Final Comments for the 2016 Season

The Railroaders’ season has finally ended. The players are now returning back to their homes and schools.  Thanks to the players and coaches for some exciting moments this year. Of course we all wish the season could have continued further into the Playoffs, but all things must come to an end. We wish and hope the best to all the players along with continued success in their future endeavors both on and off the field. God bless you and safe travels.

This blog entry is the place for both fans and players to make your farewell comments.

Fan Appreciation Night at the Yard

We have finally arrived at the last regular 2016 ballgame in the Yard tonight. The always tough and 1st place Hoptown Hoppers will be playing our Railroaders for the 7th time this year. The Railroaders have only beat the Hoppers once out of six tries and a win tonight would make our final home even sweeter.

Although our season record is less than we’d hope for, there are still the post-season playoffs to look forward to. The Railroaders will play the Round One single game elimination on Monday and on the road. Where that will be is still to be determined, mostly likely in Owensboro or Dubois County. We’ll just have to wait and see how the final standings fall out.

A victory in Round One will send us on into a best-of- three game series Round Two. The first game in that round would be on the road as well with the second game at home. That would be next Wednesday if the Railroaders can put us in the position.

For now though it’s the Hoppers and Railroaders tonight. Fan Appreciation night with “specials” for everyone. Come on out and enjoy a final regular season game of baseball and support the Railroaders as they play to press forward in the season. The final regular season game will be on the road to Muhlenberg tomorrow, so you don’t want to miss tonight at the Yard!

Battle for 5th place at the UTM (not the Yard)

UPDATE: The game has been moved to UTM in Martin TN due to a rained out Yard just before game time at 5 pm. The game can be heard online at West Kentucky Star at  http://player.liquidcompass.net/WKSFIR


TeamLine will not be online tonight


With 4 games remaining in the season, the Railroaders will be playing to help secure 5th place in the standings. Either Fulton or Paducah will take this spot when the dusk clears, the loser will drop to the 6th seed for the post-season playoffs beginning next Monday. Who’s it going to be?

The doubleheader with the Chiefs at the Yard today will help determine who might get the higher seed. The Railroaders and Chiefs have met 5 times already with the Railroaders winning 3 and the Chiefs taking the other 2 games. The Railroaders will need to win at least one of the games for a tie breaker should both teams end up with the same record in the standings.

Besides the 2 games today with the Chiefs, the Railroaders have a game with the Hoppers on Friday here in Fulton and one in Muhlenberg with the Stallions on Saturday.

After today, the Chiefs will have 4 games remaining. They will play the Bombers on Thursday in Paducah, the Oilers on Friday in Owensboro, Hoppers on Saturday in Paducah and finish off the season on Sunday in Muhlenberg against the Stallions.

It has been a tough season for both teams, so anything can happen. I’m putting my money on the Railroaders though. I believe we can take 3 or the 4 remaining games, maybe even all 4 if the Hoppers (who have now secured #1 seed) decide to rest their starters. The Chiefs have a harder road to travel playing both the Oilers and Bombers who are still trying to improve their standings.

One thing is sure; it’s going to be a hot one on the field today, but the grandstand will be cooler with the fans going. Hope to see you at Yard, 5 pm first game start.

Oilers and Railroaders meet for 7th time

The Oilers return to the Yard tonight for the final meeting between the two teams in the regular season. The Oilers, currently 4th in the standings, have a 19-14 record and are 7 ½ games ahead of our 5th place Railroaders who have with their 13-23 record. The teams have met six times so far with both teams tied with 3-3 records against each other.

Although highly unlikely, mathematically the Railroaders could end up in a tie with the Oilers for 4th place. The Railroaders would have to win out on the rest of the season and the Oilers would have to lose all their remaining games. With that being said, the tiebreaker for 4th place would be the head-to-head season record between the teams. The game tonight will determine that fate.

Even under the improbable scenario explained above, we should be playing for pride at this point in the season. Let’s beat the Oilers one more time and keep the hope alive for a Round One Home game next Monday!

There are 3 more days worth of regular season home games to play; tonight with the Oilers, Wednesday a doubleheader with the Chiefs, and finally on Friday with the 1st place Hoppers. Our current homestanding record is 10-8 compared to our 3-15 road record.  Let’s keep our home record on the positive side and finish off the season on an upbeat note!

