May 22-31

The final few days of May had little to offer outside of softball in Willow Street and one trip Over The River (but not Through The Woods). On the 22nd at Garrett Park LCM played a doubleheader and dropped both ends, the opener to Memorial and the nightcap to Kelly's. On Tuesday we were in York for the second time in 2023, the Revolution (fresh from the weekend in Lancaster) opened a series with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. It is mere coincidence that the Crabs were also the opponent when we were there on the 12th but since SM is not scheduled to appear in Lancaster for some goofy reason it gave me one last opportunity to see them (that plus the fact that they won't be back in York either). On this night in York it was just about all Crabs from the word Go, they scored eight runs in the first three innings and walked away with a 14-2 win. The Revolution scored its two runs in the fourth on base hits by Jhon Nunez and Troy Stokes, Jorge Martinez started and didn't survive the third inning. Wednesday night was another game night at Garrett, the Marlins defeated Riverside and Pach Bottom won over Kelly's. The holiday weekend (and the day itself on Monday were very uneventful, the month's activity in Willow Street ended on Tuesday night with Kelly's over Riverside and Peach Bottom over Memorial. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 19-21

Friday night on North Prince Street, the Barnstormers continued their homestand with a visit from our friends in York. These clubs are currently the second and third-oldest franchises in the Atlantic League, the Stormers started in 2005 and the Revs opened up shop two years later. In the opener on Friday the Barnstormers took a 2-0 lead in the second on Joseph Carpenter's two-run single, the lead was extended in the fourth on an RBI single by Jack Conley who would score later on an error making it 4-0. Jhon Nunez got the Revs on the board in the fifth with an RBI hit, in the bottom half a solo home run by Trace Loehr and an Ariel Sandoval RBI double upped the Stormer lead to 6-1. In the ninth the Revs made it close on Richard Urena's run-scoring hit and a Trey Martin solo home run but the Stormers held on for the 6-3 win, starters Jacob Lemoine (win) and Denson Hull (loss) were the pitchers of record. There were showers in the forecast for Saturday, Jenny and her mother elected to stay home and in retrospect they made the right choice. The rain arrived in the middle innings, it was never enough to stop the game but just enough to be a general nuisance. The visitors from the White Rose City went ahead in the first on a Jacob Rhinesmith RBI double, Nellie Rodriguez went yard in the second to give the Revolution a 2-0 lead. In the home half the Barnstormers erupted for six runs on a Revs error, Trace Loehr's RBI single, a two-run double by Andretty Cordero and Kelly Dugan's two-run home run over the picnic tents in right field. The Revs got one back in the third on Richard Urena's RBI groundout, the Stormers matched it in their half on a run-scoring single from Yeison Coca. It stayed 7-3 until the seventh, Ryan January's solo home run accounted for the last Revs score of the evening. The Stormers scored three times in the bottom half on Jake Hoover's two-run double and another Rev error, Trayvon Robinson's two-run shot into the right-field picnic pavilion in the eighth put the wraps on a 12-4 Stormer win. Brent Teller started and won for the Barnstormers, Tom Sutera took the loss for the Revolution. The series concluded with a day game and a Revs win on Sunday, I spent the morning in Rothsville at Lions Park. On this day Warwick beat Ephrata and Hillside won via shootout over Township, these matchups were rained out the first time around on April 30. No games on the 28th for the holiday weekend, we're back in Rothsville on June 4. Take care, thanks for reading. 

