Final Comments for 2017 Season

The Railroaders final game has closed the 2017 season for Fulton. The ups and downs of the season are now a part of our history and of course our memories.

Our opening game in Fulton is one we’ll never forget; coming back in the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 outs down by 5 runs and scoring 6 that included a game winning walk off grand slam. It was certainly one for the books.

Sweeping a doubleheader against the top of the league Bombers at the Yard, and beating them in their own League Stadium to begin the post season playoffs.

Although we had a questionable start for the first half of season and loss a few key players to injury, the team didn’t quit and their desire to battle to the end was contagious. They didn’t let their mistakes stop them and came back in several games to win or make it close.

As one broadcaster from another team put it, “The Railroaders are the most dangerous team to play” and I agree. No lead was safe enough to count them out. Sure, the Railroaders were beaten soundly in a couple of games, but they did not give up. That says a lot about each and ever player on the Railroaders.

I wish the best of luck to every one of the 2017 players and the hope future endeavors are successful. We the Fans, Families, and Management salute you!

If you’d like to leave your comment, here’s the place to do it. Until next year when the train rolls again!.

Tonight: Playoffs Game Two of Round One

As one of the Dubois broadcasters put it, the Bombers were “Railroaded” by our guys last night. The road victory for the Railroaders was only their 6th win on the road this season out of 21 total away games to date. And of the 5 total games between the two teams thus far, the Railroaders have won 3 against the Bombers, the best team in the OVL, I call that impressive.

Tonight, at the Yard in Fulton, the Railroaders and Bombers will go again with a chance for Fulton to eliminate the Bombers from the playoffs and advance to the Semi-Final Round. Should the Railroaders lose, they will have to return to Dubois on Sunday for a third and deciding game in Round One.

The Railroaders appear to be fired up to make a solid run in the Playoffs. I still believe they are the team that can do it too. I recommend we end Round One today!

We need all available Fans to come out tonight to support our Railroaders. The Bombers attendance last night was 289 (relatively low for Dubois). I believe we can do better tonight!  For those who can’t make it, we’ll be online with TeamLine.

Hope springs eternal

Dad and Mom always said, "Hope springs eternal!"

The loss last night to the Chiefs unfortunately placed Railroaders at the bottom of the West for good I think. The only chance Fulton has to take 3rd place requires the Chiefs to beat the Flash tonight, and the Railroaders win over the Stallions with scoring 31 runs. That would leave invoke the second tiebreaker of most runs scored (Head-to-head Miners & Railroaders 4-4, Runs scored Miners 269 & Railroaders currently 239). I’m sorry to say, I don’t believe that is going to happen.

With all that behind, we must look forward to the post season playoffs. It will be a difficult road for the Railroaders. Round One will begin Friday with the Railroaders traveling to Dubois County to take on the Bombers for the first game of the best of three series. Saturday Fulton will host the second game at the Yard. If a third game is necessary it will be in Dubois.

It’s the last chance for the Railroaders to shine. It will be tough, but it can be done though. The Railroaders held their own against the mighty Bombers beating them 2 of 4 games this season; they just need to beat them on the road. Fulton’s road record is a dismal 4-15 so far. Hopefully they can get a road win tonight and finish the regular season on a positive note. Time to move on to the playoffs with fire in our eyes.

The Situation Room

The loss by Fulton and the win by Madisonville over Paducah last night sent the Railroaders to the bottom of the West Division standings. Paducah dropped to 3rd in the standings losing to Madisonville who moved up to 2nd place.

In order for the Railroaders to retake the 2nd seed and home field advantage in Round One of the Playoffs:

1. The Railroaders must win tonight against the Chiefs in Paducah AND beat the Stallions in Mulhenberg on Wednesday.
2.  The Hoppers will have to defeat the Miners tonight, which will complete Madisonville’s regular season.
3.  The Chiefs’ final game on Wednesday against the Flash won’t matter.

When the smoke clears, any tie in the standings between the Railroaders and either the Miners and/or Chiefs will move Fulton down as both teams have won the tie breaker.

