April 28-30

The final three days of April featured the final two home games for McCaskey Baseball. On Monday defending league champion Manheim Township visited and won via the mercy rule 16-0. JPM had four baserunners on two hits and two walks but never came close to touching home plate, Andrew Carlisle took the decision with Niko Bergeron finishing in relief. Wednesday afternoon was Senior Day, with the 4:15 start time the festivities took place after the game (it's a little easier for working parents to be there at 6:15 rather than 3:45). Matthew "Mateo" Rodriguez, Josue DePaula, Eli Morales, Adrian Rodriguez and Elliott Fluck were honored as the Class of 2025 in ceremonies following a game that started as a clunker and ended as a classic. Through the top of the fourth visiting Cedar Crest led 7-1, the lone run for JPM scoring in the second on a wild pitch. In the home fourth Niko Bergeron's RBI hit made it 7-2, a two-run single by Josh Reyes in the fifth brought the Red Tornado to within three at 7-4. CC added an insurance run in the sixth, in the bottom half JPM roared back with a four-spot to tie the game. One run scored on a wild pitch, Bergeron's second RBI hit accounted for another, Elliott Fluck's RBI double and a run-scoring single from Adrian Rodriguez completed the uprising. Starting and soon-to-be winning pitcher Eli Morales was on the mound in the seventh and struck out the side, in the bottom half the sunlight of Sweet Victory finally shined upon the Red Tornado. With one out Bergeron batted and drilled a double to the base of the wall in left-center, Josue DePaula batted next and bounced a seeing-eye single to right field scoring Niko with the walk-off winning run. It's well-documented how the club has struggled (just 2-16 with two road games remaining) but at least for one glorious afternoon at McCaskey on the final day of April the club finished its home schedule with a win everybody will remember. Take care, thanks for reading. 

April 21-27

Monday evening at the Arena for game #3 of the first round of ECHL playoffs. The Royals were in tough against a Trois-Rivieres club that was twenty-one points better during the regular season, by seeding this was the league's fifth-best team versus the fifteenth-best (although within the division it was #4 vs #1). The Royals lost the first two games in Quebec, during this week in Reading the Lions finished the series in a four-game-straight sweep. If it is possible for a team to lose in any crueler fashion I can't imagine how and I certainly wouldn't want to witness it. On Monday TR went up 1-0 six minutes in before Shane Sellar evened it at the first intermission. It stayed that until late in the third, with one minute left in regulation Mason Primeau got a break into the zone and scored to put the Royals up 2-1. The Lions pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker and cashed in with NINE-TENTHS OF A SECOND remaining to even it 2-2 and force overtime. In the first OT Trois-Rivières scored the apparent game-winner which was disallowed for goaltender interference, five minutes into the second OT they scored again and this one stood up for the 3-2 win and a 3-0 series lead. Vinnie Purpura got the start on Monday, two nights later Keith Petruzzelli was in goal as the Lions finished the sweep. TR led 2-1 after one with Mason Primeau scoring for the Royals, Shane Sellar's goal early in the second knotted it 2-2. Much like Monday it came down to the final moments, with four minutes left TR took the lead and added two empty-netters to clinch the game and the series 5-2. Obviously a disappointing way to end the season but there's a lot to feel good about nonetheless. The Royals returned to the postseason after a one-year absence and gave the division's top team all they could handle and more. Matt Brown was the club's leading scorer, Tyler Gratton was the leading goal-getter with twenty. Petruzzelli (34 appearances) and Purpura (24) were the club's goaltending leaders, Parker Gahagen also reached double-digit appearances with ten. In an oddity the team went the entire season without recording a hattrick, a shutout or an overtime win at home (2-8 with both wins coming in the shootout). October isn't far away and it won't be long before we're Back Home. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 14-20

Wednesday afternoon at McCaskey, the Red Tornado was on the field against defending state champion Hempfield. They won the title in '24 with a largely underclassman roster, with the way things are going for us one figured this to be a game that could either be very quick or very long. Hempfield predictably won the game but it was not the runaway one may have expected, JPM hung tough and made them work for it. JPM trailed 4-0 in the third when Josh Reyes was hit by the pitch with the base loaded to put the home team on the board. It was 10-1 in the fifth inning before the Red Tornado put together a four-run uprising. Bases-loaded walks to Reyes and Eli Morales scored two runs, Niko Bergeron's two-run single made it 10-5. In the last inning Bergeron picked up another "ribbie" on a two-out hit but Hempfield took it by a score of 13-6. Bergeron got the start and went into the fourth with Morales finishing in relief. The Atlantic League season begins on April 25, on Saturday the Stormers held their annual Fanfest event at newly-renamed Penn Medicine Park (the ballpark's naming rights were exchanged in the offseason). Ross Peeples is back as manager for his eighth season, returnees from 2024 on the preseason roster include pitchers A.J. Alexy, Phil Diehl, Scott Engler, Kyle Johnson, Michael McAvene, Jackson Rees, Christian Scarfidi and Matt Swarmer, infielders Joseph Carpenter, Trace Loehr and Mason Martin plus outfielder Nick Lucky. Also back after time elsewhere are infielders Yeison Coca and Kelly Dugan along with outfielder LeDarious Clark. The Stormers start with a six-game road trip, the home opener is on May 2nd. Sunday was the Easter holiday, Helen made ham loaf with scalloped potatoes and nobody went home hungry. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 11-13