Stallions return to the Yard one more time

Let's ride 'em hard again

The Railroaders will face off with the Stallions again tonight for their last meeting in Fulton during the regular season. They will play together again a last time in Muhlenberg one week from today. Five times the two teams have fought each other with the Railroaders winning four of the contests. Hopefully the tread will continue in our favor.

With only 8 regular season games left for Fulton, winning now becomes critical for the 5th place Railroaders. We are only a half game ahead of the 6th place Chiefs and 7 ½ behind the 4th place Oilers. The Oilers have 13 games remaining to play. If we are to catch them we must win and hope the Oilers stumble and fall further.

It seems unlikely we can get into the 4th spot, but the Railroaders have added two new pitchers to help the cause. We can and should at least build some momentum heading into the post-season playoffs. It would still be nice to host a first round home game. So for now all we can do is our best. Let’s finish the regular season on a high note.

Doubleheader with the Oilers

Can we please find some steam to push ahead for a final run?

After another stinging loss on the road last night to the Miners, the Railroaders return to the Yard today for two games against the Owensboro Oilers. The first game will start a 5:00 pm and each game of course will be for 7 innings. The Oilers were rained out last night in Dubois County after only 3 ½ innings with the Bombers.

The question remains, can the Railroaders build some momentum before the post-season playoffs begin on July 25? With just 12 games remaining to play, every win counts towards improving Fulton’s position in the standings which determines playoff seeding. The Railroaders, currently in 5th place, are just a half game ahead of the Paducah Chiefs. If the season ended right now, we would be heading to Dubois County to face off with the Bombers in Round 1 for a single game elimination bout.

To get a home game in Round 1, the Railroaders must sit at least 4th in the standings. A tall order seeing we are 7 1/5 games behind the current 4th place Bombers.

Can it be done? Sure, but the Railroaders must start winning and put a nice string of victories together to do it. Only once this year have the Railroaders won 2 games in row. Not very encouraging to look back at. But that doesn’t mean things can’t turn around. I suppose we’ll see beginning today. A double win against a good team like the Oilers would go a long way to helping our cause.

Dry land at the Yard tonight

After being cooped up for nearly a week, the rain appears to have stop and play has resumed. The affect of not stretching our legs surely tainted the Railroaders ability to produce last night in Hoptown, but it’s a new day now and Stallions are heading to town.

While we may be struggling, so are the Stallions. MC dropped their doubleheader with the Miners last night by one run in both games. The Railroaders never really got out of the gate against the Hoppers in a loss I know must have made for a long ride home. Let's remember that negative thoughts won't help our cause.

It is time to pick ourselves back up and go after the Stallions again. Both teams may be at the bottom of the stack, but not out. There are 12 regular season games left to play and a higher standing is still possible. Let’s never give up and finish off the season on a high note. The playoffs are another chance we can look forward too, and anything is possible.

Let’s go Railroaders!

Rain, Rain, go away.... Railroaders want to Play

Eleven games in 5 days have floated away, and still maybe another today in DC. What's a league going to do? Lots of doubleheaders ahead for sure, plus planned days off have disappeared. Hopefully the weather will improve. One thing, it can't get any worse. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Bombers to land at the Yard tonight

 Darn, Rained out again.........

The high flying Bombers will swoop into Fulton today after handing the Hoptown Hoppers their first shutout of year last night. We’ll see how much ordnance they have left for the Railroaders as our guys load up for another round. Fulton has only shot down DC once in 4 tries this year and that was at the Yard. We’ll see what happens tonight.

The Railroaders guns have improved. The team batting average is up to .251 from .203 several weeks past. Five players are above .300 and another very close to that. With the addition of two new bats, things are looking up. We only need the spirit and will to win. If we can play a clean game in the field, we should have no problems taking down the Bombers.

There’s a chance for rain in the mid-afternoon, but there should be good weather for tonight’s game. It will be hot though, but we’ll manage well enough. See you at the Yard or on TeamLine!

4th of July Fireworks with Railroaders vs Miners

The question at the moment is whether the weather will keep us from tonight’s contest. Several short showers have come through the area and more is possible throughout the day. No word from officials yet, so the game is still on at this writing.

Assuming the evening’s celebration will happen, our 9-17 Railroaders will take on the 15-10 Miners at 5:30 p.m. CDT in Fulton with a great fireworks show following the game. Hopefully we get to see some Railroader fireworks on the field of play as well. Both the team and fans are hungry for win.

The Miners are playing good ball this season as they set in third place in the standings. They’ll be looking to extent their current 3 game winning streak. The Railroaders have met with the Miners four times thus far this season and haven’t been able to come up with win over them yet. Tonight would be good time to spoil that tread and get some momentum before the playoffs begin in 3 weeks from today.