Road games have not been kind to the Railroaders this year. Hopefully the final two games will be a turn around for Fulton. Time will tell. The question remains, will we play on Friday or Saturday at the Yard?

Time to make some quick repairs and keep going

Too many leaks last night kept us from getting a full head of steam. Let’s plugged the situation up and get back to winning. Only 3 games to go before the Playoffs. If we want a better seed position, wins are a must now.

On to Hoptown tonight. Tomorrow in Paducah again, and Wednesday at the Stallions. What’s it going to be?

There is on sure way to win the 2nd seed in the West. If the Railroaders can win their final 3 games, they will have the West's second standing sown up. If not, there are several combinations that would need to occur. Bottom line, it's up the team to get victories on the Road.

The unknown that stands for now is whether we host a home playoff game on Thursday or Friday.

Battle for # 2 spot tonight

Tonight is the final home regular season game for the Railroaders. With only 5 games remaining, the race in the West standings for 2nd place couldn’t be any tighter. The 1st place Hoppers have secured the West’s top seed. The Chiefs and Railroaders both have 16-19 records; the Chiefs currently hold the tiebreaker having beaten the Railroaders in 4 of 5 head-to-head games. The Miners with a record of 16-20 with only 4 games remaining are trailing only a half game behind us. The 2nd seed for the playoffs is important for Round One Home field advantage.

The Railroaders face off with the Chiefs 3 more times starting tonight a Fulton’s Fan Appreciation Night. There is no need to say how important this game will be. The Railroaders will play the Chiefs again on Sunday and Tuesday, both times in Paducah of course. Fulton’s other 2 games will be one on Monday in Hoptown and on Wednesday in Muhlenberg with the Stallions if necessary.

Fulton has added replacement players for those who have been taken out, mainly in the pitching area. No new players can be signed on after today by any OVL team.

The Post Season is looming ahead and the Railroaders are working hard to secure a higher seed for the Playoffs. We’ll need all hands on deck tonight at the yard to help the Railroaders get back on the winning track after a single loss to the Bombers last night (For note though: we took them out 2 of 3 straight games, no other team can say that).

See you at the Yard or online TeamLine. Let’s roll Railroaders!

High Flying Bombers headed our way

Good win last night against the Chiefs. We’ll see three more times, the first on Saturday at the Yard for our last home game of the regular season. The race in the West is tight for everyone below the leader Hoptown who is 4 games above the current 2nd place Chiefs. The Miners and Railroaders close behind at 5 games back.

The Railroaders have 8 games remaining and still a chance to improve in the standing. Today we have a doubleheader in Fulton against a dominant Bombers team who has already clinched the East Division title. This will be the toughest challenge yet for the Railroaders. Only once have we met them and loss 5-2 in Dubois. The Railroaders will also have to travel tomorrow to Dubois for a third and final game against the Bombers.

Post Season Playoff series begin week from today. The best of three games Round One will pit the #1 seed against the #4 seed and #2 against #3 teams in each division. Home field advantage will go the higher seeds, meaning game one and three (if necessary) will be played at the higher seed’s field.

The Railroaders have their best chance to take the #2 position with only a one game separation between the three lower teams. The #1 spot is still in the picture at this point but appears to be a long shot. The final dash starts tonight. See you at the Yard or on TeamLine today, 5 pm start. Let’s go Railroaders!

Chiefs on the warpath

First of all, the loss to Hoptown last night hurts as we were simply out played. BUT it’s over and done. Let’s put it to rest and move on.

Now we must face off with the Chiefs tonight in Fulton.  We have 4 more games with the warriors before closing the regular season. Four times before we have fought with the Chiefs and 4 times we’ve lost the battles. “Why?” I asked myself. So I cloaked myself and infiltrated the head-to-head numbers to investigate.

The most glaring difference between these teams is Runs and Earned Runs. The Chiefs have given up 16 runs to the Railroaders and 14 of them were earned. However, the Railroaders have allowed the Chiefs 33 runs total with 22 earned. The 10 errors Fulton had must have contributed to that, Paducah had only 4 against us. The Railroaders have improved of late in the area, so we should be ready to resolve that issue.

