September 23-29

There are times when it barely pays to come online and write a blog post, the past seven days were a great example. It began to rain on Monday morning and continued in varying degrees of intensity until Thursday afternoon, the weekend wasn't much better. Jenny and I had our lunch dates on Wednesday and Friday, the latter because she and Helen were in town that day at the health campus. On Friday night in York the Atlantic League championship series ended with the Revolution winning in a three-game sweep over the Charleston Dirty Birds. It's the Revs' fourth league title since they joined the league in 2007 and the first since 2017. Saturday was very cool and damp although largely free of precipitation, things looked halfway decent for Sunday but early in the morning the rain returned and wiped out the day's hockey schedule at Lions Park. We'll try again with rematches of week #2 on October 6. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 20-22

Friday night at McCaskey for the second home football game, JPM hosted William Tennent (from Warminster, about fifteen miles north of Philadelphia) in the last of its four non-league games. The Red Tornado scored first on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Cintron to DeAndre Jones in the opening quarter, Cintron's convert made it 7-0. Tennent tied it with a second-quarter TD and took a 14-7 lead in the third which stood to the very end, the loss drops JPM to 2-3 at the season's midpoint. Through five games the club is averaging sixteen points per game and yielding an average of twenty-eight, the next home date is not until October 11. On Saturday we did our usual lunch date in Quarryville, in the evening we were West Of The River for game #4 in York. The Stormers had stayed alive with a 14-3 win in game #3 on Friday, on this night the Revs took command early and ended the series with a 9-2 win. Alerick Soularie blasted a pair of two-run home runs over the Arch Nemesis (in the second and again in the fourth), Roldani Baldwin added a three-run shot over the big wall in the sixth giving the Revolution a 7-0 advantage. Two more scored in the eighth on Baldwin's RBI single and a double-play groundout, the Stormers could only muster single runs in the seventh and ninth on base hits by Shawon Dunston and Isan Diaz. Michael Horrell went six innings for the win, Max Green suffered the loss. For the Stormers the quest for a "threepeat" is over, for the Revs it's a first trip to the championship series since 2017 and a shot at a fourth title in franchise history. It rained overnight into Sunday but in the morning the sun was out and the rink was dry at Lions Park for week #3 of street hockey. One new player brought the total participation to forty-seven, on this this day all but five were in attendance. Ephrata beat Hillside and Warwick won over Township, the league continues with week #1 rematches on the 29th. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 16-19

Tuesday night on North Prince Street for game #1 of the ALPB North Division Championship Series and the third-ever playoff meeting between the rivals from opposite sides of the Susquehanna River. The Stormers and Revolution had met twice previously in the postseason with York winning in 2011 and the Stormers turning the tables in 2012. During the regular year the Revs had it all their own way with a 15-3 season series win allowing the Community Cup to stay in York, the Revs' overall mark was 80-45 (with one game canceled) while the Stormers played the full schedule and finished 71-55. On Tuesday night in game #1 the Revolution took a 1-0 lead on Zander Wiel's first-inning single, the Stormers replied in the home half on a Mason Martin RBI groundout and a wild pitch to take a 2-1 advantage. Jacob Rhinesmith's RBI hit tied it in the fifth, two innings later an Alerick Soularie RBI triple gave the Revs a 3-2 lead. Rudy Martin's eighth-inning base hit upped the lead to two, in the bottom half Isan Diaz went yard to draw the Stormers within one. In the ninth the Home Team put the tying run on base but could do nothing further as the Revs held on for the 4-3 win, Chris Vallimont was the winning pitcher with Matt Turner recording the save, Scott Engler took the loss in relief. On Wednesday Jenny and Helen were in Willow Street for medical appointments, as is our wont we did lunch on the way to their place. At the ballpark in the evening for game #2, on this night there was no score until the bottom of the fourth. Joe Stewart's RBI groundout make it 1-0, Joseph Carpenter followed with a run-scoring hit and Trace Loehr added a two-run double for a 4-0 Stormer lead. In the fifth Rudy Martin went yard with a man on to slice the lead in half, Alerick Soularie's RBI hit in the eighth made it 4-3. In the ninth the relentless Revs got base hits from the first four batters to score three runs, back-to-back doubles by Roldani Baldwin (one RBI) and Chase Dawson (two ribbies) put the Revs ahead 6-4. In the bottom of the inning Matt Turner set the Stormers down in order saving the win for Alex Valverde, Phil Diehl took the loss. The Revolution takes a 2-0 series lead home for the next three games (or however many may be needed), the series continues on  Friday the 20th. Take care, thanks for reading. 

