July 13

Wednesday morning lunch with Jenny, in the evening I was at the ballpark. The Atlantic League began in 1998, it has held an All-Star Game each year of its existence. In 2007 the Barnstormers hosted the event, the York Revolution had the honor in 2011. On this night on North Prince Street it was Lancaster's turn once again, the theme for the evening was Lancaster County's farming/agriculture industry. A good number of companies had display tables on the concourse and several types of livestock were being exhibited on the hill behind left field. It was a well-conceived and well-done motif entirely appropriate for our area (unlike some others I'm familiar with that were completely contrived without public input and have no basis in reality whatsoever). Unfortunately the festivities began under less than ideal conditions, late afternoon thunderstorms forced the 7:00 game time to be pushed back (when I arrived at the ballpark it was pouring so hard I sat in my car for close to twenty minutes before I could get out). The scheduled pregame home run derby was a casualty to the weather but the rain finally moved on, the game itself started shortly before 8:30. The Liberty Division (Somerset, Long Island, Bridgeport and New Britain) played as the visitors, the Freedom Division (Lancaster, York, Southern Maryland and Sugar Land) was the home team. Both of the "local" clubs were well-represented, the Barnstormers by Kevin Ahrens, Josh Bell, Charlie Cutler, Caleb Gindl and Sean Halton plus pitchers Pete Andrelczyk, Cory Burns and Bryan Evans. Joel Guzman, Andres Perez and Travis Witherspoon were on the roster from York along with pitchers Mike DeMark and Ricardo Gomez. The Freedom Division won a low-scoring game with the Stormers and Revs playing key roles in the victory. The Liberty scored in the first to go up 1-0, in the home fourth Gindl went yard to tie the score. In the fifth inning the Freedom put two on the board, Halton singled and scored on an RBI hit by Cutler, Perez singled and scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1. That would prove to be the final score, Gomez was the winning pitcher (he had worked the top of the fifth) with DeMark finishing it for the save. Every member of both teams got into the game, all position players had at least one at-bat and no pitcher worked more than one inning. The announced attendance of 8466 is the second-largest in stadium history, there were some empty seats thanks to the weather but all the tickets were sold so it counts just the same. Regular season play resumes on Friday the 15th, the Stormers host Southern Mayland over the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 7-12

There are times when it barely pays to come online and blog, the last few days were perhaps the classic example. There was no baseball anywhere, the Barnstormers were in Somerset County, New Jersey and the York Revs were in Texas for a series in Sugar Land. The only real note from the weekend was on Saturday, instead of a lunch visit in Quarryville Jenny, her mother and I did an early supper. At 5:00 we went to the local fairgrounds, the area community association was holding its annual (and somewhat belated) 4th of July celebration. Several merchants had displays set up and there were some rides for the kids, the evening wrapped up after dark with a fireworks show. We were long since gone by then, we were there just long enough to walk around, get some exercise and make it worthwhile. It was just something to do and an opportunity to get out of the house. On Monday the new week started as it usually does with lunch at the mall, on Tuesday Jenny was in town and we did lunch at the plaza. Most of pro baseball is in the respective league's all-star breaks, the big-league game was on TV from San Diego on Tuesday night. The Atlantic League's All-Star confab is on Wednesday night in Lancaster, I plan to be there if the weather is kind (there are thunderstorms in the forecast for the afternoon hours but you can never be sure). Take care, thanks for reading.

