The new month began on Friday with the Staten Island FerryHawks on North Prince Street for the opener of a three-game set. This was one of those up-and-down back-and-forth kind of games the Atlantic League is so well-known for. Alex Isola's two-run single in the second gave the Stormers an early lead but the Hawks rebounded with five runs over the next four innings to lead 5-2 in the sixth. Isola came through again with an RBI hit but SI matched it in the seventh, in the bottom half the Stormers took advantage of a Hawk error and Nick Lucky's RBI single to pull within 6-5, In the ninth the visitors scored an insurance run, it proved to be the difference when Mason Martin hit a solo shot in the bottom half but the rally went no further. The final was 7-6, Tim Brennan (back from a stint on the IL) made his first start since mid-May and suffered the loss. On Saturday night in game #2 it was Staten Island virtually from the word GO, the Hawks scored three runs in the first and were never headed in an 11-2 decision. The Stormer runs scored on RBI hits by Joseph Carpenter in the third and Mason Martin in the fourth, Max Green started and was pitcher of record. The Stormers won the third game on Sunday but I was in Rothsville for the Grand Finale of the spring street hockey season. This was the ninth championship season we've played since we started there in 2021 and it was undoubtedly the most challenging. It seems like we have weather difficulties every season (that goes with the territory) but this was a whole different story. We had planned on starting on April 13, that was delayed for five weeks while we awaited new netting for the goals. We had three games postponed and ultimately cancelled which reduced the season to six games and of course my surgery and recovery further hampered the effort. With it all we ended five weeks later than in the spring of '24 and we're probably lucky it was that good. Warwick beat Hillside in the consolation game, in the championship Ephrata won over Township. Ephrata and Township have each won three titles, Warwick has two and Hillside has one. Forty-three of the league's fifty players qualified for the postseason, thirty-six were present. The off-season won't last long, we're back for the autumn season on the Sunday after Labor Day, Take care, thanks for reading.
