Saturday lunch in Quarryville with Jenny and her mother, Helen continues to do very well since her episode from last October. I was back in town around 2:30 and went to the ballpark on North Prince Street. This was the local ballclub's annual FanFest and it was a day of several debuts. Since its inception in 2005 the Barnstormers have always been known informally as the "Stormers", in February it was announced that the shortened form would become the club's official nickname going forward. The day also featured the first public appearance of the ballpark's brand-new synthetic playing surface as the Stormers hosted an exhibition game with the newly-minted Hagerstown Flying Boxcars (no kidding, look it up). Hagerstown had affiliated baseball from 1981 to 2019, the new team replaces the Atlantic League club that played in Frederick in 2023 (the Spire City Ghost Hounds are on a declared one-year hiatus, when and if they return it should make for a great rivalry since Frederick and Hagerstown are only about twenty-five miles apart). Ross Peeples is back for his seventh season as manager of the Stormers, the preseason roster features ten holdovers from the 2023 league-championship squad. The season starts on April 25, the home opener is on Tuesday the 30th against the new club from Hagerstown. Sunday was overcast and windy with temperatures in the high 50s and a bit of chill in the air (not unlike Saturday), in the morning we were at Lions Park for week #2 of Sunday hockey in Rothsville. Six new players joined the ranks bringing the total to forty-seven overall, Hillside beat Ephrata and Warwick defeated Township. Through two weeks Hillside is in first place at 1-0-1 with the other three tied for second at 1-1-0, not a bad thing given the nature of the league. We have often said that there is competition involved (and no question about it) but it's not blood-and-guts kill-or-be-killed, it's about recreation and fun first and foremost. Take care, thanks for reading.
