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Posted Jul 3/17 - rockets go unscathed, take championship in ft. wayne

6 team field in the ft. wayne firecracker classic , portland rockets defend their crown, win again in 2017

4 games won, 3 runs given up, superb pitching thobe, bollenbacher, short and scott, and we have still habegger, west, delk, geeslin, jacks, waters, ruiz

hope to use these guys more starting in wed home game vs. ft. wayne panthers (st. francis) 7pm

rockets have won this tournament numerous times, i will have to have help researching, but cant recall all games less than 2 hr. and only 3 runs allowedrockets have won 7 in a row, no coinsidence the timely return of catcher,. and earlham captain Cody Krumlauf, he is the legit piece that makes our club this is very similar to 2009 when jay county standout and later big 12 player of the year for baylor, josh ludy wasnt pleased with play ing time with \the wisconsin woodchucks.

he came back to portland and the rockets went on like a 20 game win streak

love ya in portland cody

rockets mvp zach tanner, again, won it 2-012.2013, 16, 17 wow

hit his 7th hr. 6 hits 

also 6 hits dalton tinsley and 6 hits brandon reaman ,  he had a homer, triple and single in sun 1st game

5 hits each for krumlauf and delk, 3 rbi delkie

rockets 15-7 and play wed home

weekend off, next action is july 12 at indiana tech

thanks samantha thomas and kristie delaney for comin to the game

love ya in portland

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Posted Jun 28/17 - rocket rally leads portland over ohio warhawks

they came in a big greyhound bus, they won their national tournament in colorado springs, colorada, leave this weekend for salt lake city

they spent $200 on grub at the rocket lunching pad, there were 25 of them and 5 coaches, 

rockets turn a 6-3 deficit into a resounding 10-6 win.....holy RocketRally, a 5run 7th and 2 more in the 8th ,

many of the rally hits were with 2 strikes, very clutch bases loaded double tristen becker 3 rbi , key clutch 2 run single cody krumlauf

dalton tinsley 3 hits and a home run to lead off the rocket 1st,  one hit shy of cycle

2 hits and another double tanner, 2 hits waters, krumlauf and becker

very fine pitching thru 5 by garrett scott, 8 ks, 4 hits 3 runs,

thobe finishes and gets stronger as game goes4 ks  and the win

rockets had starting 3rd baseman billy ballgame get plunked right on the elbow, swollen and discolored it is a deep bruise

he should be ok to go sat in 4th of july tournament

see home page for more details, 

we may spend the nite sat in new haven at billy and cody apartments, or will see about rooms

great to see phil frantz and barb,gary sautbine in the house....thanks you rocket rooters for you contributions

mrs. becker won the 50/50 43 bucks and gave sizeable amount back

rockets played their most inspired game of the season

this ohio warhawks team has had 351 pros drafted, and brandon phillips of the braves played on our field in the 90s

the list of mlb players is amazing ,,,,,check out ohio warhawks on facebook

10-6

3 hours 4 min

really hard sleeping after that

 

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Posted Jun 26/17 - rotary club day at the ballpark, win 2

rockets sweep ft. wayne wizards 11-1 9-0  

bollenbacher 3 hitter, k 9 in 5 inn.

habegger 3 hitter k 12 in 7

rockets go 25-57 at the plate with 19 rockets on hand

tanner 6-7 with 3 2b and a triple

reamon 4-7

tinsley 3-8 4 runs

waters 2-6

geeslin 2-6 

affolder 3-5

lindstrand 2=-5 and a homerun

becker 3 bb

one hit each acosta, ingle, krumlauf

record now 10-7

big challenge tues 630 start ohio warhawks from dayton,

scott, short and thobe pitchers

thanks to robert freemyer for generous donation, mark and chris hearn

and all the rotary club for their support, food and more

 

 

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Posted Jun 19/17 - rockets go 2-2 in south bend trip

yearly business trip to south bend, rockets go 2-0 over mishawaka brewers then 0-2 vs hammond lakers

so easily could have been 3-1 even possibly 4-0 

very competitive contests vs. potential tournament foes, rockets ride bollenbacker complete game effort in game 1 

he fans 11, scatters 5 hits goes the distance, tied in the last inn tinsley clutch double brings home game winner

tinsley 2 doubles, rockets had 4 hits , geeslin stole home in the 1st inn

game ends with line drive to 3rd waters on the spot snares it and doubles off guy at first,

says coach harper ,,,,,,these games vs portland are tournamentesque

special thanks to coach seth zartman for gracious use of the lovely bethel college field, such a nice thing and a nice place

pilot of the pilots, he is a former rocket playing in portland in the late 80s with the luces, nunley, deckman and all

he was a slugger extraordinare, from caston high school, he has his name in record books in basketball as well

coach zartman is in his 15th year at bethel, and we say a BIG thanks

this arrangement at bethel may be in store next year as well,

rockets also say hello to long time south bend friend and senators manager ron milovich

sun trip to hammond, 4 hrs away was really a game to appreciate, rockets and hammond lakers met in 2015 regionals, they won then\

they won twice sun, but game one was really in our hands only to slip away, max habegger the 19 yr. old lefty was shutting em down

escaped some jams in the 4th 5th, they got 2 in the 6th but max no earned runs given,

score tied going into the 7th tanner hits his second 2 run hr and we lead 4-2

reliever andrew shepherd was touched for 3 run on 4 hits, but we sill had the lead with bases loaded one out,

now 2 out mitch waters comes in to strike out their #8 hitter but with bases loaded 2 out full count pitch is hit thru the middle for the 2 run walk off

ouch x 2

rockets lose chance to go 3-0 on weekend, woulda coulda shoulda

rockets drop the last game, fellas were tired but battled, got down 2-0 early behind starter chase ruiz, 

but chandler jacks came in strikes out the side in the 5th , they get 2 unearned with 2 out in the 6 \ a 2-1 game becomes a 4-1 loss

record 8-6

catcher cody krumlauf returns, he from auburn was team captain at earlham, now graduated he will participate in a pro day tryout tues in chicago

he played for portland 3 years ago, he lead the team this weekend going 6-12

tinsley had 5 hits, tanner 3 hits all home runs, waters 3 hits, geeslin 3 hits, 2 for becher

rockets only hit .223 for the 4 game stint, still outscored competition 19-12

next game:  wed 7pm at indiana tech vs northeast kekionga

zach short starter 

next home game is sunday june 25th vs kekionaga 1pm dh in portland, its rotary club day

 

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Posted Jun 15/17 - rockets lose 6-5 rain comes in 7th to curtail activities

Rockets came back, clawing, scratching not to be 

summit city sluggers win 6-5 in the 7th chandler jacks on the mound it rains, hard,

it likes to rain on chandler for some reason, 

derek thobe, starter from coldwater goes 6 inn, 92 pitches,

they touched him for 5 runs in the rocky 1st, but he hung in there 7 strikeouts, 9 hits   he showed some real backbone , even batted and reached base  love that guy

they hit 2 homeruns, we hit 2 homeruns

Tinsley and Becher went deep to right and then to left

Dustin lewis from Vandalia had 2 hits

even sports editor chris schantz was itching to get back behind the plate

thanks john welker , won the 50/50 draw and gave it back, a nice contribution to the rocket scoreboard cause

lots of rocket rooters on hand, good crowd

new player on board, inf Austin O'Campo from decatur, he is slick with the glove, going to manchester college

welcome to portland

rockets in south bend at bethel college sat. 1pm dh

rockets in hammond sat vs hammond lakers 3pm our time dh

next home game june 15, rotary club day

 

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Posted Jun 12/17 - Rockets win all 4 on weekend

Rockets sweep dh sat and sun vs summit city sluggers and ft. wayne flippin frogs

Sat. action dan bollenbacher goes 5 inn, but close game after 100+ pitches mitch waters makes his 

1st appearance of the season, holds for 2 inn in true closer fashion, 6-5

game 2 garrett scott from monticello does the same, 100 pitches and goes 6, ryan schlechty jr. at Jay County h.s. finishes

in fact ryan and his brother mike both started and delivered clutch rbi shots, rocket shots

tristen becker had 4 hits in the day and celebrated his 21st birthday sunday, happy happy tristen, he was a big part of the wright state lake success story this

spring gaining all-american 2nd team honors, he says playing with the core players in portland has really helped his career, love this guy

rockets win 2 on sunday vs ft. wayne flippin frogs, 10-7 game 1 welcome rico acosta from miami fla, also a wright state lake guy, 3 hits 3 rbi

also new pitcher chase ruiz also a laker picked up the win in game 2, rockets from 2 years ago dayton products brandon reamon and jimmy west return 

reamon scored 4 runs and west pitched last 2 inn, for the save.

billy geeslin won game 1 with help from derek thobe, frogs have some very fine players and we would like them in portland someday

2 hits each by dalton tinsley, zach tanner one off the fence,  by tj lindstrand and kyle mckibben

tinsley hit a monster blast, 3 run homer over the hedges in right to make it 14-9

special note:  we honor the passing of good friend and baseball supporter Dick McGalliard age 74,  Dick was at the games sat. 

love ya in portland Dick

special thanks Fred Bailey, he shook my hand after the sat. sweep and in his palm, and nice green bill,,,,,,a sizeable contribution to the rocket cause

love ya fella

also thanks and great job singing the national anthem larry chittum

also special help in the press box nick miller and nasty nate clay

rockets now 6-3 host the summit city sluggers at runkle-miller field wed 7 pm

thobe the starter

go  rockets

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Posted Jun 9/17 - rockets conclude 3 game set with Grand Lake Mariners, they win all 3

19-2, not seen anything like it in a while, not in a long while, they rattle bang 16 hits and by 5 inn its 11-2

beautiful nite, full moon, good crowd Persimmon Ridge nite, new roster programs thanks Vicki Tague

we muster 5 hits, but by 930 it was quiet and peaceful and we put our field of dreams to bed,,,,we will go again sat. 1pm dh with summit city sluggers

max habegger deserved better fate, 4 2/3 inn. struck out 6 walked 3, but just had some misfortune

max is d.1 lefty from carmel, he will have many more good outings than bad, i assure you

Chandler jacks did respectable job on the hill, 

they have 3 guys on their team from Louisiana-Monroe, they are from all over and they are Goood

 

go rockets get em sat, bollenbacher and scott starters

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Posted Jun 8/17 - ROCKETS LOSE IN CELINA 8-5

Rockets drop game 2 of the 3 game set in Celina wed. nite at montgomery field to the grand lake mariners, 8-5

billy geeslin takes the loss despite pitching well 3 inn.

he was victimized by a couple missplays and a called 3rd strike that the ump later admitted he errantly called ball four

rockets were ahead 1-0 till the 2nd rocket hits by waters and lindstrand plated 1st run

billy left score was 4-1 enter jackson hobbs, ft. recovery  next to me rooting his indian buddy neal spencer from ft recovery radio

jackson had a rough inn. then a great inn

rockets rally from down 8-1 to 8-5 home runs by tanner (number 3) and lindstrand

and a double by geeslin and kevin sharpe after his hit, was thrown out at the plate,,,,,,,we could have narrowed it even more

new rocket zach short pitched an outstanding last 3 inn, 36 pitches no hits no walks no runs and 5 ks

gotta like that

rockets outhit em 11 to 10 and mitch waters had 3

back in action thrus at runkle-miller field 7 pm,,,,game 3 with the mariners

max habegger on the mound,,,,

we welcome our friends from down the street, its Persimmon Ridge Nite at the ballpark

come out and see us

love ya in portland

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Posted Jun 7/17 - Rockets bested at coldwater, Grand Lake Mariners win 10-0

the beautiful scoreboard at Coldwater oh, veterans park said it, we lived it

portland  0 runs 0 hits 5 errors

grand lake mariners 10 runs 8 hits 1 error

rockets 1st road game is a lost cause, rockets were down 4-0 in the 6th , starter derek thobe pitched well, only 2 hits 2 earned runs but things went sour and south at the same time

thobe could have gone more, but team pitching needed and floundered

our next guys had trouble but rust will turn to polish for garrett scott, and alex delk

as pointed out by sports editor chris shantz only 4 of their ten runs were earned, what the he*^^* 2 runs scored on a broken bat ground ball to short

not our day, but i had great time reminicing with Coach Lou Brunswick, he the hall of famer has more championships than we can count,  he recalled sitting in dugout with ray miller 

back when ray sat a lot, he had one leg for 9 rocket years, 

we had rick and phyllis rammel, ryan and his family,

way too much guff from old mooner Ralphie Sweiterman, gotta love that guy

also former rockets now coaches of the surprising wright state lake branch, chad geier and john bailey

jeff koester and more 

rockets had 1st 2 runners on in 2 inn but no results,

loaded the bases in the 7th no results

5 home runs sun and a north wind blowing in, we struggled, 0 hits 8 Ks

tonite rockets in celina at montgomery field, 7 pm bp at 545

pitcher slate for 9 inn, geeslin, hobbs and short, possibly nick batt chandler jacks

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Posted Jun 5/17 - rockets open 59th season with dh victories

 

June 5, 2017  Rocket Report


good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland, and Happy 1st mon day of June!  The Portland Rockets opened the 59th season Sunday at Runkle-Miller field with 2 resounding victories, 6-1 and 14-0 over the Indianapolis Bandits. 5 inn.

Billy Geeslin hit a 2 run homer in the 4th to break open a close game in the opener, Dalton tinsley smacked 2 triples, while dan bollenbacher pitched 4 shutout inn. Striking out 8 on but one hit. Rockets recipe for winning, the rocket core of veteran players delivering, this core of players over the last 6 yr, record 175-53….pretty darn impressive

The core, led by 11 yr. vet Bollenbacher and 8 year player geeslin both winning pitchers Sunday,  they pitch with pace and passion, game time 2 hr, game 1, 1 hr 24 game 2

The core, Tinsley 2 triples and a homer, Zach Tanner 2 home runs, one a grand slam into the left field woods, that sound-the crack of the bat from Zach had a moment that froze all in attendance in time, we haven’t found that ball

Tanner, 14 hr last year, hit 2 Sunday with  a double

Mitch waters, rocket captain 2 hits, colin Affolder 2 hits.

Rocket rookie kyle mckibben had a fine debut with 2 hits and a home run,

Yes rocket shots all over the ballpark , 5 home runs on the day

Bandit coach Bruce Fenimore and baseball icon himself, when asked what he told his club,  he said, “guys, you have one thing they don’t, Youth”

Rockets did have a “youth” answer,  lefthander max Habegger from carmel, finished his high school career and came to Portland Sunday, he is 6’7” and 205 lb.  his skills have garnered him a division one scholarship to  David Lipscombp university,,,,he throws hard..the kinda hard you can hear sizzle from the dugout, he struck out 5 in 3 inn.

So we had ace Dan bollenbacher 28 years old, the our youthful 19 year old max knock em out.

Max comes to Portland to play for the rockets as did his dad, nate Habegger from berne, was a teammate of mine back then. In fact, we had a tremendous crowd on hand to see Max. Ron and LaDonna Habegger from Berne, a Portland businessman one of our favorite folks, Bob McCabe and Patty in the house, \A host of family and friends on hand, they will no doubt be back next home game Thursday when Max retakes the hill.

We must mention of the heroic and heartwarming stories of the day, umpire dave stauffer stepped in and worked both games behind the plate,  love ya in Portland dave,  and a big thank you, 

Our best to umpire Joey Stull who had emergency medical day with his son

Also tony and sheri Reynolds from Muncie let us face talk all the way out to Petaluma California visiting with old rocket tyler Reynolds, now a baseball /basketball coach just north of san Francisco.  New outfield signs on the season, thanks friends at display craft.

Fans were milling about the corner of western and blaine, it is grand to see the game in Portland,,,also smiles from dave lyons, john welcher, Charlie and Vicki tague

Rockets return to action playing the grand lake mariners 3 nites in a row,

Tues 6pm start at coldwater high school, taste of the town nite, and Portland takes the invite..we have some coldwater guys, one of em, Derek thobe our starter

Wed at Celina

Thur our next home game grand lake mariners come to Portland thurs 7pm max Habegger the starter, lookin forward to that one,,,,must see
randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jan 25/17 - rockets who have had pro connection

 

 

 

Many have asked, “Who has played pro ball from the Portland Rockets?”

Here is a compilation, and we welcome assistance if we have not mentioned a player.

Please contact Randy Miller, email ramiller15@embarqmail.com

 

Player, hometown, pro connection

 

Jerry Shawver                         Portland                      Philadelphia Phillies

 

Merv Rettenmund                   Ball State                    Baltimore Orioles+

 

Bob Niekamp                          St. Henry                     New York Yankees

 

Harley Bill Wolfe                    Decatur                       Cleveland Indians      

 

Keith Shepeard                       Wabash                       Colorado Rockies

 

Mike Dull                                Berne                           Montreal Expos                      

 

Doug Boone                            New Albany                New York Yankees

 

Jeff Urban                               Alexandria                  San Francisco Giants

 

Josh Ludy                               Portland                      Oakland A’s+

 

David Brust                            Selma                          Atlanta Braves

 

Kent Maggard                         Bluffton                      Cleveland Indians

 

Mitch Waters                          Portland                      Italy+

 

Andy Welches                                    Dayton                                    Independent

 

Pete Byrum                             Portland                      Independent

 

John Pettibone                                    Plymouth                     Independent

 

Zach Tanner                            Yorktown                    Independent

 

Gary Betts                               Ball State                    Pittsburgh Pirates

 

Justin Marrero                         Reynoldsburg              Chicago White Sox

 

Shane White                            Redkey                        Chicago Cubs

 

 

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Posted Aug 1/16 - rockets conclude season lose NABF regionals to Cleveland 6-3 in extra innings

Aug. 1 2016 season concludes in cinci regional

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. And happy 1st of august

Portland rockets went 2-2 this weekend in Cincinnati in the NABF Regional. Rockets conclude one of their finest seasons ever at 27-7 but the final game will be one that stings for a long time, rockets losing Sunday  6-3 to the Cleveland entry Lake Erie Buckeyes, in  11 inn.  Rockets made it to the final 4 semifinals, games are now 9 inn, so its all day, all dan, dan bollenbacher goes into the 9th inn. Carrying the club on his back, he had pitched 8 shutout inn, given up just 2 hits and now retires the first 2 batters protecting a 3-0 lead.

But….a walk, a hit and a 3 run homer spoils the complete game shutout and now unbelievably it is 3-3,  rocket reliever pitcher mitch waters holds em till the 11th, and the same guy,named Johnson, he played vs. Portland several yrs ago on the ohio fightin titans in the Portland tournament, WBC, hit a walk off 3 run blast, rockets lose 6-3 in extras.

Bollenbacher pitched his fanny off, and hopefully not his arm, a record of 156 pitches and dan pitches till they score ----27 outs needed ---he was the master of 26

A performance of perserverance and pure guts,  so proud of that guy dan  bollenbacher

Bill geeslin led the offence, 4 hits and a homer along with some clutch hits from Kevin sharp, tj lindstrand and chris miller gave Portland the 3-0 lead

Rockets earned their place on championship Sunday with victories thur and sat. nite.

Rockets defeated the Yorkville yaks, 4-2 behind Derek thobes complete game win, waters hit a 2 run homer.  Rockets lost to Chicago entry Oswego cats in 8inn fri nite, 3-2

Rocket lefthander craig martin pitched well enough to win, but we couldn’t hold a 2-1 lead in the last inn.  Geeslin took the loss

A win fri 10-1 over the Cincinnati mudcats bollenbacher went 3 inn, Andrew bobeck 3 and dan ground ball borchers one. Rockets core guys, our staple of veterans all performed well, leading the charge Justin Marrero 8 -16 on the weekend, 6 hits geeslin, 5 each for tinsley, waters and sharp.  I even had a phone call at 130 am ----you are thinking who is calling and it cant be a good thing,  it was billy ballgame,.  He just wanted us to know he has a love for the game, and reassured me he would be back in portland next season.

Wow
rocket rooters larry and donna chittum, and angi brad and Kristie Delaney and many others were witness Sunday to the all dan all day deal  sports editor chris shantz on hand, man they should get him a company car---dag nabbit silly rabbit it was such a great feel-good story, but it ended  one out short,  I went to the mound right before the game tying blast, it was dans call, he just said I need one more out…..man this game can be so unkind

Rockets lose Sunday in extra innings 6-3----by the way, the team we played the lake eerie buckeyes won the championship 9-7 over buffalo,,,,,ours was more really like the championship  game

Tournament director and umpires were complimentary of our fine ballclub and we do have much to  be proud of ---portland proud

Now we wrap up another fine season in Portland record 27-7,  many good memories made , lots of good baseball played,

We say thanks to all supporters and all contributors

We say love ya in Portland, and we’ll see you at runkle-miller field in 2017

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 25/16 - rockets beat royals twice to conclude regular season

July 25, 2016  rockets conclude regular season with twin wins over whitco royals

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day  in Portland. The Portland rockets played wood bat baseball Sunday at runkle-miller field, and did so in fine fashion,

Rockets defeated the whitco royals, 10-0 and 13-3, both games invoked the mercy rule, that is game over after 5 inn, due to the 10 run rule,\

The whitco royals and the rockets needed some mercy , it was so hot, it was almost as tough to watch as it was to play,

Still a very nice crowd, it was fan appreciation day ---brad miller brought out 4 watermelons for this the last game of the season in Portland.

It is always a nostalgic day for me when the activitiy ends at the corner of western and blaine, lots of memories made, stories to be told, ; Portland rockets win twice and conclude the regular season with a 25-5 record, one of the best in years in Portland,\

We call them the core players, tinsley, geeslin, tanner, waters, delk, bollenbacher, Marrero, lindstrand  these guys have been on board near 6 years, great group of men, record those 6 years 171-50  wow

Speak of nostalgic, we had a collection of former rocket players on hand Sunday, they gathered at home plate and were recognized,  made my day

Ex-pitchers, rob gamble, jim geeslin, john bailey , pete byrum, larry chittum, also mark Flueckiger, mark Hillman, chirs tillery, randy Hisner, it was like a reunion

They saw a good ballclub conduct its baseball business, game 1 dan  the man bollenbacher 5 inn, no hit baseball 5 ks,,the only hit was a pitch hit a royal in the noggin and knocked him out of commission,  the guy is ok but a bit groggy

Dan mowed em down, tinsely tanner and Marrero 2 hits, jagen millspaugh 2 rbi tj lindstrand 2 rbi

Samantha Thomas our orchestra leader from the pressbox, announced 1 hr. 25 min.

Game 2 rockets score 6 runs in the 5th win 13-3

Garrett scott 4 inn 3 hits dan ground ball borchers finished up

Kevin sharp smacked his 4th homer of the season, 3 hits tinsley, 2 each geeslin, tanner, waters, and Marrero

Rockets record again, 25-5 and on to the regionals, the national amateur baseball federation tournament in Cincinnati,

It begins wed. winner to world series in battle creek,

Last time we went to roselawn park, we brought home the trophy, in 2012

We still have those core guys,……

Games begin thrus nite, Derek thobe game one starter

More tournament info later this week,

Thanks, maddux Huffman for your hard work  yesterday,

He has earned his title, a PFBR------- professional foul ball retriever

As we close the book on another fine season in Portland we thank all rocket rooters and supporters

We truly have a special thing in Portland,

Special thanks to our friends at the American legion, good to visit fred bailey yesterday

And thanks again Robert freemeyer for your generous donation,

Hey, rob gamble won the 50/50 drawing and gave it all back

Love ya in Portland soup

We will post more tournament information on the website as we get it

Rockets romp in Portland, we will be in tournament play in cinci

We will represent, we will compete and we will be portland proud,

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jul 21/16 - rockets stretch streak to 9, defeat kekionga 13-9

July 21, 2016 portland rockerts 13 northeast kekionga 9

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  What is hotter than playing baseball in ft wayne at Indiana tech during a heat advisory last evening?

It said 88 on my phone, 92 on my car, and catcher tj lindstrand who caught all 9 inn said he lost 10 lbs.

What is hotter than the Portland rockets winners over kekionga 13-9,  rockets have now won 9 games in a row pushing their record to 23-5.  maybe hotter than anything,  rocket ss zach tanner, the Yorktown yakker went deep again at Indiana tech wed. nite, his 5th home run in his last 4 games, number 14 on the season, and it was a rocket launcher, over the fence in straight away cf onto Anthony blvd.  holy cow

It made the day for this old guy,

Rockets had just taken the lead in the 5th inn when billy ballgame, bill geeslin hit a jack into the net in left cf, a 3 run blast rockets now ahead 5-2, the back to back jack, tanner hits his bomb

As yogi said, anything hit that far should have a stewardess on it

Kevin sharp also hit a 3 run homer, that guy puts some lift on the ball, a sky shot to left, in the 7th

Rockets took a 10-5 lead and held on, starter Andrew bobeck went 2 plus inn before leaving with a blister, Derek thobe from coldwater went 5 inn, 4 ks he was the winning pitcher, alex delk and mitch waters finished up nailing em 1,2,3 in the 9th

Tanner went 3 for 4, 2 doubles that one hopped the fence, he is 11-19 in the last 5 games, a .579 batting ave.

He also knocked a couple batting practice balls out of the park, I  know  I pitched batting practice. And that may be the last time, too sweaty for this fella

Rockets had 13 hits on the evening, 3 by tanner, 2 each by waters delk and sharp

Rockets, again winners of 9 straight conclude the regular season Sunday. A 1 pm dh vs the whitco royals in Portland  at runkle-miller field.   The royals winners of the ft. wayne federation vs the Portland rockets, winners of the ft. wayne 4th of july tournament, a championship Sunday in Portland.

It is supposed to be a little nicer weather wise Sunday .  no games fri sat, as the field this year for our regional tournament has dropped out.

It is fan appreciation day Sunday, so stop out at the corner of western and blaine, bring your lawn chair, pack your cooler and root root root for the rockets, for if they don’t win it’s a shame, been winning 9 straight 23-5 one of the best rocket squads ever,

We will be giving out some prizes as we close up shop for another fine season in Portland.

Note:  happy birthday today to a rocket success story, mike dull from berne, mike was recruited while in a rocket uniform to attend university of southern Alabama and was louis Gonzales roommate, later mike signed professionally with the montreal expos

Love ya in Portland. Double nickel

Thanks Robert freemeyer for your donation to the rockets = you too we love ya in Portland,

Rockets winner winner chicken dinner

13-9 over kekionga

When your hot your hot when your not your not

Were hot

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jul 18/16 - rockets take all 4 games on cincy roadtrip

July 18, 2016 rockets take all 4 on cinci road trip

 

Notes on games sat at Lakota west hs

Rockets sweep a good cincy chiefs team 6-0 and  7-3

Garrett scott 3 weeks since last pitched---2 hit shutout 6 ks  great tone setter for the 4 game road trip

7-3 win in the nitecap, craig martin  5.1 inn , dan borchers, aka ground ball borchers finishes   hr. tj lindstrand and zach tanner

14 rockets on hand, a team gathering for supper at buffalo wild wings,

 

Sunday rockets to aurora in, south Dearborn hs  defeat Yorkville yaks, record 17-6 coach larry hornback, nice team, rockets win 7-3 and 15-3

Nice group of rockets fans on hand , thanks scott bollenbacher and denny  Affolder for you assisting the rocket train,

Dan bollenbacher wins game 1, going the distance, allows 1 earned run,  7-3 win

Zach tanner hits 3 homers Sunday, 4 hr on weekend

Tanner 12 HR on season ----rocket record tommy pearce from marion had 19  

Rocket record 22-5  Tanner 8-15 on weekend, waters 5-12, tinsley 5-13 jagen millspaugh 5-9 kevin sharp 4-10 affolder 5-12

Lindstrand 3-10 with a homer and a triple

Chris miller 2-5

 

Billy geeslin 1st start of season ,  win game 2 15-3 , 80 pitches 4 inn

Andrew bobeck finishes

 

Happy birthday  marilyn maloy

 

Rockets play wed at Indiana tech 705,  Andrew bobeck starter
rockets conclude regular season, sun 1pm dh with the ft wayne league champ, whitco royals

 

Rockets are assigned to the nabf Cincinnati regional at roselawn park for info forthcoming

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Posted Jul 12/16 - rockets win again, 12-2 over jackers

July 12, 2016 portland rockets over jackers 12-2

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland

For when the one great scorer comes to mark against  your name, he asks not if you won or lost but did you beat ft. wayne

Portland rockets back to work mon eve in ft wayne, taking care of baseball business defeated the ft. wayne jackers 12-2 in 8 inn.