No doubt the Chiefs pitching has assaulted the Railroaders. Their team ERA is 3.50 against us while ours is 5.82 against them. We can improved in that area as well. Bobo is back from his injury and another fresh new arm may be coming our way.

The Chiefs have been timely at the plate battling us. Of their 33 runs scores, 28 were RBI. Percentage wise the Railroaders right are there with them, 13 RBI for 16 runs total.  Hits are pretty much equal, Chiefs have 41 and Railroaders 39. Runners left on base are 30 for the Chiefs and 40 for the Railroaders.

There are 9 games total left to play before the Post-Season contest. Fulton has 3 days of Home games to complete with one tonight, a doubleheader tomorrow (Bombers) and Saturday against the Chiefs again. We need Fan support at all them. Hope you can make to the Yard for some intense baseball. Let’s fire it up!

Two down, next game up is Hoppers at the Yard

"I was told he does a really good job"

Good win last night with a little nail biting at the end just to make it a somewhat sweeter. The quest continues tonight the Hoptown Hoppers coming into Fulton. It will be another great night for baseball, warm but the humidity reasonable.

The Railroaders and Hoppers have met 5 times thus far with a 3-2 record in favor of the Hoptown. There are 3 more regular season games between them, one here tonight and 2 in Hoptown. The Hoppers remain 5 games above us in the West and in first place. A victory tonight will help our cause.

On paper head-to-head, these two teams are pretty even. Going against each other, the team pitching ERA for the Railroaders is 6.55 compared to the Hoppers 6.60. Both teams have given up 33 earned runs to each other.

The Hoppers have scored a total of 46 runs against the Railroaders who in turn have produced 41 runs Team batting average is close as well, Railroaders .274 and the Hoppers .277. Salata really likes to hit the Hoppers. His average is .529 in 5 games and has 4 of his 8 homeruns off Hoptown pitching. We’ll see how he does tonight!

Finally, I see that Junior has taken a tip from Bobo last night and decided to have the team’s barber, Carrington Wilson, give him some style. I’m not quite sure it will improve his looks though. He’ll be on TeamLine tonight as usual with another player (hopefully) providing some more insight. Or I see you at the Yard!

One game at time, Miners next.

One step at a time to the top.

After a win on Monday, then two postponed games on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Railroaders find themselves at the bottom of the latter, 5.5 games behind the West leading Hoppers. They are 2 games behind the Chiefs and 2.5 games behind the Miners. This makes tonight’s game an important step up for the Railroaders.

With a record of 11-17, Fulton has 12 games left to produce a comeback in the 11 days remaining in regular season. The second place 15-16 Miners have only 9 games left to play. These two West teams have met 7 times their final regular season game tonight. The Miners lead the season series 4-3. It is needless to say the significance this game in elevated. 

What about the rest of our season? Excluding tonight game, in the West the Railroaders have 4 games with the Chiefs and 3 with Hoptown. In the East there remains 3 games with the Bombers and one with the Stallions. The next week will reveal it’s own results in it’s own good time. We really don’t need to look at the end of the road. Playing the game at hand will take us to the finale. So for now, I say focus on the game in front of us.

The Miners have added a couple of new players of late and have faltered a bit losing 3 or their last four games. The Railroaders broke out of a 6 straight game loss on Monday with a convincing victory over the Stallions. Our team played with enthusiasm and the fans were there to fuel the fire. The Railroaders are poised to make a run and I still believe they can do it. One game at a time!

What’s next? Stallions today, maybe?

The first question to be answered: Will the Yard dry out enough for our 4th of July game today, which is scheduled for an earlier 5:30 p.m. start?

Second question: Knowing we’ll see fireworks after the ballgame, will we see fireworks during the game? And if so, will it be coming from the Railroaders or Stallions, or both?

The third question: Can and will the Railroaders end their 6 game losing streak tonight?

Number four: With are only 13 games remaining in the regular season, can Fulton (who is 5.5 games behind in the West) still improve their standing before the playoffs begin?

Fifth question: Who is hungry for a victory? Fans? Owners? Online listeners? Coaches? Players?

There is no need for comments here concerning what’s wrong. We need solutions!  I for one believe a comeback is still possible (at lease mathematically). So Final question is, who else believes?

