in the first inning and carried that advantage into the bottom of the seventh. Jacob Barfield's two-run home run made it a 4-2 game but the Crabs scored twice in the eighth to reestablish their four-run lead. In the bottom half Barfield came through again with an RBI hit making it 6-3 but SM got it back in the ninth, entering the bottom of the ninth the Stormers trailed by the same four-run margin they had been battling all night. Base hits by Anthony Peroni and Dunston put two men on base with one out, Cordero's RBI hit scored Peroni to bring the Stormers to within three. Ariel Sandoval batted next and nailed a three-run shot over the picnic tents in right field to tie the game at 7-7 and force extra innings. In the tenth the Crabs had men on first and second with one out, a base hit to center appeared to give them the lead but Sandoval's throw to home retired the lead runner for the second out, the trailing runner was caught between second and third and was tagged out to complete the inning-ending double play, In the home tenth Barfield batted first and flied out to left field, Jake Hoover (not known for the long ball) was next and he sent a drive deep to right and deep into the night for the walkoff game-winning home run. An uproarious celebration broke loose in the stands and at home plate when Hoover met his teammates, as the great MLB broadcaster Jon Miller once said it was "a late-evening middle-of-the-night miracle" (the game ended at 10:47). West Tunnell was the winning pitcher working the tenth inning, starter Brooks Hall went six innings for the no-decision. The 8-7 final squares the best-of-five series at 1-1, it continues in Waldorf on Friday the 23rd. By the time I got home it was almost 11:00, during the regular season there are times I might duck out early but the playoffs are another thing entirely. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 18

At it early on Sunday morning for the opening of the Fall street hockey season at Lions Park in Rothsville, the fourth season since it began in May of 2021. We had planned to start on the 11th but an all-day rain ended that idea before anyone ever left the house. We have the usual setup: four teams playing three games against each opponent. Thirty-five players participated including twenty-seven holdovers and eight new faces, on this day Ephrata beat Hillside and Warwick defeated Township. We started shortly after 10:30 (by popular demand so everybody can be home in time for football on TV at 1:00) and were done by 12:30. I headed back to town and directly to the ballpark, I was walking in just as the Barnstormers were taking the field. Although this wasn't technically The Last Game since the club qualified for playoffs I still made it a point to be there because it is "the last game" if only for the regular season. On this afternoon the Stormers completed the weekend sweep with a 6-1 win over Southern Maryland, consecutive run-scoring doubles by Joseph Carpenter and Jake Hoover plus a Trace Loehr RBI groundout erased an early deficit in the second inning. Team MVP Andretty Cordero went yard onto the berm in left field in the third, the final runs came in the sixth on another Hoover double and a Chris Proctor RBI single. Dominic DiSabatino worked the first four, Bret Clarke went the rest of the way for the decision. The Stomers finish at 73-58 overall (with one game canceled), over in York the Revs clocked out at 56-76. The ALPB North Division Championship Series begins on Tuesday the 20th and on the surface it's a difficult series to handicap. The Blue Crabs were ten games better than the Stormers in the regular season (83-48 overall) but fell off somewhat after a torrid first half. They won the first eleven games against the Stormers during the regular year and led 3-0 in the first inning on July 28 before the game was rained out and ultimately canceled, from that point the Stormers took five of the final six. If momentum means anything the Stormers would appear to have it all on their side but the playoffs are a completely different animal, we'll find out starting on Tuesday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 16-17

Back at the ballpark on Friday for the final series of the regular season, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs were in for a pre-playoffs three-game set. It's always curious when upcoming playoff opponents meet especially when the games are essentially meaningless, the only real attraction is to see how the teams choose to utilize the time in preparation for what really matters later. On Friday the Barnstormers drew first blood with a 5-2 win. A three-run sixth erased a 1-0 deficit, the runs scoring on RBI hits by Jake Hoover and Melvin Mercedes plus an Andretty Cordero sac fly. In the eighth Cordero added a solo home run and a Jacob Barfield RBI single scored the last run, Brooks Hall pitched five innings of one-hit ball for the win. On Saturday the teams were scheduled to make up the July 28 rainout as part of a doubleheader, when the Stormers clinched the second-half pennant and made the playoff matchup official that rainout game was canceled since it wasn't needed. The advertised single game went on as scheduled, on this night it was all Stormers from the proverbial word Go. A five-run first inning started with a Shawon Dunston solo home run, Anderson Feliz's two-run double and a Barfield RBI hit made it 4-0 before Dunston drew a bases-loaded walk for the fifth run. From there the club added four more on solo home runs by Dunston in the fourth, Trayvon Robinson in the fifth, Andretty Cordero in the seventh and Joseph Carpenter (his first as a pro) in the eighth. Cameron Gann went five innings allowing just two base hits and picked the 9-0 win. The series ends on Sunday afternoon, one final tune-up before The Real Series starts on Tuesday.  Take care, thanks for reading.