Rockets take 4 out of 5 vs the jackers winning the last 3 in a row outscoring their rival 32-8

This game was 2 -2 in the 7th , rockets had ties  in the 5th on Kevin sharps 2nd homer of the season into the net in left

With a few starters unavailable, we knew this could be a tough game in the jackers back yard, but we had an answer, it is dan bollenbacher’s turn on the mound.

Dan walked 4 batters early before settling in/ they scored 2 runs in the1st and that’s all for it. Dan the 10 year rocket veteran was the answer, 7 inn, 8 ks 6 hits 126 pitches.  Battery mate Isaac fitzgerald from st. marys deserves a lot of credit for a job well done behind the plate, he had a nice rbi double in the 8th

Dan is the rocket ace and that’s what they do, pick the club up and deliver in the clutch.

Interesting to note, the rockets former ace matt ousley pitched in the contest for the jackers

Matt ousley was that rocket ace for 12 years, both guys from berne, both guys rocket all time favorites

Rockets broke open a 2-2 tie with 6 runs in the 7th  sharp, tristen becker and tinsley with rbi hits

Becker from st marys oh, had 4 hits, 3 each by billy geeslin and sharp, 2 for tinsley,

But the big guy in the middle of the field, bollenbacher was the workhorse , the answer

Dan borchers pitched the last inn and rockets win moves record to 18-5

Wow, play of the day, last inn and little duck snort of a fly ball just in back of 3rd base, to see ss billy geeslin in chase, what an athletic play, sprinting , laying out prone to the ground and gobbling that ball up for the out, wow

Atta boy billy ballgame,

Rockets game wed at taylor university, sadly has been cancelled, lack of ----well take your pick, they don’t have enough players, very not good baseball business,

No game wed

Rockets will be in action sat in Cincinnati 2 pm start at Lakota west high school

Vs. a good Cincinnati chiefs club.  We drive to find the competition. Rockets then sun play the Yorkville yaks at south Dearborn h.s.

Wow nothing like a little midnite snack after a long nite in ft wayne, how about some 7 layer salad----bless you Jeff and Janice muhlenkamp---bestest neighbors , love ya in rainbow city

Happy birthday today  heath Williams, love ya in portland

Rockets beat ft. wayne jackers 12-2 now 18-5 on the season,,,,,,word is out , Portland has a pretty darn good baseball team,

Roll on rocket train

Like peace on a river

Randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jul 11/16 - rockets 14 jackers 3

July 11, 2016  rockets win 14-3 over jackers

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets played wood bat baseball fri nite and took care of baseball business,

Winning 14-3 over the ft. wayne jackers.  This contest played on a hot summer nite at runkle-miller field, and the field looked awesome, thanks parks dept. Get off the bus gus, the rockets scored 3 times in the 1st inn. And cruised to victory garnering 15 hits in the 7 inn, 2 homers ,

A triple and 4 doubles,,  more than enough for craig martin to knock down the fortsters in 7 inn,  craig went 6 inn  101 pitches walked 6  but gave up only 4 hits,

Alex delk finished the 7th.   Rockets/jackers games are rivalry games, and Portland won 2 out of 3 in ft. wayne to take the 4th of july tournament championship.

They are always games you circle on the schedule, but Portland dominated in this one,

It sure is grand to have a trimmed/mancured baseball diamond, well mowed, lined, symmetry and public address announcer Samantha Thomas and baseball music, concessions at the lunching pad, 5050 drawing winner paul minnich

Restrooms with sinks and jujst a great ballpark atmosphere,,we care in Portland, and we take care of baseball business

Top 4 batters had 9 hits and when they are on, we are on, tinsley, geeslin, tanner and waters.  in fact, for the second game in a row both Dalton tinsley and zach tanner hit home run.

Tanner with 9 leads the club, Dalton has 7

In this game tinsley and tj lindstrand had 3 hits,  and as chris schantz aptly noted, this club has some offensive prowess,,,,,

That we shall see, rockets had the weekend off, now play the jackers again tonite, 715 at Carrington field, you know in their backyard it will be game on.

Rocket record now 17-5 and now on the road for 2 weeks rockets in ft wayne tonite, at taylor u. on wed, then the weekend ---trip to cinci sat vs Cincinnati chiefm then sun to larwrenceburg,not to gamble, but to

Take on the Yorkville yaks,  for more info check out our website ballcharts. Com/portlandrockets

Fri nite it was great to have coach mark Flueckiger in  the rocket dugout, flick a rocket himself on the championship clubs of the 80’s and 90’s coaches at Huntington university, and we have several of those guys on board

Thanks for your help flickster, 

Great to see curt Compton and big game Miller on hand, of course always great to see chris Compton at the game\

Also at the game, my uncle ron miller, made the drive from Warsaw in. to see the rockets, ron 84 years old , brother of ray miller, love ya in Portland uncle ron 

Also sited and hear around the park, my sister mickey---she loves it when we play ft. wayne

Happy birthday yesterday Margaret Henderson, now a resident on rainbow lake, and a birthday greeting tomorrow to heath Williams, of Williams auto parts

Rocket train rollin, and it is fun to see as we start to build up steam come tournament time,

Tonite dan bollenbacher on the mound in ft wayne, get er done, dano

Rockets winners fri nite 14-3, now 17-5 on the season

Big game in ft. wayne tonite

r-o-c-k-e-t-s rockets rockets are the best

randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jul 7/16 - crossroads nite, rockets win 8-4

July 7. 2016 portland rockets 8 ft. wayne panthers 4

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  And wed nite was as lovely and fun a summer evening can offer in Portland.  Crossroads credit union nite is always an event and they just keep getting funner.  Portland rockets continued their winning ways wed. eve with a 8-4 win over the ft. wayne panthers. It was a buzzing at the corner of western and blaine, easily the largest crowd of the season, and the crossroads tent was like a beehive of activity. We say atta boy crossroads gang, janet, becky, jeana, wow those gals are zany and fun.  Bat spin, ball toss, tim devoss in a money machine, really

Tim would step in that money machine and might think it a pay phone, or heavens, a portapot,

The crowd was still settling in when like a shot in the woods, you here the crack of the bat, shot—resounding hit by mitch waters, shot-double by tj lindstrand, shot-double by tristen becher. Then in the 3rd inn. Boom, home run by Dalton tinsley  next inn. Shot-billy geeslin singles and boom, 2 run home run blast to the woods by zach tanner,

Tanner as you may know from Yorktown, played for the rockets 3 yrs ago, then signed professionally in the independent league. He still has skills that are fun to watch, he plays a 1st class ss, and now has 8 home runs on the year, if you would prorate that out over a major league season, he would have surpassed babe ruth at 64\

Rockets cruise to a 8-4 win every starter but one had a hit, 3 hits becker and 2 each waters and lindstrand,

Dan borchers from Versailles oh, with mom and dad in the stands, went 8 inn on a hot summers nite, 110 pitches and allower 4 runs on 7 hits, 5 ks

Atta boy dan, or as I  call him ground ball borchers, we like ground balls, they play well on our field, we gobble em up and turn em into outs,

Special thanks on this special nite to our guys at the parks department, particular we single out teddy ferguson, cant help but like that guy, he is a gem

Runkle-miller field never looked better, makes us all Portland proud,

The sights the sounds man, I know my dad ray miller would have been Portland proud,

Samantha Thomas was like running an orchestra—she rocks

The 50/50 drawing was a record, winner ron muhlenkamp from coldwater, he and wife on hand, just to watch the rockets, their sons riley and randall were good rockets several years ago, and thanks for your generous contribution to the team.

I get a bit sentimental when I scan the view and see former rockets/teammates of mine on hand.

It is gives me a warm fuzzy to see rockets come back

Hearn, chittum, takats, sautbine, jones, gray, Hendee,  love ya in Portland guys

Like also to special mention asst coach doug tinsley, he is a true baseball man, and a true rocket 6 years in, he breathes it and gets it, always enjoy dougie fresh at the ballpark

Just curious if anyone will call him dougie fresh, sounds like a breakfast thing

Crossroads nite is a rockets nite at the ballpark, thanks guys, and a rocket win 8-4

Check out that facebook picture by Christy wenning,  caption future rockets mitch waters on deck talking to 6 little leaguers leaning up against the backstop,,,,,priceless

Rocket record now 16-5

One more regular season game in Portland, and it is a big one,

Friday nite lites at runkle-miller field, 715 fri, the Portland rockets host the ft. wayne jackers,  they are our rival and they are tough customers, they have gone to the world series I believe 2 of the last 3 years, not much love lost between these two teams.

We really need to give these guys something to remember,

Pack up the lawn chair, the cooler, snacks lets have supper at the park

Come on Portland, we need ya fri nite 715

Cause ya know, you cant beat fun for a good time

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 5/16 - rockets champs of ft. wayne tournament

July 5 2016 portland rockets win firecracker classic

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland .  for when the one great scorer comes to mark against your name, he asks not if you won or lost but did you beat ft. wayne, the Portland rockets beat ft. wayne, south bend, Mishawaka and all comers

To win the ft wayne firecracker classic tournament. Rockets went 4-1 on the weekend, knocking out the ft. wayne jackers mon morning 6-3 for the trophy,

Saturday mitch waters made his 1st start of the season, rockets win 11-6 over Mishawaka brewers, they had beaten us once in south bend, not this day, nono

Rockets played an unprecedented 3 games sun, not a big fan of that plan, rockets cruised 10-2 behind dan bollenbacher, over the ft. wayne jackers, then craig martin knocked out south bend cardinals, 9-0   craig martin, a one hitter,

Sunday nite the jackers now have to beat Portland 2 games in a row, they win 4-2 in a close one, a fine pitched game, but the rockets only garnered 6 hits, our guy Andrew bobeck was just as good .  a slew of rocket fans on hand to witness , larry and donna chittum, brad miller, Kristie delaney, and many of the parents too on hand  steve garbacz and Ashley too on hand. Ryan shell the cf from gas city was there too

But now it is championship Portland vs ft. wayne,

One text message and we have Derek thobe rhp from coldwater just returned from vacation ready to go,  we say a special thanks to our buddy from coldwater mike moorman, a great rocket in his day, scouted by the ny Yankees and now owner of mcsobers home of good time, mike talked this lad into being a rocket and we are grateful.

In fact we have had rocket posts from all over acknowledging this clubs accomplishment,

I spend too much time on facebook,

As I stepped into the rocket dugout at dusty Carrington field, billy geeslin spoke of the good karma in store for this july 4th, it is connie geeslin;/s birthday, billys grandma

Love ya in Portland connie, also it is paul minnichs birthday, love ya in Portland paul

After denny Affolder suggested the pledge of allegiance would be appropriate , nice touch,

Rockets with 17 players in attendance did a happy dance after zach tanners massive 3 run bomb, home run onto the golf course

Derek thobe with the 3 run cushion takes care of his baseball business, 6 inn  5 hit, alex delk closes out the last inn, rocket insurance runs on the double by Kevin sharp, the only player to have a hit in all 5 tournament games, then a speedy triple by dj manning the old running back from st. francis fine football program, come see this kid, a 4.2 40 , faster than a speeding bullet,  congrats zach tanner tournament mvp 11 hits 5 doubles and 3 hr. 8 hits geeslin, 7 sharp, 6 tinsley and affolder

Rockets won this tournament in 2012 as coach doug tinsley pointed out, and it served as a springboard to a world series berth, karma perhaps?????

Rockets return home to the biggest nite of the season, Wednesday nite is crossroads credit union nite, lots of zany energy, shenanigans and prizes, free stuff mind u

And I want a shot at that money machine, quick hands I picked up from playing ping pong with bob elson and dave golden.

Crossroads nite wed, the ft. wayne panthers are in town, be there or be rectgangular,

That crossroads gang has spirit and they are something from somewhere,\

Happy birthday this day special mention to bob freemyer from ft. recovery  my mentor

The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the square of the other 2 legs

Rockets win the trophy and we are the champions, record 15-5

Home games wed, and fri

Love ya in Portland

Randymiller pg 14

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Posted Jun 30/16 - rockets lose 14-13

 

 

 

June 30,2016  rockets lose to kekionga 14-3

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.and happy last day of  June 30, 2016 portland rockets played wood bat baseball in ft wayne last evening at Indiana tech, 9 excruciating innings, losing to kekionga 14-13.

But it went to the very last out, rockets rally –a clutch single by chandler ingle—I like that rhyme, with 2 out in the 9th plated one run but brett funk just could not make it home safely before the strong outfield throw gunned him down trying to score the tying run,,,funk a high school senior from adams central well,

I guess you could say he had larcency in his heart, but his feet were honest,  good try young man, we love ya in Portland.

This was a game you would have had to see to believe but I doubt that you would really want to ,  true the rockets hit 4 home runs, 2 by Dalton tinsley , one each by jagen millspaugh and zach tanner, had 18 hits---3 each by tinsley, tanner and millspaugh, 2 by waters and colin Affolder, and club rallied down 14-5 in the 6th to make it a one run game. But really dude?! Rockets pitchers walked 12 batters, 12 walks, and rocket fielders had 7 errors and many more misplays,  certainly a frustrating evening, we even tossed out one of our own players so the umpire wouldn’t have to,,,,lets continue the rocket rally into july,

Rockets open the Carrington july 4th tournament sat. 11 am vs. the Mishawaka brewers,  we just split with them last weekend.

Then the rockets will either play sat. nite should we get beat, or Sunday at 11 am if we win. 

More will be forthcoming as tournament unfolds,  check www.ballcharts.com/portlandrockets for details

rockets won this 5 team tournament, south bend, 2 years ago.  Mishawaka ft. wayne and Portland.

Rockets lose despite dropping home run bombs on Anthony ave. 4 home runs in a game, been a while probably since the luce boys, deckman, moorman and company

Rocket record now 11-4

Heres some coaching advice, catch the ball, throw the ball and to our pitchers, if you get it in , we’ll get em out

Maybe these young guys should pay attention,,,,,ya think!!

Next home game crossroads nite july 6th\

Now lets turn the page and win ft wayne

Randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jun 27/16 - rockets take 2 out of 3 in south bend

June 27, 2016 rockets take 2 of 3 in south bend

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Since the midseventies

The Portland rockets have made visited south bend.  Made some nice acquitances, love ya in Portland ron milovich, Jason best, bethel college coach zeth zartman played for Portland. Rockets take 2 out of 3 on the weekend  you win some, you lose some, some are rained out.  Yep that’s what we did

Rockets split Saturday with the Mishawaka brewers losing 4-3 in a heartbreaker, then winning 4-3.  Sunday the rockets after a 45 min delay, beat the south bend cardinals 4-2

Then the thunder, then the lightning, then rain deluxe

19 rocket players and a host of fans, games were competitive and in the balance to the end.

Game one rockets led 3-1 till the bottom of the 6th when the brewers got to dan bollenbacher and amazingly scored 3 runs –beat us 4-3

Game 2 zach tanner hits a 2 run homer, 2 doubles Dalton tinsley, 3 hits mitch waters, a save by mitch to preserve craig martins win, and  rockets win 4-3.  thanks for the apples mrs. Stahley, tj lindstrands grandma   note craig martin had a one hitter thru 4 inn before giving way to dan borchers from Versailles

Rockets win sun garret scott borchers and waters on the mound, 2 hits by tanner, alex delk and colin Affolder, rbi double Kevin sharpe,

They loaded the bases in the 7th on borchers, mitch came in for the save, atta  boy

Rocket fans dave post and john bailey now an asst coach for grand lake were on hand,

As we were draining water sun morning working with cardinal players, their second baseman shared his recollection of playing in Portland,  then cooling off at the greazy pickle. They always remember the pickle…..

We sure do appreciate our field at home, a great baseball venue,  we say thanks Portland, the press box, the announcer, love ya Samantha, the music, the lunching pad, the scoreboard,,,,no wonder they remember portland.

Happy birthday this weekend to rockets geoff bowers and Thomas mccowan, and off course, on Saturday to orie poole, the Johnny cash of jay county
rockets win 2 of 3 and now move top 11-3 on the season. Next action at Indiana tech 705  wed vs kekionga  then the july 4th tourney next weekend.

Man it rained like  a cow doing something,

Thunder thunder thunderation

Were the rocket delegation

When we fight with determination

We create a sensation.

Rockets win rockets roll

Randy miller

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Posted Jun 20/16 - rockets over bandits dh sweep

June 20, 2016 PORTLAND ROCKETS SWEEP INDIANA BANDITS 14-8 AND 12-1

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  And it was certainly a great week for our friends across the border in ft recovery,,, a fantastic jubilee celebration,

Must say I even won one of the duck races and always a great visit with yakow and neal spencer, .

Portland rockets had a jubilee celebration at home plate this weekend, scoring runs in bunches, defeating the Indiana bandits 14-8 and 12-1.  in front of a large crowd sat. at runkle-miller field, a rocky start for lefthander Andrew bobeck from bethel college found the the Indianapolis/Greenfield team up 5-1 in the second ---this club beat us in the may 28th,  but the rockets tallied 9 times in the 4th and cruised to the 14-8 win.  Zach tanner clubbed a monster home run in the fateful 4th and Kevin sharpe, 1st year guy from indy clubbed his first homer a grand slam .  as sports editor chris schantz pointed out the top four hitters in the Portland lineup-10 hits. BY THE WAY  great front page article on the rockets in sat. the CR.   Tinsley, geeslin,tanner and waters, Enough to allow rocket reliever d’qaun Blackmon to go 5 inn for the win.  Dquann a Muncie south guy allowed 3 run 4 hits.

Rockets nailed down game 2 12-1 in 5 inn. Dan bollenbacher another strong outing 4 inn 8 ks.  83 pitches

5 hits on the day for Dalton tinsley 4 each for billy geeslin and zach tanner, 3 for mitch waters,

Kevin sharpe a homer and a double, geoff bowers from lima had 2 hits

Rockets welcomed aboard new catcher ben breymier from indy. Ben plays ball in mobile Alabama and his dad, ron breymier bought a rocket hat.  What karma, bens dad is a 1970 graduate of Portland high school and here he is Portland, his son a rocket.

Guess what year I  graduated from Portland high school, here is a hint

Whe are geat, we are cool were the envoy of the school

Were the class that’s really true were the class of ‘72

 

Rockets win 2 over the bandits making it a 7 game winning streak. Rocket record 9-2

Next action wednite at taylor university 7 pm vs. the twin city bankers.

Rockets also will be on  the road sat, sun in south bend

Winners of 2 sat. rockets roll

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 9/16 - rockets win 5th straight 9-4 over panthers

June 9, 2016 rockets over ft. wayne panthers 9-4

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. Rocket homestand concluded wed. evening in Portland with a resounding9- 4 victory over the ft. wayne panthers.  As has been the modus operendi the home team went up early 7-0 after 5 inn and cruised to its 5 th straight win.  Rockets now 7-2 on the young season.\

Beautiful nite with another fine crowd on hand, the local faithful saw rhp dan bollenbacher pitch no hit, well perfect game baseball for 4 inn, second outing in a row

In the 5th the st. francis group got 3 runners on but dan struck out the last guy making it

12 ks in 5 inn. 

Rocket fireworks once more in the 4th, leadoff man Dalton tinsley clubbed a rocket shot into the hedges in right, his second in as many games, that lazer left the  yard on a line  in a hurray, 2 run dinger Dalton. Atta boy

Rockets also had 2 hits and 3 rbi from marion native jagen millspaugh

Kevin sharpe from indy also had 2 rbi.\

Important to note, the rockets had 20 players in attendance, 19 played, this group is beginning to develop into a nice ballclub. 

Derek thobe from coldwater and dan borchers finished up mound duties  in all the rocket pitchers struck out 20 batters, thobe had 6 and gave up  6 hits.

The rockets would like again to publicly thank the Portland parks dept and franklin electric for the new lights, and also to our neighbors for mowing the field adjacent the park.

And every outing someone compliments our new staircase, Samantha Thomas skywalk to the press box, thanks ted ferguson for a masterful job,  you too are masterful Samantha as the voice of the rockets.

Thanks nick and Helen miller for your generous donation to help buy more baseballs, we appreciate it

The Portland rockets donated last nites 50/50 draw to 5 year old jax stull. Jax is the son of rocket umpire joey stull who owns sports shop championawards in Muncie.  Jax has just been diagnosed with diabetes.  Says his dad joey, jax has diabetes, diabetes does not have jax.  Well wishes to the joey stull family, Rockets send $100.

Rockets will have the weekend off and resume action next wed. nite at Indiana tech.

Garret scott the starter, then home next sat. june 18th vs the Indiana bandits.

Did I mention we have hoodies on sale for $25?

For more rocket info check www.ballcharts.com/portlandrockets 2010

Happy birthday this week to our friend gary miller from Wabash ohio/ pit stop

Love ya in portland

Portland record now 7-2 and the rocket train rolls,

9-4 winner last nite, got a good thing goin in Portland.

We wont win em all, but we’ll win the next one.

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 6/16 - rockets take 4 of 5 this weekend

June 6, 2016 rockets win 4 out of 5 on weekend

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. Portland rockets played wood bat baseball this weekend in Portland and won 4 out of the 5 games played.

Friday grand lake came to town on golf cart nite.  They got their revenge, Portland had defeated the mariners wed but they won 6-2.  score was 0-0 in the 5th,  rocket pitcher dan bollenbacher had a perfect game, 12 up 12 down, but they nicked him for 2 runs, and closed with a 6-2 win.  First nite game of the season and a very nice crowd on hand.

This made possible only thru the efforts of franklin electric and our Portland parks department/  they used the 80 foot lift truck to install the replacement lights at runkle-miller field. Thanks greg franklin and ryan myers. 

 

Rockets came back with avengence sat and sun. winners of 4 straight and now the rocket train rolls.  As pointed out by chris chantz, 42 runs scored on the weekend and the offense is staring to click. Rockets sweep ft. wayne 14-6 and 7-3. tj lindstrand 2 doubles and a grand slam home run, total k6 rbi, Andrew bobeck of bethel college the winner, 101 pitches. Craig martin from marion won game 2 and both left handers this day were in command.  Please note, 4 hits from rocket rookie catcher jake geesaman,  the jay county h.s. senior caught both games and in his first action as a rocket earned the nickname pig pen/ it drizzled all day and Jacob was a muddy mess by days end, and what a day he had.

Sunday and the rockets knocked out the twin city bankers, 12-5 and 7-3

Dalton tinsley had 6 rbi  5 hits and a homer on the day. Zach tanner had 4 hits and a homer as well, exciting to see the boys bashing the ball around the yard, garrett scott the wp from Goshen game 1, d”Quann Blackmon from Muncie game 2

Thanks denny Affolder for feeding the team between games. 

Josh Gibson shared Friday that last time he saw billy geeslin, he was the size of josh’s kid the crazy days past when josh and tony minch minded the rocket lunching pad and billy was a kid

Ben smith a rocket player a few years ago from maria stein was in the house.

Ben is now in the us airforce a crew chief on the combat search and rescue team.

Their job if a craft is downed, go rescue the planes pilot and crew.

Ben just back from turkey, when asked what he likes about his job,

Going up on the mountain and watching us bomb the bleep out of them, pounding them every nite,  he was quite graphic,

Wow,

Rockets set off some bombs this weekend , win 4 of 5 and now record is 6-2

This unique group of men, becoming a team is a great thing to  see. They will rest up for action in Portland wed. vs the ft. wayne panthers, rockets home wed.

Come see us at the corner of western and blaine

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Posted Jun 2/16 - rockets defeat grand lake mariners 2-1

June 2,2016 Rockets defeat Mariners 2-1

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. And happy June to all

Especially you PJ , hope your shoulder is better.

Portland rockets renewed their rivalry with the grand lake mariners wed nite at Montgomery Field, Celina.  Wood bat baseball, 9 inn. Great crowd, playoff atmosphere on astro turf, 2 hr 50 min and it was intense,  Portland rockets 2 Grand lake mariners 1

Maybe it was yogi berra, the great soothsayer, who said of turf, “if cows cant eat off it, I don’t want to play on it” this observer notes rockets liked it 0 errors and many a stellar defensive play to save the day.

Get off the bus gus, rocket scored 2 in the first, and that held up for all nine inn.

Dalton tinsley walked and scored on billy geeslins single, he scored on Mitch waters double,

Rockets had 5 hits, zach tanner, alex delk, Kevin sharpe, and tristen becher also had hits.

The mariners had 6 hits but the story line here

Rocket pitching …winner Derek thobe of coldwater was dealing, 4 inn. 1 run on 2 hits, then 4 rocket relievers finished it out, dan borchers from Versailles, billy geeslin big time punch outs with traffic on the basepaths, alex delk, then mitch waters in the ninth and rockets win , rockets win.

Recall last year Portland beat Celina twice in one run games, now this victory to be shortlived, the rivalry continues, Celina grand lake mariners are coming to Portland Friday nite, 705 start at runkle-miller field,

Rocket rally Portland, come support the home team and lets make it a ruckus rocket rally

Lets call it golf cart nite, bring your golf cart and get a drink and a popcorn free

Of course you have to stay and root root root for the home team.

Great to see fun baseball people in coldwater, I will post a picture of Ralph Schweiterman in his old coldwater moon uniform,  yes Ralph is kennys brother, and he ws quick to point out, we ate wings at mcsobers in record fashion.

Special thanks to Mariner coach chris o”neil and gm barb  for their hospitality, lets make it a nite to remember fri in Portland

Big dan bollenbacher gets the ball, and we like the challenge,

Great to see our Kristie Delaney in Celina, and a host of fans including ty stauffer making his first rocket game.
705 at the corner of western and blaine, the ruckus rally begins  lets pray the lights work

Golf cart nite

Rockets win 2-1 in Celina, rivalry continues Friday

Bring a cowbell

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted May 30/16 - rockets split opener to start 2016

Portland rockets may 28th dh vs Indiana bandits

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets opened the 2016 season Saturday at runkle-miller field vs. the Indiana bandits from Greenfield.

The won game one 15-8 then dropped the nitecap 15-4 in a rain shortenend game. In front on an impressive crowd the Portland team sent dan bollenbacher on the mound, and ray cooney remarked that this was a good group of veterans.  These guys have went 53-16 the last two years, recall the names, mitch waters, Justin Marrero, zach tanner back from 2 years pro ball, alex delk, billy geeslin, Dalton tinsley, conlin Affolder, tj lindstrand.
the rockets down 7-2 in the opener came on like gangbusters, and it was fun to watch. The offensive fireworks featured 4 triples and 3 home runs, all in one inning.  Yes sir, fireworks in may, in the 6th mitch waters clubbed a no doubter over the left field wall, then billy geeslin did the same thing, then 2 batters later TJ lindstrand went deep. The rockets 14 hits in the contest .  in relief the rockets pitched Andrew bobeck , delk and waters, bobeck from Syracuse Indiana and a teammate of Affolder at bethel college got the win. 

3 hits each by Marrero, geeslin and by new outfielder Kevin sharpe from indy sach tanner had a double triple and 5 rbi, he played for the frontier grays last year,  he is one of ours now

Welcomed to the ballpark the new staircase to the pressbox, and our first visitor upstairs, our own first rocket to win a ballgame, larry chittum\

Love ya in Portland hawkshaw!~

Assistant coach of sorts tim devoss was also aboard cheering on the boys,

And thanks fred bailey for your generous donation.

Game 2 went 5 innings and our 4 pitchers just could not put out the fire, bandits 15-rockets 4

On this memorial day weekend we are grateful and thankful, and Saturday  we had a chance to meet the grandson of my friend who has passed Gerald kunce. He was on the other team but we shared some good memories.

Good luck to the Jay County Patriots and ft. recovery Indians and adams central jets all vying for tournament titles.

Rockets will be in Celina Wednesday nite a 705pm start at Montgomery field.

The field is just past mcdonalds on grand lake road.

We beat em twice last year. It wont be easy. 

Derek thobe our new pitcher from coldwater will be the starter

Rockets will return home for games fri sat and sun.

