May 21-31

Over the last six weeks or so I've had a number of  people comment that I appeared to be losing weight although I'm not making any conscious effort to do so, others have noticed that my skin tone seemed less natural. It all came to a head on Sunday in Rothsville when several of the players (who haven't seen me since the fall season ended six months earlier) made similar observations. On Tuesday morning Don called and asked me as a friend if I was indeed OK because the guys in the league said I simply didn't look good. It made me think how if all these people are seeing something I DON'T see there could very well BE something wrong. In the afternoon I went to my doctor's office where they have urgent care facilities, they ordered blood work which was immediately fulfilled. On Wednesday I had lunch with Jenny and her mother, there was a phone message from the urgent care directing me to visit the local ER as soon as possible. I reported in when I got back to the city and they did a catscan, the ER doctor took one look at it and told me I had stage four pancreatic cancer, there was no hope and I'd be dead within a month. I was then admitted into the hospital (which had me wondering why, if I'm dying what's the point?), the doctors there told me they would do a biopsy to see exactly what they're dealing with. I told them what the ER doctor said and they said that was completely premature and way off base (I'd call it irresponsible myself) because they hadn't done the biopsy yet. That took place on Friday morning, they found a blockage in my pancreas that was allowing bile to build up (they called it "obstructive jaundice"). The blockage was removed, the system was cleaned out and I was told I could go home later if I felt up to it. After sleeping off the anesthesia in the afternoon and having supper I was granted my discharge and was home by 7:00 that evening. The Stormers were at home over the weekend but I stayed in by choice, the following week had little going on which allowed for more downtime to relax. I've had one follow-up appointment thus far with more to come, they said things are looking better but it's still not 100%. I guess it takes time to come all the way back especially when you're sixty-eight but at least I'm in good hands. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 19-20

Tuesday evening at the ballpark, the homestand continued with a visit from the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars. Hagerstown joined the league in 2024 via expansion, they had the league's worst record during their inaugural season and thus far 2025 hasn't been much better. On this night the Boxcars took an early 2-0 lead, in the bottom of the first the Stormers doubled that total. RBI hits by Nick Ward and Alex Isola tied it 2-2, after a Boxcar error allowed the lead run to score Brandon Wagner's sac fly plated run #4. The teams traded single runs in the third with the Stormers' run coming on Nick Lucky's solo home run, LeDarious Clark's RBI double in the fourth put the Stormers up 6-3. Hagerstown scored twice in the fifth to close to within 6-5 but in the seventh the Stormers for all intents and purposes ended the ballgame. Back-to-back home runs by Nick Ward and Mason Martin made it 8-5, an Ariel Sandoval fielders choice and Yeison Coca's RBI double put the Stormers ahead 10-5. In the eighth the Stormers scored four times more on a wild pitch and a three-run bomb by Alex Isola, the final was 14-5. Noah Skirrow went the first five for the win with Jackson Rees, Scott Engler, Phil Diehl and Kyle Johnson pitching an inning each out of the bullpen. The series continues on Wednesday and Thursday although there is rain in the forecast. Take care, thanks for reading. 

May 16-18

Friday evening at the ballpark, the Stormers were back in town for a three-series homestand. The Long Island Ducks were the opponent, in the opener on Friday offensive highlights were in short supply for the Stormers until the late innings. At the seventh-inning stretch the Ducks led 4-0 but suddenly and without warning the Stormer bats came alive in resounding fashion. Joseph Carpenter started the rally with a base hit, Nick Lucky followed with a two-run home run to right-center. Yeison Coca was hit by the pitch and scored on a error, newcomer Danny Amaral singled and scored the tying run on Mason Martin's RBI hit. In the eighth Ariel Sandoval doubled and rode home on newcomer Brandon Wagner's two-run shot over the picnic tents in right field. In the ninth Kyle Johnson struck out the side to preserve the 6-4 win, Michael McAvene got the decision in relief of starter Keylan Killgore. On Saturday in game #2 the Stormers took the lead in the second, Sandoval walked and came home on a groundball double play. In the third Nick Ward scored on an RBI hit from Carpenter, in the fourth Coca came in on a wild pitch making it 3-0. The Ducks countered with single runs in the fifth and seventh to close within one but the Stormers replied in kind. In the bottom half Ward's RBI double scored LeDarious Clark, Ward would later come home on an Alex Isola single. The final was 5-2, Tim Brennan pitched into the eighth inning for the win with Ryley Gilliam working the ninth for the save. Long Island salvaged the finale on Sunday but as usual I was absent, for the first time in twenty-seven weeks we were at Lions Park in Rothsville for the start of the Spring League. The league was about a month late starting because the goal nets were beyond repair (absolutely shot might be a better description), we had to wait for new netting to arrive. Thirty-four players participated on Opening Weekend, Township defeated Warwick and Ephrata beat Hillside. No games on the 25th for the holiday weekend, we're back in Rothsville on June 1, Take care, thanks for reading.