May 15-18

The new week began with Monday night softball in Willow Street, Memorial beat LCM and Peach Bottom won over Riverside. On Tuesday Jenny was in town for a medical appointment, as is per usual the access van brought her in and I took her home with a stop for lunch along the way. In the evening the Barnstormers were back at home for the start of a six-day homestand, the Staten Island FerryHawks were the opponent. The Stormers went up 1-0 in the second, Ariel Sandoval doubled and scored on Chris Proctor's sacrifice fly. In the third Trace Loehr and Melvin Mercedes drew back-to-back walks, after a wild pitch Loehr scored on Trayvon Robinson's infield groundout putting the Stormers up by two. In the visiting fourth the Hawks came alive with a four-spot, they added one more in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead. A solo home run from Mercedes in the home fifth made it 5-3, in the seventh the Stormers took advantage of three walks, a hit batsman and a wild pitch to draw within 5-4. SI put it away with a five-run salvo in the eighth, in the bottom half Sandoval doubled and came home on Proctor's RBI hit for the game's final run. Brandyn Sittinger started and took the 10-5 loss with Bret Clarke, Mike Adams and Tyler Laporte working out of the bullpen. The series continued with 11:00 starts on Wednesday and Thursday (I was absent from both), our friends from across the Susquehanna come to town on Friday. Nothing at all on the calendar for Wednesday, on Thursday there was a rare one-game-only night at Garrett Park with the Marlins winning over Riverside. Take care, thanks for readng. 

May 12-14

THE END arrived for the Royals in St. John's on Saturday night, the club had forced a fifth game with a win in Game Four but the tank finally ran empty. It's always sad to see a season reach its conclusion (especially where the job is legitimately fun and enjoyable) but it was another successful year on the ice with the club qualifying for the postseason for the sixteenth time in the franchise's twenty-one seasons. It's a cliche but it's still true: October will be here before we know it. On Friday night we were West Of The River for the first time in 2023, in York the Revolution was hosting the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. We've often talked about how unusual the ECHL schedule can be, the Atlantic League seems to be taking notes. The Crabs and the High Point Rockers are not scheduled to appear in Lancaster AT ALL in 2023, in York the Revs will not host the Gastonia Honey Hunters. The league credited a group from a major university for developing this schedule but perhaps an elementary school arithmetic course may have come in handy. On this night in York the Revs took a 1-0 lead in the first, Trent Giambrone walked and scored on a Nellie Rodriguez sac fly. Southern Maryland went up 2-1 in the third, in the home fifth Ryan January singled with two out and trotted home on Giambrone's two-run home run. The Crabs tied the game in the sixth, in the seventh the Revs took the lead for good on back-to-back doubles by Trey Martin and Troy Stokes Jr. The bullpen made it stand up in the 4-3 final, Will Carter won it in relief of J.T. Hintzen with Tasker Strobel and Victor Capellan working the last two innings. Lunch with Jenny was about all that happened on Saturday, Sunday was a street hockey day in Rothsville. These games were rematches from April 23, Ephrata beat Hillside and Township won over Warwick. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 10-11

In July of 2022 I did the PA for a state championship softball tournament at Garrett Park in Willow Street, it was a throwback for me to my formative years in the 1970s on the mic for the area rec league at Bing Conlin Field in Lancaster. I had been contacted about that tournament by a member of the Southern End Men's Fastpitch League which plays its games at Garrett Park, being there that weekend (for lack of a better way to describe it) rekindled an old flame within me that had not burned for decades. The league released its schedule recently, Wednesday was Opening Night. There are six teams in the league, most nights feature two games at 7:00 and 8:30. A strange quirk on this night was that both games featured one particular team, in the opener Peach Bottom beat LCM, in the nightcap LCM defeated the Marlins. Thursday night featured two games with the three remaining teams making their season debut, Memorial won over Kelly's and Peach Bottom beat Riverside. Fastpitch softball was a huge deal in my time at Conlin Field, back then the weekend tournaments drew large crowds but these days there aren't as many fastpitch teams and leagues still around. I have no official function with the league at Garrett Park (they don't use the PA for the regular schedule), it's just a nice alternative to have available on nights when there is little else happening plus being outdoors in the fresh air is never a bad thing. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 8-9

