May 27-29

The weather turned warmer on Friday, we had some midday rain but it didn't stop the ballgame on North Prince Street from starting on time. This was the opener of a four-game series and the umpteenth renewal of The War Of The Roses (the Revs and Stormers are scheduled for thirty-two meetings in 2022, neither team plays any other opponent more than eighteen times). On this night the game was scoreless into the bottom of the fifth inning, Andretty Cordero and Anderson Feliz reached on back-to-back singles and both scored on Devon Torrence's two-run double giving the Stormers a 2-0 lead. In the sixth Kelly Dugan went yard to right-center extending the advantage to three. The Revolution got on the board in the seventh when J. C. Encarnacion doubled and scored on Nellie Rodriguez's sac fly. In the eighth Jack Kenley and Lenin Rodriguez drew consecutive walks and Edwin Figuera was hit by the pitch, Troy Stokes' sac fly plated Kenley bringing the Revs to within one but there would be no further scoring as the Stormers held on for the 3-2 decision. Brent Teller working into the eighth inning for the win allowing just one hit and striking out eleven, West Tunnell finished the eighth and Josh Graham worked the ninth earning the save. Rev starter Jorge Martinez took the loss but deserved better, he struck out nine over six innings. The game started shortly after 6:30 and finished just after 9:00, nobody will ever complain about that at all. On Saturday afternoon it was announced that Brent Teller had been signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks, he's the first Barnstormer to be signed into affiliated baseball in 2022 and it's his first opportunity with an MLB organization. At the ballpark in the evening for game #2, the Stormers took a 1-0 lead in the second when LeDarious Clark reached on an error on scored on an RBI single by Anderson Feliz. The Revs tied it in the third on a Jack Kenly solo home run and took the lead for good in the seventh. Carlos Franco reached on an error and ex-Stormer Connor Lien (picked up by York after his release in Lancaster) doubled, newcomer Jhon Nunez (in his Revs debut) hit a sac fly to score Franco, Lien would come home on a wild pitch to make it 3-1. That would be the final score, Eduardo Rivera was the winner with Jim Fuller closing it for the save. Oscar De La Cruz made the spot start for the Stormers but didn't figure in the decision, Chase Johnson took the loss in relief. This game was over in less than two-and-a half hours and we'll take that whenever we can get it. The series continued in the afternoon heat on Sunday, I was not there and with no street hockey in Rothsville because of the holiday weekend I spent the day at home in the AC. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 23-26

Out and about on Monday, it was markedly much cooler than the weekend had been. Jenny and her mother had medical appointments in Willow Street on Tuesday, the access van took them there and we did our midweek lunch date after I took them home. In the evening the Barnstormers opened a weeklong home stand with a visit from the Gastonia Honey Hunters. These teams met in the season's opening week in Gastonia, this three-game series marked the Hunters' lone visit to Lancaster and the last regular-season meeting between the clubs. On this night the visitors from North Carolina scored twice in the third, in the Stormer fourth Kelly Dugan walked, stole second and scored on Colton Shaver's RBI single to make it 2-1. That would be all the scoring on this night, starter Nile Ball took the 2-1 loss and deserved better. Ball went six innings and was followed for an inning each by Tyler Suellentrop, West Tunnell and Josh Graham. On Wednesday the Stormer bats came alive in the form of a thirteen-run salvo. In the second inning Shaver walked and scored on Anderson Feliz's RBI double, Feliz would score on a Jake Hoover two-base hit to make it 2-0. In the fourth LeDarious Clark walked and came home on Shaver's two-run home run putting the Stormers up by four. Gastonia scored a single run in the sixth, in the home half the Stormers added three to go up 7-1. Clark hit a solo home run, Shaver tripled and scored on Andretty Cordero's base hit, Cordero would eventually touch home on a sac fly by Feliz. In the seventh the Stormers ripped it wide open, after newcomer B.J. Boyd reached on an error and Melvin Mercedes walked Dugan's RBI single scored Boyd. Clark followed with a double to score Mercedes, after Shaver was retired Cordero capped it with a three-run bomb onto the berm in left field putting the Stormers up 12-1. The teams traded runs in the eighth with the Stormers' coming on a solo shot by Boyd, one last Gastonia run in the ninth brought the final to 13-3. Augie Sylk won it with five innings of two-hit ball, Oscar De La Cruz and Chase Johnson pitched an inning each in relief with Donald Goodson finishing the final two. The series wrapped at 11:00 on Thursday morning, the Stormers took the rubber match in my absence 4-1. The homestand continues over the holiday weekend with our friends from The White Rose City (AGAIN??). Take care, thanks for reading.

