 |
Tim McClaskey 4-4, 3.95 ERA |
| Tim Drew 4-5, 5.10 |
|---|
The Barnstormers have this opening day thing down pat. They’re 4-0 after last night’s late-inning drubbing of Bridgeport. The second game hasn’t gone too badly for Lancaster, either. The Barnstormers started 2-0 each of the past two seasons. They’ll look to extend that streak tonight.
McClaskey is making his first start since June 1. He missed nearly three months of last season recovering from Guillan-Barre Syndrome. The righthander is a key part of the rotation, so it’ll be interesting to see how he fares in his first outing at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
Drew is the brother of J.D. and Stephen. Remarkably, all three of them were first-round draft picks and all three have played indy ball. Tim Drew spent last season with Aiken of the now-defuct South Coast League. The former big leaguer hasn’t pitched in affiliated ball since 2005.
Lineup musings …
Manager Von Hayes said we can expect to see Ian Bladergroen get the bulk of the time at 1B with Matt LeCroy usually serving as DH. Mike Woods, Jarred Ball and Jutt Hileman will rotate between two outfield slots, while Brian Stavisky will be in the lineup virtually every day in RF.
No matter who’s in the lineup, they all love the Clip.
“I like hitting here,” Stavisky said. “I think everyone does. It’s the way batting practice has been going, seeing the way the ball flies. Yeah, right field is short, but there’s hits all over the park.”
Links:
*Game 1 story at LancasterOnline.
*Dawes has a fan’s perspective of Game 1 at his new blog.
*ALB.com reports that Brian Adams, the Atlantic League pitcher of the year in 2007, is back with Somerset. Dust off your lame 80s pop song references. They’re back in style.
*Milb.com has a feature on retired INF John Wolff and his dad.
Lineups …
(0-1) |
(1-0) |
|---|---|
| Adam Greenberg, CF | Mike Woods, LF |
| Bobby Darula, LF | Danny Gonzalez, SS |
| Jesse Hoorelbeke, 3B | Matt LeCroy, DH |
| Calvin Pickering, DH | Brian Stavisky, RF |
| Luis Lopez, 3B | Lance Burkhart, C |
| Brian Peterson, C | Ian Bladergroen, 1B |
| Jake Daubert, 1B | Vasili Spanos, 3B |
| Ryan Bear, RF | Jutt Hileman, CF |
| Alex Prieto, SS | Lloyd Turner, 2B |
Scoring summary:
| Bluefish | 103 | 000 | xxx | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Barnstormers | 002 | 140 | xxx | 7 | 12 | 0 |
FINAL: Barnstormers 7, Bluefish 4
Game shortened to six innings because of rain.
Bluefish 1st: Darula hits solo home run.
Bridgeport leads 1-0.
Bluefish 3rd: Darula’s sacrifice fly scores Prieto. Hoorelbeke’s home run scores Greenberg.
Bridgeport leads 4-0.
Stormers 3rd: Turner’s single scores Hileman. Stavisky’s single scores Turner.
Bridgeport leads 4-2.
Stormers 4th: Bladergroen hits solo home run.
Bridgeport leads 4-3.
Stormers 5th: Hileman’s triple scores Burkhart, Bladergroen and Spanos. Turner’s single scores Hileman.
Lancaster leads 7-4.
RECORD: 2-0
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jutt Hileman
2-for-3, double, go-ahead three-run triple in the fifth inning
Remember Jutt? He’s somewhat lost in the shuffle with all of the Barnstormers’ new acquisitions, but he remains as steady as ever. The fact that Hileman, who often batted third or fourth last season, bats eighth on this team is a testament to the lineup’s depth.
The pitchers:
*Tim McClaskey earned his first win. There’s nothing dazzling about this 32-year-old righthander. He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball or a plus offspeed pitch, but he’s a good fit for this team. He won’t walk many and he’ll usually keep the game close enough. With this offense behind him, he’ll be a big winner here.
*Nate Hoelscher retired Calvin Pickering and Jake Daubert to escape a sixth-inning jam. He could be the Barnstormers best option as a lefty specialist.
The hitters:
*Ian Bladergroen smashed his second home run in as many nights. As one of the charter members of the “Bladergroen will have a big year at the Clip” bandwagon, I encourage you to climb aboard. Blade, as he’s called, is sporting the .667 average.
*Lloyd Turner had two hits and two RBIs in his first start at second base. One of the most difficult tasks in assembling an Atlantic League team is building a good bench. Most players who come to this league expect to play everyday. With Turner, OF Jarred Ball and C Manny Mejia, the Barnstormers have plenty in reserve.