September 14-15

In baseball there is a tradition called the "hangover game", it's a tendency for teams who clinch a championship to suffer a letdown and play very poorly in their next game. On Wednesday night we saw the Barnstormers' version as the Revolution squared the series with a 9-0 win. A five-run second inning broke it open early, an Elmer Reyes RBI double was followed by Jhon Nunez's two-run single and a J.C. Encarnacion two-run triple. Melky Mesa's RBI groundout in the sixth made it 6-0, three more scored in the ninth on a Reyes groundout and Nellie Rodriguez's two-run home run. The Stormers managed only three hits and never mounted any serious threat. Austin Mora started for the Revs and was the winning pitcher, Bret Clarke made the spot start for the Stormers and took the loss. On Thursday the Stormers turned the tables on the Revs and righted the ship with an 8-2 snapback win. On this night the Stormers put together a four-run first inning, Shawon Dunston started it with a solo home run and Anderson Feliz went yard with two men on. Josue Herrera's RBI double in the second got the Revs on the board but the Home Team got it back in the third on a Melvin Mercedes solo homer. Each team scored a single run in the fourth, Nellie Rodriguez's home run in the top half was equaled by a Chris Proctor sac fly RBI in the bottom half. The game's final two scores came in the bottom of the eighth, Joseph Carpenter's run-scoring double was followed by a Proctor RBI groundout. Nile Ball went six innings for the win, Deyvis Julian went five and took the loss. The season series ends 18-14 in the Stormers' favor and returns the Community Cup east of the river for the first time since 2018, in fifteen seasons each club has won the Cup seven times with one tie. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 12-13

Tuesday night on North Prince Street for the first time in eighteen days, the Barnstormers opened the season's final homestand with a visit from our old friends from York. The Stormers went 10-5 on a very difficult five-city road trip, on this night they found themselves needing one win to clinch the second-half division title. The mere fact that the club was even in this position is nothing short of remarkable. The Stormers' 29-37 first-half mark placed them well behind first-half champ Southern Maryland, just after the second half started both Kelly Dugan and LeDarious Clark were lost to long-term injuries. Colton Shaver and Brooks Hall were signed away to affiliated leagues (both have since returned) and early in August Shawon Dunston was placed on the injured list. Somehow or another the team came together and continued to win, on this night the perseverance was finally rewarded with a division-clinching 10-4 victory. Leading the way was the just-reactivated Shawon Dunston with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI, Andretty Cordero had two doubles, a triple and four RBI. Melvin Mercedes scored three runs and had an RBI, Jake Hoover touched home three times, Trace Loehr and Anderson Feliz each contributed a run-scoring double. The visiting Revolution got solo home runs from Jhon Nunez, Nellie Rodriguez and Melky Mesa, Elmer Reyes had an RBI on an infield groundout. The starting pitchers were of record, Oscar De La Cruz for the Stormers and Ben Herrick for the Revs. The division title is the Stormers' first since 2015 and it is the first postseason appearance since 2018 when they qualified as a wild card entry. The best-of-five division championship series is scheduled to start on Tuesday the 20th, the Stormers host Southern Maryland for the first two games before the scene switches to Waldorf for whatever is needed of the last three. Before that happens there remains the matter of finishing the regular season, the series with the Revolution continues on Wednesday and Thursday. Take care, thanks for reading. 

September 9-11

 Friday night at McCaskey for a second consecutive week, the Red Tornado hosted Cedar Cliff (not to be confused with Cedar Crest). Cedar Cliff is located in Camp Hill, on the west shore of the Susquehanna River about forty miles northwest of Lancaster. In the 1960s and early '70s JPM and CC were yearly opponents in the old Central Penn League, that ended when McCaskey joined the L-L League for football in 1974. The last time the schools met was for the district championship in 1988, JPM lost 20-12 to an undefeated CC squad that featured future pro player Kyle Brady. On this night at McCaskey there was precious little for the home fans to cheer about, JPM lost 44-0 in a game that reached mercy rule early in the third quarter. The club had three legitimate scoring chances, there were two missed field goal tries and a potential touchdown pass was dropped in the end zone in the fourth quarter. On the other side of the line Cedar Cliff did almost anything they wanted to do and the defense had no answers. Divisional play (or "league" play as the League calls it) starts on the 16th on the road, the next home game is on the 23rd. On Saturday we were up and at it early for the 48-mile drive into northeastern Berks County, the Golden Bears of Kutztown University opened their home season with a visit from California University Of Pennsylvania. California is located in the western end of the state about thirty-five miles south of Pittsburgh, on this day they gave the Bears all they could handle but KU rallied for a tough 24-19 win. As it stands I'll be back in Kutztown twice more in October on the 8th and 22nd. Rain moved into the area overnight into Sunday and stayed around all day. We had planned on starting the fall street hockey season in Rothsville but the weather gave us no choice but to postpone, we'll try it again on the 18th. Take care, thanks for reading. 

September 5-8

Rain moved into the area on Labor Day and forced postponement of the ballgame in York, the makeup was scheduled for Wednesday as part of a doubleheader. The rainy conditions stuck around on Tuesday and Wednesday, somehow they managed to get all the games played in spite of the weather. On Thursday the rain was gone and the sun was out, it was a much more pleasant evening for my final visit west in 2022. The Revolution was hosting the Long Island Ducks in the final game of the four-game set looking for a series split. The visitors took a 2-0 lead in the first, the Revolution tied it in the bottom half on a two-run single by Melky Mesa. In the second a base hit by Yefri Perez and two walks loaded the bases, Troy Stokes' sac fly scored Perez with the lead run. Long Island batted around in the third scoring six runs to go up 8-3. Solo home runs from Stokes and J.C. Encarnacion in the fourth brought the Revs to within three, Josue Herrera's two-run shot in the fifth made it an 8-7 game. In the seventh the Ducks batted around for the second time and added three to go up 11-7, the Revs got one one back in the eighth when Stokes doubled and came home on a Lenin Rodriguez sac fly. Two runs in the ninth for Long Island brought the final to 13-8, Josh Norwood started for the Revolution and took the decision. This was in all likelihood my last time in York for the season but we're not done with the Revs just yet, they come east for a series on North Prince Street starting on Tuesday the 14th. Take care, thanks for reading. 