If you’re in area, come on out to the Yard for a great American night of baseball, food and fireworks for the 4th of July. We'll be there online TeamLine should you be unable to attend.

Railroaders & Hoppers on a Saturday night

Marlene supports Pink Out

The Hoptown Hoppers return this evening having just been here this past Wednesday when the Railroaders finally beat them for the first time. The defeat for the Hoppers was the first of two in row as the Miners took them down last night in a final inning wild pitch that scored the winning run for Madisonville. We can count on Hoptown to be hopping mad not to repeat that mistake again and to play hard in preventing a third straight loss.

Unfortunately the Railroaders were unable on Thursday to pull out a final inning win over the Chiefs. I’m sure our guys will be ready too for tonight’s game. Even though we are down in the standings, there’s plenty of heart and soul in our team to continue and play hard to finish the season on a high note. After all, there are the post-season playoffs that lie ahead. All the teams will be playing and have a fresh chance redeem the season with a title.

Tonight is also cancer awareness and fight night. The Railroaders will be wearing special jerseys to be auctioned off during the game to help in cancer research. There are also other items to be auctioned as well. We’ll be giving out a phone number and more information for those of you listening on TeamLine so you can call in bids for your favorite player’s jersey or other items. Rain has come through the area, but the field is covered and the sky is clearing. The weather looks to be good by start time and the game an exciting one.

Chiefs to attack Railroaders again

The Chiefs are chasing the Railroaders in the standings and square off again tonight at the Yard. The two teams have met four times thus far with the Railroaders taking three of the games. They played in Paducah just two days ago where the Chiefs made a turned about and beat the Railroaders for the first time. They’ll be on the warpath tonight for another victory over us, especially after getting pounded last night by the Oilers 11-1 in front of their home crowd.

The Railroaders on the other hand looked pretty darn good last night with a takedown of the best in the league Hoppers, a game no one expected them to win I believe. The confidence of our team is looking strong and we’re expecting to see more of the same against the Chiefs.

The weather was great last night and will even better tonight. If you are in the area it will make for a good night of baseball to attend. The Chiefs’ fans will be here for sure, so we could use even more support for our Railroaders. It is certain to be a good game!  See you are the Yard or online TeamLine.

Hoppers first visit to the Yard this season

"Enough is Enough"

The almighty Hoptown Hoppers take on the Railroaders tonight at the Yard. With a 21-2 record and team batting average of .317 they appear to be unstoppable. Their lead in the OVL is near 8 games ahead of the nearest second place battling teams. They are certainly a challenge for any team they face.

The Railroaders struggles continue, but of late they are showing the comeback power at the plate. In their last two games they had late inning rallies from deep deficits to make the games close. They are poised to be spoilers for sure. Our guys have faced off with the Hoppers three times in Hoptown, losing every game. Tonight is a time we can end that trend.

Half of the regular season is gone now, and the hill to climb is steep. The best chance for the Railroaders I think will come in the Post-Season Playoffs. There is plenty of time and room to improve for the season finale. While tonight’s game will be tough, we can still hand Hoptown their third defeat. Let’s get the bats going early and punch out a Hopper defeat!

Valiant comeback without the victory

Although the Railroaders lost the game on Sunday to the Oilers, they once again proved they could muster what it takes to get back into a game. Down by 5 runs in the ninth inning they got what was needed at plate to tie the game. The clutch 2 out grand slam by Drew Swanson to tie shows we’re never out of it until the final out. A great effort to be applauded!

I’m really proud of these guys! We may still be down in the season but certainly not out of it yet.

Bombers headed our way

The DC Bombers have been shot down 5 times straight since the Railroaders last saw and lost to them at the Yard. Tonight will be the Railroaders’ chance to avenge that defeat and add to the Bombers losing streak.

The Railroaders are coming around now and playing some good ball against their opponents. The late inning rally last night against the Stallions shows they’re ready to pull out game when needed. Although the loss to the Miners on Thursday hurt, the Railroaders surge to a tie in last part of the game and indicated a big turnaround in their confidence that can continue to be built upon.

The Bombers have slid from second to fourth in the standing over last couple of days, and are now 4 games ahead of fifth place Fulton. A win tonight will cut that down to 3 games.

Tonight’s game will also mark the half-waypoint in the season for the Railroaders. Afterwards with 21 games remaining in the season, there is plenty of time left for Fulton to improve their position for the post-season playoffs. Let’s keep the bats hot and take down the Bombers.