Bombers to attack the Yard tonight

After a hard rain this morning, hopefully the field will dry in time for the game. The mighty Bombers fly into Fulton to take on the Railroaders for their second meeting this year. The Bombers are definitively a force to contend with. Last night the Railroaders fell to Dubois County losing their 5th game in a roll.  Time to turn it around! 

We can ill afford to make mistakes with the Bombers. They have won 20 games thus far compared to the Railroaders' 10 wins. I'm sure they will be very confident coming into the Yard. But baseball can produce surprising results, especially against a team that appears to be struggling (or are we). So how about it Railroaders? Think we can come up with something special? I do and I expect a good game that is before us tonight. Let's fire it and get back on the winning track!

Let's get a Win

The Railroaders got 6 runs across the plate last night just couldn't hang with the 14 hits and 11 runs for the Miners. The hits just found holes in the Railroaders defense. Good to have Pablo on the mic with me last night and tonight is his night to get the game ball. He expressed last night that the Railroaders are striving and working for a win. We will see tonight if Pablo and the rest of the Railroaders can step up and get that well needed win! Let's go Railroaders! Hang in there it's not too late!

Wounded but not out yet, Miners next

Someone get the number of that bus?

As one comment posted last evening put it; last night was more like “Little Big Horn” than what was expected. We now find ourselves at the bottom in West 3.5 games behind the top dog, and only a half game behind the tied up Chiefs and Miners. The are 17 games left to play before post season. What’s it going to be?

The Miners are up next for 2 games, one tonight in Fulton and in Madisonville tomorrow. We are ahead 3-1 on the Miners to date, the only team we own thus far. But the Miners are flying high after taking out the Hoppers last night. They’re sure to be looking for revenge with the Railroaders. No time to lick our wounds now. Let’s get back up on our feet and go again!

Errors continue to plague some teams

I think we are fortunate to be in a relative close division in a tight race for second and only 3 games behind the leader. The biggest issue for some of the teams, including the Railroaders, is errors. The current statistics speak for themselves. The issue remains, get on track defensively in the field and better standing will be achieved. Everything else is on track including a great ability the Railroaders have to come back in a game regardless of the score. Let’s just get it straighten out on the field of play. And that’s all I have to say about that!

With 18 games left in the regular season, there's plenty of time left to take this race. At the Yard tonight with the Chiefs once more. Time to turn it around!

On to the Chiefs

Great comeback last night after a frightening start. Truly "an edge of your seat" ballgame to watch. Excellent job regaining your footing after a couple of mistakes. Keep up the good play and the winning streak.

Now on to Paducah tonight for the Chiefs and tomorrow at the Yard. We've met them twice and loss both game, so it's time to even the score in these two game series. Keep that winning spirit and attitude. Over half through the regular season and on the downhill stretch. Roll the Train!

Time to corral the Stallions

Tonight we play a make-up game with the Stallions that was rained out Sunday last week. The 7-12 Stallions are coming into Fulton after a victory over the Chiefs last night and are currently in 4th place in the East Division standings. Our 9-11 Railroaders now have 2 straight wins and are looking for more. Fulton remains in 3rd position in the West Division, just 2 games behind the leader Hoptown.

The Railroaders have played the Stallions only once in Muhlenberg and were beaten. Today the Steeds come to the Yard for a little corralling by the Railroaders. Including tonight, we have 3 more regular season games with Muhlenberg. We need take these games.

Our bats have proven themselves. Pitching continues to improve. The ability to come back in a game has been demonstrated. However, fielding should be focused on reducing or eliminating errors, wild pitches and passed balls. Of 152 runs scored against us, only 107 were earned. There are 45 unearned runs we’ve given up to our opponents, 30% of the total runs allowed. Five of the Railroaders 11 losses were a result of unearned runs scored by the opposition.

Remove mistakes and we win more games. I know the occasional error will occur, but the mental mistakes need to go. Let’s see a clean game tonight and I’m betting we win our 3rd straight game. Keep the streak going! See you at the Yard or online TeamLine.