September 1-4

Friday night, Labor Day weekend: at McCaskey for the start of my 35th year on the mic for JPM football. I couldn't help but be reminded how I once worked elsewhere for thirty-five years at a professional (albeit minor league) level before it was ruined by ego and arrogance. That was a seventy-game season in the summer as opposed to a five-game high school season but the difference is that at McCaskey my efforts have always been appreciated and never taken for granted. The Red Tornado began its season with a win on the road on August 27, on this night Elizabethtown visited for a non-league game (interesting terminology: games against divisional opponents are called "league" games, those against non-divisional opposition are "non-league" even if the team is actually a member of The League itself. The L-L League has thirty-seven teams for football, there are five divisions aligned by enrollment and E-Town is in what is creatively called "Section III"). Ben Thompson is back for his second year as head coach looking to improve on the team's 2-8 record in 2021 but this night showed that there is still a lot of work to do, E-Town led early 14-0 and was never seriously challenged enroute to a 50-21 decision. JPM scored twice on carries by Josh Monzon (three yards) and Andres Rivera (one yard), Quimeak Talton returned a kickoff for a 73-yard TD and placekicker Liam Cox went three-for-three in the extra-point department. Offensively there were some good signs but the defense struggled badly all night long, E-Town did just about anything they wanted. The club stays at home for week #3 and a date with Cedar Cliff, a true "non-league" opponent from the Harrisburg-area. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 29-31

The eighth month of the calendar year ended on a Wednesday, for me it was a night for a trip across the Wright's Ferry Bridge into York County. In downtown York the Revolution was hosting the Staten Island Ferryhawks in game #2 of a midweek series, the Revs had won the opener on Tuesday night. The famous author Charles Dickens once wrote a famous tale of two cities, on this night we saw a tale of two ballgames. Through six innings the Revolution played their own particular version of Home Run Derby, they scored thirteen runs on the strength of eight home runs with every run scoring thanks to the long ball. A pair of two-run homers in the second by Troy Stokes and J.C. Encarnacion gave the Home Team a 4-0 lead, in the third Jhon Nunez and Yefri Perez went back-to-back solo shots making it 6-0. Nellie Rodriguez went yard with a man on in the fourth, two innings later five more runs were added on a Telvin Nash solo homer, a two-run shot by Nunez (his second of the night) and another two-runner by Stokes (HIS second of the game). All of this would have kept Cannonball Charlie extremely busy but he was not there, the organization was running a sensory-oriented experience on this night and the cannon was not being used. Through six innings the visiting FerryHawks had scored just once, they were trailing 13-1 and you would have to figure the issue was decided, right? WRONG!! Over the last three innings of regulation Staten Island rallied with four in the seventh, five in the eighth and three in the ninth to tie the game, in the tenth they scored twice and made it stand up for an incredible 15-13 comeback win. Twenty-eight total runs were scored, it was 13-1 through six innings and 14-0 the other way over the last four. The clubs combined to use thirteen pitchers, reliever Kyle Zurak worked the tenth for the Revs and took the decision. It's often been said that you never know what you're going to see at the ballpark, this night in the Atlantic League will undoubtedly be talked about for a long time. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 24-28

Back at the ballpark on Wednesday evening for game #2 with Long Island, on this night the pattern of scoring in common innings continued at the outset. The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the first, the Barnstormers answered back with two of their own in the home half. Melvin Mercedes singled and scored on Andretty Cordero's RBI hit, Ariel Sandoval followed with a single scoring Cordero giving the Stormers a 2-1 lead. In the fourth Long Island forged ahead 4-2, the Stormers closed to within one when Sandoval doubled and touched home on Anthony Peroni's RBI single. Each team scored a single run in the sixth, the Stormers' marker coming on hits by Sandoval (run scored) and Jacob Barfield (RBI). In the eighth the alternating pattern was finally broken when Anderson Feliz singled and scored on a Trace Loehr sacrifice fly bringing the Stormers even at 5-5. The pesky Ducks took a 6-5 lead in the ninth, in the bottom half the Stormers mounted a game-winning comeback. Mercedes reached on a single, walks to Cordero and Colton Shaver loaded the bases with one out. Sandoval batted next and laced the first pitch he saw into left field for a two-run walk-off hit and a 7-6 Barnstormer win. West Tunnell worked the ninth and picked the win in relief of starter Cameron Gann. The series wrapped up on Thursday night with more late-inning magic. Each team tallied once in the second with the Stormers scoring on a bases-loaded walk to Loehr forcing Sandoval home from third.  After the Ducks went up 3-1 in the third the Barnstormers got one back in the bottom half, Cordero doubled and came home on Shaver's RBI hit. It stayed that way until the home sixth, Sandoval singled and scored on a base hit by Peroni to tie it 3-3. In the ninth the Stormers walked it off for the second straight night, Peroni started it with a base hit and Jake Hoover was inserted as a pinchrunner. Hoover took second on a throwing error on an attempted pickoff and advanced to third on Loehr's sacrifice bunt, Mercedes followed with a blooper into right-center that fell for the game-winning hit scoring Hoover for the 4-3 win. Brooks Hall started and went five innings, West Tunnell was once again pitcher of record. The win is the Stormers' 29th of the second half which equals the team's first-half total with twenty-two games left to play. The next fifteen of those are on the road, the club isn't home again until September 13 (that's the tradeoff for having twenty home dates in July). Take care, thanks for reading. 