May 12-15

Saw where this blog recently surpassed 90,000 views since it started on this website back in 2010. I've always wondered who actually reads the pablum I write about around here but I obviously have an audience for which I am grateful. Rain moved into the area on Monday and hung around into Thursday, it effectively ruined any outdoor plans anyone may have had. The Southern End League began its season at Garrett Park in Willow Street on the 6th, after playing the first game on the first night the league had three straight dates rained out including Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. On Thursday the ECHL announced it schedule for the 2025-26 season, for the Royals Opening Night arrives later than usual. The club starts with seven straight on the road before coming home on November 8, one can only assume there are other events that prevent hockey in October. The North Division has a new team, for the first time since 2004 Greensboro, North Carolina is in the fold. The former franchise was a divisional opponent as the Greensboro Generals, the new club is known as the Gargoyles (no kidding). All told the Royals play eight home games versus Wheeling and seven vs Norfolk (too many on both counts in my humble opinion), five vs Greensboro, four each against Adirondack and Worcester and three each with Maine and Trois-Rivieres. The only non-divisional opponent to visit are the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, they come to town for the first time since February 2017 for a pair of games in February of '26. Every spring I always say that October isn't that far off, this time around we'll have a few extra weeks to get ready. Take care, thanks for reading. 

May 5-11

Tuesday night on North Prince Street, the Stormers continued the homestand with a visit from the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. The Crabs are the only opponent from the Southern Division who will visit more than once, they come back for another three-game set in July. On this night SM took a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning, in the bottom of the second Nick Ward went yard with two men on base to draw the Stormers even at 3-3. The Crabs scored four unanswered runs over the next two innings to take a four-run advantage, in the eighth Yeison Coca came home on a Kelly Dugan sacrifice fly for the game's last run. The final was 7-4, starting pitcher Tim Brennan took the decision with Michael McAvene and Kyle Johnson in relief. Wednesday night saw the Crabs go up 1-0 in the first, in their half Yeison Coca walked and scored ahead of Alex Isola's two-run home run putting the Stormers ahead 2-1. In the fourth Maryland forged ahead 3-2, an insurance run in the sixth gave the visitors a two-run lead. The Stormers got one back in the seventh when Joseph Carpenter walked and came home on Nick Ward's sac fly but from there the Crabs bullpen closed the door on a 4-3 win. Noah Skirrow started for the Stormers and took the loss with Christian Scafidi, Jackson Rees and Ryley Gilliam in relief. The series concluded with an 11:00 game on Thursday, the Blue Crabs won in extra innings to earn a series sweep. Since winning the home opener the Stormers have lost five straight, a two-city road trip is in store before the club returns home to host Long Island on Friday the 16th. Take care, thanks for reading.

May 1-4

Spent the first night of May at the ballpark on North Prince Street in a working capacity. The Stormers' Creative Services director knows me from Olden Days in Berks County, he had contacted me about working a high school game on this date. Faith Christian Academy (from Quakertown, about forty miles north of Philadelphia) met Oxford (southwestern Chester County, about thirty miles southeast of Lancaster), as the home team Oxford also utilized it for their Senior Night. The game started at 6:30, Oxford won 6-1 and by all accounts everybody went home happy. There's a possibility I may be needed for other events down the road, I told them to let me know and we'll see what happens. On Friday night I was back at the ballpark as a spectator, the Stormers returned from a season-opening road trip for the franchise's 20th Opening Night. The newly-minted Gastonia Ghost Peppers were the opponent (in 2024 they played without a nickname), the new identity has to do with a species of chili pepper reputed to be among the hottest in the world (OK, we'll go with it). The Stormers took an early 1-0 lead in the first on a RBI hit from returning fan favorite Kelly Dugan, after Gastonia tied it in the third Dugan came through again with a two-run single putting the Stormers back up by two. Yeison Coca'a two-RBI hit in the fourth made it a 5-1 game but the Peppers fought back with single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh to pull to within one. In the eighth Joseph Carpenter went yard to right-center adding an insurance run that ended up being needed, in the ninth Gastonia made it 6-5 but the rally (and the game) ended right there. Matt Swarmer started and went the first four innings, eighth-inning reliever Ryley Gilliam was awarded the decision with Phil Diehl working the ninth for the save. A crowd of better than 7100 attended Opening Night, on Saturday rain was in the forecast and it predictably was a factor. This game featured three separate delays totaling almost ninety minutes, they managed to get six innings played making the game official before conditions became unmanageable. On this night the Stormers lost 6-3 with a run scoring in the third when newcomer Nick Ward singled and scored on a wild pitch, two more scored in the fifth on a wild pitch and a hit batsman with the bases loaded. Newcomer Alex Garbrick started and took the loss with Mason Ronan and Steven Lacey in relief. Sunday was another "iffy" weather day, as is my wont I was not at the ballpark. Gastonia won another weather-plagued game to take the series, the Stormers stay home to host Southern Maryland on Tuesday the 6th. Take care, thanks for reading.