Hoppers first visit to the Yard

The Hoppers will visit the Yard tonight for the first time this season.  So far the Railroaders have confronted the Hoppers in five games all played in Hoptown, and Fulton has walked away with a 3-2 record head-to-head.  Both teams must play five more games before season’s end and all will be contested in Fulton at the Yard.

One thing is sure, the Railroaders and Hoppers have some great games.  The Hoppers have struggled the first half of the season achieving only a 7-12 record, well below .500 in win/loss percentage. The Hoppers will be fighting hard to improve and stage themselves for a downhill run in the season’s final half. They play their 20th game tonight with the Railroaders.

The Railroaders on the other hand have reached the crest, moving on with 21 games under their belt. There was no expected “slow season start” for the Railroaders as has been the history over the last five years.  No, these 2015 Railroaders have kept pace in the upper half of the standings, and their downhill run has momentum. The offense is responding when down in the in score, and come-from-behind wins and close games occur often. Of the Railroader 9 losses this season, only 2 were loss by more than 2 runs. Opponents must fight hard to overcome the Railroaders at bat.  Pitching has improved and can stand toe-to-toe with any of the teams.  Field defense has been questionable at times with errors, but they have had only 2 in the last 4 games.

 

Overall Team Stats

Batting Stats
	GP	PA	OAB	Avg	Slug	OBA	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SB	HBP	SO
RAILROADERS	22	938	758	.285	.396	.396	216	166	31	4	15	138	105	116	24	32	138
HOPPERS	18	781	670	.237	.304	.340	159	127	23	5	4	81	67	89	36	16	136

Pitching Stats
	GS	W	L	SA	BF	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	BB	HB	SO	IP	ER	ERA
RAILROADERS	22	13	9	0	852	174	140	25	4	5	87	67	24	159	196.33	54	2.48
HOPPERS	19	7	12	2	823	184	146	25	4	9	118	106	22	105	176.00	84	4.30

The engine is fired up and the players are ready to go.  Tonight’s weather is not in question and will actually be a bit cooler than this past week has been.  We’re looking forward to another great night of baseball at the Yard with the Railroaders and Hoppers.  See you there or online TeamLine.

Bombers or Rain, which will fall from the sky?

As you can see, there’s an issue with the weather for tonight game in Fulton.  We are sure to get something but the question is when, how much and how long will it last.  The cold front is west and moving east in our direction.  Time of arrival is around 5 to 6 pm and should be completely past us by 8 pm tonight. If it’s quick to move through and doesn’t dump a lot of rain, we’ll be able to the game in. We could see a rain delay to start the game.

We are just over halfway through the season and the Railroaders are currently holding their ground in the standings. A confident, first place Dubois County Bombers team is coming to the Yard to take on the second place Railroaders who are currently 2½ games behind in the standings. The two teams have met in battle five times with the Bombers taking a 3-2 lead in the season series. Both will face off for five more games, beginning tonight.

Time for the Railroaders to move ahead in the race with 19 games left.  The third place Miners trail just 1½ games behind the Railroaders and are idle tonight. The fourth place Hoppers and last place Oilers are scheduled for today in Hoptown as both teams will fight to avoid the basement.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the weather this afternoon and will update as needed if conditions change.  But for now, we’re on for more OVL baseball tonight in Fulton.  See you (hopefully) at the Yard or online TeamLine.