August 22-23

Tuesday night at the ballpark, the Barnstormers were back home for a series with the Long Island Ducks (fresh from their weekend series in York). The Stormers were 29-37 during the split-season's first half, thus far in the second half they are 26-15 which is remarkable considering the roster movement made necessary due to injuries and recalls. They hit a speed bump with a 1-5 record on the just-completed road trip but the roster has been bolstered with the return of Brooks Hall and Colton Shaver from their assignments in affiliated ball. On this night all of the scoring took place in three specific innings. The visiting Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the third, in the bottom half Trace Loehr singled and rode home on Melvin Mercedes' two-run homer onto the picnic tents in right field. An Andretty Cordero single and consecutive walks to Colton Shaver and Ariel Sandoval loaded the bases, Jacob Barfield followed with a fielders choice groundout scoring Cordero with Shaver right behind him on a throwing error giving the Stormers a 4-1 advantage. LI scored a single run in the fourth but the Stormers answered right back with three in their half. Jake Hoover singled ahead of back-to-back walks to Loehr and Mercedes, Jake would score on a wild pitch to make it 5-2. Trayvon Robinson walked to reload the bases for Cordero who drove a two-run double into the gap plating Loehr and Mercedes for a 7-2 lead. In the sixth Long Island cut the deficit to four but the scoring pattern continued in the home half. Cordero doubled and Shaver walked, they both came home on Barfield's two-run double. The final score was 9-3, Nile Ball started and went six for the win with Brandyn Sittinger and Donald Goodson in relief. The series continues on Wednesday and Thursday. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 15-21

A relatively quiet week just completed with two noteworthy exceptions, the first coming on Tuesday the 16th. That day was Jenny's birthday and every year I talk in this blog about how much she means to me. We've been together over twenty years and we knew one another for ten years before that, no matter how you look at it that's a long time. In 2022 she reaches an age that ends in "0" and she feels there's some sort of stigma attached to it, I told her I hit that age once myself and the world didn't come to end that time either. We went to a local restaurant that specializes in Italian cuisine for lunch, I wanted to do something a little different for her birthday and I let her pick the restaurant we visited. Jenny wanted to try their pizza, her mother had a "Lancaster Cheeseburger" (don't ask) and I enjoyed a healthy plate of spaghetti and meatballs. The food was excellent and it was all worth it because Jenny's birthday only happens once a year. On Friday night I made a trip west of the river, the York Revolution hosted the Long Island Ducks. This night was just about all Ducks from the word Go, Long Island scored twice in the opening inning and never trailed in a 9-2 win. The Revs scored single runs in the sixth on a Telvin Nash base hit and in the seventh on a Connor Lien solo home run, starting pitcher Ben Herrick took the loss in his York debut. The Ducks come east for a series in Lancaster starting on Tuesday the 23rd. Take care, thanks for reading. 

August 12-14

Friday night baseball under cloudy skies and cooler conditions, the Barnstormers hosted the Lexington Legends in the opener of the weekend series. On this night the Home Team broke on top 1-0 in the second, Trayvon Robinson singled and scored on an error. The visitors from The Bluegrass State tied it in the fourth, in the bottom half the Stormers batted around and scored three. Jacob Barfield drew a walk and Robinson singled, with one out back-to-back RBI singles by Ariel Sandoval and Joseph Carpenter made it 3-1. Consecutive two-out walks issued to Jake Hoover and Melvin Mercedes forced Sandoval home with run #4. The Legends battled back to tie once again in the sixth, Chris Proctor's two-run home run in the bottom half put the Stormers back up 6-4. Lexington closed to within one with a run in the seventh but a four-spot in the home half finally broke it open. Robinson walked and scored when Carpenter reached on another Lexington error, after Proctor walked he and Carpenter both came home on Hoover's two-run double. Mercedes followed with an RBI two-base hit scoring Hoover giving the Stormers a 10-5 advantage. One last marker was added in the eighth, Barfield walked and trotted home on Sandoval's RBI groundout. Nile Ball went six innings for the win with Cam Booser and Bret Clarke finishing it in relief. On Saturday Jenny and her mother came into town for their third game of the season, with the milder conditions and the shade on the berm in left field it was a perfect night for them to be there. On this night Lexington scored in the second inning, the Stormers matched it on Anderson Feliz's walk and Chris Proctor's RBI single. The Legends went up 2-1 in the third, the Stormers answered in kind when Jacob Barfield was hit by the pitch and scored as part of a double steal. In the seventh Lexington scored twice to go up 4-2, the Stormers saw that with a two-spot of their own. Proctor and Trace Loehr reached on back-to-back hits, Proctor scored on a Melvin Mercedes groundout and Loehr raced home on a wild pitch. The pattern was finally broken in the eighth, Lexington pushed two runs across and held it for the 6-4 win. Cameron Gann started but wasn't around for the decision, newcomer Brandyn Sittinger (added from the Atlanta Braves organization) pitched the fateful eighth and took the loss. The homestand wrapped up at 1:00 on Sunday with a Stormer win, the club returns home on Tuesday the 23rd. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 11