Back at the Arena on Tuesday evening for game #3 and another exercise in frustration. On this night the Royals were stung by a quick Newfoundland score just fourteen seconds after the opening faceoff, two minutes later Max Newton evened the score at 1-1. From there the Growlers scored the next five to take complete command of the proceedings, entering the third period the Royals trailed 6-1. Midway through the period Evan Barrett made it 6-2, in the closing moments Brendan Hoffmann hustled in a shorthanded goal bringing the final score to 6-3. Pat Nagle started and was lifted after twenty-four minutes, Kaden Fulcher made his first appearance since February in relief. The loss puts the Royals down 0-3 with the remainder of the series in St. John's and the situation is clear: win them all or the season is over. It's a tall order but it's happened before, longtime Royals fans can recall a ghastly example from back in 2010. If this was in fact the last home game we can take some solace in the fact that our opponent would probably be a strong contender in the AHL. They have only three players on ECHL contract, their NHL and AHL affiliates are very affluent and it filters down. We'll all know what happens within the next week. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 6-7

Saturday night at the Arena, the Royals hosted the Newfoundland Growlers in the opening game of the North Division Finals. During the regular season the Growlers were ten points better than the Royals, on this night they were three goals better in the form of a 3-0 shutout. The Royals played well but simply could not get the break they needed. It was the first shutout against since the first round of playoffs versus Maine in 2022 and the first time the club was zeroed at home since February of 2019. Game #2 was on Sunday afternoon, it was a quick turnaround with faceoff at 3:00. Scores by Yvon Mongo and Evan Barratt gave the Royals a 2-0 lead thirteen minutes in but the Growlers fought back to lead 3-2 late in the second period. Just fifteen seconds after Newfoundland took the lead Barratt scored his second of the day to square matters at 3-3. In the third the teams again traded scores with Devon Paliani doing the honors for the Royals, regulation time expired with the game knotted at 4-4. Early in overtime the Royals were awarded a powerplay but could not convert, just past the twelve-minute mark the Growlers went to the man-advantage and took all of six seconds from the faceoff to end it 5-4. Pat Nagle was in goal for both games as the Royals fall back 0-2 in the best-of-seven with just one more game at home on the 9th before the series shifts to St. John's for the duration. It was a quick turnaround in more ways than one, Sunday started early with morning hockey at Lions Park. I had Jenny and her mother pack an overnight bag and stay over at my place on Saturday night, when we were done in Rothsville on Sunday we headed to the Arena from there (the same plan was in place the previous weekend but it became unnecessary when the Royals eliminated Maine on Saturday night). On this day in Rothsville two new players debuted bringing the total to fifty, Ephrata beat Township and Hillside defeated Warwick. Take care, thanks for reading. 

May 5

Friday afternoon at McCaskey for the tenth and final home game of baseball season, for me personally it was the seventh since I missed three because of hockey in Reading. Cedar Crest was the opponent for their second visit of the season, when I went to the dugout in the pregame for the lineup both of their coaches commented on my absence the first time around on April 12. CC scored single runs in the third and fourth innings and carried that advantage into the bottom of the sixth. To that point JPM had only two baserunners but in the sixth consecutive two-out singles by Eli Morales, Rey Ortiz and Adrian Rodriguez put the Red Tornado on the board at 2-1. That would be the final score, Lars Holland was the starting pitcher with Jhanel Perez in relief. It has been a very difficult season for the program, at the start the varsity and JV only had about twenty players combined. As injuries became a factor more of the JV roster was needed at the varsity level to the point where the last few games of the JV season were canceled. The bright spot is that most everybody is eligible to return in 2024, there were only three seniors on the varsity roster. Since the game started at 4:15 the usual Senior Night recognitions happened after the game, we honored Avante Webb, Lars Holland and Landis Fluck as members of the Class Of '23. The club has three games remaining on the road but my part of the season is over and even after all these years it's still somewhat sad to see it happen. Take care, thanks for reading

