The second half of 2026 (already?) began on an uncomfortable Wednesday, each of the first three days of the month featured temperatures close to 100 degrees. On Saturday the nation celebrated its 250th anniversary, in the evening violent thunderstorms passed through the area and caused major damage particularly in the suburbs. There was no hockey in Rothsville on Sunday because of the holiday weekend, in the evening there was another round of hard rain and wind. On Monday I was out and about with the opportunity to see some of the weather damage firsthand, several roads were closed or limited to one lane because of downed trees, power lines or both. On Tuesday the Stormers returned home for a series with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. The Atlantic League's second half started over the weekend, the Crabs and the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars were their respective division's first-half champions. On this night at the ballpark SM demonstrated how they won their title by scoring eight runs in the first two innings enroute to a 10-3 win. The Stormer runs came on a first-inning RBI hit from Nathan Martorella, a sac fly by Scott Kelly in the second and a bases-loaded walk in the seventh. Matt Swarmer started for the Stormers and was clearly not at his best, he suffered the loss. The series continues throughout the week (as most of them do in the Atlantic League with the new schedule format). Take care, thanks for reading.