July 4-6

Monday the 4th was the nation's 240th birthday, I celebrated in the usual Monday manner with lunch at the mall. The Barnstormers were scheduled to open a series against Long Island, around 5:30 or so it began to rain. By 6:00 it was coming down hard and steady, I elected to stay in on the assumption that the game would be delayed if in fact it was played at all. Later in the evening I saw online that they not only were playing but the game had started right on time even though the rain had not ever completely stopped. Shortly before 9:00 I heard the scheduled fireworks going up, on Tuesday morning I read that the game had gone into a rain delay after four innings so they shot the fireworks and since it was still raining the game was called at that point. Since it was not an official game it will be redone as part of a doubleheader in August. On Tuesday the rain had moved on, the sun was out and it was a perfect night for baseball. On this night the teams met for a previously-scheduled doubleheader, I rode with Marty to the ballpark for the 6:00 start. In the opener the visiting Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the third, in their half the Stormers tied it on a Kevin Ahrens RBI double. Ahrens would later score on a sac fly by Caleb Gindl to put the home team up by one. In the fourth Long Island replied with two of their own, they carried that 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh (the last regulation inning of a doubleheader game). Sean Halton was hit by the pitch to start the inning, Lance Zawadzki followed with a hit to put runners at first and third. Mike McDade's sac fly scored Halton to make it 3-3, with two out Ahrens singled off the second baseman's glove to score Zawadzki with the game-winner. Pete Andrelczyk pitched a scoreless inning picking up the win in relief of starter Kelvin De La Cruz. The nightcap started shortly before 9:00, since Marty had a 4:00am wakeup call for work we called curfew at that point. Saw on Wednesday morning where Long Island won the nightcap 7-2, they weren't done until well after 11:00 (five-plus hours for a doubleheader is about par for the course). Jenny and I had our usual lunch visit on Wednesday, that was the extent of the day's activity. Over the next little while things figure to be slow, both the Barnstormers and the York ballclub are away until Friday the 15th. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 1-3

The last half of 2016 began on a Friday, Jenny was in town on business and we had lunch together at the plaza. There were showers and thunderstorms in the forecast, in mid-afternoon a torrential downpour passed through for about fifteen or twenty minutes. After the system moved on the sun came back out and the streets dried quickly, within a half-hour there was little to suggest there had been any rain at all. After supper I made my way west across the river for the evening's game in York. The Revolution and the Barnstormers met in the opener of a three-game series marking the end of the Atlantic League's first-half schedule. The Revs clinched the first-half division title earlier in the week, they are qualified for the postseason playoffs in September. On this night they played at home for the first time since the clinching and celebrated with a 4-3 win. A pair of ex-Barnstormers figured prominently in the offensive highlights for the Revs. In the third inning York took a 1-0 lead, Michael Rockett singled and scored on an RBI triple by Kevin Rivers (a 2015 Stormer recently acquired by the Revs from the New Britain Bees). In the sixth Michael Burgess doubled and scored on an RBI two-base hit by Keith Castillo (he played in Lancaster in late 2014 and early '15), Castillo scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. In the seventh Rockett reached on an error and scored on Rivers' RBI double to extend the lead to four. The Stormers rallied for three in the eighth on a Kevin Ahrens RBI groundout and a two-run home run by Josh Bell but the Revolution held on for the win. Matt Neil was the winning pitcher in relief of Micah Owings, Scott Rice (ex-New York Met) earned the save. Tanner Peters worked into the sixth inning for the Stormers and suffered the loss. On Saturday I had my usual lunch visit with Jenny in Quarryville, the rest of the weekend was spent in the coolness of my AC at home. The series in York continued in my absence, the clubs split the final two games with the Stormers winning on Saturday night and the Revs victorious on Sunday afternoon. The final first-half record for the Revs is 40-30, the Stormers are 34-35 with one makeup game yet to be played (which won't happen until August). The second half starts on Monday the 4th, the Barnstormers are at home against Long Island. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 27-30

Monday morning at the mall for lunch, in the evening we finished the spring street hockey season at the rink. The Killbots won over the Misfits to clinch the West division championship three games to one. It had to be a satisfying victory for many of the Killbots after losing in the Finals in each of the previous three seasons. We may run an informal summer draft league if there is enough interest, we would need enough individuals signed up to form at least four teams. It's been advertised for the last few weeks, we'll know more by mid-July. On Tuesday I was at the ballpark, the Barnstormers hosted the Bridgeport Bluefish in game #2 of a four-game series. The Stormers won the opener on Monday, on this night they took a first-inning lead. Popular outfielder Blake Gailen (back with the ballclub from injury) and Kevin Ahrens reached base on back-to-back singles, sacrifice flies by Josh Whitaker and Josh Bell made it 2-0. Gailen's RBI double in the second put the Stormers up by three but the Bluefish fought back with two in the fifth and one in the seventh to tie the score. In the bottom of the inning Bell singled, Sean Halton followed with a two-run home run to put the Stormers back ahead 5-3. That would prove to be the final score, Al Yevoli won it in relief of Bryan Evans with Cory Burns picking up the save. On Wednesday in game #3 the Barnstormers played severely shorthanded, between injuries and excused absences the ballclub had just one available bench player. As a result manager Butch Hobson's lineup did not include a designated hitter, starting pitcher Terry Doyle was in the batting order. The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when K.C. Hobson singled and advanced to third, Doyle helped himself with a sac fly RBI to make it 1-0. In the Bridgeport seventh the 'Fish put four on the board, the Stormers got one back in the eighth on a Caleb Gindl RBI hit but it wasn't enough as the Bluefish won it 4-2. Doyle suffered the tough-luck loss but deserved a better fate. On Thursday the homestand concluded, on this night Bridgeport broke up a scoreless game with one in the sixth and four more in the seventh, they carried a 7-0 advantage into the ninth. The Barnstormers put together a last-ditch rally on RBI hits by Sean Halton and Jeff Kobernus (back from injury) plus a two-single from Charlie Cutler but the 'Fish held on for the 7-4 win, Kelvin De La Cruz was the pitcher of record for the Stormers. The ballclub travels to York over the weekend, I plan to do the Friday game if the weather holds up (there are thunderstorms in the afternoon forecast). Take care, thanks for reading.