15 straight days of play

Our victory last night over the Oilers was the first of 15 continuous days the Railroaders will have games to play until the All-Star break. The next two weeks will be significant to the league standings since only 7 games will be left in the regular season after the break. The West division continues to be tight, so every win keeps us in the hunt for a top spot for the post season playoffs.

Time for the Railroaders to get hot and stay hot. Keep errors down, bats making contact and strong pitching from the mound. The team looked good last night recovering quickly after a shaky start. Let's keep play sharp the whole game, we'll need it. Now go take out the Oilers in Owensboro.

The Oilers for two more games

The Owensboro Oilers return to the Yard tonight for the first of two games with the Railroaders. The second game will be in Owensboro on Sunday. These will be the final regular season games we have with the Oilers who have beaten us twice already. The question remains if the Railroaders can turnaround that trend.

Having loss 4 straight games now, the Railroaders, including the Fans, need an attitude check. Charles Swindoll wrote, “..life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how we respond to it” and I firmly believe that to be true. We are only defeated if we get knocked down and don’t get back up.

The rainout yesterday gave an unexpected extra day to rest this week. However, the Railroaders now have seven straight days of games to play without a break, beginning with the Oilers. Both teams are in 3rd in their respective divisions and have played 18 games. The Oilers are a game better with an 8-10 record over the 7-11 Railroaders. Enough said on stats other than to say the Railroaders are much better than their current record indicates.

As we approach the mid point of the regular season, tonight would be a good time to reverse the current trend, both on and off the field. Players, Coaches and Fans need to pick up their game play. Let’s stoke up a good head of steam and get a win!

Hoppers and Railroaders tonight at the Yard

Our defeat last night evened and completed our regular season record with the Flash; both teams are 2-2 head-to-head for the regular season. Since we only play the East division teams 4 times, we won’t meet up again unless the Post Season Playoff schedule requires it.

Tonight, with the weather permitting, the Hoppers return to Fulton for another game with the Railroaders. This will be the 5th meeting for the two West Division teams. The regular season records between the teams thus far is 2 wins and 2 losses each with 4 more games total left to play. The West continues to be close with the Railroaders (now standing in 3rd place) only 2 games behind the Hoptown with Fulton wedged a half game behind the Miners and a half game ahead of the Chiefs. 

The 6th game with the Hoppers is scheduled for tomorrow in Hoptown, but it is looking more like the rain will be the winner on Friday with ‘Cindy” coming on shore today. Let’s hope we can get the game tonight in and a win to go with it.

Railroaders vs The Flash

The East swept the West in last night OVL action, so the standings remain the same for both Divisions. While the East Bombers appear to be running away leading their division by 5.5 games. The West is a different story and a much tighter division with the Hoppers only one game ahead of the Railroaders and 1.5 games in front of the Chiefs and Miners.

The Flash jumped ahead on the Railroaders last night early with a 7-0 lead after the first 3 innings, but our Railroaders fought back in the game scoring 6 runs in mid game. Unfortunately we were unable to gain any further ground and lost the game.

Tonight we face off once more with the Flash in our fourth meeting this year. Of the three previous games the Railroaders took the first 2 games. The Flash is a much improved team as we approach mid season. They are in second place in the East (5.5 behind the Bombers). They surely won’t be letting up tonight at the Yard. The stats show each team matches up well with the other.

The Railroaders rested for two days before they suffered the defeat last night in Henderson. They should be more than ready now for a race to victory tonight . Once thing is for sure, we expecting another good game in Fulton today. First pitch is at 7:05 and we’ll be there and online with TeamLine. Let’s fire it up!

Looks like a NOT for the game tonight!

"Happy Father's Day, Dad"

Just after the infield cover was removed, Mother Nature decided to pour it on and postponed our game with the Stallions tonight. It has been rescheduled for Monday, June 26 in Fulton of course.

Next home game this Wednesday with the Flash from the East Division.

Weather or not, Railroaders ready

The weather is the first question for today’s game in Fulton with the Stallions. One frontal system with rain came through this morning but nothing the Yard couldn’t handle. It looks now like another one is nearing us and we’ll have to wait and see how much if any rain it will drop. If we can survive that one, we should be ready to go by game time.