Man oh man, there is nothing like the sound of the bat barreling the ball and watching a triple, the most exciting play in baseball, we had 4 of em.

Rockets split to start the season, and it is only going to get better

Randy miller pg `14

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Posted Aug 3/15 - rockets end season 20-8 go 1-2 in regional

Aug. 3 2015 nabf regional results from Kankakee

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The boys of summer have concluded their season. Dag nabbit silly rabbit, mission incomplete. Rockets lose in tournament play two times to winning just once and the season ended. 

Rockets have earned berths to regionals since 1985, I was on that team with the dull boys, neunschwander, maggard, flick, duback, selveck, duback, Selvey, bultemeirer, overmeyer.  We went to Dayton.
this is the first time we ever went to Kankakee Illinois.  Rockets go 1-2

I drove over 800 miles this week. Wow

Rockets just could not complete their mission, unlike a week ago when they won the world baseball congress championship.

Every rocket had a flaw in his game at one point or another, every one. Coach included.

Not championship caliber, not sugar coating it  should have know after a bird dropping soiled our new scorebook.

Rockets lost thurs to Chicago angels,  dan bollenbacher had a 4-0 lead in the 4th  but we could not hang on, lose 6-4 in the last inn.  Billy geeslin took  the loss. The angel pitcher was last year playing in the pros, AAA  white sox

Game 2 facing elimination and the defending champion and host club, the beecher muskies.  We faced them in buffalo in the nabf world series  they have been there 11 of 13 times, make that 14, rockets knocked out the muskies, big win 4-2

Mitch waters goes 5 1/3 inn 4 hits 1 run and 3 ks,  bill geeslin big relief appearance, Justin Marrero hits a key triple off the top of the 380 sign and scores the insurance run.

Rockets one more chance on aug first, but it is not to be

This one belongs to the Michigan city lakers, Reynolds goes 4 inn giving up 3

Rockets strand 9 runners, well it would have been 10 but one was picked off 1st inn from second base to quell that threat.  Rockets lose 6-4 to end season. Record 20-8

In the tournament Dalton tinsley offensive leader 6 for 11` 3 hits each for geeslin, alex delk, Marrero, Brandon reaman,

Team went 23 for 79 a quite respectable .291ave.
rockets  had a17 in the Portland dugout and earned the respect of all in the tournament,

We did not play the Joliet dirtbags or Chicago thurnder,  lakers defeat Joliet in finals 15-3  to advance to world series in battle creek

Thanks to all supporters and fans and staff

Strange year, but the core players have all said they are returning to do baseball business next year.

Until then this is the old third base coach rounding third and headin for home,

Love ya in Portland randy miller

Pg 14

 

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Posted Jul 27/15 - rockets win border wars tournament

July 27, 2015 rockets are the champions my friends

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets hosted the 7th world baseball congress regional tournament this weekend. And the the winner, your Portland rockets as Samantha Thomas would say, are the champions my friend.

Rockets defeated Saginaw Michigan Sunday , Portland 5 the Michigan areabraves 4 in a dramatic come from behind fashion.  Trailing 4-1 in the 6th the boys of summer staged a 2 out rally , a big 2 run double by chris miller to make it 4-3 , then scored 2 more in the last inning to walk off a 5-4 victory.  Strangest ending ever, with the bases loaded, alex delk got hit by the pitch to tie the game, collin Affolder gets plunked to drive in the games winning run.

Rockets scored without the benefit of a basehit.  My sister mickey was giving the business as their relief pitchers were warming up,  she said she was a factor in their wildness.

Key in this game and certainly fun to watch, 3 baserunners were gunned down at the plate by rockets outfielders, 2 by Dalton tinsley, 1 by collin Affolder

Alex delk pitched 1 inn to get the win, effective in 3 inn; jimmy west , starter Austin brancock went 3.

Teams from Dayton oh, Saginaw mich, ft. wayne and Portland made for quite a competitive field on the weekend. In fact after all first round games were played, all teams were one win and one loss,  so whoever won sat nite would be championship bound Sunday.

Portland rockets big win 2-0 over the ft. wayne jackers fri nite.  Dan bollenbacher was the dan the man, a complete game 5 hit shutout, chris miller hit a home run to center field, straightaway, wow. Cant remember last time we saw that.

Game 2 michigan braves beat Portland 3-1 just couldn’t muster enough offense, but avenged that in the championship-mitch waters threw a complete game but we left em on base.

Sat. nite rockets needed to win and did, 7-1 tyler Reynolds a complete game winner scattering 4 hits, Dalton tinsley capped off the 3 run 6th with a blast into the hedges in right field, I literally heard the crack of the bat, a gasp from our sizeable crowd and then silence awaiting fair or foul.
so awesome, love ya in Portland Dalton, in fact Dalton tinsley and dan bollenbacher were named co-MVP this weekend,  tinsley went 6-11 on the weeknd with 5 rbi, Brandon reaman 4 hits, tj lindstrand 3  chris miller 3 rbi homer and a double

Rockets win the tournament 2015 and nice pictures of our men with trophy, banner and medallions. Not so nice Reynolds and waters pouring the ice bucket over an unsuspecting coach miller. 

How sweet it is.
as our dear friend david lyons shared, there are those make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happended.  I am a wonderer

Rockets record  19-6 play in the national regional this weekend in Kankakee ill

Never done that before,

Thanks to all for your support in Portland, we are Portland proud

Many great reviews from our guests throughout the midwest

Last time the rockets won this wbc tournament, they went to the world series in 2012, look out for the rocket train

Rockets are the champs my friends /

Love ya in Portland

Randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jul 23/15 - ROCKETS CONCLUDE REGULAR SEASON DEFEAT FT WAYNE PANTHERS 5-4

July 23, 2015  rockets 5 ft. wayne panthers 4

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  And by golly Bernard reitz, it truly is a fine summer day, a stretch of dry weather-the first time we have had 7 days without rain since april as stated by curtis smith of channel 21 . 

Portland rockets finished the regular season last nite on a winning note, rockets 5 ft. wayne panthers 4.  rockets won on a walk off single in the last inning alex delks high chopper just over the second basemans head enough to score colin Affolder from third base for the winning run.  Alex delk also had earlier hit a 3 run bomb, his 3rd homer in 3 games and alex delk also was the winning pitcher, how about that.

Delk 2 hits, Affolder 2 hits and billy geeslin 2 hits.

Jagen millspaugh had an rbi single as Portland pounded out 8 hits to their 6

Rocket starter Austin branock went 3 inn, chandler ingle 2 geeslin and delk 1 each;\

Delks  3 run homer down the line in left put Portland ahead early and a run in the 3rd made it 4-1 but the st. francis group tied the score in the 5th,

Rockets finish the regular season with a 16-5 mark. 

Note  it was billy geeslin birthday .25 years old,  our gal Kristie Delaney even had a birthday cake, billy has been around us for a long time, even when he was 8 years old, singing take me out to the ballgame, and he had some good karma going last nite, 2 hits and some clutch pitching, he came in and with bases loaded fanned 2 batters of the 3 he faced. And the crowd loved it,,,wow we have a golf cart display at the park and I love it.

Special thanks to denny Affolder for his hard work on our foul lines .  also to our team of workers in Portland howard ontropf and teddy ferguson. Thanks field is talking shape it slowly dries out. Our field of dreams is getting ready for tournament action

Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time. Quote by Voltaire

Tournament time and Portland is the host.  Been doing regional tournament play in Portland since 1991

Runkle-Miller field will host the world baseball congress tournament starting Friday nite.

The rockets will play the ft wayne jackers  at 6:15,  the game following will be the michiganarea braves from Saginaw vs the Miami valley wolverines of Dayton.

This is the 7th year for our border wars tournament, we have Indiana Michigan and ohio represented, former winner from Chicago the Illinois jayhawks dropped out last minute.

Quite a competitive field, Saginaw, Dayton, ft. wayne and Portland.

Rockets will start dan bollenbacher vs. the jackers fri nite. They are our rival and it will be a big game atmosphere,  strangely we played them 11 times last season, not played them once this year. 

Rockets will also play Saturday two games. As all teams will play each other in round robin fashion, winners will play the championship on Sunday at noon.

Portland vs michiganarea braves sat at noon then Portland vs Dayton around 7 30 at nite

Portland rockets thank all of our fans for a fine season and we truly have a special thing going in Portland,  thanks to my good friend and mentor Robert freemeyer for his contribution, and to also dave lyons.  Love ya in Portland guys.

Now load up the cooler,  stick in an extra for the old coach at third base and when Samantha Thomas rocks out the house and says are their any rocket fans out there, lets here ya..

Rockets win wed and are hungry for tournament here in Portland.

Remember ya cant beat fun for a good time

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 17/15 - CROSSROADS NITE, ROCKETS DOWNED BY SLUGGERS 10-08

July 17, 2015  summit city sluggers 10- Portland rockets 8

 

Good  morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  On  a hot summer nite, would you offer your neck to the wolf with the red roses,  now there is a blast from the past,  kinda makes me hungry for some meatloaf.  Thurs nite in Portland the rockets served up the silver platter to the summit city sluggers losing 10-8. 

It was kinda hot, especially in the 7th inn.  Score tied 3-3, starter mitch waters needed one more out to make it through the inn. And we couldn’t find it,. Mitch with 2 out 2 on was tagged for 3 runs, and reliever Austin branock 3 also, they get 6 in the inn.\

Waters goes 6 plus inn, 122 pitches 5 earned runs struck out 9.

It was a great crowd on hand,  it was Crossroads financial credit union nite, and man the golf carts were everywhere,. Now that crossroads team is pretty spunky, games and prizes, and kids doing there thing, 

It gives me that warm feeling to see so many people out sharing  and you cant beat fun at the ole ballpark,  tony Reynolds on hand almost like a dj spicing it up with good music;

Becky white orchestrated the gaming, her redkey softball team she coaches were state champs at one time, her son shane a fine rocket pitcher some years ago. The bob clark family on board.  A special thanks to jim gehinger and his wife for their contribution to the home team. Hey even my sister mickey was on hand. A special happy birthday wish today to our rocket favorite, mariloyn maloy now living in ft wayne.  Love ya in portland

Rockets did make it interesting a 3 run home run by alex delk closed the gap, his second in 2 nites, a 2 run single by tom mccowan made it 10-8 and we had the tying run on second but not to be as the rockets stranded 13 runners on their second nite in a row of 13 hits.

3 glaring errors too contributed.

Delk , waters gesslin, mccowan and Brandon mccowan all had 12 hits.

One of the highlights the crossroads gang singing take me out to the ballpark, and dusty pierson 10 year old willie mays baseball throwing out the first pitch.  Just seeing all the folks even from out of town, my friend neal spencer, my old teammate mark and chris hearrn, and how about that rendition of the national anthem,  Chelsea taylor, a bollenbacher, made chills run up and down,

A great nite for baseball at the corner, I guess the sluggers did not get the memo, we are to win on crossroads nite,  janet bantz said emphatically we will do it again next year.

Rockets return home sat 1 pm dh vs ft wayne expos after playing them tonite in ft wayne,

Game tonite at Carrington field, tyler Reynolds the starter

Rockets record now 15-5

Like the old coach ray miller said, we wont win em all, but well win the next one

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 16/15 - ROCKETS 8 TWIN CITY BANKERS 6

July 16,, 2015 rockets 8 twin city bankers 6

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. And the sun shineth, and the Portland rockets winneth.  Portlands team played nine innings of wood bat baseball on a lovely quiet wed nite at taylor university,  success story Portland 8  twin city bankers 6

Get off the bus gus, Dalton tinsely and Brandon reaman teamed up to score 3 rocket runs in  the first 4 inn and the team never trailed.  Get em on, get em over, get em in.   In fact, reaman  4 hits and tinsley 3 hits, include colin Affolder with 2 hits, tom mccowan a double,  and we had 13 on the evening. 

A 4 -0 lead in the 4th , usually enough for starter dan bollenbacher,  the big fella goes 6 inn. 88 pitches strikes out 9  scatters 5 hits, 1 earned run.

Austin branock pitched 2 inn. …keep in mind these guys have been itching to pitch for a couple of weeks,  alex delk pitched a perfect 9th, in fact delkie has struck out 6 of the last 9 he faced.

Key blow in the game, with Portland leading 4-3 in the 6th , alex delk hit a monster shot over the fence 3 run home run . 

Special thanks to cr sports editor chris Schanz for making the trip to upland, he noted we left 14 runners on base.  Again, get em on, get em over, and dag nabbit silly rabbit, get em in!

Rockets record now moves to 15-4. 

Pretty cool to have in our dugout coach mark Flueckiger of Huntington university .  even cooler having 5 year old son calvin circling the bases in his black and gold rocket attire. Love ya in Portland flick

And as the sun shineth, we have a game tonite, yes at the corner of western and blaine, its Thursday nite, crossroads nite.

The biggest date of the season.  Member appreciation nite at the ballpark thanks to crossroad financial credit union. 7 pm start .  our guests the summit city sluggers.

Many prizes and shenagins and smiles.  I want to step into that money machine, 30 sec to grab as many $ as you can.

We are glad to be on the crossroads team.

7 pm start at runkle-miller field , mitch waters the starter

Great to see Portland rebound after the tough stretch, kudos to our community ,effective leadership and support .\

Crossroads nite, a crowd favorite, tonite 7 pm

Love ya in Portland,

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 13/15 - portland takes 2 out of 3 from dayton

July 13, 2015 portland rockets take 2 of 3 in Dayton vs wolverines

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  And if it rains, I surely will hear it from bernerd reitz, he gives me the dickens when I say it’s a beautiful day.

The rockets were in action over the weekend, after 16 days off  the boys of summer played in Dayton Friday and Saturday. The rockets won 2 out of 3 of those games. Then rained out Sunday in ft. wayne

Portland in Dayton, just like in the old days at howell field, when we played hh morgan.

Back in the 80’s.  howell field down in a hole, was the site of the first ever NFL game,

The Dayton triangles vs the Columbus Panhandles, seated 5000 in 1920.  the field has been part of a Cincinnati reds renovation project with many improvements. 

Portland rockets were there fri and lost a toughie, 3-0 to the Miami valley wolverines,

Mitch waters scattered 6 hits thru 8 inn  86 pitches, gave up 1 earned run but the rockets were denied any runs, left 13 men on base, including loaded bases in the first 2 inn.

Even in the last inning men on 2nd and 3rd, a long ball by jagen millspaugh almost tied the game in the 9th but it went foul. 

Rocket train on track Saturday, get off the bus gus, Dalton tinsley and Brandon reaman, our 1st 2 hitters, and our top 2 hitters on the weekend, get em on, get em over and get em in.

That’s how we mananged a 6-2 and 7-1 dh sweep over those wolverines on sat.  with those 2 on our offense creates havoc for the opposition.  Alex delk then doubles to the track and the train was rolling.  Reaman had 7 hits in the 3 games, tinsley had 6,. They were teammates this spring at Shawnee state and we love em in portland.  Rockets manages 32 hits over the weekend. Justin Marrero had a couple of doubles and saved us a couple times with defensive gems at 3rd and short, tj lindstrand had 4 hits, colin Affolder had 3 hits, billy geeslin some clutch base hits, delk 3 rbi,  rockets rolled;

We like success stories, tyler Reynolds and jimmy west were stellar on the mound.  Tyler goes 6 inn, 92 pitches and is in command. 10 hits 1 walk and 6 Ks,  billy geeslin pitched the last inn. Then game 2 rockets made a winner of jimmy west, he goes 5 inn allows just 1 run and 5 hits, jimmy and Brandon reaman are from Dayton, playing in Dayton but playing for the Portland rockets, they were recruited by teammate Dalton tinsley and his dad coach doug tinsley, and we are glad they are rockets.  They drive just an hour and a half to Portland for a game.  Wow

Andy welches used to do that for Portland before he went to the independent leagues.

Rockets outscored the Dayton club 13-6 but one of the key plays in the game, with a 2-1 lead in the 4th, Dayton lead off runner tried to steal second.  Catcher tj lindstrand, who caught all weekend,  lucas Hendee did spell him in the first game, tj nailed that runner trying to steal second and wiped the bases clean, I guess he had larceny in his heart, but his feet were honest. 

One of the highlights of my weekend was seeing so many rocket fans in Dayton.;  meeting jimmy west parents for the first time after probably his most successful mound event ever, and telling them what a prize he is for Portland, and watching them beam over their star pitcher, priceless.\

I was a bit touched I must say.

Must share a happy birthday cheer to our old captain heath Williams from Portland. All American and voted into semi-pro baseball hall of fame, 8 years as an elite rocket.

Please also note the passing of my good friend this weekend, Geneva resident dick Huffman, love ya in Portland Richard

Rockets win 2 out of 3 in Dayton, record now 14-4 in this bizarre summer

Sunday rained out, we play ft. wayne tonite, weather permitting,

At taylor tues, we return to Portland thurs for crossroads credit union nite.

Rain rain go away rockets have a game today,

Randymiller pg 14

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Posted Jun 25/15 - rockets win in extras 7-6

June 25, 2015  rockets 7-6 over n.e. kekionga\ 11 innings

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  It was a beautiful evening in ft wayne wed eve.  A large crowd on hand at Indiana tech warriors field, lots of rocket rooters in the summit city, and they were in for a treat. I mean, suspense, drama, action, homeruns double plays, agony, blown calls, and did I say agony, and tears and billy ballgame

Now I  say triumph, Portland wins 7-6 in 11 inn. One of THE most memorable games , one I certainly will not forget. Nor will billy ballgame, bill geeslin—chips were down=-traffic on the base paths, we need a rocket arm to strike em out,  I can see billy at 3rd base has removed the tape from his forearm,  he wants the ball in the 10th with the winning run at 3rd, 1 out.  Now billy has been a pitcher of note in the past, but several arm surgeries, tommy john plus screws in the elbow  to attach muscle, a broken hand and more, he has had his thrills on pitching hills, but he found a way this day,

A comeback you might say, and he struck out 2 in the 10th and 2 in the 11th to get the win and his own save, and that is why after the game we hugged and we cried.

We love ya in Portland billy ballgame

Get off the bus Gus, rockets score in the early frames cruise to a 5-1 lead after Dalton tinsleys blast onto Anthony blvd, his 2nd homer in 2 games. Rockets had 14 hits all starters had at least one.  Tinsley our leadoff man, scored 3 runs 2 hits, ofs Brandon reaman and colin Affolder each with 3 hits. Tj lindstrand had 3 rbi,.

Starting pitcher Austin branock from gas city was mowing em down for 6 inn. Then they put together a 4 spot in the 7th . jimmy west kept us in the game into the 10th before billy ballgame saved the day.

Branock 74 pitches 0 walks, West 51 1 walk, billy ballgame 23 pitches0 walks 4 ks

I was on a cloud all the way home.  Just an hour earlier my guts hurt, then my eyes hurt.

I know what it was, I wore my dads socks for good luck,

11 inn. 2 hrs 43 min, rockets win 7-6

The losing pitcher alex delk. Alex is a rocket but he attends Indiana tech and he is a very fine player, his catcher jegan millspaugh also a rocket. But they are also required to play with their college team.  Doesn’t make rocket people happy,  in fact delk struck out 5 in a row in the last inn. Before reamon reached base on an error and then came in on lindstrands double, Affolder then smashed a single thru the middle for what proved to be the game winner.

In attendance ryan shell from gas city wearing his rocket shirt

Rocket record 12-3

Rockets return to Portland sat. 1pm dh at runkle-miller field vs ft wayne expos

Then Sunday at Carrington vs expos again, 3pm.

Waters and bollenbacher on sat.

A memorable night at the ball park, rockets win 7-6 in extras

Love ya in Portland

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jun 22/15 - rockets take 3 out of 4 in south bend

June 22, 2012  portland rockets take 3 of 4 in south bend road trip

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Happy first days of summer
the Portland rockets made the road trip this weekend to south bend.  You know we like success stories, and this is a success story.  Portland wins 3 out of 4 games at kennedy park, south bend. 

Saturday it was thunder and lightning,  mitch waters and dan bollenbacher success stories on the mound, rockets over the Mishawaka brewers, 11-1 and 7-0.  another great outing by both rocket veterans, mitch scattered 6 hits, dan gave up 3 in his shutout.

And it was great to have Justin Marrero from Reynoldsburg, oh back in the lineup,

Marrero played all over the field in the 4 game set, and here is a success story,  he scored all the way from second base on  a sacrifice fly. Chris miller sent a fly deep to rightcenter, as the fielder caught the ball and tumbled, Marrero never hesitated.

How about that.

Home run in the game, Dalton tinsely, our cf a success story, 9 hits on the weekend several doubles and 8 runs scored. In fact, tinsley was a shining star in the 2 days even threw a runner out at home,  he is going to a postdraft workout, I know the Evansville otters are looking at him.   Rockets took both games in less than 4 hours.

Success story, bench clearing in the second game after a mouthy fan actually came onto the field,  it seems he had some issues,  and they could very well have been medical issues if chris miller and coach doug tinsley had got to him,  after some heated exchanges, order restored and big dan bollenbacher went out a pitched a shut down and shut up inn.

Rockets beat the brewers twice.  Mishawaka record now 7-11.

Sunday happy fathers day, and we had several rocket pops on hand; 

The matchup Portland 10-2 vs south bend cardinals 10-2.

The success story here, tyler Reynolds goes 6 inn. 0 walks and 5 hits, rockets win 7-2.

 Jimmy west closes the 7th on 6 pitches.  Tj lindstrand and colin Affolder each with 2 hits.

Every starter but one had a hit. 

Rockets can sweep south bend if they can handle the cards in the last game.

And we should have.\

South bend rallies twice, come back after down 4-0 . they tie the score off starter craig martin of marion,we had solid relief from Austin branock,    then down by one in the last inn, score 2 off jimmy west to win in walkoff fashion 7-6.  our boys were tired, but they were warriors to the end,  we out hit em 13-7 but our pitchers walked 9 batters, 

We preach :  if you get em in, we will get em out.  Ouch. 

22 rockets and family all at applebys on sat. nite, 

Rocket take 3 out of 4 in south bend, and boy we were tired.

Record moves to 11-3

This week Portland will play northeast kekionga wed at Indiana tech, then home sat for 2 vs the expos, then 2 in ft wayne Sunday.

 

Happy birthday this weekend to 2 of my good chums, gary Bernard and scott stauffer from Geneva.\

Wish coach seth zartman well , the bethel baseball coach a former rocket had a heart attack this weekend,

Great to see also ron milovich, senators and Indians coach back in the day, and also Jason best 48 years old and still playing the game he loves

Rocket success story 3 of 4 in south bend,

Love ya in Portland

Randy miller pg 1\4

 

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Posted Jun 17/15 - rockets lose to twin city bankers 6-4

June 17, 2015 twin city bankers 6 portland rockets 4

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  On the day it did not rain, a gorgeous tues summer evening at taylor university, the Portland rockets played baseball .

Just not the brand of baseball we are accustomed to .  they play nine inn, and we played pretty well for 8, twin city bankers 6 portland rockets 4, 

Get off the bus gus, opening inn. Rockets score single by dalton tinsely, and double by jegan millspaugh up 1-0

Starter jimmy west from Dayton, a big strong righthander walked 2 hit one and this in just the first inn, throw the ball catch the ball, we didn’t accomplish this fundamental and a dropped ball at first base allowed 2 runs, 5 in the inn.  After a debacle of a 1st inn, a 5-1 bankers lead

This big hole dug after a 30 min inn. Was just too big and bankers win 6 4, they own 2 wins over Portland in 3 games, rockets now record 8-2

The boys were not overmatched, just could not get the big hit,  we stranded 9 base runners, out hit the opposition 9 to 4,  but they always made the big defensive play when needed; 

In fact, Brandon reamon who homered on Sunday, drove 2 balls to the fence tues, and was robbed of extra bases both times, reamon still had 2 hits as did Dalton tinsley ,tj lindstrand, and millspaugh. Rocket scored in 4 different inn,  but could never get more than one.  Kyle Selvey also had a single.

West settled in and pitched 4 inn, took the los 3 hits walked 3 and hit 3 batters,

On a bright note, autin branock pitched 3 shutout inn, 0 walks, 0 hits,

Craig martin finished up and looked strong,

Branock and his bethel college teammate colin Affolder return from their mission trip to the Dominican republic.  Good to have those guys back.

2 hours 39 min for this titanic struggle, and we fired the pitching coach, one inning our undoing,  as the not so wise manager told em,  “if you get em in,  we will get them out”

Did not get it done

Good rocket following in upland  I hoped they made it to ivanhoes.\

Rockets still a good baseball team, lose 6-4,

Kinda like I heard soothsayer chris hearn say, like a one legged man, in  a round house looking for a place….;. never mind

Rocket road trip…… always a fun time ….south bend for 4 games sat, sun at kennedy park\

Sat. dh Mishawaka brewers,  sun dh south bend cardinals,

Starters waters, bollenbacher, Reynolds and martin.

 

Rockets now 8-2 

For more rocket information check our website www.ballcharts.com/portland rockets

like mgr. ray miller used to say after a tough one,  we wont win em all, but we will win the next one

randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jun 15/15 - rockets sweep mari

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Posted Jun 15/15 - rockets sweep marlins record now 8-1

June 15,2105  portland rockets sweep marlins 14-0 and 6-2

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland, for when the one great scorer comes to mark against your name, he asks not whether you have won or lost, but did you beat fort wayne,

Portland rockets beat fort wayne marlins Sunday twice at beautiful runkle-miller field, 14-0 and 6-2.

Dh complete sweep in 3 hours and 58 min. wow

Game won dan bollenbacher goes all 5 inn. 65 pitches, 8 Ks 2 hit shutout 2 walks,

Rockets score 3 runs in the first inning and score every inning banging out 13 hits, 14-0 winner winner chicken dinner,  lees famous recipe in Portland worked out a deal back in the 90s free chicken dinner to a rocket who hit a home run, ncaa put a stop to that,

Cant be giving freebies to college kids baloney, I remember joe luce had like 17 dinners

Brandon reamon hit a rocket home run into the breezy air Sunday, his shot and a big 3 run double by kyle Selvey paved the way for the game 2 win 6-2 over the marlins.

Reamon and billy geeslin of coldwater oh, each had 4 hits on the day, ryan penley of Sydney oh, had 3 hits as did kyle Selvey, as did Dalton tinsley with a double and Dalton scored 4 runs,. 

Rockets were tied in game 2 in the 5th inn. And bases loaded ,  big righthander jimmy west from Dayton came in with 2 huge punch outs, went 2 inn. And got the win.

Coach doug tinsley, was point on .  he said, Gold star award to jimmy striking out 3 in a row in a stressful situation.

Tyler Reynolds and craig martin also worked on the mound.

Rockets record now 8-1 and were half way through june,  I thought we would probably be rained out, but the field held up well,  and the hard ball action at the corner of western and blaine, and the smell of the grill and the smile on that young mans face Brandon reamon as he rounded third  after his home run,

I told him as I often do after a 4 bagger, love ya in Portland, and I meant it.

A big rocket salute to the Huffman family for their help at the ballpark, I asked Maddox how many foul balls did you get, he said 5 or 10.

Gotta love that.

Rockets on the road this week, tues we play at taylor university, 7 pm there under their new lights;  the twin city bankers, they  are the only team who has beaten us as we split first game in may.

Mitch waters will start tues,

Rockets then will be in south bend sat and Sunday for a 4 game stint.\

Portland over ft wayne Sunday winner winner chicken  dinner 14—0 and 6-2

Love ya in Portland

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 12/15 - rockets 6 summit city sluggers 4

June 12, 2015 rockets k6 summit city sluggers 4

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. On the warmest day  of summer thurs nite, a day it didn’t rain, the Portland rockets stayed hot, rockets do baseball business the right way, win 6-4 over summit city sluggers from ft. wayne.

Rocket train rolls, record now 6-1.

Mitch waters was tagged with 2 runs in the 3rd, but mitch held firm, 6 inn. 8 Ks 2 walks, 2 hits.  93 pitches,

Since we had rainouts 3 game chances in a row, big dan bollenbacher made a rare relief appearance, unscathed, conner milligan gave up 2 runs in the 9th before tyler Reynolds came on to close the deal.