Thursday night at the ballpark on North Prince Street for another exciting chapter of the Atlantic League's Theatre Of The Bizarre where Anything Can Happen And Usually Does. On this night the Barnstormers jumped out to a 5-0 first-inning lead on an Ariel Sandoval RBI single and Anthony Peroni's grand slam home run. Long Island climbed back into the game with a three-run third inning, the Stormers replied in kind in the bottom half on consecutive RBI hits from Anderson Feliz, Peroni and Jake Hoover to go ahead 8-3. The visitors from Central Islip put up five of their own in the fifth to pull even at 8-8 but the Stormers reclaimed the lead on an error allowing a run and a Melvin Mercedes RBI hit, through five it was 10-8. The Ducks picked up single runs in the sixth and seventh to once again forge a tie score but in the bottom of the eighth the last word belonged to the Barnstormers. Trace Loehr started the inning with a base hit and Mercedes reached on an error, newcomer Joseph Carpenter (making his professional debut in a pinch-hitting role) batted next and grounded a two-run single to center scoring both runners for a 12-10 Stormer lead. Carpenter is a 2022 graduate of the University of Delaware and a product of Cedar Crest HS in Lebanon County, I saw him play against McCaskey during his high school days. In the ninth West Tunnell finally put an end to the madness nailing down the save for winning pitcher Dominic DiSabatino. The Barnstormers used six pitchers and somehow won the game despite issuing no fewer than sixteen walks and hitting four batters, by contrast the Ducks' five pitchers combined for just three walks allowed. The Stormers continue the homestand with a visit from the Lexington Legends on the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading. 

August 8-10

The warmer weather trend continued with the start of the new week, on Tuesday the Barnstormers began a new series at home with the Long Island Ducks. Around 4:00 or so a strong storm system moved through, when I arrived at the ballpark at 5:45 the tarpaulin had already been rolled up and put away. The field itself was in good shape, the problem was the warning track around the perimeter. The areas in front of either dugout and directly behind home plate were of particular concern, they were working to get those spots dried up and playable. With it all the game did not start until almost 8:25, I hung out for the first three innings but by then it was close to 10:00 and I decided to cut out and head home. The game finally ended around 11:45, the Stormers never led in a 17-7 loss. The irony is that the teams had mutually agreed beforehand to play a seven-inning game given the circumstances, had it been a nine-inning game it would have undoubtedly lasted past midnight and we all remember what happened the previous Friday. I lived that life for thirty-five years and that is a part of it I don't miss and never will. On Wednesday night there were no weather issues at all, it was virtually a perfect night for a ballgame. For a second straight night the Barnstormers scored seven runs, the difference was they held the opponent to sixteen fewer runs than the night before. The visiting Ducks went up 1-0 in the third, Andretty Cordero's solo home run in the fourth drew the Stormers even. In the fifth Chris Proctor doubled and scored on Melvin Mercedes' RBI double, Cordero followed with a base hit scoring Melvin to put the Good Guys up 3-1. A three-run seventh extended the lead thanks to a Trace Loehr two-run double and an RBI single by Merecedes, Jake Hoover's solo home run in the eighth provided the last run of the night. Gray Fenter started and went five for the 7-1 win with newcomer Cam Booser, Josh Graham and West Tunnell closing it out. The teams meet in the "rubber game" on Thursday night. Take care, thanks for reading. 

August 6-7

The ballgame on Friday night wasn't over until well after The Witching Hour, the Stormers used a four-run seventh inning to win 8-3. The teams combined for eleven runs (eight of them unearned) on nine hits and six total errors, the pitching staffs issued fourteen walks, hit three batters and threw three wild pitches and for good (or maybe BAD) measure there were two passed balls allowed. I've known Stormers broadcaster Dave Collins since 1993, he described the night as "an absolute mess" and it would be hard to argue the point. On Saturday the clubs reconvened for game #2 and the proceedings on this night were somewhat more mundane. Staten Island took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, in the home third the Stormers took the lead with a three-spot. Trace Loehr started the rally with a walk, consecutive singles by Trayvon Robinson and Melvin Mercedes made it 3-1. Andretty Cordero followed with a deep drive to dead center, on the catch Robinson was able to score from second base with the tying run. Mercedes advanced to second on the throw, he would score on Anderson Feliz's RBI hit giving the Stormers a 3-2 lead. The visiting FerryHawks tied the game in the eighth, in the bottom of the ninth consecutive singles by Ariel Sandoval (winning run scored), Anthony Peroni and Jake Hoover (game-winning RBI) gave the Barnstormers the 4-3 walk-off win. Nile Ball started and went seven innings, Josh Graham worked the eighth and West Tunnell earned the win with a scoreless top-of-the-ninth. The series ended with a rare 5:00 start on Sunday, I made an equally rare Sunday appearance. There were a few who were surprised to see me given my well-known eschewing of day games. It was miserably hot (90 degrees at gametime) but the late-afternoon sun angle is much different than the overhead variety at 1:00 would be. On this day the result was never really in doubt, the Stormers broke on top 3-0 in the first inning on a Jacob Barfield sac fly and Anderson Feliz's two-run homer onto the picnic deck in right field. In the second Andretty Cordero's RBI double made it 4-0. The Hawks posted a single run in the fourth, in the home fifth another Cordero RBI double and a Trayvon Robinson run-scoring single made it 6-1, A four-run sixth ripped it wide open, Cordero had an RBI single, Feliz hit a two-run double and Ariel Sandoval picked up a ribbie on a groundout. The pesky FerryHawks didn't go quietly, they rallied with five runs over the last three innings but it wasn't enough as the Stormers took it 10-6. Cameron Gann went five innings in the heat for the win with Bret Clarke, Chase Johnson and Donald Goodson mopping it up in relief. The homestand continues with Long Island in town on Tuesday. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 5

