Monday night softball in the heat at Garrett Park and it was a doubleheader date for Riverside, in the opener they defeated Akatsuki but lost the nightcap to Peach Bottom. Tuesday night at the ballpark as the Stormers returned home, the Staten Island FerryHawks (fresh from their weekend series in York) provided the opposition. The Stormers finished the first half a game under .500 at 31-32, the Hawks were a game behind at 30-33. At game time it was in the high 80s with a slight breeze which was all that made it comfortable. Staten Island took a 1-0 first-inning lead, in the bottom half the Stormers went ahead on a Nico Hulsizer base hit and Shawon Dunston's RBI groundout. In the fourth inning Gaige Howard went yard to make it 3-1, that lead held until the seventh when the Hawks rallied to tie it. In the home half the Stormers wasted no time whatsoever, solo home runs by Dunston and Chris Proctor put the Good Guys back ahead 5-3. In the eighth Hulsizer hit a moonshot to deep center extending the lead to 6-3, in the ninth the Stormers withstood a two-run rally and held on for the 6-5 victory. Brady Tedesco started and worked into the seventh, at one point he retired thirteen straight but ultimately didn't figure in the decision. Phil Diehl was the pitcher of record with Stephen Nogosek picking up the save. The series continues on Wednesday night and Thursday morning (and there's no amount of money that would get me there on Thursday in this heat). Take care, thanks for reading.