May 20-22

A stretch of midsummer weather moved into the region for the weekend, the AC unit I installed the previous Sunday got a respectable workout. There was little going on outside of lunch with Jenny and her mother on Saturday and week #5 of Sunday hockey in Rothsville. Several years ago a new electronic information marquee was installed on campus at McCaskey which displays time and temperature on a regular basis, it is visible from my upstairs windows. When I left the house on Sunday morning it was already 84 degrees (at 10:00 in the morning), when we got started at 11:00 at Lions Park it was almost 90 and climbing. The first game marked the end of the season's first half (nine games played, nine to go), on this day Hillside defeated Warwick and Township beat Ephrata. There are no games on the 29th because of the Memorial Day weekend, we'll be back for week #6 on June 5. There were thunderstorms in the afternoon forecast but nothing materialized until close to sunset, they are calling for more seasonable temperatures for the start of the new week. Take care, thanks for reading. 

May 16-19

Monday night at the Arena for Game #7 and the End Of The Line for the Royals. This game didn't play out exactly as Saturday night had but the similarities (including the final score) were remarkable nonetheless. On this night the visitors from Atlantic Canada scored first and led 2-0 midway through the game. Patrick Bajkov got the Royals on the board but Newfoundland replied in kind, late in the period Brad Morrison brought the Royals back to within 3-2. In the third the club pressed for the equalizer but the Growlers to their credit simply refused to be beaten, with eight minutes left they added a back-breaking insurance goal that sealed a 4-2 victory and their place in the Conference Finals. The series played out much like the regular-season had between these two teams: a competitive series where home-ice advantage meant very little, both teams showed a marked ability to win in the other's building. The end of any season is a sad occasion but let's look at the brighter side: the franchise successfully relaunched from a year of dormancy and on the ice the team posted one of the best records in club history advancing to the second round of playoffs for the first time since 2016. The 2022-23 schedule has already been released, the season begins on October 21 with a weekend in St John's (proof positive that the league has a warped sense of humor). We'll see ten different opponents at home starting with the Indy Fuel on October 29, also on the slate from outside the division are the Atlanta Gladiators, Allen Americans and our old friends from Wheeling. Right now it seems far away but October will be here before you know it. The middle part of the week had little going on, the County Midget League was supposed to start on the 19th but a lot of the teams are still involved in high school postseason. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 14-15

Saturday night at the Arena for game #6 of the ECHL North Division Finals and an opportunity for the Royals to clinch and move on. The visiting Newfoundland Growlers had something to say about that, on this night facing elimination they scored the game's first two goals and carried that lead into the first intermission. Another quick Growler score in the first thirty seconds of the second period put the Royals squarely behind the eight-ball, midway through the period Kevin Conley lit the lamp to put the Home Team on the board at 3-1. In the final six seconds of the period Brad Morrison found the net drawing the Royals to within one but in the third the Growlers held the fort and added an empty-netter sealing the deal at 4-2. Pat Nagle was in goal for the Royals as the series stands even at three games apiece, the Seventh Game is at the Arena on Monday the 16th. There was rain in the area during the evening but it was gone by Sunday morning, week #4 at Lions Park in Rothsville went on without incident. Four new players made their debut bringing the league total up to forty-six with room still left for a few more. On this day Hillside beat Township via shootout and Ephrata won over Warwick in regulation. It was overcast but somewhat warm, when I got home I installed my window air conditioner so it will be ready when needed. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 13