Friday night at the ballpark on North Prince Street, the Barnstormers (fresh from a three-game series sweep in York) hosted the Staten Island FerryHawks in the opener of a weekend set. On this night the ballpark was the scene of a game that was about as utterly bizarre as anything you might ever see. In the first inning the visiting Hawks scored twice, their effort was aided by two Barnstormer errors and a wild pitch. In the fourth the Stormers loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman, Trayvon Robinson's sac fly scored Melvin Mercedes from third making the score 2-1. As the fifth inning started there were dark clouds forming to the southwest and the winds were picking up accordingly, in the bottom of the inning the Barnstormers scored twice to take the lead. Walks to Shawon Dunston and Mercedes put men on first and second with one out, a throwing error allowed Dunston to score and Mercedes to move to third. Robinson struck out but was able to reach on a passed ball, on the throw to first Mercedes scored giving the Stormers a 3-2 lead. It should be noted that to this point the club had scored three runs without benefit of a single base hit through five innings.  Just as starting pitcher Erik Manoah was finishing his warmup pitches prior to the sixth inning the umpires called time and had the field covered, it proved to be the right call as the rain arrived no long after. It was not quite the downpour we had seen the previous Thursday but it was enough to delay the game for better than two hours. I hung out until about 9:45 or so and then elected to call it a night. I saw on the internet that the game had resumed around 10:40 and was still going as midnight approached. As the old expression goes: I've Been There, I've Done That. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 1-4

The new month began on the first day of a new week, it also ushered in a new round of high temperatures. On Wednesday I made a trip west of the river, the Barnstormers were in York for a series with the Revolution. The Stormers were coming in on a four-game win streak including a victory in the series opener on Tuesday, the Revs were riding a six-game streak in the opposite direction. On this night the Stormers came out strong in the first inning, Shawon Dunston walked to start the game and Melvin Mercedes followed with a base hit. Andretty Cordero's RBI single scored Dunston, after Trayvon Robinson drew a walk Ariel Sandoval's two-run single plated Mercedes and Cordero. Robinson came home on new addition Chris Proctor's RBI groundout giving the Stormers a 4-0 lead. In the home second Telvin Nash (popular former Rev recently returned from a stint in the Chinese Professional League) went yard to left-center putting the home team on the board. the Stormers got it back in the third when Cordero doubled and scored on an error. That 5-1 advantage held all the way to the bottom of the ninth, Connor Lien's two-run home run brought the Revs to within two but there would be nothing more from there. The 5-3 final made a winner of Oscar De La Cruz, he went six innings with support for an inning each from Donald Goodson, Josh Graham and West Tunnell picking up the save. Jorge Martinez took the loss for the Revs, he went five with Nick Green, Carlos Ventura, Tuck Tucker and Roniel Raudes working an inning each. Jenny was in town for an appointment on Thursday, I took her home and we picked up lunch on the way. Once I was home in the afternoon the day was effectively over, with the heat in the 90s there was no reason to be anywhere else. Take care, thanks for reading. 

July 27-31

Back at the ballpark on Wednesday night for game #2 with Southern Maryland. On this night the Barnstormers tallied in the opening inning, Shawon Dunston drew a walk and touched home on Andretty Cordero's RBI hit. The visiting Blue Crabs pinched back with a tying run in the second, they took the lead in the fourth and added two more in the fourth and one in the fifth to lead 5-1. The Stormers climbed back into it with a run in the seventh, Jacob Barfield doubled and scored on Ariel Sandoval's base hit. In the eighth Melvin Mercedes doubled and came home on a Cordero RBI groundout but an SM insurance run in the ninth ended the scoring as the Crabs took it 6-3. Cameron Gann started for the Barnstormers and took the loss. During the first half of the season the Blue Crabs were a juggernaut, they won the first-half division title with a mark of 48-18 and thus far in 2022 they had defeated the Stormers eleven consecutive games. On Thursday night they were finally halted but it took intervention from Mother Nature to do it. There was a quick-moving storm system approaching from the west, despite the forecast and the dark clouds the game started right on time at 6:30. After the Crabs scored three times in the first inning the umpires called time and had the field covered although the rain had not yet started. It proved to be the right call, the tarp was no sooner down and secured before the winds kicked up and the skies opened. After about thirty minutes of absolute deluge the field was rendered unplayable, the game was called and reset as part of a doubleheader on September 17. The Stormers started a weeklong road trip on Friday, Saturday lunch with Jenny and her mother was about all that happened all weekend. In August the ballclub has only twelve home dates compared to the just-completed twenty-home-date July marathon. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 25-26

