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.