September 15

September 15 is Helen's birthday, she turned 87 and she's still remarkably active despite the issues she has faced over the last year. Jenny and I noted the occasion with a visit to a local Italian restaurant in Quarryville on Saturday since Sunday itself was very busy and it started early. In the morning we were at Lions Park for week #2 of the Sunday hockey league, eleven new players joined the ranks bringing the total thus far to forty-six. On this day thirty-seven were in attendance as Ephrata beat Township and Warwick downed Hillside. We were done around 12:30 or so, after a brief respite at home I was at the ballpark for the final date of the Atlantic League regular season. I'm well-known as a non-fan of day games and this day was a good example of why, at 3:00 it was in the low 80s with little cloud cover and it was WARM but it was the last game and you have to attend the last game. Before it started the club announced its annual awards, coach Trayvon Robinson won the community service award and Mason Martin was named team MVP. In the game itself the Stormers fell behind 5-0 in the second inning, a solo home run by Martin and a Trace Loehr two-run single brought the club back to within two. In the third Niko Hulsizer launched a missile onto the sidewalk above the berm in left field to make it 5-4, after the FerryHawks went up 7-4 in the fifth the Stormers scored twice on a throwing error in their half to close to within 7-6. In the seventh the Good Guys went ahead for good, a Martin RBI hit tied it and Hulsizer followed with a two-run double putting the ballclub up 9-7. That would be the final score in what was a bullpen game, Adam Wibert was the first of seven pitchers with Phillip Diehl saving it for winning pitcher A.J. Alexy. The playoff field is set with the Stormers hosting the Revolution in the first two games of the best-of-five North Division championship series, Gastonia faces Charleston for the South Division title. Take care, thanks for reading

September 13-14

At the ballpark on Friday the 13th for the final home series of the regular season, the Staten Island FerryHawks were the opponent. Whenever a team wins a division title there is always concern for a "hangover game" the next time out, on this night the Stormers didn't appear to be affected. The club played smallball and took a 2-0 lead in the first on a Damon Dues sac fly and a Gaige Howard RBI groundout. The visitors from The Big Apple took a 3-2 advantage in the sixth, in their half a Joe Stewart double tied it and Chris Proctor's RBI single put the Stormers back ahead 4-3. Isan Diaz's base hit in the seventh extended the lead, Stewart's leadoff home run in the eighth was the final tally in a 6-3 Stormer victory. Scott Engler (the second of five relievers) was the winner in relief of starter Matt Swarmer. On Saturday night over 8000 jammed into the ballpark for game #2, on this night the story was Staten Island's starting pitcher. Pablo Sandoval (aka "The Panda") was a two-time All-Star and a three-time World Series champion during a 14-year MLB career that included stops in San Francisco, Boston and Atlanta, he has spent all of 2024 with the FerryHawks as a third baseman/designated hitter. In his MLB career he made two relief appearances on the mound plus two more for the Hawks in '24, this night was his first-ever appearance as a starter. He kept the Stormers largely off-balance through five-and-a-third innings and got the victory in a a 6-2 Staten Island win. The Stormers scored on an error in the seventh and a Shawon Dunston home run in the eighth, Brady Tedesco took the loss. The game ended around 9:10 or so, as the big crowd settled back for the usual Saturday fireworks show I settled into my car and drove home. I spent thirty-five years living that life and I've always said there is only one way to watch a fireworks show: in the rearview mirror. Take care, thanks for reading. 

September 11-12

Back at the ballpark on Wednesday night for game #2 with Hagerstown, on this night the visitors from western Maryland took a 3-0 lead in the second. The Stormers returned fire with a four-run third thanks to a Gaige Howard RBI hit, Trace Loehr's run-scoring double and an Isan Diaz two-run home run. The clubs traded runs in the fourth, the Stormers' coming on a Niko Hulsizer triple and Joe Stewart's sac fly. The one-run Stormer lead lasted until the seventh when the Boxcars tied it up, in the bottom half the Home Team took the lead back for good. Diaz singled with the bases loaded to make it 6-5, two batters later Stewart deposited a grand slam onto the picnic tents in right putting the Stormers ahead 10-5. From there the bullpen shut it down, Scott Engler was the winner in relief of Oscar De La Cruz. On Thursday Jenny's mother was in town for an appointment unrelated to her episode earlier in the week, I took her home and we picked up lunch along the way. She would have otherwise waited well into the afternoon for the access van to return and Jenny would have been at home worrying the entire time, Helen is OK from her late Monday/early Tuesday fall but she definitely looks like she went fifteen rounds with the champ. In the evening at the ballpark the Stormers entered with a magic number of one to clinch the second-half division title, the mission was accomplished but not necessarily the way they might have liked. After the offensive pyrotechnics over the last two nights the bats were largely quiet, Jack Conley's two-run double in the fourth were the only scores for the Stormers in a 3-2 Hagerstown win. Max Green started and went the first five, Michael McAvene took the loss in relief. The game ended at 9:22, two minutes later on Long Island the Ducks lost to High Point 4-1 clinching the second-half title for the Stormers. A Stormers-York Revolution showdown for the overall division looms on the horizon with the first two games in the best-of-three series at the ballpark beginning on Tuesday the 17th. Take care, thanks for reading. 