Rockets scored one in the 4th, took the lead in the 5th.. key hits rbi single by Thomas mccowan , 2 run single kyle Selvey, billy geeslin 3 hits and an rbi, 2 hits and a double by Dalton tinsley, rockets outhit their foes, 10-4 tinsley had the only extra base hit.

Rockets also flashed some leather, in fact the last out of the game, a ground ball in the hole between short and third, ss alex delk backhanded and showed off his arm, throwing across the diamond, nipping the dude atg first.

Rockets started slow, their pitcher was a good one, nic mccoy going to central fla. From albion, he pitched 2 summers ago for Portland, but we continued to work on him, elevated his pitch count, then caved em in 2 runs in the 5th 2 in the 6th 1 in the 7th.

It was hot, umpire dave stauffer of berne had his light blue shirt and you could see the home plate ump was soaked.

2 hr. 14 min in this titanic struggle, and as was mentioned, these boys of summer worked their baseball business. A very substantial crowd on hand, bring those golf carts and come see us this Sunday 1pm.  Brad miller suggested you come to the park and let us grill for you and have a picnic at the park.  John welker had his rocket shirt on ..

6 wins and but one loss, stay humble in victory, be silent in defeat, these guys from Dunkirk, redkey, marion, kokomo, Noblesville, berne, Muncie, Dayton, are know the game, they are there cause they want to be and they work it.  These are our ambassodors for Portland, couldn’t pick a better bunch.  Much to say about tradition and these guys are on board and love it.

Rockets will not play ft wayne Saturday, no game as they have begged off, not good business there.,  but we will be home Sunday 1pm at the corner of western and blaine, vs. the ft. wayne marlins,  I understand their starting pitcher Andrew shepard, son of keith former rocket, has signed with the Arizona diamondbacks,

Good for him.

We just  bought 10 dozen new baseballs for $550 now lets cut the field around the diamond

Its eating our baseballs,

Rockets roll win 6-4 over summit city,

Thanks parks department, we continue to improve our field of dreams,

I always enjoy talking to howard, the mowing man,

See ya Sunday, coolers and golf carts and a picnic at the park,

Cant beat that

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 8/15 - rockets over kekionga 11-1 and 9-2

June 8, 2015

 

Portland rockets sweep ft. wayne kekionga 11-1 and 9-2

Sunday game 3 of the grand lake Celina set called due to rain

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

 

When the one great scorer comes to mark against your name, he asks not it you won or lost but did you beat ft. wayne

Portland rockets did  Saturday, winning over northeast kekionga from Indiana tech 11-1 and 9-2 at runkle-miller field. Rockets won game one in 5 inn. Pretty much kekionaged ntheir booty, breaking open a 2-1 game in the 4th with 2 runs then mercy ruled em with 7 runs in the 5th,  Brandon reamon from Dayton 3 hits, tinsley 2 run and a 2 run triple, billy geeslin got us on the board with a 2 run double, Thomas mccowan walked 4 times on the day,  and chandler ingle, rookie infielder just up from south adams, highly recommended from coach brad Buckingham, himself a rocket veteran, smacked his first rocket hit down the line scoring 2 runs. 

All quite enough for a very effective manager of the game, our trusty lefthander tyler Reynolds.  Happy birthday tyler  24 years old, one of my favorite success stories does the mound work, 86 pitches 3 ks, 3 walks  no earned runs 4 hits.

Game ended before righthander jimmy west could get his turnl

It was a great breezy day at the corner for baseball and it was persimmon ridge day, several made the bus trip out to ballgame, sang take me out to the ballgame,

Happy 85th birthday this week, Weldon hamma,

And thanks Jamie walker and staff for making this day possible.

Thanks also to fred bailey for his contribution and his resolve to work on our American legion.  I had baked steak there, good stuff.

After a watermelon break, thanks coach tim devoss and spiritual leader, oh my

Rockets went to work in game 2 scoring 3 runs off the bat for starter garrett scott,

And never looked back winning 9-2.  garrett is a smooth easy gas righthand flamethrower from Goshen, and Huntington university, he comes with other good guys from Huntington, that’s what good players do, girlfriends, too.

Garett walks 0, ks 3 in 4 inn. Jimmy west from Dayton 1 inn, Wesley hibbard 1 and Carson cruea 1.

Reamon 2 more hits, that’s 5 on the day, 2 hits with a moonshot double for alex delk, 2 hits kyle Selvey, double and rbi Dalton tinsely, ryan penley from Sidney 2 run bingo.

Justin segers from marion 2 run bingo as well.

20 runs on the day, enjoyed by our friends at the ballpark, gary sautbine, stories about those sautbine boys-fighters, jeff bowen, dick mcgalliard,

Great to hear the sounds of the crack of the bat, and the chatter and of course, our public address guys ---samantha Thomas and tony Reynolds, topnotch,,,,,,our pa guy for 8 years dan haines from Geneva also stopped by.

Rockes roll 11-1 and 9-2   yabadabado rocket train now 5-1 and the only thing stopping us now-------rain

Rained out at management decision in Celina Sunday, key game 3 not to be

Maybe a bit gunshy, but it did rain. No game Sunday,

Rockets dan bollenbacher will , oh yeah we drove to grand lake, but didn’t play, he will pitch tues 7 pm at  Carrington field vs the ft wayne marlins.

Rockets back home thurs nite vs. summit city sluggers.

Rockets have won 5 games lost one, rained out 7

Oh well, digest this the mighty oak. was once a nut that stood his ground.

 

Rocket notes:  our thoughts are with mariners PA man and good friend Wulfy, Mark Wulfhorst who is fine, but totaled his car Saturday.

 

Congratulations for the 2015 ft. recovery Indians for their finals run.

 

Greg mcclurg, scott Collins, steve reinhard, mike bruns, jerry voegel, mike meinerding, doug miller, I would like to think of more from the land of purple,

 

Nba finals too much one on one,  need more deft passing

 

Rockets getting paid frontier league,

Josh ludy with river city rascals .231 ba

Zach tanner with frontier greys .263 ba

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Posted Jun 4/15 - rockets take round 2 over celina 10-9

June 4, 2015

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

A lovely full moon evening in Portland and the stage was set for round 2 wed nite

Portland took round one of the prize fight tues in Celina 8-3 dan bollenbacker and a great team win .

Round 2 in the blockbuster goes to Portland again, this time mitch waters sets the tone for

This one was a nailbiter, down to the very last pitch.  Celina rallied from a 10-3 deficit and trailed 10-9 with bases loaded 2 out, 3 2 pitch fouled off of course, always

Then Connor Milligan closer from Kokomo dealt once more ,  popped up high in the infield, tough chance,  tom mccowan corrals it,  rockets win rockets win, and we can breathe once more, 

I already had a text this morning from coach doug tinsley,  sleep deprivation,  I fell victim as well.

 

A banner crowd at the corner, it was junior league clinic night and those guys didn’t come just for a practice,  they all 38 , yes 38 of them had their uniforms ball bags and were there to show their stuff as future rockets,  a couple nearly dehorned me.

You talk about a circus, long toss, fungoes, bunting and hitting and sharing the batting cage with Celina.  The kids worked up a sweat, treated to instruction and free drinks from the rockets,,, shauna runkle thinks we could do something similar also for the softballers, and I have some ideas how to make this better.  This would have made ray miller smile ear to ear,

 Thanks heavens, no one got drilled or dehorned, and thanks for everyone and their patience.

 

Then we had round  2 in the prize fight, 0 0 in the 4th waters singles, lindstrand walks, then chris miller singles, a sac fly by alex delk, then a beautiful squeeze but by kyle Selvey , we are up 2-0 they get three off mitch in the 5th then we come back with 7 in the 5th. Key blow a bases clearing triple to the fence , Dalton tinsley, and I love the excitement that comes with triples,

You know what I like better than baseball, true grit baseball players, mitch waters pitched 6 inn no walks, 5 hits, and banged out 3 of his own,  dh I don’t think so

Dalton go getem tinsley, hes gonna get ya 2 walks 2 runs

Chris miller from marion, team controller as catcher 2 hits, alex delk Muncie, 2 hits and an rbi , has to be in every lineup, kyle Selvey gutsy squeeze play big at bat rbi in the fateful 5th

Billy geeslin is billy ballgame

This team is picking up steam.

Tyler Reynolds solid 1 inning with Carson cruea of Lafayette and milligan closed for the club.

2 hr 22 min and it had many ebbs and tides.\

Again, one of the best crowds in a while saw Portland win back to back over grand lake,

The crew was there, takats, hearn, wells,

Vickie and Charlie tague won the 50/50 and gave it back,

Thanks also to franz and coldren, attorneys for their donation to the rocket baseball club.

Thanks to Samantha Thomas her voice resonates all through southwest Portland, and it is cool to be at the ballpark,

Say hey andre, andre duke in the house, and

Welcome chance fuller, baseball from class of 2012, now covering sports for the CR

 

Rockets win 10-9, take a round 2 win over Celina, are now 3-1 on the season

Play in Portland Saturday  at 1 pm vs. kekionga, Indiana tech team.

Reynolds and garret scott from Goshen starters,

Then Sunday 5 pm ring the bell,  round 3, rockets go to Celina, with big dan on the bump

Ready aim fire

 

Randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jun 3/15 - rockets win 8-3 over grand lake

  

 

Portland rockets 8 grand lake mariners 3

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  And happy month of june.

Portland rockets back to work tues evening at Montgomery field in Celina , rockets win 8-3 over the grand lake mariners .  after weekend washouts with ft. wayne and lima, the rockets were eager for action.  Big story line here is big dan Bollenbacher, our man dan was the bulldog, going 8 inn. Giving up 3 runs and 6 hits,  109 pitches.  Dan had an answer for each inning but

Gave up 2 home runs to the mariners 1st baseman Bollinger .

Rockets trailed 2-0 in the 6th, but put together rocket rallies with 2 tallies in the 6th , 3 in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th. Catcher TJ Lindstrand from Noblesville had 2 hits including a key double and drove in 5 runs on the day.  Brandon Reamon of Dayton had 3 hits and scored 2 runs, Dalton Tinsley of Kokomo scored 2 runs with 1 hit, Alex Delk of Muncie had 2 hits and 2 rbi,  rockets outhit the home team 9-6,  in fact all 9 hits came from the top 5 players in the lineup,   and still Mariner pitchers, and they threw several struck out 15 batters. 

This must be improved upon.

But the rockets came back and won the contest, 2hr. 20 min.  I saw johny

Cueto threw 93 pitches last nite for the reds,  we will take dan and his 109.

We knew going into the game we were pitching short, felt like barney fife with his one bullet, but are one shot was a big cannon in dan bollenbacher.

Kyle Selvey pitched a gutsy 9th to close the deal and his batterymate was lucas Hendee

Like old time, they were pitcher catcher last year for jay county high school.

 

Celina coach Sam Slavic was point on, he said, “you played a clean game.”

No errors and many a stellar play in the field. Key in the game, OF Ryan Penley from Sidney oh, threw out a man heading to 3rd from right field.

Keep in mind, this is exhibition and we aren’t supposed to win ,  and coach lea Selvey in attendance said afterward, they have guys from panama and texas and we have guys from Dunkirk and redkey, true but aint that what makes this game great!  As coach Doug Tinsley stated , great team win!

 

Many rocket rooters on hand, the scott bollenbacher family, the selveys, and noticeably having a good time, our friends from the pit stop, love ya gary miller, Kathy miller,  bill miller, hey we almost had enough millers to make a 6 pack.  Hey we love success stories how about those frt. Recovery Indians.

 

Rockets win 8-3 , record moves to 2-1.  and tonite a rematch,  grand lake mariners come to Portland 7 pm game at runkle-miller field

Mitch waters on the mound.  Also a mini- clinic at 6 pm put on by our boys for the junior baseball league before the game, thanks brian ison for working with us on this project.

Back in action at the corner of western and blaine. 7pm

Lets go portland

 

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Posted May 25/15 - ROCKETS OPEN 55TH SEASON IN PORTLAND WITH DH SPLIT VS. TWIN CITY BANKERS
ROCKET NOTES ON SUNDAY OPENER

GAME 1:Rockets win 5-3 in opener.  Winning pitcher Mitch Waters, with clutch relief help from Conner Milligan
and Austin Branock. Both recorded key Ks with bases loaded to preserve the win. also mound duty from Tyler Reynolds. breeze in the trees but not needed for long ball homers by Justin Marrero and Colin Affolder.  Both HR in the second inning in front of one of the biggest opening day crowds ever.  Rockets tallied 2 more in the 4th on a rbi double to the fence by Alex Delk plating Marrero,  then Jagen Millspaugh drove in Delk with a ground out.
TJ Lindstrand was hbp with bases loaded to bring in the final run in the 5th.
rockets had but 5 hits but rocket pitching limited the Taylor club to 4.  
Waters in his 10th season as a Rocket, went 4 inn. with 4 Ks 1 walk and 1 hit 53 pitches
Reynolds gave up 2 runs in 2/3 inn. with 2 hits 1 walk and 2 hbp
Milligan 1 inn. 3 w and a big K
Branock 1inn.1 hit 2 Ks
rockets also had hits by Bill Geeslin and Tom McCowan

Game 2:  Rockets jump to a 3-0 lead in 1st inn. but Bankers get 3 unearned in the 4th on 2 bad hop chances in the infield and a bloop that dropped in short right field
Dan Bollenbacher was throwing fast balls that could be literally heard in the dugout, he struck out 5 walked one 3 hits and was the tough luck loser on this game that was one we could have won
Justin Miller went 2 inn. 2Ks 2 w  3 hits 1 run
Carson Cruea from lafayette pitched the last frame 1 unearned run 1 hit1 K
rockets only had 4 hits, Dalton Tinsley a double, Brandon Reamon from dayton a double, singles Affolder and Kyle Selvey.
rockets struck out 15 times in the dh
guess we will acclimate to the wood bat

24 rockets in uniform makes for some interesting pieces 
we start a serious stretch next sat. 1pm home vs ft. wayne jackers
2 games sunday in lima vs lima locos
tues in celina then wed home vs celina
then the following weekend more in store

kudos to our public address gal, Samantha Thomas is tops and the place was buzzing
50'50 winner from ft. wayne split the $94 pot
thanks for helping Brad Miller grill the hamburgers Vicki Tague, while Charlie just ate them!
JC Wells tells Mitch he didnt know he was coming out to watch an old timers game.
Rockets manager player and great supporter Larry Chittum on hand,
Jim Runkle, Isaac Hosier, Julia and Jerry Schwomyer, Scott Bollenbacher, Nate Clay, Sesame Street Mayor Dave Johnson, and of course Kristie Delaney in the lunching pad, Jack Ronald and wife and Ami Huffman familiy, braden and crosby from the jay county jayhawks and many more in attendance

rockets accept check from supporters Racster Jacks and Associates thanks much
see ya saturday at runkle-miller field 1pm dh
noted special thanks to portland administration; Mayor Randy Geeseman, and Ryan Myers for our work on field
also Mitch Waters for mowing the infield 

see ya saturday at runkle-miller field for 1pm DH vs jackers

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Posted Aug 11/14 - rockets finish season with 27-16 season

August 11, 2014

Nabf regional tournament

 

Ft. wayne at Carrington field

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets concluded the 2014 season Friday, winning the morning qualifying game 11  1  over the south bend Yankees,  then losing the semifinals in the evening 7-1 to the berea blue sox.

The rockets made it to the final 4 of the 8 team field but came up short, eventual winner, the ft. wayne jackers beat the berea blue sox, 7-6.  jackers advance to world series in battle creek.  Rockets finish season with a very impressive 27-16 mark.  Remember back in june when Portland was  7-7.

Rockets faced elimination fri morning but responded with a resounding 11-1 win. Justin miller went 6.2 inn with a 3 hitter, 7 ks.  Travis gray, just back from southern  ohio league, struck out the last man.  Dalton tinsley went 4for4 with a single, a double, and 2 triples,  Dalton tinsley knows I love triples.  Tinsley distinguished himself by going 11-26 in tournament play.  Next would be geoff bowers and billy geeslin with 6 hits.

Rockets had 2 hits in game one from logan hug, Thomas mccowan, and cody krumlauf.

Portland, berea, ftwayne jackers and expos, in the semifinals,

Berea blue sox pitcher jeff salay was a tough customer, he gave up 5 hits, with 13 Ks,

Rockets lose 7-1 in the 9 inning late game,  2 hits by geoff bowers.

Matt helm took the loss, tyler Reynolds pitched well in relief 6 ks in 4 inn. Giving up 2 runs. Travis gray 2 inn with no runs

Atta boy travis with his mom and dad on hand. Kurt gray coach at norwell hs.

Portland had early in the year been a regional selection in Cincinnati, but that did not happen and they had just 4 teams I am told. Will have to investigate,\

We know that portland’s team will show up and play you tough,

In 1994 portland was in regional play in canton and at Thurman munson stadium 8th inn. Score 2 2 vs. Anderson Yankees , officials reported Portland with ineligible player, joe zanola was on our team just released from Miami marlins. 

I promised mom, betty miller we would not let that happen again.  It happened again this weekend, to the champion jackers,  we kept it straight up.

We are proud of the dedication in such a long season of nearly all our players. Just one of our important players did not show up to play, disappointedly.

We play more games than most

Berea ends their season 32-5, rockets 27-16

Special thoughts go out to one of the nicest ballplayer ever to play against us

Joe mccomb from ft. waynes mccombs construction passed away at age 72. joe was a class act, I remember marveling as he hit a home run at age 51.

Rockets have lots of thank yous to pass along.  To our parks dept. and administration, to our sponsors and helpers, to gary Bernard and the buffalo bar and grill for our ice, to  all those rocket rooters

Love ya in Portland, I can still hear Samantha Thomas yelling, “are there any rocket fans out there!!!”

I love the thrills and spills at the ball park.

Happy birthdays to Kelly knapshafer, phil miller and keith pensinger this weekend.

Rocket stats will be posted for the season in the new news items slot later this week.

Remember our rocket rally golf outing September 28th at 1000 am at the Portland golf club.

Another fine season in portland

Randy miller pg 14

 last years mark, 2013 33-8 

2012 31-13

2011 35-13

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Posted Aug 11/14 - rockets finish season with 27-16 season

August 11, 2014

Nabf regional tournament

 

Ft. wayne at Carrington field

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets concluded the 2014 season Friday, winning the morning qualifying game 11  1  over the south bend Yankees,  then losing the semifinals in the evening 7-1 to the berea blue sox.

The rockets made it to the final 4 of the 8 team field but came up short, eventual winner, the ft. wayne jackers beat the berea blue sox, 7-6.  jackers advance to world series in battle creek.  Rockets finish season with a very impressive 27-16 mark.  Remember back in june when Portland was  7-7.

Rockets faced elimination fri morning but responded with a resounding 11-1 win. Justin miller went 6.2 inn with a 3 hitter, 7 ks.  Travis gray, just back from southern  ohio league, struck out the last man.  Dalton tinsley went 4for4 with a single, a double, and 2 triples,  Dalton tinsley knows I love triples.  Tinsley distinguished himself by going 11-26 in tournament play.  Next would be geoff bowers and billy geeslin with 6 hits.

Rockets had 2 hits in game one from logan hug, Thomas mccowan, and cody krumlauf.

Portland, berea, ftwayne jackers and expos, in the semifinals,

Berea blue sox pitcher jeff salay was a tough customer, he gave up 5 hits, with 13 Ks,

Rockets lose 7-1 in the 9 inning late game,  2 hits by geoff bowers.

Matt helm took the loss, tyler Reynolds pitched well in relief 6 ks in 4 inn. Giving up 2 runs. Travis gray 2 inn with no runs

Atta boy travis with his mom and dad on hand. Kurt gray coach at norwell hs.

Portland had early in the year been a regional selection in Cincinnati, but that did not happen and they had just 4 teams I am told. Will have to investigate,\

We know that portland’s team will show up and play you tough,

In 1994 portland was in regional play in canton and at Thurman munson stadium 8th inn. Score 2 2 vs. Anderson Yankees , officials reported Portland with ineligible player, joe zanola was on our team just released from Miami marlins. 

I promised mom, betty miller we would not let that happen again.  It happened again this weekend, to the champion jackers,  we kept it straight up.

We are proud of the dedication in such a long season of nearly all our players. Just one of our important players did not show up to play, disappointedly.

We play more games than most

Berea ends their season 32-5, rockets 27-16

Special thoughts go out to one of the nicest ballplayer ever to play against us

Joe mccomb from ft. waynes mccombs construction passed away at age 72. joe was a class act, I remember marveling as he hit a home run at age 51.

Rockets have lots of thank yous to pass along.  To our parks dept. and administration, to our sponsors and helpers, to gary Bernard and the buffalo bar and grill for our ice, to  all those rocket rooters

Love ya in Portland, I can still hear Samantha Thomas yelling, “are there any rocket fans out there!!!”

I love the thrills and spills at the ball park.

Happy birthdays to Kelly knapshafer, phil miller and keith pensinger this weekend.

Rocket stats will be posted for the season in the new news items slot later this week.

Remember our rocket rally golf outing September 28th at 1000 am at the Portland golf club.

Another fine season in portland

Randy miller pg 14

 last years mark, 2013 33-8 

2012 31-13

2011 35-13

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Posted Aug 8/14 - rockets lose in opening rounds of ft wayne regional

August 8, 2014 nabf regional ft wayne

 

 

Good morning baseball fans. It’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets are battle tested and battle approved.  Tournament time is the time to shine.  Guess we got waxed. Rockets lost in the ft wayne nabf regional tournament. Twice. Although are schedule says regional-cincinnati. We received word from national office in july we would be playing in ft. wayne.

Our draw –the ft wayne jackers on a thurs 1230 start .  tyler reynolds, Justin miller and connor milligan kept it close, down 4 0 in the 3rd rockets rally to close the gap to 4-3,in the 6th ,  Justin Marrero 2 long doubles to the fence driving in all 3

Then the jackers hitter hakes hit his 2nd home run and the jackers win going away 13-3

 

On this work day being a thurs. big dan bollenbacker who took the jackers into 9 inn. Last weekend in the Portland tournament. Was unable to pitch the day game. But dan was there for the night game. Rockets lost to the Chicago clout 3-1

Great drama great suspense and well played, but not able to string together a single rocket rally. Alex delk homered in the last inn. To account for the only run.  Rockets had 6 hits, 2 by logan hug and 2 by leadoff man Dalton tinsley. In fact in the 2 games tinsley had 5 hits, on base 6 times but only able to score one run. 

Bollenbacker went the distance, 96 pitches and after giving up 3 runs in 3inn, retired the last 15 of 16 clout hitters. Dan walked one, struck out 2 and gave up 8 hits.

Dan bollenbacher answered the call, wants the ball, and gives his all

You may sometimes question the heart of some of our boys of summer, but never dan bollenbacher.

The Chicago coach was very complimentary of the big right hander pitching throughtraffic and adversity. He also acknowledged our fine defensive play, notabley the ss play of Justin Marrero.  I concur.  That guy plays at another level.  great crowd with larry and donna chittum and the maloys on board. Even a visit from mike overmeyer, our catcher in 1985 from Muncie.

Rockets are on the brink of elimination. After 2 loses and 2 jackers wins, the portlands play today at Carrington at 2 pm vs. the south bend Yankees.

Justin miller our starting pitcher.  It is great news that travis gray , our closer from earlier in the year who was called to pitch for the southern ohio copperheads , is back.

Rockets need to win and have some help when matt ousley and  the jackers have to club the clout. If we score in bunches we could possibly be in the 8 oclock game .

Rockets drop 2 in tournament.  But play at 2 today.

Rocket record now 26-15

Happy birthday  today to rockets coaches mark Flueckiger, now coach at Huntington university, and Jason murray at liberty university

Hear our cheer Olivia

Rockets rockets are the best

r-o=-c-k-e-t-s

 randy miller pg 14

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Posted Aug 8/14 - rockets lose in opening rounds of ft wayne regional

August 8, 2014 nabf regional ft wayne

 

 

Good morning baseball fans. It’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets are battle tested and battle approved.  Tournament time is the time to shine.  Guess we got waxed. Rockets lost in the ft wayne nabf regional tournament. Twice. Although are schedule says regional-cincinnati. We received word from national office in july we would be playing in ft. wayne.

Our draw –the ft wayne jackers on a thurs 1230 start .  tyler reynolds, Justin miller and connor milligan kept it close, down 4 0 in the 3rd rockets rally to close the gap to 4-3,in the 6th ,  Justin Marrero 2 long doubles to the fence driving in all 3

Then the jackers hitter hakes hit his 2nd home run and the jackers win going away 13-3

 

On this work day being a thurs. big dan bollenbacker who took the jackers into 9 inn. Last weekend in the Portland tournament. Was unable to pitch the day game. But dan was there for the night game. Rockets lost to the Chicago clout 3-1

Great drama great suspense and well played, but not able to string together a single rocket rally. Alex delk homered in the last inn. To account for the only run.  Rockets had 6 hits, 2 by logan hug and 2 by leadoff man Dalton tinsley. In fact in the 2 games tinsley had 5 hits, on base 6 times but only able to score one run. 

Bollenbacker went the distance, 96 pitches and after giving up 3 runs in 3inn, retired the last 15 of 16 clout hitters. Dan walked one, struck out 2 and gave up 8 hits.

Dan bollenbacher answered the call, wants the ball, and gives his all

You may sometimes question the heart of some of our boys of summer, but never dan bollenbacher.

The Chicago coach was very complimentary of the big right hander pitching throughtraffic and adversity. He also acknowledged our fine defensive play, notabley the ss play of Justin Marrero.  I concur.  That guy plays at another level.  great crowd with larry and donna chittum and the maloys on board. Even a visit from mike overmeyer, our catcher in 1985 from Muncie.

Rockets are on the brink of elimination. After 2 loses and 2 jackers wins, the portlands play today at Carrington at 2 pm vs. the south bend Yankees.

Justin miller our starting pitcher.  It is great news that travis gray , our closer from earlier in the year who was called to pitch for the southern ohio copperheads , is back.

Rockets need to win and have some help when matt ousley and  the jackers have to club the clout. If we score in bunches we could possibly be in the 8 oclock game .

Rockets drop 2 in tournament.  But play at 2 today.

Rocket record now 26-15

Happy birthday  today to rockets coaches mark Flueckiger, now coach at Huntington university, and Jason murray at liberty university

Hear our cheer Olivia

Rockets rockets are the best

r-o=-c-k-e-t-s

 randy miller pg 14

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Posted Aug 4/14 - ROCKETS GO 1-2 IN WBC ADVANCE TO REGIONAL

Aug 4. 2014 world baseball congress results

Ft. wayne jackers win world baseball congress tournament in Portland this weekend.

The jackers defeated the summit city sluggers 5-1 Sunday to take the title.

The portland rockets were defending champs, the last 2 yrs. But not to be this year.

The rockets played their guts out and were running on fumes at the end. The boys of summer played 3 games and they were exciting.  3 games and all went extra innings.

Never have eaten tums before . bet I do today. The field was the most competitive it ever has been. Tournament director kurt rammel from ft.recovery put it together, and it was a classic.

Ft wayne jackers record now 26-11

Summit city sluggers now 30-10

Portland rockets now 26-13

Miami valley wolverines now 25-13

 

Our best team was our workers , angi, brad krisite susan  our public address announcer Samantha Thomas drew rave reviews from a great crowd each day.

Really, people went out of their way, to say how grand the sounds and sights were at the ballpark and I agree.  It really was a buzzin at the corner of western and blaine,  and I loved it when Samantha Thomas revved em up. She would yell, yes yell at them, are there any  slugger fans out there, any jacker fans out there, and when she yelled for rocket fans, they cheered and it was noteworthy, goose bump noteworthy.

Atta girl sam.

Rockets even had a special visit from the maloys who made the weekend

As did baseball fans chuck and Kathy etlzler. A visit with tim devoss, david lyons, and chris hearn will always brighten your spirits. From ft. wayne we had kudos from bob sharluka , former editor of the Decatur daily democrat who was very complimentary on the tournament.

Rockets fought tooth and nail all weekend, mitch waters and connor milligan got it done fri nite. Rockets win in 8 inn 4-2 .  late in the game heroics by Dalton tinsley and 3 straight Ks by connor milligan with runners on.