Good Days and Bad Days

While the outcome wasn't in our favor last night against the Miners, the eighth inning rally by the Railroaders was a great thing to see. We were down but not out and we saw a great effort to get back into the game. For that effort, and future ones I'm sure, the boys have become the team we were looking for. Congrats for not giving up as we look forward to more of the same. Good job, guys!!

Railroaders and Miners again at the Yard

What a waste of a grand slam in last night’s game in Hoptown that gave us a lead on the first place Hoppers! One has to question what is happening with our bullpen. I haven’t a clue, that’s all I can say. Although there was only one fielding miscue in the game, is there no confidence in our error prone defensive that our pitchers are trying to over compensate?

Well….on to the next game tonight at the Yard with visiting Madisonville. The Railroaders have fought three times with the Miners and we have lost every game with them thus far. Don’t you think it’s time for a change?

Our bats are improving and we are at least even at home with a 4-4 record. It’s safe to say we are due a win for sure.  The Miners are closely chasing the Oilers and Bombers in the second and third positions; they won’t go down lightly tonight. In fact, they probably figure it will be an easy win for them over the Railroaders.

A little bit of pride can go a long way, so let’s get some. Let’s play sharp! Let’s hit the ball! Let’s do what we know we can do, and play some baseball for crying out loud!

Railroaders and Chiefs in the Yard tonight

Hex Dance for the Chiefs

Our 5-11 Railroaders take on the 4-12 Paducah Chiefs tonight at the Yard. It’s an important game for the Railroaders to win in order to stop the backward side in the standings. Fulton has faced off with Paducah twice so far and taken both games from the Chiefs, and we need to make it three.

The Chiefs gained their fourth win on the season last night against the tough Dubois County Bombers. Their appear to be finding their footing on the field along with a better team batting average of .234 compared to the a Railroader .209 average (the current OVL overall batting average is .260).

The Railroaders have signed a couple of new players and the hope is they’ll help in both the pitching and hitting areas. Ryann Gray is a RHP who saw one inning of action on Sunday (the same day he arrived) and hopefully he’ll perform better than walking all four batters he faced!

Chris Patterson from Jackson State CC has come aboard also. He should add some power at the plate with a .365 average in 50 games at JSCC. His school RBI total is 57 with 15 homeruns to his credit.

There is no better time left than now to turn our season around! The halfway point in the season is fast approaching and we can ill afford to continue losing games. It’s time to play solid ball, both defensively and at the plate. It can be done, now let’s do it!

Doubleheader with the Oilers at the Yard

We obviously need more spirit to help us get back on track (if we were ever on track), and I though perhaps my sister, Marlene, might help in the cheering section. She has certainly helped us in past and we sure need all we can get now!

Today is a big doubleheader day at the Yard with Oilers coming to town. Third place Owensboro loss last night to the Hoppers and will want to recover their footing against Fulton today.

The Railroaders have dropped 4 straight games now, so they are way overdue for a win. We’ll be looking once more for the boys to pick up their game, something they have struggle with over the last few days. What we need here is some leadership and of course some “Spirit” from the dugout to the field.

If first, second, third or fourth you don’t succeed, try, try, try again!

Have we got the Blues?

With a quarter way into the season, it’s hard not to feel down with 4-8 record placing us in 5th place and 7 games behind the leading Hoptown Hoppers. But all it not lost. There is still a lot of baseball left to play, however, we need to start turning this train around and win some games. Tonight is a good time to start as the Stallions are returning to the Yard.

Both teams tonight are struggling. Although the Railroaders have faced and won against the Stallions twice, on paper the Stallions are somewhat better in the stats. Fulton’s team batting average is .207 with MC a little better with .220. The Stallions team pitching ERA is at 5.04 while the Railroaders have a 7.36 ERA.

The Stallions are at the bottom in standings with 1-11 record and have lost their last 10 games. It won’t be easy to take them down again this time. So what and who is it going to be? The Railroaders must start to pick up their game and play some baseball that we know they’re capable of.  Warm up time is over, let’s get this engine on the right track and moving in the correct directions.

Game time is 7:00 p.m. If you’re in area come on out to game, if not, see you on TeamLine. Let’s Fire it UP!!!