Woke up Monday morning exceptionally sore from the weekend, almost twenty-one hours of sitting on wooden bleachers over two days will do that to you. At the ballpark in the evening for the championship game of the County Midget League tournament. The JrT finished 7-9 (with one game canceled) and qualified as the #6 seed, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals in the afternoon heat on Saturday. The semifinals were on Sunday afternoon with Lititz and Penn Manor advancing to the championship game, in the title game on Monday Lititz rallied back from down 0-2 in the sixth to win 3-2. On Tuesday the Barnstormers were back in town for the opener of a three-game set with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. Over the weekend the Stormers added five new players to the roster including one who made a huge impression on this night in his first game with the club. The visiting Crabs took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the third, Trace Loehr singled and scored on a sac fly by Andretty Cordero putting the Stormers on the board at 4-1. A four-run Crab fifth expanded the Stormers' deficit to 8-1, a solo home run by Melvin Mercedes in the bottom half made it 8-2. In the sixth base hits by newcomers Jacob Barfield and Ariel Sandoval set the table for consecutive RBI markers by Anthony Peroni and Loehr pulling the Stormers to within 8-4. In the seventh Trayvon Robinson singled and came home on Barfield's two-run home run onto the picnic deck making it 8-6. In the eighth Shawon Dunston reached on a bunt single with two out, Mercedes followed with his second round-tripper of the night tying the game 8-8. It all crashed in the ninth when Maryland scored to go up 9-8. in the bottom half the Stormers were retired in order but not before Barfield hit a drive that was caught at the base of the wall in dead-centerfield (Jacob is the nephew of former MLB power hitter Jesse Barfield, he was added from the Pioneer League where he had twenty-one home runs so there is definitely some pop in his bat). Nile Ball started and went five innings, newcomer Gray Fenter pitched two scoreless in relief with Dominic DeSabatino (back from a stint on the DL) working the last two and taking the late loss. The series continues on Wednesday and Thursday. Take care, thanks for reading. 

July 23-24

From 1974 to 1977 I cut my teeth on the PA for the local rec softball league at Bing Conlin Field in Lancaster. Every holiday weekend (Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day) plus a few others featured tournaments with some of the best teams along the Eastern Seaboard. A typical weekend had me there on Friday from 7:00 to about midnight, Saturday from 9:00 until past midnight and Sunday from noon until well into the evening hours (and if Monday was included that was usually from 11:00 into the evening itself). It was an endurance test no matter how you looked at it. These days a league based in the southern end of the county plays its games at Garrett Park in Willow Street, about six miles south of the city proper. Back during the winter I was contacted by a Conlin Field alum who is still active with the league at Willow Street, they were hosting the Pennsylvania State Class C Championships on this weekend and he asked if I'd be available to work the PA. Past experience had me knowing exactly what I was getting myself into and it did not disappoint. There are two fields at Garrett Park, on Saturday there were seven games played on each field involving all eleven teams entered. The first games began at 8:00 in the morning, the last game ended twelve hours and thirty-five minutes later. On Sunday we started at 9:00 with two games on each field, in the afternoon the losers-bracket final and the championship game were played on the main field where the PA setup was located. They had a canopy set up over the PA/scoreboard table which helped somewhat with keeping me protected from direct sunlight but it was still scorching HOT, temperatures both days were well into the 90s. There were a number of people from The Old Days in attendance, many were surprised to see me there and everyone seemed to appreciate my presence. Two local teams met in the championship, Kelly's (from the hosting league) defeated the Rays (from a league based around the Ephrata area). With it all we were done around 4:45 on Sunday, I came home and immediately turned on the air-conditioning (I actually slept with it on overnight into Sunday which is something I generally don't do but after twelve-plus hours in the heat I figured I deserved it). The entire weekend was a definite throwback for me, doing tournaments like that was commonplace when I was much younger but "When I Was Much Younger" is the operative phrase involved. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 20-22

Wednesday night: back at the ballpark for game #2 (or game #5 depending on how you look at it) with Charleston, at first pitch it was 91 degrees. The Barnstormers surrendered a run in the first inning but got it back in the second, Trayvon Robinson singled and scored the tying run on a Charleston fielding error. Anderson Feliz's two-run home run in the third gave the Stormers a two-run lead, in the fourth Melvin Mercedes went yard with two men on extending the advantage to 6-1. Over the next three innings Charleston (being the Dirty Birds they are) rallied back to take a 7-6 lead, in the home seventh Robinson's solo home run onto the berm in left field tied the game at 7-7. In the ninth the Birds scored three two-out runs to win it 10-7, Cole Aker (the last of four relievers used in relief of starter Nile Ball) took the decision. The series and the homestand ended on Thursday night, for the Stormers it was the last of fourteen consecutive home games since July 6. Game-time temperature on this night was 92 degrees and the visitors from West Virginia put the heat on the Stormers from the outset. A three-run first inning gave Charleston a lead they would never give up on the way to a 9-5 win. The Stormers got on the board in the fourth on a Mercedes solo home run, four more scored in the seventh on Trace Loehr's RBI single and Andretty Cordero's three-run shot over the picnic deck in right field. Augie Sylk started and took the tough-luck loss, he faced only four batters before leaving due to injury in the first inning. The club hits the road for a quick weekend series, they're back home to host Southern Maryland on Tuesday the 26th. On Friday morning Jenny was in town, she had been at her friend's house overnight babysitting. I took her home and we had Saturday lunch a day early, from there I spent the rest of the day at home in the comfort of the AC. This was all by design because the rest of the weekend is going to be very busy (and very HOT as well). Take care, thanks for reading.