3 hits by billy geeslin, the last one a bunt single that was botched rockets win

Saturday 4 games at runkle-miller field, and  they went long. None longer than rocket games with the jackers and the sluggers.

Game 2 dan bollenbacher went all 9 inn, 146 pitches 9 Ks 0 walks, gotta like that, 3 hits by tj lindstrand but the jackers got 3 runs on dumpy hits over a drawn in infield 3 times.

Rockets lose in 9 inn 3 2, then lose the nightcap to the sluggers 3-2 in 8 inn.

Yes the boys got a little feisty, mitch waters ejected on a strike 3 call. Bad call I might add.  In fact umpire assigner eric harmon made a call to his crew to make sure things tightened up.  Tempers flared a couple of times as benches emptied. A jacker runner tried to take out catcher Justin Marrero, he lost. And was tossed.

Rockets mounted a last inn. Rocket rally to come back and tie the game. Bases loaded 0 out, logan hug scored one on a double play ground out, and tinsley singled in lindstrand to dramatically tie the game. They score in the 9th and we don’t.

In the night cap, rockets had just 4 hits and waste a fine pitching performance by tyler Reynolds he goes 6 inn giving up just 2 runs, Justin miller goes 2 inn and does not give up a hit, but one walk and an error and rockets go down 3-2

 Season record now 26-13

Now rockets go to nabf regionals in ft wayne, we enjoyed our trips last 2 yrs to Louisville and Cincinnati, now this year to ft. wayne

8 team field in Portland bracket we play 1230 vs ft wayne jackers, then 6 pm vs Chicago clout, then fri at 2 vs. south bend Yankees.

Other bracket is Mishawaka brewers, ft. wayne expos, south bend cardinals and berrea blue sox.

Winner goes to world series at battle creek Michigan.

Can we win this regional???

We are in the pool of death, and we will take em one game at a time

Now an answer, a resounding YES!!!!

 

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Posted Aug 4/14 - ROCKETS GO 1-2 IN WBC ADVANCE TO REGIONAL

Aug 4. 2014 world baseball congress results

Ft. wayne jackers win world baseball congress tournament in Portland this weekend.

The jackers defeated the summit city sluggers 5-1 Sunday to take the title.

The portland rockets were defending champs, the last 2 yrs. But not to be this year.

The rockets played their guts out and were running on fumes at the end. The boys of summer played 3 games and they were exciting.  3 games and all went extra innings.

Never have eaten tums before . bet I do today. The field was the most competitive it ever has been. Tournament director kurt rammel from ft.recovery put it together, and it was a classic.

Ft wayne jackers record now 26-11

Summit city sluggers now 30-10

Portland rockets now 26-13

Miami valley wolverines now 25-13

 

Our best team was our workers , angi, brad krisite susan  our public address announcer Samantha Thomas drew rave reviews from a great crowd each day.

Really, people went out of their way, to say how grand the sounds and sights were at the ballpark and I agree.  It really was a buzzin at the corner of western and blaine,  and I loved it when Samantha Thomas revved em up. She would yell, yes yell at them, are there any  slugger fans out there, any jacker fans out there, and when she yelled for rocket fans, they cheered and it was noteworthy, goose bump noteworthy.

Atta girl sam.

Rockets even had a special visit from the maloys who made the weekend

As did baseball fans chuck and Kathy etlzler. A visit with tim devoss, david lyons, and chris hearn will always brighten your spirits. From ft. wayne we had kudos from bob sharluka , former editor of the Decatur daily democrat who was very complimentary on the tournament.

Rockets fought tooth and nail all weekend, mitch waters and connor milligan got it done fri nite. Rockets win in 8 inn 4-2 .  late in the game heroics by Dalton tinsley and 3 straight Ks by connor milligan with runners on.

3 hits by billy geeslin, the last one a bunt single that was botched rockets win

Saturday 4 games at runkle-miller field, and  they went long. None longer than rocket games with the jackers and the sluggers.

Game 2 dan bollenbacher went all 9 inn, 146 pitches 9 Ks 0 walks, gotta like that, 3 hits by tj lindstrand but the jackers got 3 runs on dumpy hits over a drawn in infield 3 times.

Rockets lose in 9 inn 3 2, then lose the nightcap to the sluggers 3-2 in 8 inn.

Yes the boys got a little feisty, mitch waters ejected on a strike 3 call. Bad call I might add.  In fact umpire assigner eric harmon made a call to his crew to make sure things tightened up.  Tempers flared a couple of times as benches emptied. A jacker runner tried to take out catcher Justin Marrero, he lost. And was tossed.

Rockets mounted a last inn. Rocket rally to come back and tie the game. Bases loaded 0 out, logan hug scored one on a double play ground out, and tinsley singled in lindstrand to dramatically tie the game. They score in the 9th and we don’t.

In the night cap, rockets had just 4 hits and waste a fine pitching performance by tyler Reynolds he goes 6 inn giving up just 2 runs, Justin miller goes 2 inn and does not give up a hit, but one walk and an error and rockets go down 3-2

 Season record now 26-13

Now rockets go to nabf regionals in ft wayne, we enjoyed our trips last 2 yrs to Louisville and Cincinnati, now this year to ft. wayne

8 team field in Portland bracket we play 1230 vs ft wayne jackers, then 6 pm vs Chicago clout, then fri at 2 vs. south bend Yankees.

Other bracket is Mishawaka brewers, ft. wayne expos, south bend cardinals and berrea blue sox.

Winner goes to world series at battle creek Michigan.

Can we win this regional???

We are in the pool of death, and we will take em one game at a time

Now an answer, a resounding YES!!!!

 

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Posted Jul 28/14 - rockets win one lose one in cinci road trip, finish regular season 25-11

July 28, 2014 rockets split in Cincinnati with Yorkville yaks, rained out Sunday

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets finished the regular season this weekend with a trip to the Cincinnati area. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you are rained out.  Such was the case on this rocket roadtrip.  In aurora Indiana at south Dearborn h.s. the rockets did the splits vs the Yorkville yaks. Coach larry hornback is an entertaining gent.  We waxed em good, win 10-0 in 6 inn in game 1. dan bollenbacher  a 2 hit shut out. 7 ks in 77 pitches, coach hornback asks if dan has ever played pro ball.  We are all amazed he has not been signed.

Dan is 6’5 250 lb and he is country strong all day long. He can bust ya with 90 + heater or he can carve you up with a lock em up slider.  Steady and a grinder and he is that guy that wants the ball.  This is his 7th year as a rocket.  Today is his birthday. Happy birthday to dan and also to our favorite rocket guy, don maloy.

Each rocket starter had at least one hit, Dalton tinsley , Justin Marrero and TJ Lindstrand with 2 hits.

Game 2 and tyler Reynolds on the mound.  Tyler is a rocket success story. He is solid every time out.  Lefthander from Muncie south and with family on hand, he mixes speeds and is that crafty lefthander who just gets you out, never walks people. Sat he walked 1 gave up 5 hits and got beat 5-2.  this happened to be the most disappointing game in some time. With a 10 game win streak and on a roll, this game we mustered but 4 hits, and made 3 errors and more mental errors than any game this season.

Rockets led 2-1 in the 6th on a Justin Marrero scoring geoff bowers from 1st.  Marrero at third saw the pitcher take his time in the windup, Marrero breaks for home. Now the pitcher quickly steps off to throw to plate, this after starting his slow windup. Of course it’s a balk, but the umps who played years ago for coach hornback did not see it .  Marrero is out and our fortunes change. Umpire david Disdro, basketball coach at east central h.s. is a good friend of coach teagle from jay county. They scrimmaged in Portland last year I believe.

Rockets pick off a runner at 1st get the runner at 3 rd, throw the ball to the backstop and the merrygo round gave me a headache. Rockets win streak done at 10. but we get to play Sunday in Cincinnati vs. the chiefs. 

This the club beat 2 years ago to win the regional and advance to the world series in new york.

And then it rained. We had 18 rockets in our dugout and played one inn. Our man mitch on the mound. But the rain came again after one inn. Game called.

During the delay, we visited with Don Groundhog Johnson. Mr. Johnson gave me his negro league baseball card. He is 88 years old and at all the games.  He played in the negro leagues with the Chicago American giants, the phialdelphia stars the Baltimore elite giants, and the Detroit stars in the 1950s .  don was nicknamed “groundhog” for the way he hugged the ground as he scooped up ground balls.

Tune in for his interview aug 21 before Cincinnati reds broadcast on fox network.

Don’t look now but this is the last week of july.

Rockets finish regular season with a 25-11 mark.

This weekend is a highlight of our season, the world baseball congress tournament will begin fri. at runkle-miller field. At present Portland will host the ft wayne jackers, the summit city sluggers and the lake erie buckeyes from Cleveland.  More info on the tournament should be finalized this day.

Special thanks to all those who drove down Sunday for the chiefs game.  Many made the drive to cinci just to get rained out and drive back

Rockets finish season 25-11

One special note I personally would like to share.  Road trips are a great time to share as a team. We usually find a steak house and sit together for a good meal.

So many times I can recall ray miller pulling out a $100 bill and taking care of the boys.  Later mom would slip me a hundred and tell me to feed the boys. $100 wont do it anymore, but Saturday nite we ate at the maverick grillplace.  As we finished up, I noticed coach tinsley and myself did not receive our check. It was picked up by bollenbacher and Marrero;  a first- someone other than my folks had bought my sat. nite meal,  I was choked up and I say thanks guys, love ya in Portland.

Wbc info will be coming in today, check www.leaguelineup/worldbaseballcongress for more updates.

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Posted Jul 25/14 - rockets beat marlins, 14-3 take league title

July 25, 2014 portland rockets 14 ft. wayne marlins 3

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. A 9 run ninth inning broke

Open a close 5-1 lead and the Portland rockets cruised to a 14-3 win over the ft. wayne marlins thurs. nite at Carrington field. Portland wins the red Carrington league title with a 11-3 mark.  The rockets who have won 17 of the last 20, and 9 in a row now move to 24-10 on the season.

Rocket lefthander Justin miller who attends Manchester university, handled the bulk of the pitching duties. Justin went 8 inn. Giving up 1 run on 5 hits, he struck out 5 and gave up 5 hits, 128 pitches,  atta boy Justin.  He is leaving today for Louisville to pick up some bats then will join the club in Cincinnati this weekend.

Wesley hibbard finished up on the mound.

The rockets lead just 3-1 in the 7th but broke through with 2 in the 7th, 2 in the 8th, and 9in the 9thDalton tinsley smacked 4 hits scoring 3 runs. Billy geeslin and collin affolder had 3 hits, mitch waters and Justin miller had 2 hits.

Here is one for the books, catcher cody crumlauf from auburn got plunked 4 times. Hit by the pitch 4 times, take off the bulls eye cody, 

Krumlauf will miss sat. action in Lawrenceburg as he will be at a ceremony to receive a
$3000 scholarship. Atta boy  cody

Surveying the field last nite we noticed the rockets had 4 players on the field who are fresh out of high school.  usually players in this league require some seasoning in the college ranks, but an atta boy to these guys, collin affolder from berne, josh selvey and Wesley hibbard from jay county, and kyle witwer who is a soph at bellmont.

Rocket road trip to Cincinnati

Sat Portland will play the Yorkville yaks at south Dearborn high school.

Sun Portland will play the cinci chiefs at Lakota west high school.

Tonite we will attend the community center event with the dunkin diesels.\

Next week Portland will host the world baseball congress tournament regional .

Teams from Chicago, Cleveland, cinci, Dayton, indy and ft wayne have expressed interest.

Pretty cool, Portland has that kinda pull.

Rocket road trip to Cincinnati

Rockets win league title with 14-3 win over marlins,

Win streak continues

When your hot you’er hot, when your not, you’re not –jerry reed

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 25/14 - rockets beat marlins, 14-3 take league title

July 25, 2014 portland rockets 14 ft. wayne marlins 3

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. A 9 run ninth inning broke

Open a close 5-1 lead and the Portland rockets cruised to a 14-3 win over the ft. wayne marlins thurs. nite at Carrington field. Portland wins the red Carrington league title with a 11-3 mark.  The rockets who have won 17 of the last 20, and 9 in a row now move to 24-10 on the season.

Rocket lefthander Justin miller who attends Manchester university, handled the bulk of the pitching duties. Justin went 8 inn. Giving up 1 run on 5 hits, he struck out 5 and gave up 5 hits, 128 pitches,  atta boy Justin.  He is leaving today for Louisville to pick up some bats then will join the club in Cincinnati this weekend.

Wesley hibbard finished up on the mound.

The rockets lead just 3-1 in the 7th but broke through with 2 in the 7th, 2 in the 8th, and 9in the 9thDalton tinsley smacked 4 hits scoring 3 runs. Billy geeslin and collin affolder had 3 hits, mitch waters and Justin miller had 2 hits.

Here is one for the books, catcher cody crumlauf from auburn got plunked 4 times. Hit by the pitch 4 times, take off the bulls eye cody, 

Krumlauf will miss sat. action in Lawrenceburg as he will be at a ceremony to receive a
$3000 scholarship. Atta boy  cody

Surveying the field last nite we noticed the rockets had 4 players on the field who are fresh out of high school.  usually players in this league require some seasoning in the college ranks, but an atta boy to these guys, collin affolder from berne, josh selvey and Wesley hibbard from jay county, and kyle witwer who is a soph at bellmont.

Rocket road trip to Cincinnati

Sat Portland will play the Yorkville yaks at south Dearborn high school.

Sun Portland will play the cinci chiefs at Lakota west high school.

Tonite we will attend the community center event with the dunkin diesels.\

Next week Portland will host the world baseball congress tournament regional .

Teams from Chicago, Cleveland, cinci, Dayton, indy and ft wayne have expressed interest.

Pretty cool, Portland has that kinda pull.

Rocket road trip to Cincinnati

Rockets win league title with 14-3 win over marlins,

Win streak continues

When your hot you’er hot, when your not, you’re not –jerry reed

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 21/14 - rockets take all 4 games, comeback style in 3

July 21, 2014 rockets complete weekend sweep

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. I cant believe what I just saw, to quote broadcaster jack buck. Portland rockets, the cardiac kids, win all games this weekend, the last 3 in walk off fashion in their last at at bat.  A walk off is when a player drives in the run that ends the game for his team.  . geoff bowers, alex delk and Dalton tinsley provided the walk off heroics. I have never seen anything like it –each of those thrillers were come from behind victories. Wow.

Saturday vs northeast kekionga rockets behind the complete game effort by tyler Reynolds, 122 pitches, rockets win 5-1. game 2 the funky walk off stuff begins.

The Indiana tech team jumped to an 8 0 lead on just 2 hits, and rockets start bursting in air.  3 run home run by mitch waters, then  a clutch 3 run bomb over the fence by connor milligan, and the rockets make the big comeback. Great to see heath Williams make a return to the lineup.  Heath played all day  after a 3 year layoff and had hits in both games.  Rockets down then 10- 8 in the last inning used a Williams bunt with 4 hits by his teammates to set up bowers walk off. Rockets win when down 8 0 win 11-10.

Special thanks for the weekend at the ball park with Samantha Thomas.  She was in the publicity dept for the ft wayne tincaps, she ran our press box and we loved it.

Good baseball and good karma Sunday.  My uncle ron miller made the trip down from Warsaw, and stayed the day.  He claims the coach is a slacker and overpaid. Ray millers younger brother game me my umpire gear about 40 years ago.\

 Portland rockets finished the regular season at runkle-miller field Sunday with a doubleheader sweep over the ft. wayne expos. Rockets won 2-1 in 9 inn. And 5-4. 

Veteran righthander mitch waters surrendered one run in the 9th but rockets came back and won anyway, walk off  alex delk come from behind win again

Waters went the distance , 5 hits and 95 pitches 0 walks.

Justin Marrero returns to the lineup and scores the tying run, on waters single, bowers scores on delks single.

Game 2 rockets have but 1 hit going into the last inn,. Trailing 4-0 and here comes that rockettrain, scratching, clawing digging, with 2 outs Dalton tinsley singles in billy geeslin, who had doubled with the bases loaded to set the stage,,,man, I thought billy had won the game w a granny but tinsley walk off closed the deal.

Tinsley had 10 hits this weekend, bowers 7 waters 5

Good karma, a little luck,\

I say just good players making plays,

Rockets record now 23-10.

Portland will play Thursday at Carrington field. 7 pm start vs ft. wayne marlins 9 inn. Game

We say good bye to good friend Gerald kunce who graded the original park

Happy birthday dick huffmman

Certainly news worthy , rockets win x 4, and 3 are walk offs.

I will never forget this weekend for as long as I live

 

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Posted Jul 21/14 - rockets take all 4 games, comeback style in 3

July 21, 2014 rockets complete weekend sweep

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. I cant believe what I just saw, to quote broadcaster jack buck. Portland rockets, the cardiac kids, win all games this weekend, the last 3 in walk off fashion in their last at at bat.  A walk off is when a player drives in the run that ends the game for his team.  . geoff bowers, alex delk and Dalton tinsley provided the walk off heroics. I have never seen anything like it –each of those thrillers were come from behind victories. Wow.

Saturday vs northeast kekionga rockets behind the complete game effort by tyler Reynolds, 122 pitches, rockets win 5-1. game 2 the funky walk off stuff begins.

The Indiana tech team jumped to an 8 0 lead on just 2 hits, and rockets start bursting in air.  3 run home run by mitch waters, then  a clutch 3 run bomb over the fence by connor milligan, and the rockets make the big comeback. Great to see heath Williams make a return to the lineup.  Heath played all day  after a 3 year layoff and had hits in both games.  Rockets down then 10- 8 in the last inning used a Williams bunt with 4 hits by his teammates to set up bowers walk off. Rockets win when down 8 0 win 11-10.

Special thanks for the weekend at the ball park with Samantha Thomas.  She was in the publicity dept for the ft wayne tincaps, she ran our press box and we loved it.

Good baseball and good karma Sunday.  My uncle ron miller made the trip down from Warsaw, and stayed the day.  He claims the coach is a slacker and overpaid. Ray millers younger brother game me my umpire gear about 40 years ago.\

 Portland rockets finished the regular season at runkle-miller field Sunday with a doubleheader sweep over the ft. wayne expos. Rockets won 2-1 in 9 inn. And 5-4. 

Veteran righthander mitch waters surrendered one run in the 9th but rockets came back and won anyway, walk off  alex delk come from behind win again

Waters went the distance , 5 hits and 95 pitches 0 walks.

Justin Marrero returns to the lineup and scores the tying run, on waters single, bowers scores on delks single.

Game 2 rockets have but 1 hit going into the last inn,. Trailing 4-0 and here comes that rockettrain, scratching, clawing digging, with 2 outs Dalton tinsley singles in billy geeslin, who had doubled with the bases loaded to set the stage,,,man, I thought billy had won the game w a granny but tinsley walk off closed the deal.

Tinsley had 10 hits this weekend, bowers 7 waters 5

Good karma, a little luck,\

I say just good players making plays,

Rockets record now 23-10.

Portland will play Thursday at Carrington field. 7 pm start vs ft. wayne marlins 9 inn. Game

We say good bye to good friend Gerald kunce who graded the original park

Happy birthday dick huffmman

Certainly news worthy , rockets win x 4, and 3 are walk offs.

I will never forget this weekend for as long as I live

 

Read More...

Posted Jul 21/14 - rockets take all 4 games, comeback style in 3

July 21, 2014 rockets complete weekend sweep

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. I cant believe what I just saw, to quote broadcaster jack buck. Portland rockets, the cardiac kids, win all games this weekend, the last 3 in walk off fashion in their last at at bat.  A walk off is when a player drives in the run that ends the game for his team.  . geoff bowers, alex delk and Dalton tinsley provided the walk off heroics. I have never seen anything like it –each of those thrillers were come from behind victories. Wow.

Saturday vs northeast kekionga rockets behind the complete game effort by tyler Reynolds, 122 pitches, rockets win 5-1. game 2 the funky walk off stuff begins.

The Indiana tech team jumped to an 8 0 lead on just 2 hits, and rockets start bursting in air.  3 run home run by mitch waters, then  a clutch 3 run bomb over the fence by connor milligan, and the rockets make the big comeback. Great to see heath Williams make a return to the lineup.  Heath played all day  after a 3 year layoff and had hits in both games.  Rockets down then 10- 8 in the last inning used a Williams bunt with 4 hits by his teammates to set up bowers walk off. Rockets win when down 8 0 win 11-10.

Special thanks for the weekend at the ball park with Samantha Thomas.  She was in the publicity dept for the ft wayne tincaps, she ran our press box and we loved it.

Good baseball and good karma Sunday.  My uncle ron miller made the trip down from Warsaw, and stayed the day.  He claims the coach is a slacker and overpaid. Ray millers younger brother game me my umpire gear about 40 years ago.\

 Portland rockets finished the regular season at runkle-miller field Sunday with a doubleheader sweep over the ft. wayne expos. Rockets won 2-1 in 9 inn. And 5-4. 

Veteran righthander mitch waters surrendered one run in the 9th but rockets came back and won anyway, walk off  alex delk come from behind win again

Waters went the distance , 5 hits and 95 pitches 0 walks.

Justin Marrero returns to the lineup and scores the tying run, on waters single, bowers scores on delks single.

Game 2 rockets have but 1 hit going into the last inn,. Trailing 4-0 and here comes that rockettrain, scratching, clawing digging, with 2 outs Dalton tinsley singles in billy geeslin, who had doubled with the bases loaded to set the stage,,,man, I thought billy had won the game w a granny but tinsley walk off closed the deal.

Tinsley had 10 hits this weekend, bowers 7 waters 5

Good karma, a little luck,\

I say just good players making plays,

Rockets record now 23-10.

Portland will play Thursday at Carrington field. 7 pm start vs ft. wayne marlins 9 inn. Game

We say good bye to good friend Gerald kunce who graded the original park

Happy birthday dick huffmman

Certainly news worthy , rockets win x 4, and 3 are walk offs.

I will never forget this weekend for as long as I live

 

Read More...

Posted Jul 18/14 - ROCKET RALLY UNDOES JACKERS 3-2

July 18, 2014 portland rockets 3 ft. wayne jackers 2

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets

Continue their winning ways, defeating the ft. wayne jackers 3-2 thur nite at Carrington field.

This very well could have been the shortest rocket report ever, we came, dan pitched good, we lost \1-0   but wait???

ROCKET RALLY

Trailing into the final inn. 1-0 with just one hit, mitch waters walked on a 3 2 pitch, and was sacrificied to second by tj lindstrand, after a walk to alex delk, collin affolder grounded into a potential game ending double play, but his hustle play beat the low throw to first, as the first baseman smothered the low throw and dropped to the ground, magic mitch chugged around third base and just kept on going, scoring to tie the game. Granted the call at first base was close, but that collin affolder was in this game because he gives his all.  Coach doug tinsley noted this as a big hustle play. 

But the rocket rally continues! Thomas mccowan smacks a ground rule double over the fence, atta boy tom,

They change pitchers and bring in old righthander matt ousley,  we talked about him as a former rocket in our last report,

With the score tied, catcher cody krumlauf topps it off with a 2 run liner to right giving big dan bollenbacher a 3-1 lead. Atta boy catcher cody

What a rocket rally indeed!

Big dan bollenbacher was like a shark smelling blood in the water

He closes out the complete game win with 105 pitches giving up 1 earned run on 5 hits with 4 Ks

Rockets had 4 hits, 2 by Thomas mccowan, one by Dalton tinsley and by catcher cody crumlauf.

Wow, we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Rockets record improves to 19-10

Jackers fall to 21- 8.  interesting to note, Portland leads the ft wayne league with an 8-3 mark.  Second place jackers are 9-5

Game time 1 hr 50 min.  so I got home in time to watch movie bull durham,

I quote walt Whitman, “ I see great things in baseball, its our game, the

American game.  It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us.”

Rockets will be home this weekend with doubleheaders sat, sun at runkle-miller field.

Both start at 1 pm. 

Saturday tyler Reynolds and matt helm will start vs northeast kekionga

Sunday mitch waters and Johnny bullpen.  That means everybody,,,could be gary Williams from union city.

Rocket rally

We came, dan pitched good and snatched victory. And it feels great

Randy miller

Pg 14

Read More...

Posted Jul 18/14 - ROCKET RALLY UNDOES JACKERS 3-2

July 18, 2014 portland rockets 3 ft. wayne jackers 2

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets

Continue their winning ways, defeating the ft. wayne jackers 3-2 thur nite at Carrington field.

This very well could have been the shortest rocket report ever, we came, dan pitched good, we lost \1-0   but wait???

ROCKET RALLY

Trailing into the final inn. 1-0 with just one hit, mitch waters walked on a 3 2 pitch, and was sacrificied to second by tj lindstrand, after a walk to alex delk, collin affolder grounded into a potential game ending double play, but his hustle play beat the low throw to first, as the first baseman smothered the low throw and dropped to the ground, magic mitch chugged around third base and just kept on going, scoring to tie the game. Granted the call at first base was close, but that collin affolder was in this game because he gives his all.  Coach doug tinsley noted this as a big hustle play. 

But the rocket rally continues! Thomas mccowan smacks a ground rule double over the fence, atta boy tom,

They change pitchers and bring in old righthander matt ousley,  we talked about him as a former rocket in our last report,

With the score tied, catcher cody krumlauf topps it off with a 2 run liner to right giving big dan bollenbacher a 3-1 lead. Atta boy catcher cody

What a rocket rally indeed!

Big dan bollenbacher was like a shark smelling blood in the water

He closes out the complete game win with 105 pitches giving up 1 earned run on 5 hits with 4 Ks

Rockets had 4 hits, 2 by Thomas mccowan, one by Dalton tinsley and by catcher cody crumlauf.

Wow, we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Rockets record improves to 19-10

Jackers fall to 21- 8.  interesting to note, Portland leads the ft wayne league with an 8-3 mark.  Second place jackers are 9-5

Game time 1 hr 50 min.  so I got home in time to watch movie bull durham,

I quote walt Whitman, “ I see great things in baseball, its our game, the

American game.  It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us.”

Rockets will be home this weekend with doubleheaders sat, sun at runkle-miller field.

Both start at 1 pm. 

Saturday tyler Reynolds and matt helm will start vs northeast kekionga

Sunday mitch waters and Johnny bullpen.  That means everybody,,,could be gary Williams from union city.

Rocket rally

We came, dan pitched good and snatched victory. And it feels great

Randy miller

Pg 14

Read More...

Posted Jul 16/14 - rockets win on crossroads nite 4-1

 

July 16, 2014 rockets 4 summit city sluggers 1

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. On a most pleasant tues evening in Portland at runkle=miller field, before perhaps a record crowd, the Portland

Rockets win over the summit city sluggers, 4-1

Big crowd, big event big fun,,,,,,it was crossroads nite,,,,those guys rock, games prizes freebies,,,,,did I hear david lyons won a grill?

 Thanks credit union community minded guys, janet, becky, jeanna, Donald and gang

dont you love it when everything works out?!   People came, shared, enjoyed, baseball game in 2hours 9 min, 9 inn really,  people ate, and even jim bunner fished out $67 in the

world famous crossroads money machine. Bob clark won money, and you just cant beat fun for a good time.  And portlands baseball team won in impressive fashion. 

With the ball in the hands of rocket veteran mitch waters, the game was played with great pace, mitch went 8 inn. Struck out 13 as he scattered 3 hits. Justin miller pitched the 9th  giving up one run on a wild pitch.

Rockets had 8 hits,  Dalton tinsley led off the game with a bang and it was on like donky kong, tinsley stole second and scored on a single by geoff bowers,.  Tinsley earned the praise for his sparkplug play by commercial review reporter ray cooney.

Logan barnes also from kokomo hit a clutch double in the 7th to score 2 runs, barnes and bowers had 2 hits,  catcher cody crumlauf had an rbi single as well.

Summit city sluggers have a fine mix of players from Manchester and Huntington. Coach mark Delagarza is a twins scout and highly respected baseball guru in the area, also assisting coach mcclain , head coach from norwell,\

This club will be in our Portland tournament aug. 1

Also a special highlight of the evening, all star break allowed our ss of the last couple years zach tanner returned. Zach plays independent ball for the frontier greys .  lots of funsy banner and ribbing when that dude is around.   Even the sharing well after the game, recounting stories and craziness till well after the game made me laugh.

i have been asked if I might write a book and rocket lore,,,,,dean Monroe probably could,

well we could have wrote many a chapter on zach tanner’s return,,,,egged on by waters of course, and dan bollenbacher and tyler Reynolds.  My hat is off to these guys, they have traveled the miles.