*The lineup once again worked long at-bats. Bridgeport starter Tim Drew left after four innings because he threw 75 pitches, which is the same scenario that knocked Eric DuBose out of Game 1. If you get into the middle relief in the Atlantic League, you can do some damage.
*Reigning AL MVP Jesse Hoorelbeke smashed a two-run homer for Bridgeport. He’s the best right-handed power hitter in this league since Nashua’s Brian Becker in 2005.
*Every starter had at least one hit.
*Matt LeCroy got his first knock. He’s 1-for-8 this season.
*Vasili Spanos has reached safely five times in eight plate appearances.
*The Barnstormers are 2-0 for the third year in a row. They hope this season follows the path of 2006 rather than 2007.
*The Yorkies are 0-2. David Keller is taking Adam Gladstone to school in this season-opening series.
the ball hawks make their ‘08 debut tonight.
In fact – our whole little league team is here. We’re the “Field of Dreams” team for tonight.
Cheer loudly.
Cuz if you don’t, I know where most of you sit. And the hawks will swoop down and snag t-shirts, cups, frisbees, etc. that I.M. Fun tosses your way
(we cross-train. we’re not all about baseballs this year
)
Can we have a Designated Runner for the Designated Hitter?? lol Just a designated thought.
Aunt Annies is a welcome addition but the added Prices aren’t.
Anxious to see Ball and Woods at top of a Lineup.
Did they fix all the Potholes in RF yet?? *grin*
I thought Guillan Barre played for Hershey.
Field was in excellent shape last night. Grounds crew did a nice job evening out the area around home plate…last year if you looked down the lines from home plate to the bases there was an uphill sorta slant close to home plate. (or downhill depending on how you look at it) Also the dirt was perfect and not the overwatered areas like last year. Good job by our new groundskeeper!
Ditto #4. You could not even tell we had a rink in right field.
Agree 100000%. Field was in excellent shape….I was just commenting about several stumbles in the OF….that I’m sure weren’t caused by a bad field. Sorry for the tongue- in- cheek.
I hope the rain keeps it’s distance.
LeCroys batting third now. Interesting. I know Von said he has no problem switching things up, but if he is gonna do that, I would of put Bladergroin batting third and Big Boy LeCroy fifth.
One late note from last night…I saw the reporter from channel 21 and Jeff Hostettler at the game last night. I didnt realize Jeff was so small of stature. The 21 lady could have taken him an UFC bout.
I want to congratulate the stormers on a late game winning rally…something which was none existant last year. I also go along with the comment…I hope the rain stays away…even tho the radar shows it’ll only cause a rain delay. Go Stormers!!
DOH!
LETS GO WOODS!!
LeCroy and Stavisky… hopefully the biggest one two punch in the Atlantic League. Imagine if we still had Perry!
LETS GO GREASE!
Just got the kiddo off to the Prom… howz the game???
OK, lets show our brand new offense!
Oh hey Syd, sorry I didn’t see you there. Game is interesting. I have a feeling we’ll get these runs back.
Hi Dave & Tom… soundin good guys
This is fun.. got the Flyers on TV and Stormers in the ear… LOL
Runs Back… whats goin on there ????
Hellooooo Dave, Score???
WHOOOOO!!! One run at a time!
I love Brian Stavisky… I’m betting He’s gonna be the FIRST to go
Oh, thank goodness your here Mr. B…. Thought I was gonna have to blog all alone tonight
Holy Crab… you guys have the weather radar on at the Clipp??
Lookin Nasty out there soon
So what is the score tonight???? I am out and about
Bladergroin is HHHHOT!!
3 – 4 Bridgport. But we’re coming back.
Yeah.. you can say that again … Hot Hot Hot !!!
thanks….for the update
Lets wrap up a win before mother nature has her way with us.
Flyers are up 3-1
I wish I could say the same for my Boston Bruins
I wish I could say the same for my Boston Bruins
I’m pretty sure that if I keep saying Bladdergroin, Dave or Tom will slip and say it on the air. It’s almost hard not too once it’s in your head.
ONe more time… Ha ha Ha
THat’s too funny… not to Ian though
WHOOOOOO!!!!
Your the man Jutt
The MG Tom?? SAW AND HEARD YOU LEAVE THE OTHER DAY
That last piece of lightning opened up a wormhole in my living room. I’m going in!! Wish me luck…. viva Andromeda!