UPDATE: Weather looks to try and stop our game before it gets started. Latest radar shows a new batch of storms forming to the northwest and moving southeast. We just have to wait and hope things fizzle out before it reaches us.

The Pony Express Arrives at Lohaus Field

Yeeeeeee-Hawwwwww! The Stallions are storming into Fulton tonight for Round 2 in this wild west showdown for Father's Day Baseball. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in the Railroader Family! The Railroaders are looking to mount up on the Stallions and deliver them a loss tonight. In round 1 last night in the showdown the Stallions took the win 13-9. The Railroaders hit the ball pretty well with 11 hits and 3 Stallion errors. The Railroader hitting including two doubles by Andrew Rapoza and Cody Mitchell. Paul Salata own another extra base hit with a triple in the 5th. On the other hand the Stallions hitting just edged out the Railroaders totaling with 17 hits and 3 Railroader errors. The Stallions also had 3 guys with extra base hits.

Tonight is a new night! With the Hoppers losing to the Bombers last night the Railroaders are still one game back. Tonight would be a nice win with the Hoppers struggling with the Bombers. Along with the batting, the pitching has to stay strong. Lately the bullpen has stepped up and assisted in winning ballgames. Hopefully the railroaders pitching will be on tonight and can get the win!

The full field tarp got put on this morning about 1, and the rain blew in about 11 this morning and moved out. The sun is out drying everything out, but another chance of rain at 4 and 5 we will see if it can blow over for railroader baseball. Stay tuned for updates! If the game is on Teamline will be on at 6:50 with video and 6:55 for play by play! Join online or in the stands for Father's Day baseball. Go Railroaders!

Big win, let’s do it again!

I hate selfies, they never show my good side.

The Railroaders convincing victory in Hoptown last night allowed them to picked up a game on the West leading Hoppers. Fulton now trails Hoptown by 2 games with and Paducah following closely just a game behind the Railroaders. Today the Hoppers jump into the Yard for another game with the Railroaders. The teams have met 3 times with Hoptown taking 2 of the 3 games, and the Railroaders can even the score with another triumph tonight.

Both teams have been good at the plate, but I believe the Railroaders have picked up some momentum in recovering from twin losses to the East Division Oilers this week. Fulton’s pitching staff appears to have found their footing with only a couple of bad moments on the mound.

There is no doubt the Railroaders bats are capable of producing runs (the shutout in Owensboro excluded). Salata’s two homeruns last night puts him in the league lead with 6 total after 13 games. Zell Walker is right behind him with 5 as is Hoptown’s Ryan Hatten. The Railroaders have 21 total homers, the Hoppers 13. Fulton has the bats to get the job done.

Friday night baseball at the Yard starts at 7:00 p.m. See you at there or online TeamLine. Fire it up!

Time to Rebound

The Oilers shut our beloved Railroaders out last night in Owensboro. Tonight the Oilers come to Fulton for their second game with us. The Railroaders remain in second place in the West with losses by Madisonville and Paducah last night, but with Hoptown’s victory Fulton now trails the leader by 2 games.

It seems the Monday off for the team didn’t help any, as was the case last week with a loss to Paducah. Let’s hope that’s not a trend. The 4 game winning streak may has been broken, so time to start over with another one. It’s time tonight to even the score with the Oilers and take this second game.

It is sure to be a hot one at the Yard, both on and off the field. But both the Fans and fans will be working hard to cool down the Oilers and get the Railroaders back on the winning track. See you there or online TeamLine.

Tuesday and Wednesday Games with the Oilers

Both the West Division Railroaders and the East Oilers are even with 5-5 records, so the match-up between for their first games this season should be interesting. Tonight they play in Owensboro and tomorrow at the Yard in Fulton. It looks to be hot games also with the weather forecast climbing to the 90s.

At the plate the Railroaders are slightly better the Oilers. Through 10 games Fulton has produced 84 runs and 70 IRB to Owensboro’s 72 runs and 60 RBI. The Oilers have struck out 111 times while the Railroaders total 101 strikeouts. There are 100 hits for Fulton and 94 for Owensboro. The overall team batting averages; Railroaders .275, Oilers .278. The Railroaders are a bit ahead on stolen bases with 18 over 13 for the Oilers.