1st pitch was thrown out by young rocket fan dustin pearson and we finished 2 hours 9 min. later, unheard of in 9 inn.

My favorite play of the nite a smash to 3rd baseman alex delk, fires to second to barnes for one, relay to mccownan at 1st double play, 2 for the price of one, around the horn even,

Tanners batting practice home runs were pretty cool too

Special to see former rockets at the park, chris hearn, larry chittum, steve takats, butch gray, paul minnich, gary sautbine, ,,,,also ray gerber from Geneva on hand.

Happy birthday tomorrow to maryilon maloy,,,,rocket favorite

Rockets win 4-1

Rocket record now 18-10

We play at Carrington field, 7 pm thurs vs jackers

Rockets are home sat, and sun. 1 pm dh

Thanks to all for making Crossroads nite a success

You cant beat fun for a good time

Randy miller

Pg 14

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Posted Jul 14/14 - ROCKETS SWEEP EXPOS SUNDAY 12 2 6 4

July 14, 2014  portland rockets sweep expos 12-2 and 6-4

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in PortlandPortland rockets

Double dipped the ft. wayne expos Sunday at Carrington field, winning 12- 2 and 6-4

Rockets got off the bus gus batting around the order scoring 5 times in the 1st inn. In the 1st game, batting around the order scoring 4 times in the 1st in the next game,

Rockets cruise to the 12-2 mercy rule in 5 inn. With 16 hits in game one,

Dalton tinsley ,and chris miller led the rocket attach with 5 hits in the doubleheader,

Mitch waters had 4 hits, scoring 4 runs, , 4 hits also for tj lindstrand, collin affolder and geoff bowers had 3.

The rockets and expos played last sun in the 4th of july tournament and split 2 games.

This Sunday is all Portland all day,

Dan bollenbacher continued his fine mound duties, going 4 inn with 5 Ks and just 1 run on 2 hits. 59 pitches .  Wesley Hibbard made his mound debut, no runs scored.

Atta boy Wesley Hibbard.

Game 2 rockets with and early  6-0 lead after 3 innings held on to win 6-4

Tyler Reynolds the winner, 81 pitches with 4 k in 4 plus inn.  11 hits 3 runs,

Relief help by matt helm,,, with bases loaded he coaxed a line shot to 3rd base and

Magic mitch was there to backhand the wicked line drive and preserve the lead.

Helm from marion gave up 1  run in the 2.1 inn. Pitched.

The rocket sweep moves the rocket record to 17-10

Nice visit Sunday with former rocket and all time winning pitcher for Portland matt ousley,,,matt lives in ft wayne, teaches and carroll h.s and still pitches for the jackers.

We had some days, and sure enjoyed his folks john and Karen ousley.

Once again impressive to note all the rocket fans on hand and of course a visit from

Don and marilyon maloy.

And emma and angi had a nice tent to vent off the summer sun;

Congrats this weekend to kyle selvey competing in the Indiana all star game

Also happy birthday  #29 for rocket captain, heath Williams and also to ray gerber from Geneva –his name is on the baseball field in Geneva,  also to rocket fan rocker, randy bonvillian from ft recovery

Rockets had the Mishawaka brewers on the way to Portland Saturday for a twin spin,

But weather and driving considerations made sat a no go

Now we prepare for tues nites contest with the summit city sluggers.

Home game tues 7 pm

Mitch waters the starter and it is crossroads nite ,  the financial credit union will be on board for our home game and they have Portland spirit yes they do, they have spirit how bout you?

Has anyone heard of this lebron guy, and did he make a decision?

Rockets win and win

See ya tues at crossroads nite

Randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jul 14/14 - ROCKETS SWEEP EXPOS SUNDAY 12 2 6 4

July 14, 2014  portland rockets sweep expos 12-2 and 6-4

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in PortlandPortland rockets

Double dipped the ft. wayne expos Sunday at Carrington field, winning 12- 2 and 6-4

Rockets got off the bus gus batting around the order scoring 5 times in the 1st inn. In the 1st game, batting around the order scoring 4 times in the 1st in the next game,

Rockets cruise to the 12-2 mercy rule in 5 inn. With 16 hits in game one,

Dalton tinsley ,and chris miller led the rocket attach with 5 hits in the doubleheader,

Mitch waters had 4 hits, scoring 4 runs, , 4 hits also for tj lindstrand, collin affolder and geoff bowers had 3.

The rockets and expos played last sun in the 4th of july tournament and split 2 games.

This Sunday is all Portland all day,

Dan bollenbacher continued his fine mound duties, going 4 inn with 5 Ks and just 1 run on 2 hits. 59 pitches .  Wesley Hibbard made his mound debut, no runs scored.

Atta boy Wesley Hibbard.

Game 2 rockets with and early  6-0 lead after 3 innings held on to win 6-4

Tyler Reynolds the winner, 81 pitches with 4 k in 4 plus inn.  11 hits 3 runs,

Relief help by matt helm,,, with bases loaded he coaxed a line shot to 3rd base and

Magic mitch was there to backhand the wicked line drive and preserve the lead.

Helm from marion gave up 1  run in the 2.1 inn. Pitched.

The rocket sweep moves the rocket record to 17-10

Nice visit Sunday with former rocket and all time winning pitcher for Portland matt ousley,,,matt lives in ft wayne, teaches and carroll h.s and still pitches for the jackers.

We had some days, and sure enjoyed his folks john and Karen ousley.

Once again impressive to note all the rocket fans on hand and of course a visit from

Don and marilyon maloy.

And emma and angi had a nice tent to vent off the summer sun;

Congrats this weekend to kyle selvey competing in the Indiana all star game

Also happy birthday  #29 for rocket captain, heath Williams and also to ray gerber from Geneva –his name is on the baseball field in Geneva,  also to rocket fan rocker, randy bonvillian from ft recovery

Rockets had the Mishawaka brewers on the way to Portland Saturday for a twin spin,

But weather and driving considerations made sat a no go

Now we prepare for tues nites contest with the summit city sluggers.

Home game tues 7 pm

Mitch waters the starter and it is crossroads nite ,  the financial credit union will be on board for our home game and they have Portland spirit yes they do, they have spirit how bout you?

Has anyone heard of this lebron guy, and did he make a decision?

Rockets win and win

See ya tues at crossroads nite

Randy miller pg 14

 

Read More...

Posted Jul 11/14 - rockets lose to ft wayne panthers 6-4

July 11, 2014 ft. wayne panthers 6 portland rockets 4

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Thrs nite at runkle-miller

Field, under a full moon, the Portland rockets dropped a wood bat ballbame to the

Ft. wayne panthers from st. francis; 6-4.

Rockets got behind the 8 ball early giving up 3 runs on 0 hits after 3 inn, but did

Rocket rally to tie the game in the 6th 4-4.  rockets would not dent the plate again, stranding a glaring 14 men on base,,,exciting to the end –portland put runners on the corners with one out, but mitch waters popped out and tj lindstrand hit a laser, right to

The 1st baseman for the out,,,,a game of inches, just a couple either way and it would have found the right field corner and perhaps tied the game.

Rockets out hit the foes of ft wayne 10-7 put left to many opportunities squandered.

2 hits each for kokomo kids logan barnes and Dalton tinsley, connor milligan and mitch waters hit doubles.\

5 rocket pitchers toiled and foiled, 8 walks and 2 hits batsmen,  2 hour 50 min. in this titanic struggle

Alex delk, gary Williams, milligan, Justin miller, and tyler Reynolds and we had Wesley

Hibbard ready just in case.

This was a disappointing loss, one wonders how we let this game slip away, but we did have baserunners nabbed at the plate, hit into double plays, and just did not protect our house,,,,as yogi berra said,,”90% of this game is half mental.”

We should note that Indiana all-star kyle selvey did play a stellar shortstop and made many a fine play;  I enjoyed the fellas approach to the game,,,he even garnered his first rocket hit.

Thanks cale Jeffries for your help chasing foul balls, cale is john welker’s grandson.

And  great to see Charlie and Vicki tague at the park, and we appreciate giving us your 50/50 donation. 

Rockets are now 25 games into the season.  The 6-4 loss makes the team record 15-10

We have more fish to fry, home double header sat. 1pm start;  the Mishawaka brewers

Are coming to town,  waters and Reynolds are the starters.

Sun back to ft wayne vs 4th of july tournament champions.  Bollenbacher and helm vs the expos.

Nothing like hearing the resonant sound of bat on the ball,  I told logan barnes that rockets shot he hit woke up the whole ballpark

See you sat at runkle-miller field at 1pm  and root root root for the home team

Randy miller pg 14

Read More...

Posted Jul 11/14 - rockets lose to ft wayne panthers 6-4

July 11, 2014 ft. wayne panthers 6 portland rockets 4

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Thrs nite at runkle-miller

Field, under a full moon, the Portland rockets dropped a wood bat ballbame to the

Ft. wayne panthers from st. francis; 6-4.

Rockets got behind the 8 ball early giving up 3 runs on 0 hits after 3 inn, but did

Rocket rally to tie the game in the 6th 4-4.  rockets would not dent the plate again, stranding a glaring 14 men on base,,,exciting to the end –portland put runners on the corners with one out, but mitch waters popped out and tj lindstrand hit a laser, right to

The 1st baseman for the out,,,,a game of inches, just a couple either way and it would have found the right field corner and perhaps tied the game.

Rockets out hit the foes of ft wayne 10-7 put left to many opportunities squandered.

2 hits each for kokomo kids logan barnes and Dalton tinsley, connor milligan and mitch waters hit doubles.\

5 rocket pitchers toiled and foiled, 8 walks and 2 hits batsmen,  2 hour 50 min. in this titanic struggle

Alex delk, gary Williams, milligan, Justin miller, and tyler Reynolds and we had Wesley

Hibbard ready just in case.

This was a disappointing loss, one wonders how we let this game slip away, but we did have baserunners nabbed at the plate, hit into double plays, and just did not protect our house,,,,as yogi berra said,,”90% of this game is half mental.”

We should note that Indiana all-star kyle selvey did play a stellar shortstop and made many a fine play;  I enjoyed the fellas approach to the game,,,he even garnered his first rocket hit.

we should note winning pitcher was former rocket keaton sullivan from lima,, he played part of last season with portland.

Thanks cale Jeffries for your help chasing foul balls, cale is john welker’s grandson.

And  great to see Charlie and Vicki tague at the park, and we appreciate giving us your 50/50 donation. 

Rockets are now 25 games into the season.  The 6-4 loss makes the team record 15-10

We have more fish to fry, home double header sat. 1pm start;  the Mishawaka brewers

Are coming to town,  waters and Reynolds are the starters.

Sun back to ft wayne vs 4th of july tournament champions.  Bollenbacher and helm vs the expos.

Nothing like hearing the resonant sound of bat on the ball,  I told logan barnes that rockets shot he hit woke up the whole ballpark

See you sat at runkle-miller field at 1pm  and root root root for the home team

Randy miller pg 14

Read More...

Posted Jul 9/14 - rockets 3 twin city bankers 0

July 9, 2014 rockets 3 twin city bankers 0

 

Rocket notes:

 

Portland rockets defeated twin city bankers tues evening 3-0 at runkle-miller field

Home sweet home, 1.4 in of rain, it just made our field green and it played well.

In front of a sizeable crowd, rockets return home and play well.

Portland 3 runs, 4 hits errors, bankers 0 runs , 2 hits, 2 errors.

Good pitching, defense and timely hitting, an old recipe for success.

Shutout pitching and 6 stikeouts each by matt helm from marion, and Justin miller from

Yorktown, and it was lights out, helm pitched 4 yrs at grace his line 4 inn. 6 ks no hits 5 walks. Miller 3 inn 6 ks, 2 hits 1 walk.

Our good friend pastor Darrell borders shared with me a tony larussa quote, the old manager of the cardinals said, “ the result many little things is not little.”

Just like getting to that next base 90 feet away.

Exactly the point sports editor chris schanz brought to light, small ball,

Get em on , get em over, get em in, I say,

Rockets used bunts by kyle selvey, logan barnes and Thomas mccowan and all three figured into 3 runs.

Rockets scored in the 3rd 4th and 5th inning, catcher cody crumlauf from auburn walked and selvey in his first rocket at ab, executed the small ball bunt and an overthrow scored gary Williams running for our catcher.  All star player and coach kyle selvey and his dad lea, and josh and the family on hand, and we enjoyed having em,,, good luck in the all star series this weekend, also on hand Wesley Hibbard of the patriots

Great to visit with coach selvey ---he was part of some great times in rockets lore,

He reminded me of a rain delay and he, myself and pat medler shot bottle rockets at lamargarita dugout,,,I know this was pat medler’ doing,,,,,,

Crumlauf also drove in a run and picked off a runner at first, this kid is a solid addition to our catching postion, all our pitchers love throwing to him, blocking pitches in the dirt, and calling a strong game.

Alex delk from cowan had 2 hits, geoff bowers from lima, 1 hit. Mitch waters had a sacrifice fly rbi to complete the scoring

Thanks to our bat boy reid claycomb #7 from the redkey all –stars.

Great to see old rocket eli jones, he just may be Winchester high schools next baseball coach.
coach rick Atkinson assistant coach at taylor university and former pro player, was on hand and shared stories of his days in the 60s playing in the Detroit free press league

With teammate steve garvey –yep that guy from the la dodgers

Rockets win 3-0, 1 hr. 41 min in this titanic stuggle

Rockets record 15-9

More fun in store,  back at rmf on Thursday, rockets vs. ft. wayne panthers 7 pm

Congratulations rob weaver and all Cincinnatus league members.

Love ya in Portland,

See ya thurs nite at the ball yard.

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jul 7/14 - rockets go 2-2 in 4th of july tournament

July 7, 2014 firecracker classic Portland rocket notes

 

Defending champion rockets go 2-2 on weekend in firecracker classic at Carrington

Field this weekend.  Happy july 4th to all god bless america

Rockets in dramatic fashion win fri nite opener 6-5 over south bend cardinals in 10 excruciating inn.  A Dalton tinsley walk off blast off the fence ended the game and made

A winner of mitch waters pitching in relief 3 inn.

Rockets trailed 5-0 in the last 2inn, insert rocket rally, tied it up and won in extras.

Craig martin the starter, connor milligan and Justin miller pitched before mitch came on and dominated from there.

Rockets earned the bye and returned sat and needed to defeat the ft. wayne league leader

Expos twice.  Portland pitchers dan bollenbacher and tyler Reynolds pitched awesome.

Rockets outhit the opp. 5 hits to 4 yet the breaks beat the boys and lose 2-0.

They score amazingly 2 times on balls hit back to the pitcher. 

Dan bollenbacher who has been the workhorse all summer, went the distance scattering 4 hits w 4 Ks. 

Rockets rebound and trounce the expos 10-0 in the nightcap. Tyler Reynolds was all that and more, 6 ks and 3 hits. Tinsley  the straw that stirs the drink, goes 3-3 and the rocket attack is back on track.  Jackers coach Brown shared w me his opinion that Dalton tinsley of kokomo and our Cf out of Shawnee state  is our best player. 

Our goal in any tournament,,,advance to championship Sunday and baby we are there;

Sunday  matchup vs the jackers, winner advances to the finals

With mitch on the mound we like our chances.   We are not too pleased about playing at 11 am on Sunday morning.  In fact, we take em on whenever, and guess what, there 28 year old starting pitcher overslept and they had to go to plan B

Rockets billy geeslin scores on waters double, pops out his shoulder, then pops in his shoulder then plays the rest of the game, a little tape –good to go

Rockets lead, but in the 3rd mitch hits 2 batters in a row, the second one is the call of the game, the guy wears it,,,w 2 strikes he crowds the plate, turns his shoulder into the pitch and gets the call,

So trouble looms in the form of brian hakes,  walk him would have been a good choice to load the bases,,,but he hits his 3rd home run of the tournament and the jackers romp 9-3

Milligan and alex delk pitch in relief

In the finals the expos win 4-3 over the jackers for the championship

 Rockets attack paced by geoff bowers of lima w 6 hits 5 each by tinsley, geeslin and Thomas mccowan.

Highlights 3 different days in ft. wayne and saw don and marilyn maloy twice.

In fact the Reynolds of Muncie and the affolders of berne and the barnes of kokomo we had a good fan contingent.

Rockets have won 7 of their last 9

But the jackers have beaten us  4 of 5 this year.

Portland record 14-9 jackers are now 17-6

Happy birthday this weekend to my friend Robert freemyer from ft. recovery

Thanks buffalo bar and grill for the ice this weekend.

Rockets on a homestand,,,,come see us when you need a break from the fair,,,home games tues , thurs and sat afternoon.

Thurs rockets vs. twin city bankers at 7pm   hope Vicky tague and Charlie can make it

Stick one an extra one in the cooler for the old coach

Randy miller

Pg 14

Player      ab    r  h   rbi

Tinsley    15    2  5   1

Barnes      11    0  1   0

Geeslin    13    2   5    2

Bowers     15    4   6    1

Waters      13    2   3    2

Delk          12    4   2    1

Mccowan   11   2    5    3

Affolder     10   1   3    2

Miller          8    0   2    1

Krumlauf     6   1    2    1

Read More...

Posted Jul 7/14 - rockets go 2-2 in 4th of july tournament

July 7, 2014 firecracker classic Portland rocket notes

 

Defending champion rockets go 2-2 on weekend in firecracker classic at Carrington

Field this weekend.  Happy july 4th to all god bless america

Rockets in dramatic fashion win fri nite opener 6-5 over south bend cardinals in 10 excruciating inn.  A Dalton tinsley walk off blast off the fence ended the game and made

A winner of mitch waters pitching in relief 3 inn.

Rockets trailed 5-0 in the last 2inn, insert rocket rally, tied it up and won in extras.

Craig martin the starter, connor milligan and Justin miller pitched before mitch came on and dominated from there.

Rockets earned the bye and returned sat and needed to defeat the ft. wayne league leader

Expos twice.  Portland pitchers dan bollenbacher and tyler Reynolds pitched awesome.

Rockets outhit the opp. 5 hits to 4 yet the breaks beat the boys and lose 2-0.

They score amazingly 2 times on balls hit back to the pitcher. 

Dan bollenbacher who has been the workhorse all summer, went the distance scattering 4 hits w 4 Ks. 

Rockets rebound and trounce the expos 10-0 in the nightcap. Tyler Reynolds was all that and more, 6 ks and 3 hits. Tinsley  the straw that stirs the drink, goes 3-3 and the rocket attack is back on track.  Jackers coach Brown shared w me his opinion that Dalton tinsley of kokomo and our Cf out of Shawnee state  is our best player. 

Our goal in any tournament,,,advance to championship Sunday and baby we are there;

Sunday  matchup vs the jackers, winner advances to the finals

With mitch on the mound we like our chances.   We are not too pleased about playing at 11 am on Sunday morning.  In fact, we take em on whenever, and guess what, there 28 year old starting pitcher overslept and they had to go to plan B

Rockets billy geeslin scores on waters double, pops out his shoulder, then pops in his shoulder then plays the rest of the game, a little tape –good to go

Rockets lead, but in the 3rd mitch hits 2 batters in a row, the second one is the call of the game, the guy wears it,,,w 2 strikes he crowds the plate, turns his shoulder into the pitch and gets the call,

So trouble looms in the form of brian hakes,  walk him would have been a good choice to load the bases,,,but he hits his 3rd home run of the tournament and the jackers romp 9-3

Milligan and alex delk pitch in relief

In the finals the expos win 4-3 over the jackers for the championship

 Rockets attack paced by geoff bowers of lima w 6 hits 5 each by tinsley, geeslin and Thomas mccowan.

Highlights 3 different days in ft. wayne and saw don and marilyn maloy twice.

In fact the Reynolds of Muncie and the affolders of berne and the barnes of kokomo we had a good fan contingent.

Rockets have won 7 of their last 9

But the jackers have beaten us  4 of 5 this year.

Portland record 14-9 jackers are now 17-6

Happy birthday this weekend to my friend Robert freemyer from ft. recovery

Thanks buffalo bar and grill for the ice this weekend.

Rockets on a homestand,,,,come see us when you need a break from the fair,,,home games tues , thurs and sat afternoon.

Thurs rockets vs. twin city bankers at 7pm   hope Vicky tague and Charlie can make it

Stick one an extra one in the cooler for the old coach

Randy miller

Pg 14

Player      ab    r  h   rbi

Tinsley    15    2  5   1

Barnes      11    0  1   0

Geeslin    13    2   5    2

Bowers     15    4   6    1

Waters      13    2   3    2

Delk          12    4   2    1

Mccowan   11   2    5    3

Affolder     10   1   3    2

Miller          8    0   2    1

Krumlauf     6   1    2    1

Read More...

Posted Jun 30/14 - ROCKETS SWEEP SOUTH BEND

June 30, 2014 Rockets sweep south bend series

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. Happy last day of june.

How sweet the sweep. Rockets sweep south bend going 4-0 on the weekend.

Rockets defeat the Mishawaka brewers 9-1 and 5-3 Saturday, then double dip

The south bend cardinals 3-1 and 14- 0. both were played at kennedy park.

Saturday’s game one was a doozy, score 0-0 into the last inning, the rockets

Scored 9 times and broke the game open to  win 9-1.  the pitching duel featured mitch

Waters who had a 1 hitter going into the last inning. Waters struck out 8.   Their guy was pretty tough customerAs well, sean galihier , 37 year old, played against the rockets for many years, a member of ron milovichs tough south bend senator clubs.  Coach milovich was on hand and some old friends and foes had some warm memories.   Geoff bowers had 4 rbi in the rocket rally, in one inning.

 

Game 2 rockets win 5-3, 5 solid pitched innings from craig martin of marion and 2 by Justin miller.  Rockets take the doubleheader.

Sat. nite road trip and a team gathering at applebys  now it’s the south bend cardinals

Sunday another big pitchers dues, rockets win 3-1.  our guy dan bollenbacher the winner goes 6 innings striking out 10, 3 hits 101 pitches.

Travis gray picked up the save.  Their guy gave up just one hit.  46 year old jayson best

Knows how to play the game. The former pro in the twins organization,  We beat him, but we tip our hat.  Jayson ----I played against him, told me this is his 4th different team

He has played for against Portland. They are the Lafayette red sox, the Goshen diamondbacks, the senators and the Cardinals. Torn rotator cuff but jayson best can pitch.

Dalton tinsley led off the game with a double off the wall, and scored on a passed ball.

That was our only hit. But we did piece together 2 more runs to give bollenbacher the win.

Game 2 and tyler Reynolds was dealing, we win in 5 inn. 14-0 , Reynolds striking out 6

 With a 4 hit shutout.

The rocket road trip a resounding success, we had 17 players on hand representing Portland; just hanging out at the hotel listening to coach doug tinsley talking about the intricacies of the game, passion, and how we can learn from those old pitchers like galiher and best,,,his message:  hard work beats talent that doesn’t work hard

Rocket attach this weekend led by geoff bowers 6 hits 5rbi, 5 hits Dalton tinsley w 5 runs scored.

4 hits each by waters, logan barnes, and logan hug.  And here is an odditiy, 1st year rocket man colin affolder, who will attend bethel in south bend area was HBP 4 times.

Colin will play for coach zeth zartman a former rocket.

Rocket train now rolling with 5 straight wins, now 12-7.

Next game is wed vs. the ohio warhawks, but we received word that the game may be postponed as they are leaving for salt lake city the next day for tournament. \

Wed game is questionable

Rockets will play in the 4th of july tournament in ft. wayne. Friday.

The 5 team field is south bend cardinals, the ft wayne jackers, expos, hobbs allstars a keith shepard team, and Portland

Rockets play at noon fri vs south bend at Carrington field.

Rocket road trip a huge success,,,how sweet the sweep rockets go 4-0 in s bend

 

 

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Posted Jun 27/14 - rockets win in ft wayne 3-0 over marlins

June 27, 2014 rockets 3  marlins 0 at Carrington field

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets

Defeated the ft wayne marlins 3-0 thurs. nite at Carrington field. Alex delk hit a

Rocket shot not only over the fence in left field but over the net, driving in geoff

Bowers, that was alex 2nd dinger of the season.
in the 4th inning the kokomo connection tallied one more, a Dalton tinsely triple, I love triples, and then an rbi single off the bat of new rocket logan  barnes.  Logan played for

Former rocket Jeremy Luna at taylor high school and is an infielder at Danville community college ---good player,
8 rocket starters had hits in this contest of 1 hr. 53 min.

Tyler Reynolds, matt helm, craig martin, and travis gray scattered 4 hits.

Rockets record now 8-7

Thanks to rockets sponsors, patriot fitness and tyler newell for getting on the rocket train.

Also buffalo bar and grill, Geneva for donating ice for the water cooler, thanks gary Bernard.

Rocket road trip------south bend this weekend

1pm dh vs Mishawaka brewers sat, then 1pm dh vs south bend cardinals sun

Starters waters, martin, bollenbacher, Reynolds.

We have been making this trip each year for 30 years to kennedy park,.

I still remember mcclurg and meinerding making the trip and they never did

Find the ballpark.

Congrats to jay county’s kyle selvey for his all state honors, and his dad and former rocket lea selvey who will help coach the all stars.

Rockets win in ft wayne 3-0-

Happy birthday Thomas mccowan

Love ya in Portland

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 27/14 - rockets win in ft wayne 3-0 over marlins

June 27, 2014 rockets 3  marlins 0 at Carrington field

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets

Defeated the ft wayne marlins 3-0 thurs. nite at Carrington field. Alex delk hit a

Rocket shot not only over the fence in left field but over the net, driving in geoff

Bowers, that was alex 2nd dinger of the season.
in the 4th inning the kokomo connection tallied one more, a Dalton tinsely triple, I love triples, and then an rbi single off the bat of new rocket logan  barnes.  Logan played for

Former rocket Jeremy Luna at taylor high school and is an infielder at Danville community college ---good player,
8 rocket starters had hits in this contest of 1 hr. 53 min.

Tyler Reynolds, matt helm, craig martin, and travis gray scattered 4 hits.

Rockets record now 8-7

Thanks to rockets sponsors, patriot fitness and tyler newell for getting on the rocket train.

Also buffalo bar and grill, Geneva for donating ice for the water cooler, thanks gary Bernard.

Rocket road trip------south bend this weekend

1pm dh vs Mishawaka brewers sat, then 1pm dh vs south bend cardinals sun

Starters waters, martin, bollenbacher, Reynolds.

We have been making this trip each year for 30 years to kennedy park,.

I still remember mcclurg and meinerding making the trip and they never did

Find the ballpark.

Congrats to jay county’s kyle selvey for his all state honors, and his dad and former rocket lea selvey who will help coach the all stars.

Rockets win in ft wayne 3-0-

Happy birthday Thomas mccowan

Love ya in Portland

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 23/14 - rockets split with summit city sluggers in portland

June 23, 2014 rockets split with summit city sluggers, 7-2 3-5

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

The summer is here, and the rain wont stay away. 

Rockets dumped of 3 inches of rain off runkle-miller field and managed

To split another dh this one Saturday vs the summit city sluggers.\

Rockets win 7-2 before dropping the nightcap 5-3

Sunday games in ft wayne vs the marlins were rained out.

Special thanks to walt fafata and his jail work crew for the diamond duties.

Saturday after a moment of prayer for coach mark flueckigers wife kim, she was

In an auto accident, now recovering from surgery at Lutheran hospital., then it was baseball, mitch waters on the mound against the sluggers, he went the distance, 10 ks

Scattering 5 hits. Mitch does his work in 1 hr 38 min.  sure like that---

Rockets score 4 runs in the 6th , 3 on an alex delk blast over the left field fence, to break

Open the close game.  Alex from cowan, had 3 hits , also key in the inning dillion bell

Bunt mishandled, and kyle markle’s double off the top of the fence. Bell and markle are from Celina.

Justin miller had 2 hits in each game, and a sore shouldered Dalton tinsely also had 2 hits.

