Monday night baseball; Railroaders and Bombers

After last night’s train wreck in Madisonville, it’s time to quickly clean up the mess and get the train back on the track.  There’s no time to dwell on the loss as the highflying Bombers are heading to Fulton for game with the Railroaders tonight in the Yard.

The 20-9 first place Bombers are 3½ games ahead of both the 16-12 Railroaders and 15-11 Miners.  The Miners currently hold the second place spot by percentage points, but the Railroaders can retake that position and gain a game on the Bombers with a win this evening. The Miners are idle for today.

The Oilers beat the Bombers last night, breaking a 6 game DC winning streak. It was also only the second loss for the Bombers at home in League Stadium. The Bombers will likely be hot to get back on their winning ways tonight.  The Railroaders need to shake off the bad memories from last night and get their bats ready to slug it out.

Game time is 7:05 pm and TeamLine will be up 10 minutes before the hour. Big game for Railroaders as the season begins to wind down. Only 7 home games left before post-season playoffs. If you’re in the area, come on out to the Yard for a night of baseball and help support the Railroaders take on the Bombers.

July 4th game with Oilers

We Want You at the Yard!

It was just a year ago today on the 4th of July the Railroaders hosted the Oilers for a holiday game in the Yard. That victory went to the Oilers on a 4-2 score. The Railroaders don’t plan to repeat history this evening in an early start game at 5:30 pm with a concert and fireworks to follow. A big crowd is expected with free general admission for the first 300 persons attending, thanks to Fulton Tourism Commission.

Both the Railroaders (15-11) and Oilers (7-17) are rested after 2 days of non-play. The two teams have met 6 times thus far this season with the Railroaders taking 5 of the 6 games. The Oilers have struggled of late losing 6 straight games before beating the Hoppers (7-17) on Wednesday night. The Railroaders on the other hand have dropped their last 2 games to the Bombers and Miners, moving Fulton into third in the standings 6½ games ahead of the now fourth place Oilers. The first place Bombers (19-8) will host the second place Miners (14-10) in Dubois County tonight.

With only a third of the season left and 3½ games out of first, it is time for the Railroaders to get back on track for the final run. It should be a great night for baseball and celebrating the 4th of July.  Come out and enjoy an All American holiday. See you at the Yard or online TeamLine.

Hoppers & Railroaders rained out

After all the hard work and the ground crew successfully getting the field ready, a noon time 5 minute downpour was all it took to wipe out our chances for the game tonight.  The amount of water that fell along with the tears of the ground crew left standing water on the infield with no hope of drying out before game time.  The meeting between the Hoppers and Railroaders will have to wait to be rescheduled on a future date.  But "Thanks" to all those hard working souls who tried to make it happen tonight.

Railroaders off tomorrow and Home on Saturday with the Oilers for some 4th of July fireworks at the Yard.  Game time is early at 5:30 p.m. CDT.

Hoppers or Rain tonight

Last night’s rain has the ground crew already out working the field to get it ready for tonight’s game with the Hoppers. The weather forecast is questionable for the rest of day. Assuming there are no more downpours today and this evening, chances are good the Yard will be in good shape for the game.

The Railroaders have dropped 2 games in a row, one to the Miners the other to the Bombers.  The loss last night puts Fulton 3 games behind the league leading Bombers.  Although both the Railroaders and Miners are trailing by 3 games, Fulton has moved down to the third spot in the standings because of a lower win/loss percentage 

While the Bombers battle the Miners tonight in Madisonville, I believe its time for a Railroader win against the visiting Hoppers this evening.  Hoptown is a frustrated team at the moment having loss their last 6 games putting them in the basement along with the Oilers in the standings.

With 14 games left in the regular season for the Railroaders, every game is more important now.  We shouldn’t take the Hoppers lightly tonight. The Railroaders have struggled the past couple of games scoring runs and need to break that cycle tonight.  It should be good game at the Yard and hoping all the fans can make it out to support the Roaders to get them back on track.

We’ll keep an close eye on the weather to see what happens.  Assuming all goes well, see you at the Yard or on TeamLine tonight.  “Fire it Up!”

Showdown with Miners tonight

Tonight at the Yard, our second place Railroaders with a record of 15-9 will face off with the third place Miners with a record of 13-10.  Both teams are working on consecutive game winning streaks, the Railroaders with 4 straight wins and the Miners with 3 in a roll. That will continue for only one of them after tonight’s action. The Railroaders are 1½ games ahead of the Miners, so regardless of the outcome tonight, Fulton will finish the evening retaining the second place spot.

From a league prospective, the Railroaders are currently a ½ game behind the first place Bombers. The Bombers are on the road to Owensboro for a big doubleheader with the Oilers who have lost their last 4 games. The results of those games could greatly affect the standings. Meanwhile the Hoppers are off today and have dropped 5 games in the row. Both Hoppers and Oilers for 7 ½ games out of first. Still almost half the season to go, every game from now on will be important for all teams.

Back to the Railroaders and Miners for tonight.  The teams have met 6 times so far with 4 games left head-to-head.  Each team has won 3 games against each other, that tie will be broke today. Season stats show both teams match fairly even match with the Railroaders’ somewhat ahead in the numbers on offense and pitching. Head-to-head, the Miners have slight edge against the Railroaders on offense in batting average, but the Railroaders are better from the mound with about half the team ERA as the Miners.

Overall Season

Batting Stats
Team	GP	PA	OAB	Avg	Slug	OBA	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SB	HBP	SO
Railroaders	24	1023	828	.279	.384	.392	231	178	34	4	15	149	112	129	24	34	159
Miners	22	917	789	.253	.327	.342	200	157	33	5	5	106	84	93	28	17	145

Pitching Stats
Team	GS	W	L	SA	BF	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	BB	HB	SO	IP	ER	ERA
Railroaders	24	15	9	0	926	192	152	30	4	6	93	71	24	174	214.33	59	2.48
Miners	23	13	10	7	971	217	166	38	4	9	141	114	25	132	206.33	99	4.32

Head-to-Head

Batting Stats
Team	GP	PA	OAB	Avg	Slug	OBA	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SB	HBP	SO
Railroaders	6	256	213	.258	.376	.370	55	38	13	0	4	35	28	29	8	10	48
Miners	6	228	208	.264	.356	.317	55	40	12	2	1	23	16	12	10	5	37

Pitching Stats
Team	GS	W	L	SA	BF	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	BB	HB	SO	IP	ER	ERA
Railroaders	6	3	3	0	228	55	40	12	2	1	23	12	5	37	53.33	13	2.19
Miners	6	3	3	1	256	55	38	13	0	4	35	29	10	48	53.67	25	4.19

All this said, it’s going to be another good game tonight at the Yard between these two teams.  Come on out and watch as the Railroaders fire it up again to make their run towards a season title.  See you at the Yard or online TeamLine.

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.