Friday night hockey at the Arena in downtown Reading, the final two games of the club's 23rd season as an on-ice entity. The Worcester Railers were the opponent and for the Royals the goal was clear: win them both in any fashion or miss the postseason. There were four standings points available to be had and nothing less than all four would do. Mission Accomplished but it was a battle from start to finish. Friday was Wall-Of-Honor Night, 2013 Kelly Cup-winning goaltender Riley Gill was enshrined in pregame ceremonies. In the game itself the Royals came out on fire, just eleven seconds after the opening faceoff Matt Miller tapped in a rebound for a 1-0 lead. Six minutes later Shane Sellar made it 2-0, just before intermission Mason Primeau scored from the slot to put the Good Guys ahead by three. The visiting Railers (fighting for a playoff spot themselves) cut the deficit to two midway through the second and came all the way back to tie it in the third, as the third-period clock expired visions of Overtimes Past (1-8 at home, 5-11 overall) were dancing through everybody's heads. The OT didn't settle anything, in the Dreaded Shootout Matt Brown scored the lone goal and Keith Petruzzelli stopped every shot he faced for a huge 4-3 victory. It all came down to Game #72 on Saturday and the early going was much like Friday. Matt Brown made it 1-0 Royals just a minute into the game, scores from Logan Britt late in the period and Sam Sedley early in the second gave the Royals the ever-popular 3-0 lead. Worcester got on the board but Mason Primeau had Answer #1 to restore the three-goal lead entering the last period. The Railers made it 4-2 but Matt Brown had Answer #2 with his second of the night, after Worcester made it 5-3 the Final Answers came in the form of empty-netters from Jake Smith and Tyler Gratton to put away a playoff-clinching 7-3 victory. In the closing moments emotions boiled over with nine misconduct penalties issued in the last two minutes, three of them at the final buzzer. Keith Petruzzelli was in goal once again as the club finishes its season at 33-28-11, 17-11-8 at home. At the season's midpoint in January the Royals were 13-19-4, in the second half they went 20-9-7. The Trois-Rivieres Lions are the first-round opponent, the series starts in Quebec before moving to Reading for game #3 on Monday the 21st. Take care, thanks for reading. 

April 7-10

Monday dawned very dark and gray with a steady light rain, in early afternoon word came down that the ballgame at McCaskey was postponed to Tuesday. Penn Manor was the opponent for a divisional game, at 4:15 it was forty-three degrees with a persistent 26-MPH wind blowing straight out to left. Upstairs in the booth I am out of the wind but since it's not insulated I still feel the cold, I honestly wonder how anybody could stand actually sitting out in those conditions. At least it was dry and the sun was out, that may have been the saving grace. After being shut out in three of the last four games (and being no-hit in two of them) the JPM offense finally got some hits and scored some runs but it wasn't enough to prevent a 9-4 loss. Penn Manor was up by two in the second before Andrew Carlisle doubled and came home on Niko Bergeron's RBI single to make it 2-1. Over the next five innings PM scored seven unanswered to go up 9-1, in the last inning JPM loaded the bases with one out. Jayden Vaughn two-run single made it 9-3, Adrian Rodriguez drew a bases-loaded walk to bring home the final run. Carlisle started and went four innings with Eli Morales finishing in relief. The league divisions are largely based on enrollment (which is why McCaskey is always in the highest group), in 2025 Ephrata moved into our division and all they did was win their division the previous year. Manheim Township is in our division and all they did was win the league title in '24, Hempfield is around as well and all they did was win the state championship. Add in that Penn Manor and Cedar Crest aren't exactly pushovers and one wonders where the wins will come from at least for the foreseeable future. The next home game is on the 16th when the state champions visit. Take care, thanks for reading. 

April 1-6

The first week of April contained two sporting events, one high school and one professional with both resulting in the home team being shut out. On Wednesday afternoon at McCaskey the Red Tornado hosted Ephrata in a divisional game, at 4:15 it was fifty-three degrees with a fifteen-MPH wind straight in from center. Ephrata won the game 15-0, they led by six into the fifth inning before a nine-run frame ended it via the mercy rule. In their five innings at bat JPM had only three baserunners on walks and never came close to a base hit. Andrew Carlisle started on the mound with Josh Reyes in relief. The next home game is on Monday the 7th with Penn Manor, that is a 7:00 start under the lights. On Saturday we made our annual trip north to Allentown for an AHL Phantoms game, the Springfield Thunderbirds (St. Louis Blues affiliate) were the opponent. Current Phantoms with Royals history include forwards Zayde Wisdom (tail-end of 2023), Jacob Gaucher (third-leading scorer that year) and Sawyer Boulton (earlier in '24-25), defenseman Xavier Bernard (a handful of games in the fall of '24) and goaltender Parker Gahagen. On this night the teams battled through almost sixty-five minutes of scoreless hockey, with just seconds left in OT Springfield lit the lamp and took the game 1-0.  Gahagen was the Phantoms goalie of record and deserved a better fate but despite the loss the Phantoms clinched a playoff spot when the team directly below them in the standings lost on Sunday. We've been to Allentown nine times in eleven seasons (once a year except for the two BS years between 2019 and 2021) but this is in all likelihood the last time we'll be making the trip. I'm not getting any younger, the driving distance isn't getting any shorter and the overall expense (tickets, parking, food etc.) isn't getting any cheaper. It was fun while it lasted but right now it looks like the novelty of the annual Allentown trip has run its course. Take care, thanks for reading.