July 18-19

Overnight into Monday I was awakened by the sound of a heavy rainstorm, by the time I was up for the day it was long gone and we had brilliant sunshine. The service center called before 10:30 to say my car was ready, I called the ride-for-hire and they arrived within ten minutes (take that, Unreliable Cab Company). A lunchtime errand run was all that happened the rest of the day but Tuesday was just a touch busier. Jenny was in town for a therapy appointment, I picked her up when she was done and we did lunch at her place. She's been having trouble with her knees for some time, they're getting her into aquatic therapy on a weekly basis. In the evening I was at the ballpark, the Barnstormers and the Charleston Dirty Birds reconvened for the second half of their six-game series. The Stormers took two of three over the weekend, on this night they made it 3-for-4 but it wasn't easy. In the home third Devon Torrence walked and Shawon Dunston singled him to third, Andretty Cordero's RBI hit scored Torrence to make it 1-0. Trayvon Robinson followed up with a three-run homer onto the berm in left field increasing the lead to four. Charleston made it close with a three-run seventh, in the eighth the Birds came all the way back to tie it 4-4. In the bottom of the inning the Stormers loaded the bases with two out on a Cordero single, a double by Robinson and a walk to Anderson Feliz. Anthony Peroni hit a chopper towards third base, the throw to first was high and wide. Cordero scored the lead run with Robinson right behind him giving the Stormers a 6-4 lead. In the ninth West Tunnell struck out the side to earn the win, he also recorded the last out in the eighth and was pitcher of record. Oscar De La Cruz had started, he pitched six innings of four-hit shutout ball but wasn't around for the decision. Game-time temperature was ninety degrees (that's 9-0), the heat wave is expected to hang around through the weekend at least. Take care, thanks for reading. 

July 16-17

Saturday morning lunch with Jenny and her mother, there were thunderstorms forecast and they decided to be on the safe side and stay home from the ballgame. I told them I agreed with their decision since they don't live around town (if it's rained out I only have one mile to get home, they would have fourteen) and as it happened they were 100% right. There was a strong storm around 4:00 or so, at 5:30 I went over to the ballpark where the game against Charleston was still on. It finally got underway at 6:55 and those in attendance got to see what I call an "Atlantic League Special". In the home second new addition Tyler Hill (former York Revs catcher filling the departed Colton Shaver's roster spot) singled ahead of consecutive walks to Trace Loehr and Devon Torrence, Shawon Dunston's sac fly scored Hill with the night's first run. The visiting "Dirty Birds" (quotation marks intended) tied it in the fourth before the Stormers took the lead back in the bottom half. Walks to Loehr and Torrence and a two-run triple by Dunston made it 3-1, Shawon would score on a passed ball putting the Stormers up by three. In the home fifth four more runs crossed the plate, singles by Hill and Anthony Peroni and a walk to Loehr loaded the bases. Hill raced home on another passed ball, Torrence walked to reload the bases and Dunston followed with a single scoring Peroni making it 6-1. Consecutive sac flies from Melvin Mercedes and Andretty Cordero added the last two runs, after five innings the Stormers led 8-1. At this point we officially entered Bizarro-Land, the rains returned and brought a deluge of scoring along with it. Charleston tallied six times in the top of the sixth to close to within one run, in the bottom half the Stormers saw those six runs and raised it two more. Singles by Hill and Peroni and a walk to Loehr loaded the bases with one out (sound familiar?), Hill scored on a wild pitch and Torrence walked to reload the bases (this is NOT a recording). Dunston singled to score Peroni, Merecedes followed with a double chasing home Loehr and Torrence making it 12-7. After Cordero was retired Dunston trotted home on another wild pitch, Trayvon Robinson's base hit scored Mercedes with the inning's sixth run. Anderson Feliz singled and Hill was hit by the pitch to load the bases (again), consecutive walks to Peroni and Loehr forced home two more making it 16-7. For the inning the teams combined for fourteen runs on ten hits, six walks, an error, a hit batsman and a wild pitch. The madness came to a sudden end in the top of the seventh, after one batter the umpires called play and had the field covered, the game was officially called after the required thirty-minute wait. Cameron Gann started and worked into the sixth inning for the win with relief from Cole Aker and Chase Johnson. The rain moved on overnight into Sunday, in the evening I took my car to the service center for that water pump installation they had recommended in June. Take care, thanks for reading. 

July 15

Friday night with the start of a new series at the ballpark. Charleston, West Virginia came into the Atlantic League in 2021, the city's former affiliated franchise was one of those eliminated when the minor leagues were reorganized before the '21 season. The new team used the old club's identity for its first year in the league but elected to rebrand late in the year as the Charleston "Dirty Birds", a reference to the area's mining history and the use of canaries to detect dangerous fumes underground (oh well, I guess it's OK for them). This was the first game of what is actually a six-game series, Charleston's two scheduled three-game visits to Lancaster are back-to-back separated only by an off-day on Monday. Before the game it was announced that Brooks Hall had been signed by the New York Mets organization, he's the fourth Barnstormer to go back into affiliated ball this season and the second in the past week. Entering this series the Barnstormers were 12-2 in the month of July, that record included an undefeated 11-0 mark at home. Sooner or later it had to happen and perhaps this night was as good as any. The visiting Birds soared out (weak pun intended) to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, the Stormers got one back in the bottom half when Shawon Dunston walked and scored on Andretty Cordero's sacrifice fly. In the second Anthony Peroni doubled and Trace Loehr singled him to third, both would score on consecutive wild pitches tying the game at 3-3. The Barnstormers took the lead in the fourth on doubles by Loehr (run scored) and Dunston (RBI) but Charleston replied with one in the fifth to make it 4-4. Over the last three innings the visitors scored four runs unanswered and won it 8-4, Chase Johnson was pitcher of record in relief of starter Augie Sylk. Take care, thanks for reading.