Miners and Railroaders

Tonight the Miners come into town to take on the Railroaders at the Yard. This will be the second time to two teams have met this season. The first contest in Madisonville saw the Miners beat down the Railroaders with an 18-5 score. Its time for the Railroaders to even the score and take this game. Both teams stand at 3-3 on the season, a Fulton victory would pull us up a notch, maybe twoif the Oilers lose in Dubois tonight.

The stats for hitting and pitching favor the Miners, but our boys played well last night against the Stallions. The bats were a little more lively with 9 hits in the game, although there were only 3 earned runs out of 9 total scored. If they keep pushing at the plate, good things will happen.

Our thoughts tonight will also be with Colton Aldridge and Andrew Swanson. Colton is out with a cast on his leg, and we hope all is going well for Andrew who was hurt last night in the game with the Stallions. No report on his current condition.

It will be a nice warm night and a good one for baseball. We’re looking for the Railroaders to be hot as well and to get this train going with a full head of steam. Enough fooling around, it’s time to pick up the pace. See you at the Yard or on TeamLine.

Try again for a win, Chiefs tonight

After dropping the last two games, it appears we need to work on the engine a little and get the engine in better running order. Boilerstoker knows how urge more power out this baby, so I’m too concerned about our future performance. Seems we always have this problem at the beginning of each season. New parts always take a little time to break themselves in before maximum efficiency is achieved.

Tonight at the Yard the 1-2 Railroaders take on the 1-2 Chief from Paducah, our first meeting with the second newest team in the OVL. Since Paducah is closer to Fulton in distance than the other teams, we can expect the Chiefs to have pretty nice following of Fans to accompany them tonight.

With that said, its time for the Railroaders Fans to meet the challenge and to head to Yard tonight to help offset the support the Chiefs surely will have. The weather will be nice and food as well! Boilerstoker and I will have everything put back together and ready by game time. And our coaches are doing the same with the crew. All we need is You! See you at Yard or on TeamLine, 7 pm start.

Bombers attacking the Yard tonight

After the rainout last night, it will feel good to back to business tonight with the Dubois County Bombers flying into town. The Bombers have one game and win under their belt, and I’m sure they’re looking for another against Fulton.

The Railroaders may have had a bad outing against Madisonville on Friday, but they’re loading up for the Bombers and be looking to improve their 1-1 record with a win over the 2015 league champs tonight. It should be a good game and great weather for baseball.

It is still early in the season, with no clear picture on the real strengths of any team yet. In the first 3 days of the season and 9 total league games scheduled, only 5 have been played with 4 rained out.

Spirits are high though at the Yard and the Railroaders are starting to come together as a team. If you’re in the area, come on out to Yard for the game and check out the new "Taco Dog" on the food menu. If not, join us on TeamLine as Josh returns to help call the game. Fire it up!

Another Season at the Yard

 Well its that time of year again for Railroader baseball in Fulton. Tonight we are joined in the press box with our old friend Rattler who will help us with our TeamLine webcast. His beard is new, but it really doesn't help his appearance any. And as always, Boilerstoker is on hand with the MC duties at the Yard.

Tonight the 2016 Railroader crew will take on the new Stallions from Muhlenburg County KY under the direction of Steve Fowler (who is not new to the OVL). The Railroader roster is eager to open the season at Home in Fulton. New Railroader Manger/Head Coach Jake Oester has the team fired up and ready for the game.

The weather is our only concern at this time, but with a bit of luck the game should start on schedule at 7 pm. We hope to see you at the Yard or online with TeamLine. Let's Play Ball!!!

2016 Roster Overview

Just over 2 weeks before the 2016 season begins and the Railroader Roster contains 27 players total. It appears Fulton has stacked the team for a home field advantage. The Yard’s short right field with Little Monster certainly gives left-handed hitters the best chance to pop one out. There are 14 total left-handed hitters on the roster with 11 of them that play fielding positions. Half the 14 are lefty pitchers. We will have to wait to see if more homeruns in the Yard are a result.

There are 14 pitchers total (7 right and 7 left) on the roster, with 6 of them capable of playing other positions. There are 4 dedicated catchers to firm up the battery.

Two players from last year’s team are returning, Colton Aldridge and Jacob Elliott. Additionally, 2015 player Lee Haeberle is returning to serve as a pitching coach and he is joined by a second new assistant coach, Luke Harris.

All around, the team for 2016 is looking pretty good. Our new Manger/Head Coach Jake Oester appears to have great crew to work with. It won’t be long now until the “crack of the bat” will be heard again at the Yard. First game is at home, Thursday, June 2 against a new Stallions team. See you at the Yard!