Dalton has played every inning of every game in cf, but hurt his shoulder this week, so he

Was limited to 1st base and designated hitter duties.

We hope to have him back at his post this week,,,

Great to have former rocket coach and good friend david waters on hand, keeping those umpires honest,,,also good to see kinda old friend perry jones out at the ballpark.

Love ya in Portland guys,,,,nice post on facebook showing rockets ahead Vicki tague.

Game 2 rockets waste a fine pitching effort by dan bollenbacher and lose to coach mark Delagarza team 5-3.  bollenbacher struck out 8 giving up 4 runs on 9 hits. Travis gray finished up.   rockets make it interesting   3 times loading the bases and as sports

Writer chris Schanz ntoes,  still waiting for that one big hit

It doesn’t help when we hit in double plays, strike out or runners running thru stop sign

At third, getting thrown out by a mile,

Reminds me of the question asked manager casey Stengel, what do you think of the execution of your team,,,casey dead panned …” Im all in favor of it”

Great story line---out of retirement brad Buckingham answered the call to catch bollenbacher and the south adams coach ---he played for the rockets several years in the

2005 era did a fine job.  34 years old and still an athlete, gotta love that \and great to see jim Buckingham and family on hand.

Congrats team Indiana and team wapahani,,,,,great job coach Dudley,,,,all that legion of

Wapahani rocket guys,,,luce lassiter Bolton etc.

Rockets play tues 615 vs ohio warhawks,,they are a special group from Dayton,,,,many division one signees,  on pro draft boards, always the best team we play\

Tyler Reynolds the starter.  Rocket record now 7-7

 

 

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Posted Jun 22/14 - rockets split with summit city sluggers in portland

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Posted Jun 16/14 - rockets split weekend with tech and jackers

June 16, 2014 rockets split weekend games vs. northeast kekionga, jackers

 

Rocket notes:  start weekend with an exciting victory 3-2 over northeast kekionga

Indiana tech college club, a strikeout by craig martin of marion with the bases loaded,

Then finish the weekend with a strikeout with 2 on to preserve a 2-0 2 hit shutout win

Over the ft wayne jackers, with 2 men on base. This clutch punchout from big dan

Bollenbacher of berne,  he struck out 9 and threw a 73 pitch gem, one of the best games

Pitched I have ever seen.  He flat out dominated.

Dan in his 7th rocket season, retired 13 of the first 15 batters, and did his job in one hr. and 30 min. 

As I told his mom and dad, happy fathers day , I think I just  adopted your son

Before the game I had told scott bollenbacher , who like dan, rode his motorcycle to the game---be prepared to watch a workhorse take on the load,,and we will ride that horse to the finish. And we enjoyed the journey.

My other adopted son, mitch waters, 8 rocket year veteran, scored in the 1st inn. On cody

Krumlaufs groundout, and rockets tacked on a run in the last inn. Singles by krumlauf, alex delk, and then a clutch rbi bingo by colin affolder finished the scoring

Rockets win a big one 2-0

Jackers had one big threat with 2 on and no out , in the 5th, we needed a big break,

Coach doug tinsley said we need a 5-3 double play,

Next pitch ground ball to billy at 3rd, steps on bag, bowers scoops the low throw at 1st, 5-3 dp.  As mel allen would say, how about that.

Saturday was persimmons ridge day,  lots of smile , the group had rocket hats from patriot sportswear, the group included my old buddy Gerald Kunce who helped in the

Making of sportland.

Tyler Reynolds the winner with a 6 hitter  Portland 3 kekionga 2  coach kip mcwilliams of tech on hand .

Billy geeslin and geoff bowers scored in the 6th inn. As the rockets held on, bases loaded

Martin on for the punchout.

Game 2 went crazy, travis gray took the loss, beat 15-10 .  they went up 5-0 and we came back and tied it 5-5. but rocket pitching just wore down.  Martin, delk, affolder and gary Williams all pitched.

Highlight of the day,  a visit from rocket standout ss Jason murray of bluffton. Jason was an all mac player from ball state and one of our stable of ss from the 90s. he is now a coach for liberty university,  his message to the team was touching.

His start, was in Portland, to ray miller and Portland he learned commitment and to love your brothers, and to appreciate.

Another highlight,  billy geeslin hit his 1st home run of the season.

Rockets the splitsers, lost game one Sunday 4-1 to garrett wiejak and the jackers. The rockets had 11 hits, but they had 12,  mitch waters took the loss. Connor milligan also pitched.  They had ohhhhh so many hits with 2 strikes.

Rockets 1st baseman Thomas mccowan of Dunkirk, took a hard groundball of the chin, and had to leave the game for 2 stitches.  Tom did get the out, and to his credit did not want to come out, but was bleeding like a stuck pig, sherri Reynolds attending thought best to doctor up.

On the weekend, geeslin had 6 hits, 5 each by Dalton tinsley and alex delk

Rockets travel to Indiana tech wed 7 pm. Start. Home sat.

Record 6-6 jackers record 10-2

Time of dh sat.  4hr 59 min , sun. 3 hr. 49 min. 

Difference,  pitching and umpiring

Wed starter Justin miller or craig martin.

 

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Posted Jun 13/14 - ROCKETS TROUNCE EXPOS 7-3

June 13, 2014  portland rockets 7 ft. wayne expos 3

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. Happy Friday the 13th.

Thurs evening the Portland rockets made their first trip this year to ft waynes Carrington

Field.  And for when the one great scorer comes to mark against your name, he asks not

If you won or lost, but did you beat ft. wayne? Yes indeed. Rockets 7 expos 3.

Skies cleared, beautiful full moon, and an old recipe for victory, good pitching, defense

And timely hitting.  And a sizeable contingent of rocket fans on hand including Charlie and Vicky tague

Rockets plate 3 runs in the 1st inning and cruise to a 7-1 lead, 2 run single by billy geeslin, his first game back in 2 weeks after a shoulder injury, kyle marker from Celina

Also had 2 rbi, and chris miller had 2 hits.  Goeff bowers scored 3 runs in the game.

Portland outhit ft. wayne 6-4.

Rocket pitchers mitch waters, matt helm from marion, and connor milligan, struck out 10 batters, scattering 4 hits.

Congrats to billy geeslin’s team, the coldwater cavs for their state baseball  championship.

And good luck team Indiana in their tournament trails.

Rockets win in ft. wayne moves the season record to 4-4

Portland will play Saturday at 1pm, dh vs northeast kekionga the Indiana tech college team. It will be persimmon ridge day as Jamie is taking them out to the ballgame, just like we sang yesterday.;  we had a chance to visit our friends at persimmon yesterday, and they are rocket fans.

Tyler Reynolds and travis gray will be the starting pitchers.

Rockets will travel Sunday to ft wayne to face our rivals, the ft wayne jackers.

Mitch waters and dan bollenbacher will be the starters.

We are expecting big things this weekend.

The optimism of a healthy mind is indefatigable.

See ya sat at runkle miller field

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 8/14 - june 7 rockets split with taylor twin city bankers

June 7 2014 rockets split with taylor university twin city bankers 3-2 8 innings and 3-1 loss

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Retrospect:  back in the day, the 60 s and 70s it was always a fierce rivalry ,  the Portland rockets those days of takats medler chittum gray koegel engle vs daily Atkinson mccollum of the gas city bankers,.

Now the twin city bankers are the taylor u. summer team, managed by former rocket taylor luna and that legendary rick Atkinson of gas city fame,

May I recommend the book “my mothers dream” the gas city baseball semi pro story written by bill lightle.

The rockets played at taylor university sat and split winning the opener 3-2 in 8 innings, then losing the night cap 3-1. 

What a pleasure to play on an all turf infield, even the home plate was just painted on the turf.

Big dan bollenbacher went 6 innings striking out 13 hitters and the rockets went into extras with the game tied 2-2.  dan worked thru 97 pitches to his old friend and personal catcher Jordan steiner and they starfire connection  makes a great storyline on this day in upland in.  in fact with Jordan steiner and colin affolder contributing hits and a sac fly, the boys from berne accounted for 2 of the rocket runs.

Note steiner was a rocket about 5 or 6 years ago. A 3 sport star at south adams he is now older of course but still an athelete.

Now with the game going into the last innings, pitcher mitch waters came in assuming the closer role,  mitch was lights out---this after last tues breaking his index finger on his glove hand,,,,mitch gets the win and heres how!!!!

An infield single by a speedy justin miller, a stolen base then mitch pinch hits and drives a run scoring single thru the middle of the infield to put the rocks up 3-2.. as axel bowers said afterward,  just like uptown at the local little league,  the guy gets the clutch hit, then strikes em out on the mound. 

Great win,,,,,

Rockets then squander the chance to sweep, geoff bowers 2 hits, drives in miller to put Portland up 1-0,,tyler Reynolds of Muncie is dealing –its his birthday—family and friends on hand, and I messed it up,,,I didn’t get a picture of them all on his 23rd birthday---one tough inning –we had 3 misplays and they get 3 runs, 3 manage 3 hits the whole game rockets lose 3-1,  tyler pitched well enough to win, then travis gray gassed em with his heater,  he was sizzling

Rockets record 3-4

June is heating up and so is the action,,,,,tues the rockets will be home at 7 pm vs. the ft. wayne panthers,  thurs in ft. wayne , sat in Portland sun in ft. wayne

Mitch waters the starter tues. nite

Congratulations to a great Portland family,  happy wedding day heath Williams and pazia speed, of course the Williams family and baseball are decades of success and just wanna say,,,,love ya in Portland---a lot of beautiful people on board sat. nite

Rockets split at taylor, We wont win em all but we will win the next one

See ya tues nite first nite game of the year. 

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 8/14 - june 7 rockets split with taylor twin city bankers

June 7 2014 rockets split with taylor university twin city bankers 3-2 8 innings and 3-1 loss

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Retrospect:  back in the day, the 60 s and 70s it was always a fierce rivalry ,  the Portland rockets those days of takats medler chittum gray koegel engle vs daily Atkinson mccollum of the gas city bankers,.

Now the twin city bankers are the taylor u. summer team, managed by former rocket taylor luna and that legendary rick Atkinson of gas city fame,

May I recommend the book “my mothers dream” the gas city baseball semi pro story written by bill lightle.

The rockets played at taylor university sat and split winning the opener 3-2 in 8 innings, then losing the night cap 3-1. 

What a pleasure to play on an all turf infield, even the home plate was just painted on the turf.

Big dan bollenbacher went 6 innings striking out 13 hitters and the rockets went into extras with the game tied 2-2.  dan worked thru 97 pitches to his old friend and personal catcher Jordan steiner and they starfire connection  makes a great storyline on this day in upland in.  in fact with Jordan steiner and colin affolder contributing hits and a sac fly, the boys from berne accounted for 2 of the rocket runs.

Note steiner was a rocket about 5 or 6 years ago. A 3 sport star at south adams he is now older of course but still an athelete.

Now with the game going into the last innings, pitcher mitch waters came in assuming the closer role,  mitch was lights out---this after last tues breaking his index finger on his glove hand,,,,mitch gets the win and heres how!!!!

An infield single by a speedy justin miller, a stolen base then mitch pinch hits and drives a run scoring single thru the middle of the infield to put the rocks up 3-2.. as axel bowers said afterward,  just like uptown at the local little league,  the guy gets the clutch hit, then strikes em out on the mound. 

Great win,,,,,

Rockets then squander the chance to sweep, geoff bowers 2 hits, drives in miller to put Portland up 1-0,,tyler Reynolds of Muncie is dealing –its his birthday—family and friends on hand, and I messed it up,,,I didn’t get a picture of them all on his 23rd birthday---one tough inning –we had 3 misplays and they get 3 runs, 3 manage 3 hits the whole game rockets lose 3-1,  tyler pitched well enough to win, then travis gray gassed em with his heater,  he was sizzling

Rockets record 3-4

June is heating up and so is the action,,,,,tues the rockets will be home at 7 pm vs. the ft. wayne panthers,  thurs in ft. wayne , sat in Portland sun in ft. wayne

Mitch waters the starter tues. nite

Congratulations to a great Portland family,  happy wedding day heath Williams and pazia speed, of course the Williams family and baseball are decades of success and just wanna say,,,,love ya in Portland---a lot of beautiful people on board sat. nite

Rockets split at taylor, We wont win em all but we will win the next one

See ya tues nite first nite game of the year. 

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 4/14 - june 4 lima locos 11 rockets 0

                   June 4, 2014 lima locos 11 portland rockets 0

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  On a lovely summer tues nite

The Portland rockets participated in the great lakes conference.  Host lima locos were

Not very accommodating.  At lima simmons ballpark, rockets shut out by lima 10-0.

Wood bat baseball is very humbling-one must do the toughest of all geometry assignments-

Take a round bat and a round ball and hit it square.  Rockets did so sparingly, we had 5 hits to

There 10 .  and in 4 different innings portland had 2 or more runners on base, but no timely hits ,

And glaringly 13 strikeouts.

Hits by logan hug, geoff bowers, cody krumlauf, kyle markle, and conner milligan.

Already 5 games into the season and the injury bug has hit.  Mitch waters collided with ss dillion bell and may have a broken left index finger. Yes tough day at the office, first inning a backswing Caught the home plate umpire in the head, he went home concussed.  I like that word concussed

Considering how many times I bit my tough last nite. 

As coach doug tinsley commented, “haven’t been in many of these games” , “not very representative.

Also a banged up catcher krumlauf, a spiked hug, a geeslin dislocated shoulder, reminds me I have to stock up this years med kit.

Well at least we got all 15 players in the game.

Portland gave up 2 runs in the 2nd , 3 in the 3rd , 3 in the 6th and 2 in the 7th.  Justin miller from Yorktown took the loss. Alex delk, cowan, conner milligan kokomo, and evan van Gordon finished up.

When it rains it pours, and maybe it will today,  but rocket pitchers were out of orbit.  These space cadets walked 9 and hit 3.  5 errors did not help.

Hows that go---sometimes you’re the bug, sometimes you’re the windshield.

Portland wins 2 Sunday then trounced tues.

That’s baseball, and the great thing is , we play tonite.

Another great lakes conference challenge  Portland in Celina at Montgomery park vs grand lake mariners. 7pm.

New rocket acquisition makes his mound debut, matt helm from grace college and marion Indiana.

May the force be with you.

Tune in to radio 100.9 for game status

Rockets at taylor sat, then home tues.

Rockets lose to lima record 2-3

Rain rain go away rockets wanna  play today

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 2/14 - 2014 season review submitted to portland paper

Portland Rocket Preview Notes 2014 May 29, 2014

 

54th year of Rockets Baseball

Last year record :  33-8

Winner of ft. wayne Carrington league (tied with Ft. Wayne Jackers)

Winner of 4th of july Firecracker classic tournament

Winner of Portland’s World Baseball Congress Tournament

Semifinalist in NABF Regional in Louisville

 

Returnees:

Pitchers Mitch Waters of Italy and independent league fame, 9th year

Dan Bollenbacher- winner of games in regional and in world series new york 2012

8th year

Tyler Reynolds lefthander from Muncie and Indiana tech 4th year

Alex Delk 2nd year pitcher/infielder from cowan

Travis Gray  3rd year closer from Norwell and heidelberg

 

Infielders:

Logan Hug 4th year from Manchester, Indianapolis

Justin Marrero 5th year from Columbus oh. Also had 9 hits 8 rbi and 3 Homers

In Louisville regional team batting leader in many categories , drafted out of high school

Thomas Mccowan Dunkirk 6th year

 

Outfielders:Dalton Tinsley CF kokomo and Shawnee state 4th year leader stolen bases, triples

Justin Miller 4th year Yorktown and Manchester, pitches also

 

Catchers:

Geoff bowers lima and st. francis 5th year

Chris Miller 4th year marion and Indiana Wesleyan

 

New guys hoping to make impact

Pitcher connor milligan kokomo, evan van Gordon Hartford city,

Ss walker strait Hartford city, catcher cody crumlauf auburn

Missing:
Dylan brammer –p now in pacific association with pittsburg mettle independent

Zach tanner ss now with frontier greys independent

Kyle markle of from Celina

 

Portland will participate in the ft wayne league, the heartland league with south bend cardinals, Mishawaka brewers, and northeast kekionga of ft. wayne

 

Manager randy miller 43rd season Portland high school, Wabash college coached at adams central

Assisted by doug tinsley 5th year kokomo

Key dates june 28 29 in south bend, july 4,5,6 firecracker classic and aug 1,2,3 WBC

 

 

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Posted Jun 2/14 - rockets open 54th season with split

          June 2, 2014 portland rockets opening weekend split –2-2 vs. Jackers, Marlins

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland,  and happy month of june . 

Portland rockets opened their 54th season this weekend in Portland at runkle-miller field. The place was a buzzin, the action was hot and exciting.

Mayor Randy Geeseman threw out the first pitch and it was on like donkey kong.

Note: Saturdays games are on the web at 360 action sports .com,,,first ever internet feed –cameras in pressbox and on backstop.

The rockets hosted the ft. wayne jackers –ft. waynes top club, the matchup has always been a great rivalry, mitch waters vs. garrett wiejak.

Rockets out hit the jackers but were defeated 6-3/

2 innings the rockets loaded the bases but came up empty. And of course the umpire missed the chalk fly on Dalton tinsleys extra base bid down the foul line. Blind in one eye and cant see out the other.

But how cool to watch that internet replay of mitch waters home run over the left field fence.  And the big crowd loved it.

Rockets big right hander dan bollenbacker toiled in game 2 and gave up 4 unearned runs in the 2nd but that is all they got, rockets lose 4-3 . 

Portland had 3 baserunners tagged out on the bases

Jackers entered the day 5-0 , rockets hadn’t played and it showed.

Sunday portlands team fared much better .  behind the complete game pitching of tyler Reynolds rockets beat the ft. wayne marlins 4-1.  Reynolds struck out 12 batters giving up 3 hits/. Mitch waters and chris miller each had 2 hits.  Gary Williams of union city had an rbi.

Game 2 portland bats heated up rocket win 11-4.  Justin miller, Yorktown, and kyle markle, Celina, had 2 hits each, markle with 5 rbi.  Travis gray the winning pitcher.

On the weekend waters and tinsley led the attack with 4 hits.  Also great to see back Justin Marrero and Thomas mccowan. And geoff bowers.

Waters, bollenbacher, Reynolds, gray, conner milligan, Justin miller, evan van Gordon of Hartford city are all pitchers of note,  that is 7 arms that will keep us in every game. Welcome new catcher  cody krumlauf, like that arm.

Thanks fred bailey and mayor geeseman for getting that American flag.

And to buffalo bar and grill in Geneva for our ice,,,

Thanks to ryne post ft. recovery for being a rocket rooter.

Also appreciate your donation, mr. Robert freemeyer my friend and mentor

The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the square of the other to legs. Dudes,,,,,

A2 +B2=C2

Highlight of the weekend don and marliyn maloy were in attendance Sunday.

Love ya in Portland guys.

Rockets send condolences to our gal who helps us out miss Ashley dawson who lost

Her dad this week.

Portland will play tues at lima simmons field vs lima locos wed in Celina vs. grand lake mariners. Then sat at taylor university.

Next home game next tues .  all weekday games at 7 pm

 

 

 

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Posted Aug 5/13 - ROCKETS FINISH 2013 SEASON 33-8

Nabf regional results, aug 5 2013

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets, defending champions of the nabf regional tournament, were unable to reclaim the crown this past weekend at derby city in Louisville ky.  Rockets go 2up and 2 down in the 6 team field, but the boys of summer proved to men who battled. Rockets lost the opener 11-10 in 12 innings to the host Louisville stars , defeated the Louisville mustangs on fri 3-0, beat the Cincinnati chiefs 9-7 to advance to semi-finals, then ran out of steam, losing sat nite to the Cincinnati cobalts 15-11. 

33 runs in 4 games, the Cincinnati coach  joe sprigs stated this Portland team was the best hitting team he has seen in 5 yrs. Justin Marrero and zach tanner put on a fireworks show themselves, each belting 3 home runs. Marrero went 8 for 15 scoring 7 runs , 9 rbi to lead the attack. Tanner, mitch waters, chris miller, nick hollowell all had 5 hits.

True we had to fire our pitching coach, but fri after after a 4 hour late game, it was dan bollenbacher with a complete game shutout  rockets win 3-0. dan beat the mustangs on a 4 hitter, striking out 9 1 walk. He said you asked for it, you got it. Way to deliver big fella.

Sat facing elimination, Michael caley come on down. Michael from markle makes his presence known and knocks off the chiefs 9 7 going all the way scattering 11  hits striking out 11. gutsy performance and nerve racking.  Marrero who also had 5 extra base hits was an rbi machine in backing caley. 123 pitches on one hot day. What an effort.

My appraisal , these rockets who finished the year 33-8 , were the best team in the tournament. But could not get through some tough middle innings- did not help 2 pitchers left Saturday moring for their pro workout with the Washington wild things,  why couldn’t junior santos and Dylan brammer have received that call a couple days later.

By the way, thurs nite Dylan brammer came in  clocked at 91 mph and missed bats. I mean he struck out 6 in a row, and 8 of 10 hitters unbelieveable. He called me on the way home and thanked us for a great seaon with a great team. Dylan did not allow an earned run all year long.

Rockets finished sat. losing to the cobalts but did not go quietly, tyler Reynolds the starter ran into a tough stretch rockets down 6-2 after 3, then after shorts stints by alex delk, Justin miller we down 13-2 but rockets rally, score ends 15-11 made it interesting.

Good to see Rodney bollenbacher who made the trip and also Portlands own doug blankenbaker on hand.

 

Thanks to zyler cosby and his family who live in the Louisville area for the banquet.  They put on a feast for our team.

Also many of the guys made the trip to Louisville slugger, the bat making company.  We were able to go to the back room and pick off the pro bat rack getting finished bats for $30.

Good luck jackers in ft wayne, they play in the championship in ft wayne vs the cougars, both teams were in Portland at the wbc tournament last weekend.

Thanks to all who have followed us, neal Spencer a rocket fan along with our friends at theinmans, and all our supporters. All those folks at sesame street, all those golf carters and those businesses who banner up with us. 

Rockets 33-8   certainly one of the best teams ever, right up there with the 96 team ray miller went 43-7 that year, and since it was joe luce’s birthday yesterday we will call that joe and matts team.

This team has a core of players who play for the love of the game and will be back

Not like the cubs , who say wait, we say we cant wait till next year.

Cant wait

Randy miller pg 14

 

Stat line :  ab   r  h   rbi  xbh   K

Tinsely      17  6  4  1        1     8

Marrero      15  7  8  9       5     4

Waters        15  4  5  2              4

Tanner        18  4   5  6      4     1

Hollowell   16  2   5  2      3      3

Bowers       10 1    2                  3

Miller          12 2   5 1               2

Hug             13  2  4 2               1

McCowan    14 2   2  1              4

 

Just got a text from Louisville,

Stars defeat cobalts 9 5 to advance to battle creek

 

Side note:  canton stallions and Portland rockets are teaming up to play ina new york city tournament. Tinsley, tanner, waters, Marrero, bollenbacher have been asked to join.

Check with mitch waters on this one

 

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Posted Aug 2/13 - rockets lose in 12 innings

longest game in memory, 4 hr 2 min rockets lose 11-10 to host team louisville drywall stars.

a single off mitch waters past justin marrero scored the winning run in the 12 th inning and a team who refuse to lose, picked a fine time to leave its winning ways,  6 rockets pitchers walked 15 , giving up 11 runs on 4 hits.  rocket offense managed to rally from a 10-6 deficit to knot the game at 10 10 in the 5th but never scored again in the remaining 7 inn.  rockets had baserunners in every inning but one throughout the game.

justin marrero hit  a three run bomb to tie the score , had 4 hits in the game, mitch waters had 3 zach tanner and nick hollowell had 2 each.

rockets took a 2 - 0 lead in the first with 4 straighthits but left the bases loaded to end the threat. junior santos started and did not retire a batter and gave up 4 runs.  oh those bases on balls,  alex delk, tyler reynolds, justin miller and waters all gave up runs

dyland brammer pitched to 11 batters retired em all, struck out 8 gutsy and stellar , clocked at 91mph.

rockets play in elimination game tonite vs louisville mustangs, 8 pm at derby city. dan bollenbacker on mound

win and play sat at 130 and 4

15 walks and as elmer fudd would say or was it someone else DEspicable

 

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Posted Jul 29/13 - ROCKETS WIN WBC GO 3-1 ON WEEKEND

World baseball congress champions Portland rockets 2013

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

Portland rockets go 3-1 this weekend to win the world baseball congress tournament at runkle-miller field. Rockets were winners last year as well over the Illinois jayhawks. Tournament mvp zach tanners basehit off the cougars 3rd basemens glove brings in Dalton tinsley with the walk off win in 8 innings, rockets win the title 6-5 in extras.

Tanner, making his first pitching appearance, recorded the win.

The rockets fell behind in both games sun 3-1 in the 6th. Both games the team responded with a 4 run rocket rally in the 6th. Tanner had 7 hits in the 4 games, mitch waters who earned the save in game 1, Sunday had 5; tinsley had 5 hits and scored 5 runs.

The rockets took a 5-3 lead into the 7th with 3 straight hits by ausin bridges, geoff bowers and waters, an error, chris miller drove in a run and Justin Marrero a sac fly but mitch waters gave up 2 in the 7th to tie the score.  Tyler Reynolds went 6 inn giving up 3 runs on 7 hits. With 7 Ks. 

Game one the rockets also came from behind to make a winner of dan bollenbacher . dan gave up 2 runs no earned, 4 hits 10 ks .  this on his 24 th birthday. With his family on board dan came up big once more, the true definition of  an ace.  On hand heath Williams of Williams auto parts, and his finacee with to throw out the first pitch. Thanks Williams auto parts,, rocky and lisa were out last week.

Special thanks for contributions this week by the visitors tourism bureau, phil franz/john coldren, Rodney miles, david lyons, and mike symons corrections crew

Portland played the jackers sat.and it was tournament atmosphere, big crowd at the corner mayor randy geesman threw out the first pitch, larry chittum sang the national anthem.

Don maloys birthday. Rockets win behind the strong right arm of junior santos from cleborn, texas.  Junior went 6 inn only 3 hits 1 unearned run.  In refief , Dylan brammer closed down the jackers .  rockets win 2-1,. Game 2 jackers roughed up Michael caley and an uncharacteristic laugher , lose 14-6  7 of their first 9 runs reached on walks. We go 3-3 vs the jackers on the season.

Championship Sunday the rockets again refuse to lose, winning both games in dramatic come from behind fashion 5-2 and 6-5

 

Rockets now 31-6 enjoying one their best seasons , now head to Louisville regional Thursday 6 team field 2 from cinci 2 from Louisville, Lexington and Portland.

Draw wed, winner last year Portland went to buffalo for the world series. This year winner goes to battle creek Michigan.

Many heroic plays in this weekend. Brammer with bases loaded closes out jackers.

Key hits by Austin bridges, geoff bowers, mitch waters, logan hug, Justin Marrero, Thomas mccowan.

Stellar mound starts by santos, bollenbacher and Reynolds,  great work in the press box by Donald gillispie and tony Reynolds,

Perhaps play of the tournament, cougars loaded bases shot to left of third baseman Justin Marrero ranges far to his left, makes tough off balance throw to bridges for the out. Axel bowers noted baseball officiando, stamped that play –“major league” 

Geoff bowers threw out 2 would be base stealers as well.

This club has big play potential and as traveled to the competition and 31-6 shows their resilience.  3 losses to the jackers, 1 in tournament play, 1 in regular season and 1 on sat.

A loss to summit city sluggers, opening season loss to napolean riverbandits and a loss to Richmond riverrats, account for all losses.  We represent Portland and we have good men as well as good players. The season is complete in Portland but we have big fish to fry in tournmanent action.  It starts in Louisville thurs. 

 

 

 

 

 

This year due to attrition we missed the Chicago club, the Cleveland club, the indy club the Cincinnati club. This was turned into a nice 3 team round robin Portland and the ft wayne jackers, the two teams tied for first place and the ft. wayne cougars.

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Posted Jul 22/13 - rockets doulble dip expos to finish regular season

Rockets doubledip expos 8-0 5-4 july 22, 2013

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. Remember that little train that was pushing with all it’s might going uphill,,  I think I can I think I can.  That was mitch waters, scoring all the way from 1st base on Dalton tinsley’s double to  the gap.