June 24-26

Friday night baseball on North Prince Street and my first look at the Atlantic League's newest franchise. The Camden Riversharks were a part of the ALPB for fifteen years, during the winter the franchise was sold and moved to New Britain, Connecticut. New Britain (aka "The Hardware City") hosted an Eastern League club from 1983 to 2015, chiefly as an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. In 2016 the city's new ALPB franchise debuts as the New Britain Bees. This was game #2 of a four-game series, the Barnstormers lost the opener on Thursday night in a game played despite the weather conditions. On this night it was more of the same, the Bees led 2-0 in the fourth when the game went into a rain delay. After a one-hour and seventeen-minute wait play resumed, New Britain added two more in the seventh to go up by four. The only score for the Stormers came on a Charlie Cutler solo home run in the ninth, Bryan Evans was the pitcher of record in the 4-1 loss. On Saturday the rain was long gone, as the old cliche says "it was a beautiful night for a ballgame". Jenny and her mother made their customary Saturday appearance, before the game Jenny got photos with some of the players. Back in May we had a chance meeting with Pete Andrelczyk and pitcher/infielder Justin Jackson, on this night they were kind enough to grant a photo request and for good measure Caleb Gindl and outfielder Josh Whitaker posed with her as well. The game itself was all Stormers from the word Go, Lance Zawadzki's first-inning grand slam made it 4-0. In the second a solo home run by K.C. Hobson and a two-run shot by Gindl upped the lead to seven. A six-run seventh inning put it away on RBI hits from Jackson, Cutler, Sean Halton and Kevin Ahrens, two more runs scored on an error and a wild pitch. The final count was 13-3, starting pitcher (and ex-York Rev) Kelvin De La Cruz worked into the sixth inning and earned the win. On Sunday the series finished with a rare 5:00 game, for that very reason I made an even rarer Sunday appearance. On this late afternoon/early evening the Stormers took a 1-0 lead in the second thanks to a Sean Halton long ball, the Bees tied the game with a single in their half of the fifth. In the sixth inning Lance Zawadzki became the first player in club history to hit a grand slam home run in consecutive games, his shot over the picnic tents in right field put the Stormers up 5-1. A solo home run by Josh Bell in the eighth wrapped up the 6-4 win, Tanner Peters worked six innings for the victory with Andrelczyk picking up the save. The ballclub starts a series with Bridgeport on Monday, street hockey playoffs continue at Reservoir Park as well. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 20-23

Monday morning at the mall for lunch, in the evening we were at the rink for game #2 of the West Finals. The Killbots won on this night to take a 2-0 advantage into game #3 on Tuesday. There were storms in the forecast during the afternoon on Tuesday but most of the bad weather stayed south of us along the Mason-Dixon Line. Game time was at 7:00, shortly after 6:00 a rogue shower that wasn't even on radar passed over but by game time it was gone. The Misfits faced a win-or-it's-over scenario on this night and emerged victorious to force game #4 on Thursday. Wednesday was a quiet day except for my usual lunch visit with Jenny. On Thursday the weather situation was much like Tuesday, there were showers all around but we went largely untouched. In late afternoon a major system was moving in from the northwest, at 6:00 I was at the rink when the rain starting falling. Inside of ten minutes it was an absolute deluge, the rink surface became severely puddled so we had no choice but to postpone. At 7:00 game time it was still raining, no question that we made the right call. Game #4 is on Monday the 27th, game #5 if needed would be on Tuesday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 17-19