I think the only nationality missing from the Barnstormers is Asian.
Hey the imaging center commercial is back! Its only a matter of time before that single goes to the top of the charts.
Ahhh, the Crack-A- Lackin trap team is back
oops that’s tarp team
Jasons back! Congratulations on Bosco getting his eagle scout patch tonight. I know you guys had your “times”.
Well it was fun while it lasted…almost everyone turned in a good performance. McClaskey was a little rough but I saw promise in there. Nice to see a little more hustle out of Gonzalez, too. Bladergroen’s one-man double play was the highlight of the game, in my opinion. And yeah, it is hard not to say Bladdergroin once you hear it.
Is the game in a delay or is it “officially” called???
Last I heard from Dave it’s still in a delay.
no balls tonight for the boys.
but they got the pizza from I.M. Fun!
I walked down to the front row (sec. 1) and pretended to take the pizza for the parents and the bullpen looked like they were ready to jump the wall and pummel me.
mental note: don’t mess with the pen.
thanks again.
I see that with Hileman’s triple the barnstormers hit with the bases loaded. That is new from last year. Nice job.
Sounds like it’s been called. ‘Stormers win!
Once again a come from behind victory. Great job guys.
And how the heck far did Ian Blad hit that HR to right field? It was WAY over the picnic tents, and from what I could see what about half way up the light pole. Did I see it correctly?
Impressive.
However, whomever was batting third for the BB’s had his own impressive shot. I was sitting on the lawn benches in left and his HR his 3/4 up the hill right behind me. Golly.
Can’t wait until we get in there again!
“his HR hit 3/4 up the hill”
dang typos.
Jason,
You need to list the defensive gem of the game to go with your (offensive) player of the game.
Thanks
Has the pitch speed radar worked yet?
Oh, and Spanos and Woods roll their pants up…ya gotta love that.
pack,
I don’t list a defensive gem because I only see about half the games. It’s hard to pick out a good defensive play from the box score or the radio.
Also, djspleen’s avatar is disconcerting.
gotcha…..that makes sense. Thanks for all the info that you do provide.
Defensive play of the game. Runner on first one out Bladergroen is holding a runner on. Goes off the bag and makes a cross the body dive to get the line drive and then tags firstbase. Unassisted double play to finish the inning.
Danny looked a little better at short but his bat was still a little weak.
And the last thing, Turner can run the bases really good.
You can always call him Blade, I figured with all the Pennsylvania Dutch in your neck of the woods the name would be pronounced correctly but here’s how it goes..BLADE-ER-GROWN or as his family has gone by over the years BLADE…
I thought DGon’s jump throw was tremendous. Was that the 4th inning? I forget exactly, but it was a fantastic defensive play.
Lil Fil,
Thanks for those insights. I do appreciate those points since I didnt get a chance to attend tonight. Sounds like the defensive gem of the game to me. Thank you very much for the full description.
djspleen,
Thanks for that picture too. I thought Nelson’s arm failed to make a play twice last night that Gonzalez would have made.
WHAT A GAME.
I am with you on the Ian train Jason. The dude was made for the clip. He has a real smooth swing. It is nice to see a team be behind and come back to win. It builds confidence.
And Dannys two or three great plays. His dive for the ball was a big effort too. Made me a believer. He has been a real big asset in defense and great plate discipline.
We start over tomorrow. One game at a time.
Yeaaaaa,all aboard the Blade’s bandwagon.
I thought that Jutt and Danny took too many called third strikes last year. I didnt know if it was pitches that were close enough not to let go by or if the umps just blew the calls.
Danny and Jutt both had nice at bats last night. I am glad to see that trend is continuing.
Welcome Basemom, Yippeeee another woman on the blog
Flyers beat the Habs and Stormers are undefeated.. what next? Maybe Patterson will get that all important phone call… I wish !!
Looks like the weather will be good for the game Sunday. Everyone keep your camera’s ready during the pre-game festivities
Bumper Boat Alert ……
They will need to put a net over the harbor. One of the workers got wacked by a BP HR before the game. They were waiting for Mrs Barney when we got there tonight. They have one in the front for now, but I’m sure one will be going over the top (at least I hope it is).
Stormin’ …. I saw you but didn’t get a chance to say hello. I’ll stop tomorrow.
Syd … you asked what’s next? How about those Phillies!
Wasn’t Bruney the guy the Yanks kept over Patterson?? If so, he’s out for awhile, several months I believe. *Ring*