May 3-4

Back at the ballpark on Wednesday and Thursday as the Revs and Stormers continued their own particular version of The War Of The Roses. There are times when each of us may question our own sanity, these two nights may have been a classic example. On both occasions the game-time temps were in the mid-50s with a sharp wind factoring in, as the nights progressed it became increasingly more uncomfortable. I told a few friends that these are nights when you find out who the hearty people are because the bandwagon-jumpers and frontrunners are nowhere to be seen. On Wednesday the Barnstormers took a 1-0 lead in the first on Andretty Cordero's RBI groundout, the Revolution tied it in the second on a Jalen Miller run-scoring double. In the fourth the visitors went up 2-1 on an RBI double by Trent Giambrone, three more were added in the fifth on Giambrone's two-run single and a Alejandro Rivero RBI hit. In the home fifth Shawon Dunston scored on a wild pitch to bring the Stormers to within 5-2, the Revs got that one back in the sixth on Trey Martin's solo home run. Each team scored twice in the seventh, the Revs on a two-run home run from Rivero and the Stormers on a two-run single from Trayvon Robinson. In the ninth the Revolution put a bow on the package, a sac-fly RBI by Giambrone and another Rivero RBI hit salted away a 10-4 decision. The starting pitchers were long gone by that time, Nelvin Correa won it for the Revs in support of Denson Hull with Tyler Laporte taking the loss in relief of Nile Ball. On the rubber match on Thursday the visitors from West Of The Susquehanna jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the second on doubles by Drew Mendoza (two RBI) and Alexis Pantoja. Ariel Sandoval's solo home run in the bottom half put the Stormers on the board, in the third Mendoza came through with an RBI single to restore the three-run cushion. Kelly Dugan's RBI hit in the home half made it a 4-2 game, in the fifth it was Mendoza again with another run-scoring two-base hit putting the Revs back up by three. The last run of the night came in the Stormer seventh on a base hit by Melvin Mercedes making the final 5-3, Nick Sutera won it for the Revs in relief of starter J.P. Woodward with Brandyn Sittinger taking the loss for the Stormers. The Revolution heads home for their opener on Friday night, the Stormers stay at home for the weekend but with other events on the calendar I'm unlikely to be around. Take care, thanks for reading. 

May 1-2

The new month began on a chilly, rainy and windswept Monday, in the afternoon we were at McCaskey. The Red Tornado hosted Penn Manor for the second time and were torpedoed 18-3. JPM scored single runs in the first, third and sixth innings: in the first Eli Morales singled and scored on Adrian Rodriguez's RBI double, the exact same combination accounted for the run in the third. The last run came in the sixth, Jhanel Perez walked and scored on an RBI single by Kelvin Torres. PM scored three in the second, four in the third, three more in the fifth and put it away with a eight-run sixth, the game ended after six via the mercy rule. Janpaul Rodriguez started on the hill with Jhanel Perez, Tobe Kuntz and Nikolai Bergeron in relief. As the game ended it was raining lightly and the sun was out, a brilliant rainbow developed over right field. Tuesday was Opening Night at the ballpark on North Prince Street, the Barnstormers began their nineteenth season in the Atlantic League. Veteran manager Ross Peeples is back along of a majority of the players who won the 2022 league championship, the longtime rival York Revolution were the opponent. The Revs are entering their seventeenth season virtually starting over with a new manager, coaching staff and just a handful of returnees. Rick Forney (longtime manager at Winnipeg in the American Association) takes over for the retired Mark Mason as manager with infielder Nellie Rodriguez, outfielder Troy Stokes and pitcher Jorge Martinez as the only holdovers from the 2022 club. The weather was much like Monday except there was little if any sunlight, there were periods of light rain throughout the night. The Stormers went up 2-0 in the first on Kelly Dugan's two-run home run, the Revolution cut the lead in half in the fourth on Stokes' RBI double. In the sixth the Stormers put four on the board, one scoring on Chris Proctor's RBI double, two more on a Jake Hoover triple and the last on Shawon Dunston's RBI single. The teams traded runs in the seventh, the Revs on Alexis Pantoja's infield groundout and the Stormers on Dugan's second home run of the night. Andrew Lee was the winning pitcher in relief of starter Jacob Lemoine, Rev starter J.T. Hintzen took the loss. A crowd of better than 5000 was in the house on a comparatively miserable night, the series continues Wednesday and Thursday. Take care, thanks for reading.