Friday night baseball on the other side of the river, on this night I got my first look at the Bridgeport Bluefish in 2016 as they visited York in the opener of a weekend set. The Atlantic League's trade winds blew between Lancaster and York late Thursday night, the Barnstormers sending outfielder Travis Witherspoon to the Revs in exchange for pitcher Kelvin De La Cruz. Witherspoon had played a role in the Stormers' six-run inning against Sugar Land on Wednesday, his Revs debut on this night played out in an eerily similar fashion. The visiting Bluefish scored single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, they added two more in the seventh for a 4-0 lead. In the home seventh the Revolution loaded the bases with one out, Witherspoon's two-run double put the Revs on the board, That was followed in consecutive at-bats by an Isaias Tejeda RBI groundout, a run-scoring hit from ex-Tampa Bay Ray Joel Guzman and a two-run home run by Telvin Nash. When the smoke cleared the Revs led 6-4, the bullpen closed it out from there. Reliever Luis Perdomo won it in relief of starter James Simmons (no relation to the Revs outfielder of the same name), Mike DeMark earned the save. The victory was noteworthy for the franchise, it was win #238 for Revs manager Mark Mason which is the most in club history. Mason was pitching coach for three years under former manager Andy Etchebarren, he took over the top spot when Etch retired after the 2013 season. On Saturday we had our usual lunch date in Quarryville, the rest of the weekend was spent indoors away from the heat and humidity. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 15-16

Wednesday morning in Quarryville for lunch with Jenny, at the ballpark in the evening the Barnstormers continued their series with Sugar Land. The Skeeters broke on top 2-0 in the first, in their half of the inning the Stormers evened it quickly. Travis Witherspoon walked and scored on a Caleb Gindl sacrifice fly, Kevin Ahrens singled and scored on Sean Halton's RBI triple to make it 2-2. In the fifth Ahrens went yard to put the Barnstormers ahead, the lead grew to 6-2 in the seventh on an RBI double by Gindl and a two-run single by Josh Bell. A six-spot in the eighth put the game out of reach thanks to a Mike McDade solo home run, a K.C. Hobson RBI double, a two-run single from Witherspoon and Bell's bases-loaded walk, the last run scored on a double-play. The Skeeters picked up a cosmetic run in the ninth to make the final score 12-3, starting pitcher Tanner Peters (Oakland A's system) earned the win with relief support from Pete Andrelczyk and Cory Burns. Rain moved through the area on Thursday morning and early afternoon, by mid-afternoon the radar was encouraging although it was still very overcast. At 5:30 Don and I talked it over, we decided to proceed with game #1 of the West finals at the rink. It was misting lightly at 6:00 (despite the clear radar and forecast for 0% chance of rain) but by game time at 7:00 it was gone, the game went on without incident. The Killbots won over the Misfits to take a 1-0 series lead, game #2 is set for Monday the 20th. Saw on the Internet where the Barnstormers lost the rubber game of their series on Thursday, they are back home on Thursday the 23rd. Take care, thanks for reading.

June 13-14

Monday morning lunch at the mall, in the evening we were at the rink for the respective game #2s of the West semifinals. On this night the Killbots and the Misfits punched their tickets to the championship round with two-game-straight sweeps. Had either series needed a third game we would have played them on Tuesday but that was not required. We pitched starting the best-of-five finals on Tuesday instead of waiting until Thursday but since we made it optional one team opted not to do it (had Tuesday been semifinal game #3 it would not have optional). On Tuesday Jenny was in town, we had lunch at the plaza. In the evening I was at the "Clip" on North Prince Street, the Barnstormers opened a three-game set with the Sugar Land Skeeters. The visitors from suburban Houston took a 2-0 lead in the fourth, that advantage held until the Stormers batted in the sixth. Lance Zawadzki started the inning with a base hit, newcomer K.C. Hobson followed with a game-tying two-run home run. K.C. is the son of Barnstormers manager Butch Hobson, he joined the club in early June from the Toronto Blue Jays system. The 2-2 tie was snapped in the ninth, Sugar Land plated a single run and held on for the 3-2 decision. Bryan Evans started for the Stormers and worked seven innings, reliever Scott Gracey suffered the tough-luck loss. Take care, thanks for reading.