Friday night baseball on North Prince Street on a date best known for triskaidekaphobia (did I spell that correctly?), the Barnstormers opened a three-game set with the York Revolution. There has always been a certain civic rivalry between the two cities (War Of The Roses and all that jazz) but although I'm a lifelong Lancastrian I have never viewed the ballclub from York as The Enemy, I visit the ballpark there several times each summer and never have a bad time. On this night the Barnstormers took a 1-0 lead in the first, Melvin Mercedes singled and scored on an RBI single by Andretty Cordero. It stayed that way until the visiting sixth where the Revs exploded for six runs after two were out. Melky Mesa started the uprising with a double, Nellie Rodriguez drew a walk and Carlos Franco followed with a three-run homer to right-center putting the Revs up 3-1. Jack Kenley and J.C. Encarnacion kept it going with back-to-back doubles making it 4-1, Lenin Rodriguez put the capper on the inning with a two-run jack over the pavilion tents in right field giving the Revs a 6-1 advantage. The teams traded two runs each in the ninth with the Revs scoring on RBI hits from Elmer Reyes and Mesa, the Stormers on a two-run single by Cordero. The final was 8-3 with the respective starters involved in the decision, Jorge Martinez for the Revolution and Nile Ball for the Barnstormers. A quick-moving storm moved through my neighborhood around 5:15 but it was gone as fast as it arrived, when I got to the ballpark after 5:30 it was virtually dry there. During the middle innings there was a light mist but nothing that threatened play. The series continues on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon but I will be elsewhere for hockey, Saturday on ice and Sunday on asphalt. Take care, thanks for reading. 

May 11-12

Wednesday night at the ballpark (as opposed to the "ballfield" at McCaskey), the Barnstormers were finally back home after a week on the road (entering this series the club had played ten of its first thirteen dates away from home). The Long Island Ducks were the opponent for the second game of a three-game series. The Stormers took the opener on Tuesday night, on this evening they made it two straight with a convincing shutout win. In the second inning Marc Zugunis drew a walk and took third on Anderson Feliz' double. Connor Lien's bloop double to shallow left scored Zagunis, Trace Loehr's sac fly plated Feliz making it 2-0. Andretty Cordero started the third inning with another double, Zagunis drew another free ticket and Feliz followed with his second two-base hit of the night scoring Cordero. Trace Loehr picked up his second RBI on a groundout scoring Zagunis to give the Stormers a 4-0 edge. In the seventh the game was broken wide open, the rally started on base hits by Melvin Mercedes and LeDarious Clark. An RBI hit by Cordero made it 5-0, Clark scored run #6 on a Long Island error. Zagunis drew his third walk of the night, Feliz followed with an RBI single scoring Cordero with another Duck error allowing Zagunis to touch home making it 8-0. The Stormers added one final run in the eighth, Mercedes reached on a base hit and scored on Cordero's RBI groundout. The final score of 9-0 was only half the story: on the mound Brent Teller pitched eight innings of three-hit ball with five strikeouts to earn the win, Tyler Laporte worked the last inning allowing one hit, a walk and recording one strikeout. The game stared at 6:30 and was over by 9:15, we'll never complain about that anytime. The Stormers finished the series sweep with a win on Thursday morning but I was absent, the club stays home to host Our Friends From West Of The River over the weekend. The Royals spent the middle part of the week in St.John's, they went there with the series tied 1-1 and they come home with a 3-2 series lead. Game #6 is on the 14th at the Arena. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 9-10

The sunny weather was out in force on Monday, in the afternoon we were at McCaskey for the next-to-last game of high school baseball season. Lancaster Catholic was the opponent for a non-divisional contest. In times past a football or basketball game between these schools was a big deal, these days it happens rarely because the respective enrollments make it impractical. It was always billed as the "city rivalry" although LCHS is technically located just outside the city limits in Manheim Township. On this day the Red Tornado lost 10-0, the game was called via the mercy rule after five innings. In the second inning the club had a man on third with no outs and couldn't score, in the fourth the bases were loaded with none out and no one could come through with the big hit. Tobe Kuntz started and took the decision with Braulio Rivera and Elias Morales working in relief. On Tuesday evening the season ended with a 7:00 game versus Hempfield, this was originally scheduled for the previous Friday when we would have needed a roof over the field to get the game in. It was Senior Night, before the game we spotlighted Yanmanuel Gutierrez, Braulio Rivera, Janielle Rivera, Andrew Laureano, Noah Stoycos, Cole Hatfield, Alex Ruiz, Orion Frailey, Alex Vargas and Max Brewster as the Class Of 2022. There was an excellent turnout for the festivities, the 7:00 games always seem to draw a better crowd than the 4:15 starts for the obvious reasons. Regrettably for the JPM supporters the game went largely the way the season itself went, the Red Tornado lost 6-1. The lone run scored in the fourth when Braulio Rivera singled, advanced to third on Ruiz' double and scored on Frailey's sacrifice fly. Orion started on the hill and worked into the fifth inning, Elliot Fluck finished it in relief. The club final mark in Gilbert Vega's first year as head coach is 4-16 with just one win at home, the team's road wins were over Solanco, Lancaster Mennonite and Penn Manor. The county Midget League season starts on May 19th, with nothing going on at Reservoir Park anymore (and there is no new word on that front) I should be able to work those games as I did in 2021. Stay tuned. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 7-8