Both teams have similar Pitching stats: The Oilers’ team ERA is 5.34, the Railroaders’ is a 5.64 ERA.  Total strikeouts; Oilers 101, Railroaders 98. Total hits allowed; Oilers 101, Railroaders 106. And so on…..

The stats show that the Railroaders have a small advantage at the plate while the Oilers edge out on the mound. All in all, the scales appear to balance out for both teams. The Railroaders have won 4 straight games climbing back from a 1-5 start, and the Oilers are working a 2 game winning streak.

It is time now for the Railroaders to tip the scales in their favor even further. After all, we’re only a game behind the Hoppers in the West division (Hoptown plays the Flash tonight & tomorrow).

The Flash is heading our way

Before we get on to baseball, I’d like to say how proud I am that Hoghead Junior is doing so well with calling the play-by-plays of Railroaders home games on TeamLine.  It was always my wish he would following in my footsteps and become an online personality in baseball. Good job, Son.

Tonight at the Yard the upstart Henderson Flash will make their first appearance in Fulton. The Flash certainly looks impressive so far with 5-3 record and a second place standing in the OVL East division. They should make it a good game with the Railroaders who are now showing real signs of improvement.

The Railroaders, having swept two straight games over the Miners, look like they have found their footing. Our defense, pitching and actions at the plate seem to be right track. Tonight’s contest with the Flash will be tough, but it will help define their strengths even further. Game start is at 7:05 p.m, and the weather looks to be good. See you at the Yard or online with TeamLine.

No Time for a Panic Attack!

Symptoms

One week into the season and the picture we have is not what we expected. However, victory is right around the corner. Never give up; doing so only makes you a loser. Sure a 1-5 record to start the year doesn’t look good, but I remind you there’s still a lot of baseball to play yet.

The Miners return to the Yard tonight. Weather is looking good for the game. Fan support is needed to help turn the train around and headed in the right direction. Nowhere to go now but up!

One good thing in regards to last night’s game, the Railroaders were error free. That issue was starting to become a real concern. Good job for clean defensive field play. Finally, hope the two remaining pitchers arrive soon to assist in the challenge before us. See you at the Yard!

Mediation is the soul's perspective glass

A Monday off after an undesirable night with the Hoppers calls for a time of reflection and meditation (as well as rest for the pitching staff). Sometimes there’s a need for a moment of pause to clear the mind and soul of worldly forces in order to better focus on the task ahead. The Chiefs are coming to town on Tuesday.

The Chiefs and Railroaders both have 1-3 starts through the first 4 games. On paper the two teams match up fairly even. However, the Chiefs can’t match the Railroaders’ team slugging average of .508, and the homerun ball for Fulton has occurred 7 times more than that for Paducah. No doubt we have the offensive to overcome the Chiefs, or our other divisional opponents for that matter.

Once the pitching core is onboard and the defensive pressure on the field is alleviated, the Railroaders season looks bright. Two more pitchers arrived just before game time last night, along with a position player. There are still three more pitchers due anytime and another position player. The sooner the better, I say.

Only four games into the season with 36 games to go, there is lots of baseball left to play. The season is young, our faith and confidence needs to remain tough. To quote one of our Fans, “You can do it!”

Hoppers at the Yard tonight

After the first three games of the season, it appears our Railroader team doesn't give up. One win and 2 losses so far have all ended with a single run being the difference in the game. They have demonstrated a strong ability to get back into the game, even in the last inning down by 4 or more runs.

Now all we need is our pitchers. That's not to say the current group isn't good, but they are few and must be getting tired. The point being; there are 7 players on the roster who have not shown up yet, and 5 of the 7 are pitchers. To shore up a half-full bullpen, we are having to use position players like Salata, Higdon, & Walker. Did I miss anyone? I've been told there are couple more suppose to show up today, we'll see.  .  