September 9-10

Picked up my car at the service center on Monday afternoon, I had dropped it there on Sunday after we were done in Rothsville. The new tires they told me I needed back in July were installed, I had it back shortly after 2:00 and ran a few quick errands.  Jenny called very late on Monday night, her mother fell at home and was taken to the hospital. Tests showed nothing serious, she was discharged and home by 6:00 Tuesday morning. We've kept a close on her ever since her episode last October, maybe it's serious and maybe it's not but we take no chances at this point. Tuesday night at the ballpark as the Stormers returned home for a series with the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars, the club entered with a magic number of five to clinch a playoff spot. That number was reduced to three thanks to a Long Island loss and a dominating win for the Stormers. Niko Hulsizer started the party with a first-inning two-run double, Chris Proctor's two-run home run in the fourth made it 4-0. A Mason Martin RBI groundout in the fifth put the Stormers up by five, in the sixth the ballgame was put to bed with six two-out runs. A Hagerstown error allowed the first run to score, Gaige Howard's RBI triple and a run-scoring double by Isan Diaz put the club up by eight, Hulsizer put the exclamation point on the inning with a three-run bomb over the picnic tents making it 11-0. There would be no further scoring, Noah Bremer went the first five and picked up the win. Michael McAvene and Phil Diehl worked an inning each in relief as did newcomers Christian Scafidi and Trevor Kuncl, both recently added from the Frontier League. The series continues through Thursday before Staten Island visits for the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 6-8

Friday evening was a football night at McCaskey, for me it was the start of season #37 behind the mic. Longtime athletic director Jon Mitchell retired recently, on this night I met his successor Teasia Myers-Pena. Teasia is a 2008 McCaskey grad, a former basketball star and a fellow member of the school's athletic Hall-Of-Fame. The Red Tornado played its first two games on the road and went 1-1, the last time the club had a winning record was 2010 and since then the overall mark is just 27-103 (not quite the 1962 Mets but it's close). In recent years the offense has been reasonably good but the defense has been largely porous, on this night the "O" put up a single touchdown and the "D" made it stand up. The lone score came midway through the second quarter when quarterback Jalen Cintron found wideout Alisay Ramos for a 20-yard catch-and-run, Thomas McCoy's convert made it 7-0. Visiting Elizabethtown had their chances and the JPM defense bent but never broke, in the final minute Aaron Martin's pass interception salted away the single-score victory. The club improves to 2-1, the next game at home is on September 20. Saturday was a gloomy day with on-and-off rain, in Quarryville we got caught in a downpour on a grocery run. The rain was long gone and the sun was out and bright on Sunday morning, it was a perfect day for street hockey at Lions Park in Rothsville. Thirty-five players participated on opening day including six newcomers, Hillside defeated Township and Warwick won over Ephrata. Each team plays nine games, the season ends on November 3. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 4-5

Wednesday lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the evening at the ballpark the Stormers and Ducks met up for game #2. The Stormers went up 1-0 on Gaige Howard's RBI single in the first, after Long Island tied it in the second the Good Guys went back ahead on a Damon Dues base hit to lead 2-1. In the fourth the game fell apart, the Ducks scored five runs and added two each in the sixth and seventh to take a 10-2 lead. The Stormers got one back in the sixth on a Long Island error, Trace Loehr's solo home run in the ninth brought the final to 10-4. Noah Bremer suffered the loss with Adam Wibert, Steffon Moore, Kyle Johnson and A.J. Alexy mopping up in relief. The series wrapped up on Thursday with the Stormers rebounding in a major way. The ballclub put four on the board in the fourth on Joseph Carpenter's RBI single, a Gaige Howard run-scoring triple and a Mason Martin two-run home run, three more came home in the seventh on Howard's three-run home run. In the eighth Martin launched his second round-tripper to put the bow on an 8-0 win but the offense was only half the story. On the mound Oscar De La Cruz worked seven innings of two-hit ball for the decision allowing just four baserunners, the Ducks only had one other baserunner against Phil Diehl in the ninth. The ballclub spends the weekend on the road, the season's final week begins at home on Tuesday the 10th. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 1-3

The final one-third of 2024 began on a typically slow Sunday, that will change when the autumn hockey season starts at Lions Park in Rothsville on the 8th.  Monday was Labor Day itself aka The Last Day Of Summer, on Tuesday the Stormers returned home for a series with the Long Island Ducks, This was actually the back end of a seven-game home-and-home, the clubs met for four games on the Island over the weekend. On this night the competitive aspect was decided almost from the word Go, the Stormers took a 1-0 lead on Gaige Howard's first-inning home run and extended it to 3-0 in the second on a Trace Loehr two-run double. Isan Diaz started the third with a solo home run, in the fourth the Stormers blew the game apart with a six-run salvo. RBI hit by Loehr and Damon Dues made it 6-0, after Howard's fielders choice groundout and Diaz's RBI triple Mason Martin launched a moonshot over the picnic tents in right field putting the Stormers up 10-0. Chris Proctor's two-run bomb in the fifth made it an even dozen, one final run scored in the sixth on a Joe Stewart RBI single. For their part the Ducks didn't go quietly, two runs in the sixth were followed by four in the seventh and one in the eighth but the mountain was too high to climb. The final football-like score was 13-7, Brady Tedesco worked into the seventh for the win with relief from Kyle Johnson, Scott Engler and newcomer Michael McAvene. Take care, thanks for reading.