The rainy weather from Friday was still around on Saturday, at the Arena the Royals hosted Game #1 of the Division Finals. This series on paper is about as equal as it gets, two evenly matched teams who played a very competitive regular-season series with both clubs showing the ability to win in the other's building. If there was any advantage coming in it probably belonged to the Royals, they had four days off with no travel while the Newfoundland Growlers had only three days between series plus the travel from St. John's to Reading (it's often been joked that when you visit St, John's you're halfway to London, England). On this night the Royals came out on fire scoring four goals in the first period and winning decisively 7-3. Trevor Gooch led the way with a hattrick, Frank DiChiara scored twice with Kevin Conley and Dominic Cormier adding single tallies. The rain was still coming on the drive home and when I went to bed, had you told me then we would be playing street hockey on Sunday morning in Rothsville I may not have believed it. Sunday morning dawned with the rain gone and clear skies, I took a broom with me to sweep out some puddles on the rink surface. Some of the guys brought wider brooms and leaf blowers to spread out the leftover water and dry it, we started a few minutes late but the games were played. Six new players joined up bringing the League total to forty-two, Hillside beat Ephrata and Township beat Warwick as we reach the one-third point of the schedule. I was home by 1:30, after a quick shower and an equally quick lunch I picked up Jenny and her mother for the return trip to the Arena for game #2. On this night we saw a virtual reverse of Saturday as the Growlers scored the first three goals and carried a 3-0 lead into the third period. Kevin Conley got the Royals on the board but that would be it for the Good Guys, an empty-netter in the last minute put away a 4-1 Newfoundland win. Pat Nagle was in goal both games for the Royals as the series shifts to St. John's for the next three games. From here forward all things are equal, both teams face the same game schedule and travel concerns with no real advantage to either side. It is essentially a three-of-five series at this point, the next game at the Arena would be on Saturday the 14th if needed. Take care, thanks for reading. 

May 1-6

The fifth month of 2022 started with a Sunday which meant week #2 of street hockey at Lions Park, on this day nine new players made their season debut bringing the total league roster up to thirty-six. Ephrata won via shootout over Township and Hillside beat Warwick in regulation, we'll be back in Rothsville on May 8. Monday night at the Arena on Penn Street in Reading for game #6 of the division semifinals, the Royals needed one more win to advance and the goal was achieved but it wasn't easy. When the playoffs began a lot of people probably wrote the Maine Mariners off given that they were the lowest-ranked playoff qualifier but once this series started they proved without a doubt that they belonged. On this night (and with their backs to the wall) the visitors from Portland scored the game's first goal and carried that 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Seven minutes into the second period Trevor Gooch took a feed from Kenny Hausinger and fired home the tying goal. In the decisive third period the Royals took advantage of a power-play opportunity, with thirteen minutes left Jacob Pritchard lit the lamp giving the Royals a 2-1 lead. Down the home stretch the Mariners pulled the goalie for the extra attacker but there would be no yield from the Royals as the horn sounded on a series-clinching 2-1 victory, Pat Nagle (back from a stint with the AHL Phantoms) made his series debut and was goalie of record. It's the franchise's first playoff series win since 2016 and the first clinched on home ice since the second round in 2013. On Tuesday night the Newfoundland Growlers defeated Trois-Rivieres in the deciding game of their semifinal series, that sets up a Royals-Growlers division final that on paper may be too close to call. The first two games are at the Arena on May 7 and 8 before shifting to St. John's for the next three, the series would return to Reading on the 14th and 16th (or for however much is needed). The middle part of the week was quiet largely because the proposed Game Seven on Wednesday night at the Arena wasn't needed (and I was not the least bit heartbroken for that). Rain moved into the area overnight into Friday and stayed around into the evening, the scheduled ballgame at McCaskey was called and rescheduled for Tuesday the 10th. Take care, thanks for reading.