We'll need all hands tonight at the Yard with the Hoppers jumping into the Yard. Our guys hung tough with them last night in Hoptown, just as they did with the Miners. The Hoppers are definitely a force to content with. And after their great season last year and 2 big beatings of the Chefs to start this year, I must confess I was afraid the Railroaders might not be able to stand up to Hoptown. Well, they proved me wrong for sure!

That being said, tonight's game should be a good one. If you don't come out to see it, you may be like those who left on Friday night in the top of the 10th with the Railroaders down 16-10. They missed one of the greatest (in my opinion anyway) comebacks of all time. Just beating the Hoppers would feel as good! Time to get fired up!

Holy Cow!

Wow! I’ve seen some pretty good games at the Yard, but never one like we finished last night. After the Miners broke a 10-10 tie scoring 5 runs in the top of the 10th inning, the stands began to clear of fans. The few left behind started to to leave in the bottom half of the inning when the first two Railroaders were put down.

Then Salata comes to the plate and hits a solo homerun to give remaining couple of fans something to smile about. But is didn’t stop there. Three singles followed producing another RBI. Then a batter was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  The ninth place hitter Hauswald was next at the plate (at that point he was 1 for 4 with a single, groundout RBI and 2 Ks). Down in the count one ball and 2 strikes and near the end of a four and half hour game, the scant groups of fans just wanted it over.

Hauswald had a different idea though he smashes a pitch over the right field Little Monster to blow everyone away. Shock and awe overwhelmed the fans in the stands and cleared the Railroaders’ dugout. People were almost left speechless, but there was plenty of shouting and jumping for joy. Surely it must have matched the excitement the Miners and their Fans had experienced the night before in Madisionville.

I would be remise if didn’t mention what a the great night at the plate for Zell Walker. Three homeruns that produced 8 RBI, half of the total Fulton score. All the players hung in until the end, and it paid off Big Time.

Thank you Railroaders, for a memory to last the ages!

Now, on to Hoptown and the undefeated Hoppers tonight. Back home in Fulton on Sunday with the Hoppers again. Let’s see some more magic!

Opening Night at Home

The grandslam by Miners’ Ryan Brooks was the only thing that kept the Railroaders from getting an opening season win in last night’s game. Other than that the Railroaders looked pretty good out hitting the Miners 12-7, although Fulton did strand 10 runners and Madisonville only left 2 on base. It was the Miners’ long ball that saved their day, 2 homers in all. We’ll see what happens tonight at the Yard!

In other action last night, the Bombers came back late to edge past the upstart Flash by one run. The Oilers cruised by the Stallions to win 7-3, and the Hoppers (!*?#-!) plastered the Chiefs with a 14-3 score. It looks to be an interesting season in the OVL.

The Miners come to the Yard tonight in Fulton. One game each under the belt for every teams. The standings aren’t even worth looking at this early in the season. It will be the Railroaders turn to even the score at home. Friday night at the park, doesn’t get much better than that. We’ll be there, and online with TeamLine and blogging (as needed). 7:05 first pitch, we should online about 6:55. Let’s play ball!

Getting it Fired Up for the 2017 Season

The long wait for Railroader baseball is about over, as the new batch of players prepare to begin the season on the road in Madisonville. The 5th place standing for the 2016 season ensured Fulton would have to travel for game one. The Railroaders have never played their first season game away from Fulton, although in 2013 & 14 they were scheduled to play at Dubois County but were rained out before the games began. A road win to begin the season would be a nice start! Friday, in Fulton, the Railroaders will play the Miners again.

The OVL has expanded again adding their 8th team, the Henderson Flash, and now organized into 2 divisions, East and West. Should make for interesting post-season play when the time comes. New OVL website also, looking forward to enjoying that as well. New head OVL scorekeeper and webmaster, which I proudly congratulate!

The crew this year looks good, and the coaching staff lead by Drew Martinez appears excited to get the Railroaders back on track after a lackluster 2016 season. Expectations are high in the Twin Cities area for a great summer of baseball. All is ready at the Yard and there are improvements on the field to boot. It all starts this Friday night at 7:00 pm with Opening Night at Fulton against the Miners. I’ll be there along with Boilerstoker to get things going. Come on out or listen/watch online with Railroaders TeamLine.