The rockets were down to their last 2 outs behind by one run, mitch waters came off the bench ===he played the first game and his back tightened up—team captain mitch pinch hit and worked a full count walk, tinsley tied the game with his clutch shot.  Logan hug smashed a laser off the glove of the second baseman and as the ball eked out in to right field, tinsley found an extra gear and scored the game winner. Rockets come from behind to win 5-4 over the ft wayne expos. Junior santos and tyler Reynolds pitched well allowing but 3 earned runs on just 4 hits. Tyler Reynolds gets the win and his record 7-0 on the season.,  tony Reynolds shared , tyler from Muncie south, has never been 7-0 at any leve.  Dalton tinsley had 4 hits in the game and Thomas mccowan had 2.rockets had 9 hits.

Rockets disposed the expos in game 1 8-0,  it was dan bollenbacher, all country strong.

Dan had a perfect game into the 4th inn, and finished with a 2 hit shut out, striking out 11.

Zach tanner and geoff bowers each had 2 hits. 

Game times Sunday, 1:56, 1:37 .

Rocket pitchers have struck out 30 batters in the last 3 games. Old rocket righthander ted hostetler was at the ballpark _ his son jake will play in Illinois in 11 year old tourney.

Saturday baseball vs the jackers was rained out. That was to be a first place battle, both clubs with 13-1 records.  We will see the jackers in tournament action.

Rockets finish regular season with a 28-5 record.  Now Portland prepares for tournament play in the world baseball congress tournament.  Last year  Portland defeated the Illinois jayhawks of coach mark cladis 5-2 to win the title.  Jayhawks have won the tournament twice. The action begins at runkle-miller field starting Friday.  Most likely the field will consist of ft wayne cougars, jackers , rockets and Illinois jayhawks. 

Rockets salute a good friend who has passed,  love ya in Portland Stanley teeter, he offered me a ride in his cool gator/golf cart many a time.

Rockets roll double dip expos sun 8-0 and 5-4

I think I can , I think I can, if you think you cant, either way you are right

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jul 22/13 - crossroads nite huge success, so is michael caley

Crossroads nite at the ballpark  july18, 2013

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

The Portland rockets back home Thursday nite and it was a buzzin at the corner of western and blaine.  It was crossroads credit union nite.  Parking lot was full, people milling about enjoying baseball and our field of dreams, runkle-miller field.   great work parks dept/ doug blankenbaker. Great help david waters, great support Portland.

Thanks fred bailey and so many more.  The atmosphere on what was the hottest day of the year was special.

Portland rockets are in first place in the red Carrington league.  They did their part defeating the ft wayne marlins 6-2.  Michael caley was strong on the hill.  7 inn 12 ks and 3hits, 1 walk 1 run.  102 pitches. Michael from markle is the only married guy on the club.  He pitched Sunday at Goshen college.  Tyler Reynolds and Dylan brammer finished up.  And did  you hear Dylan brammer’s fastball?  I know you didn’t see it. 

Rockets had 9 hits, breaking open a close 2-1 game in the 6th with 3 runs.  2 hits each by zach tanner and chris miller.  Dalton tinsley led off with a double and scores on Justin marreros double, logan hug scores on hit by tanner. Rockets win 2h 18 min .

A warm rocket welcome to new sports editor chris schanz –he threw out the first pitch

Ray cooney shared he was out there at the field for 12 years and never got the call.

Perhaps most rewarding, seeing all the former rockets at crossroads nite.  Dean Monroe, the most colorful left fielder ever, butch gray, gary sautbine, mike poling, larry chittum –wonder what they see when they look out over the green field?? Hearing the baseball buzz about the ballyard,  music and Donald gillispie entertaing.

The ft wayne coach was quite complimentary of what we have in Portland.  Way to go carley and company in the lunching pad.  And thanks crossroads –jeanna and becky-we do have quite a support group in Portland.

Rockets win 6-2 record 26-5

Rockets play at home sat and sun. 1 pm dh.  Sat ft wayne jackers and garrett wiejak coming to town we beat them twice to win the firecracker tournament  they have beaten us as well .  great matchup in portland sat. dan bollenbacker and junior santos on the mound. Sunday rockets at home vs. expos.  Tyler Reynolds and Justin miller the starters.

Crossroads nite, great nite in Portland.

Bring your cooler and see ya sat. hey we will catch ya at the community city basketball game at east jay 715 vs the dunkin diesel.

Randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jul 15/13 - rockets road trip double dip

July 15, 2013 rockets win weekend over Michigan city , Elkhart

 

Rocket notes on weekend road trip

 What do you do after a 12 game win streak?  Start a new one Portland rockets now sport a 9 game streak

Rockets drive to find the competition.  Annual road trip to Michigan city, south bend

Al shinn Michigan city stars,  juan marichal, former giants minor league club

Adversity :   2 guys late, accident creates jam on US 30, flat tire, detour, fireworks folly

 

Rockets gut check in Michigan city:  misplays and mishaps in the 6th inning vs the lakers

Tied 5-5 in the 6th, made dan bollenbacher a winner with  a rocket rally winning 12-5

 

Game 2 down 3-2 in the 6th , a rocket rally made mitch waters a winner coming from behind with a 2 run rally, winning 5-3 in 8 innings. 

 

3 bunts in game one, all singles,  a logan hug squeeze bunt the clincher

rockets had 14 hits

game 2 waters goes 7 inn giving up 3 hits and it is a nail biter,  rockets hand over extra inning lead to Dylan brammer  its brammer time,  game over hammer time.

 

Breaking news:  rocket veteran and captain mitch waters and angi ---2 of my favorite people,  are having a baby.

 

After a short stay in south bend, and short nite after a fireworks folly brings in the cops

We head to Goshen college and sweep the Elkhart titans. Michael caley throws a  6 hitter and tyler Reynolds a one hitter. Rockets win 11-1 and 11-1

Record now 25-5

Rockets had 56 hits over the weekend, 8 by zach tanner and Justin Marrero,  and limit oppostition to  18

 

Looking forward to home games this week, thurs its crossroads nite at 7 pm . vs ft wayne marlins.

Home sat and sun dh also.

 

 Congrats mitch and angi

 

Happy birthday to ray gerber of Geneva

 

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Posted Jul 12/13 - rockets over cougars 9-1

July 12, 2013 portland rockets 9 ft wayne cougars 1

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets made their last trip to ft wayne this summer last evening and defeated the ft. wayne cougars 9-1. rockets scored 3 runs in the 1st inning and cruised to their  21st win of the season.  Record 21-5. Dalton tinsley tripled and scored on a wild pitch. After mitch waters walked

Zach tanner smashed a home run over the fence and over the net making it 3-0

Tanner in the 3rd inning went long ball again, and again the home run ball went over the fence and the net. Just this past weekend we were discussing the fact we haven’t seen a home run ball over the net since rocket jake carr crushed one 3 years ago. Now we have a guy that does it twice in one game.  Tanner also slugged a double going 3 for 3 with 10 total bases and 5 rbi. His last trip to the plate he asked me if he could bat left handed .  I said NO. I want you to try to hit another home run---they looked like shots from Rodney miles potato gun.  Also chris miller returned to the lineup after an arm injury with 3 hits. Mitch waters scored 2 runs, Justin miller had 2 hits. Every starter had at least one hit.tie with the ft wayne jackers with a 12-1 league record. Rocket righthander from Decatur matt big cat chronister was the winning pitcher, followed by aaron luna, Dalton gentry and Quinton smith.

Rockets wish pitchers junior santos and Dylan brammer well as they participate in a pittsurgh tryout. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out the heyne family of coldwater, the liechtys and neunschwanders of berne for their loss this past week.

Rockets make their biggest road trip of the season a trip to Michigan city. 1 pm DH our time, then to Goshen college vs Elkhart titans sun.

Starters bollenbacher, Reynolds, waters, and caley home next thurs

For crossroads nite. 

Rockets win –21- 5 on season .  good luck in Michigan city someone told me the other day.  We aint gambling we are avenging last seasons double dip to the lakers.

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jul 8/13 - rockets win firecracker classic championship

Firecracker classic championship :  winner Portland rockets july 8, 2013

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  For when the one great scorer comes to mark against your name, he asks not if you won or lost, but did you beat ft wayne?

Portland rockets take the 4th of july firecracker classic championship in ft  wayne this past weekend.  Rockets took the roughest route, losing the opener Friday nite 6-0 to the ft wayne jackers, then came back to win 4 games in a row staving off double elimination.

Friday nite in the tournament opener, down 1-0 going into the last inning dan bollenbacher pitched well enough to win. 95 pitches—rockets only had 1 hit, lose 6-0.

old rocket theme carried thru in the 4 wins that followed, dominant pitching, solid defense, and clutch hitting. In fact, baseball purists would have loved the pace and precision these games all less than 2 hours was played.

Saturday tyler Reynolds for Muncie south  throws a 2 hitter, dominant--wins 8-0 over harley brandt---keith shepards club. Keith called me last nite congratulating our championship club.  He remarked how after we lost game 1 to the jackers, they commented that this Portland team was not as strong as rocket teams past,  well that makes it all the sweeter.

The next 3 games Portland one in exciting fashion—all games score 2 –1.

Michael caley complete game over the ft wayne expos. Michaels first game back since getting married . 3 hits allowed. Zack tanner who had 3 hits in game one, makes a heroic relay throw from Justin Marrero to travis gray at the plate to nab the potential tying run to end the game.

Rockets again stay alive to championship Sunday; the rockets foe, the ft wayne jackers undefeated at this stage.  Portland must beat ft wayne twice to win the championship.

Dial up the stellar defense, dominant pitching and timely hitting.

Rockets win em both 2-1 .  crowned champions. Game one its portlands 29 year old mitch waters vs. 28 year old kris begly,  rockets score in the last inning on nick hollowells hard ground out, waters scoring from 3rd  then Dylan brammer from Mishawaka marian, our closer did his thing. In fact he closed again in the

Championship game,  I gave Dylan the game ball for some gutsy work – he closed the deal. Again rockets had to take the toughest route to climb this mountain, and standing right in the way,  28 yr old garrett wiejak,  former rocket pitcher and good friend.he beat us earlier in the year, but we our starter junior santos was dominant through 4 innings, then Quinton smith of Huntington got 2 out in the 5th , enter dan bollenbacher to finish this inning----remarkable considering 95 pitches on fri, then mitch waters returns to pitch the 6th and brammer closes ---close but no cigar jackers,,,this one belongs to the rockets.

In the 5 games, mitch waters led the offensive attack with 6 hits , 5 hits zach tanner , 4 by logan hug.  Those timely hits, several of those where run scoring doubles by Justin Marrero.  Rockets win last 3 games by a score of 2-1

Rockets have won 16 of the last 17 games, now 20-5 on the season.

Great to see dick crumback

With 19 players on hand this Portland team is strong ---and did you hear mention of  some of the ages.  Success stories by all our young men, however  old players are a little smarter.

Nice to see dick crumback at the ballpark—he is on the board of the northeast Indiana baseball association—his first act : to nominate ray miller to hall of fame, unanimously approved.  Also thanks for your support  Charlie and Vicki tague – happy birthday this week to my mentor fred freemeyer of ft. recovery.  Also happy birthday max ludy, love ya in Portland. 

Rockets return to action in ft  wayne thurs at 7 pm vs  cougars then Michigan city trip this weekend. 

Again rockets win firecracker classic  in ft wayne

Way to go Portland

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jul 1/13 - ROCKETS WIN AGAIN FINISH JUNE STRONG

July 1 2013

 

Rocket notes from weekend

Rockets 12 game win streak

In ft wayne fri sat at Carrington field

Friday Portland rockets 14 ft  wayne orioles 1

Sat. Portland rockets 3-0 and 6-0 over ft wayne marlins

Sun rained  out games in Portland vs ft wayne expos----expected a good crowd too darn

That completes month of june and a stretch of 12 games in 11 days

Won all 12, record now 16-4; rained out games sun to be made up in the near future

Rocket pitchers were dominant, Friday dan bollenbacher another stellar outing

Allowed 2 hits 7 ks, rockets roll 14-1, logan hug 3 hits

Short nite stay in ft wayne at the econolodge and more pitching, sat tyler Reynolds 4 hit shutout  and then in the nitecap 4 rocket pitchers allow just 1 hit==junior santos, quin smith, matt chronister and Dalton gentry mound duties.

Dalton  tinsley led attack w 3 hits on the day; 9 straight games tinsley the lead off man has scored---dalton performs his role as lead off man, taking pitches, getting on getting over and getting in- bunting and running taking extra bases

He has just finished his work at glen oaks and signed at Shawnee state in southern ohio.

They have a fine worker and very productive

Next:  ft wayne firecracker classic,  july 5 tournament at Carrington

Portland , harley brandt, expos, and jackers ---4 team field.

Good visit fri with our friends at crossroads financial---dale made the hot dogs and we ate em  nice folks janet quite a story teller

Did not make it to ft recovery jubilee but ken shoen has those ducks trained and the races are fixed,,,just kidding

Shout out to my friend and buckeye backer boney homan,,,,boney you are a good egg and I like eggs-----

Rockets win all 3 in the weekend.

12 in row that is a dozen

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Posted Jun 27/13 - ROCKETS 20-2 VICTOR

Portland rockets 20 Napolean riverbandits 2  june 26, 2013

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Rockets red glare bombs bursting in air,  fireworks at the ballpark and lots of offense too. Portland rockets 20 napolean  riverbandits 2 wed. night at runkle-miller field.  Special thanks to Donald gillispie and hapner furniture for the firework display. Good crowd on hand after the rain cleared to the east.    Rockets did their part, broke open a 2-1 game in the 4th with 6 runs in the 5th .  rockets go on to win their 9 th game in a row,

Record 13-4. 

Dalton tinsley led the attack with 6 hits scoring 5 runs.  Nick hollowell had 4 hits including a long home run to left field. 

Junior santos, righthand from cleeborn texas, attending university of northwestern ohio,

Went 3 innings striking out 6 of 7 hitters in one stretch.  Also pitching for the home team, aaron paschal, ruben medina, Dylan brammer and matt chronister. 19 rockets played in this 2 hr 42 min contest.

This napolean legion team just completed a 12 game barnstorming run, playing in Minneapolis, Illinois, Omaha  and leave next week for a trip to Alaska.

We split a doubleheader with them earlier this year at Miami oh.  Great respect for coaches shane coleman and randy Bachman.  

Also coaches in the house, chuck etzler of ft recovery and his wife Kathy.  Coach morris mccreery of the old Muncie orioles. Coach petey elmore of the Ossian bandits. 

Heres a special touch:; billy geeslin on hand and always willing to throw a little batting practice in the cage. 

Congrats to kyle selvey jchs senior son of lea and denise for all state honorable mention.

And to Courtney miles  gymnastics competition in Toronto Canada.

Rockets now embark on a weekend challenge fri nite at Carrington field they take on the ft wayne orioles at 7 pm.   Sat rockets again in ft wayne 1pm DH vs ft. wayne marlins.

Rockets will return home sun 1pm vs. ft. wayne expos.

Thanks for your special donation john welker.

Rockets win 20-2 over napolean ---be back in Portland Sunday.

Come out and see us fri at crossroads financial credit union from 11-2  they are getting behind portlands team

My favorite cheer created by Olivia waters r-o-c-k-e-t-s  rockets rocket are the best

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 24/13 - ROCKETS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS

Rockets take dh sweeps sat and sun over orioles and cougars june 24, 2013

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland,,,as the summer starts heating up so does those Portland rockets.  6 games in 4 days and the rockets won them all.  Friday rockets down 3-0 used an old formula,  the ole rocket rally scoring with 2 outs, 2 runs in the 6th and 3 in the seventh ,,,2 out magic and timely hitting.  Then Dylan brammer slammed the door to preserve the win for reliever Rueben medina.key hits in the rally by Thomas mccowan and zach tanner..  tanner has been quite an impressive rbi machine lately, 6 hits in the weekend with a slew of runs driven in . 

Saturday in Portland it was $1 brat day and pharon parr and jeanie sold a bunch---the home team did their part winning 6-0 and 11-1—thanks to progressive office products for a good deed and tasty too  they fed both clubs

With dan bollenbacher and mitch waters pitching it was lights out for the orioles.  Bollenbacher an 8 yr. Vet was stellar going 5 no hit innings striking out 7.  Dalton tinsley

A 3 run home run blast into the hedges in right provided the fireworks.

Carlton rhoades ft recovery asked me to sign a basketball ----many noteworthy names on it from back in the day,,,quite an honor

Sunday baseball in Portland is always special.. this Sunday rockets kept up their winning ways- rockets over ft wayne cougars 7-1 and 11-1

Also noted june 23 is ray miller’s birthday,,,rocket ray would have been 86 sun.  I received a call from dick crumback last week –he nominated ray to the northeast Indiana baseball assoc. hall of fame,,,unanimous selection---ray also in the Indiana semi-pro hall of fame. David lyons shared that could not happen to a better Hartford gorilla.  Also kudos from randy hisner the umpire former rocket.

Also thanks to logan hugs dad for the cd pictures of sat. action---did I share how good those brats were  130 were consumed,  people actually came out to get their brats to go----seriously?

Dalton tinsley another rocket launched home run started the scoring but the real story, the pitching performance 6 shutout innings with great pace and location, tyler Reynolds of Muncie.  2 hits game times yesterday 135 min.  awesome pace.

Logan hug had 8 hits in the weekend zach tanner 6, the  rocket attack with tinsley and waters, geoff bowers, chris miller and mccowan being very potent.

Such an offensive thrust marilyon maloy would not take medicine so she could concentrate on rocket at bats.  Hey thanks eli jones and his team from union city coming out to help at the park

8 wins in a row, rocket record 12-4

Don’t miss wed nite   fire works around the 7th inn. Provided by hapner furniture

Rockets at home vs napolean 7 pm wed nite

 

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Posted Jun 21/13 - ROCKETS 17 HARLEY BRANDT 1

June 21, 2013  rockets 17 harley brandt 1

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  When the one great scorer comes to mark against your name, he asks not if you won or lost, but did you beat ft. wayne.  Portland rockets jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back, defeating harley brandt 17-1 Thursday nite at Carrington field ft. wayne.

Rocket offense amassed 19 hits  by 10 different players ---zach tanner and ben smith led the attack with 3 hits each, logan hug, mitch waters, geoff bowers, Thomas mccowan and chris miller all had 2 hits.  Lead off hitter Dalton tinsley , 4 walks and a triple, This offense would have given the Miami heat a run for their money ---just ask nba self=proclaimed expert mitch waters.    Not too shabby after a week off---apologies, no baseball in Portland last weekend  as the Chicago team who came down last year, backed out. 

Coach rob fornier Wabash valley jr college was on hand checking out rocket hurlers nick mccoy, Dalton gentry, travis gray, Quinton smith and Dylan brammer.  The Wabash valley coach recalls former players bill geeslin and dan bollenbacher.

Rocket pitchers limited the Harleys to 3 hits striking out 9. Portland had 18 players on hand thrusday nite, none in as good a shape as duane sautbine.  Say duane uptown and he looks like the old shortstop of yesteryear. 

Side note: congrats to jay county ss kyle selvey for being selected for area code tryouts, quite an honor.

Portland returns to ft wayne this evening, 7 pm Carrington field vs. ft wayne expos. They will be a tougher club you can bet, their best pitcher is on the mound. Portland will counter with junior santos who comes from lima but hails from texas. 

Then the rockets return home for a big weekend 1 pm doubleheaders sat and sun.

Hope about this ----a picnic at the park!! We thank our friends at progressive office products and pharon parr for brat day ---they cook em, we eat em. This is a great opportunity to come and check out the boys of summer----Saturday  1pm DH  vs ft wayne orioles bollenbacher, waters the starters. 

Portland rockets record now 7-4 and a big weekend in store ft wayne tonnite,  brat day with progressive Saturday,  another DH sun.

Happy first day of summer,

You cant beat fun at the ole ballpark

Randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jun 12/13 - portland over dayton 7-4

Portland rockets 7 ohio warhawks 4 , june 11, 2013

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. Big game atmosphere, big challenge, rockets answer. Tuesday nite at the corner , Portland comes up big with a 5 run

5th , rockets win 7-4 over ohio warhawks.  Big in this battle, dan bollenbacher setting the tone going 4 innings 3 hits 1 run,  zach tanner going big fly with another monster home run, a 3 run dinger in the 5th.   Also big, a double rainbow following the 2 different rain delays of 1 hour 9 min. 

rockets scored 2 in the 2nd,  nick hollowell doubled scored on tom mccowans ground out, chris miller scored on an error.  In the 5th logan hug drove in Justin miller, mitch waters singled and tanner hit his 4th home run of the season to right field. What a sound.

Mitch waters, travis gray, and tyler Reynolds all took turns holding down the Dayton club. They congregate in Dayton but this team has players from Memphis, st. louis, las Vegas, Californian, --22  players from last year were drafted, their ss from Canada charles Leblanc was drafted by the Milwaukee brewers. Rockets had 7 hits, 2 by logan hug, warhawks had 10.

Also most impressive, runkle-miller field specially mowed, new trophy display in the press box, booming sound throughout southwest Portland from our sound system, nice work doug blankenbaker and Donald gillispie.  Our field of dreams does Portland proud.

Thanks also for diamond duties performed by mike simons work crew coming out from the jay county jail. Thanks chris and jesus.  Great observation by jim runkle,  the sounds of baseball just resonate so well with woods backdrop. Now lets get that dang hay field mowed—david lyons says that is timothy, I call it the Bermuda triangle for baseballs.

Thanks to the youth services bureau and their help, love ya in Portland Stacey.

Hey baseball fans, check out wpgw radio facebook for pictures of the challenge event. Samantha Thomas was clicking away, ray cooney and Donald gillispie in the press box, Emily Roberts was up there too/  

Hey I must also mention who stepped up big----the maloys,  don and marilon thanks again for your generous donation. 

7-4 portland over Dayton

rocket record now 6-4, next game in ft wayne thurs at Carrington field 7 pm.  Rockets nick mccoy ball state recruit vs. ft wayne orioles. 

Next home games fri sat sun vs southshore riptide of Chicago.  Rockets win and that is fun

Hey you cant beat fun for a good time,

Randy miller pg 15

 

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Posted Jun 10/13 - ROCKETS WIN HOME OPENER 2-1 ON WEEKEND

Rockets go 2-1 on weekend, win 2 over harley brandt sat 8-4 12-1 , lose sun 6-0 to summit city sluggers,  june 10, 2013

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Portland rockets won 2 of 3 games this weekend, sweeping a DH from harley brandt and losing to the summit city sluggers.  Sat the rockets took 2 from keith shepards Wabash club 8-4 and 12-1.  home opener tyler Reynolds pitched 4 innings striking out 6 , 0 hits just one baserunner erased on a pick off---tyler faced the minimum number of hitters. Best outing of the year.  Rockets broke open a close 3-1 game in the 5th scoring 5 times/  sports editor ray cooney pointed out Dalton tinsley had 3 hits in the contest and was on base 7 out of 8 times. Dalton gentry, jon keesling, aaron paschal also pitched in the game.

Dan haines who ruled in the press box as public address announcer for 8 yrs. Passed the mic over to Donald gillispie, Samantha thomas and tyler’s dad tony Reynolds all pitched in. 

Very fine crowd on hand and included lots of what I call fun people, Vicki tague and her golf cart chauffeer, chris hearn, paul minnich, jc wells, and you know, one may gain much knowledge when visiting with one david lyons,  he shared his pictures of last years visit of the collet billy goats, tom and dick Nixon.

Game 2 rockets route 12-1 mitch waters matched Reynolds going 4 innings striking out 8 giving up 4 hits 1 run.  Mitch also went big fly and as he rounded third he had a nice exchange with keith Shepard –mutual respect I would say for 2 older guys that know the game ---big fly times 2 zach tanner hit a bomb that landed past the flag pole in left center.

Zach mentioned that the shot was better than those from Rodney miles potato gun.  Wow, the reds have the banana phone, but we have the potato gun.

Chris miller, ben smith also had 2 hits in the game, junior santos finished up on the mound.

Sunday the rockets participated in the summit city sluggers cancer awareness event, in the featured game of the day, the sluggers defeated the rockets 6-0.  5 runs in the 1st inning on 2 hits the undoing. Eathan daggett takes the loss,  Portland had only 3 hits.  But what a cool event, tom mccowan received a special pink shirt for Stephanie mccowan and coach mark delagarza we thank you for our invite,  ex rockets Justin brannock, Cameron brannock, ryan shell, coach mark flueckiger, even coach lea selvey in the house.  Nice work at ss by jay county’s kyle selvey.

Rockets wrapped up the week going 4-2  6 games in 7 days.  Thanks for all the help doug and Stacey blankenbaker---thanks for helping in the lunching pad, karley emerick, and always helping angie mann, thanks Portland our 53rd season,,,and as I told ryan myers,

People come to a rocket game and they see fans in the stands,  they surmise that this Portland town must be pretty big. And they are right

Take the challenge, rockets tues at 630 host the ohio warhawks, one of the toughest teams on our schedule every year,   they beat us more times than not.  We counter with dan bollenbacher, junior santos from texas, and Dylan brammer of south bend maybe a bit of mitch waters. 

Rockets win 2of 3 on wknd now 5-4

630 tues hard ball at the corner of western and blaine, take the challenge

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 7/13 - rockets lose 4-3 ft wayne jackers

Rocket notes june 6, 2013

 

Ft. wayne jackers 4 rockets 3 at Carrington field

League opener league consists of Portland, harley brandt. Ft wayne jackers, orioles, marlins, expos

 

Garrett wiejak, former rocket no hitter thru 7 2/3 inn. Rockets muster 4 walks, including a 2 out walk in the 8th  to Dalton tinsley,  he steals second and scores on a base hit to right center by logan hug.  2 more walks and bases loaded –in comes cf. bryce Murphy to pitch

Murphy from norwell just competed in the world series with Manchester university,

Chris miller greets him with a blast to the left field wall and now it s 4-3  and getting really tight. Tying run on third, go ahead run on second, Murphy strikes out mccowan the rocket rally ended

Murphy, the jacker lead off man, reached base every time vs rocket pitching, scored 2 runs

Michael caley Murphy norwell teammate, takes the loss going 5 inn. Giving up 3 runs on 5 hits. Caley was scheduled for sat but that day is his bachelors party. Good for Michael, quality young man.

Nick mccoy pitched 3 inn. 4 hits 1 run.

College coaches ball state, Goshen and st francis on hand

Rockets out hit 9-2

Now we need some home cooking, first home game sat 1pm vs harley brandt

Tyler Reynolds, mitch waters starters

Dan haines 8 year public address announcer throws out first pitch

Rockets will play in a cancer benefit tournament, the feature game sun 630 in huntington

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Posted Jun 6/13 - ROCKETS MARINERS BATTLE 2-2 TIE

Portland rockets 2 grand lake mariners 2  10 innings june 5, 2013

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets

Played hard ball, 10 innings worth at Montgomery field in Celina wed. nite, vs. the

Grand lake mariners.  A tie, 2-2 called after extra innings due to league concerns.  The mariners start league play tonite and felt they needed to conserve pitchers. This another game played on asto turf, home of the Celina bulldogs coached by former rocket drew braun of the 90’s era. Mondays game at wright state also on turf,,,, what was that quip by yogi berra ---if cows wont eat it , I don’t want to play on it.

Portland scored 2 runs in the second –consecutive singles by geoff bowers (lima) and chris miller(Topeka) a sac bunt by  Dalton tinsley ( kokomo),  ground out rbi by logan hug (fishers) and a rbi single by ben smith (maria stein) and that’s all she wrote.

The rocket offense mustered by 9 base runners in all, we outhit our foes 6-5.  ben smith had 3 of the 6 hits.  The rockets had 3 baserunners thrown out on the basepaths, including a potential go ahead run pegged down at third with 1 out in the 10th.  Rocket batters struck out 11 times.

The big news taken from this 2 hr 30 min effort, was the biggest fellow on the field,,,,and we are glad he is on our team,,,,big dan bollenbacher from berne

Dan was stellar in his mound duty, 4 innings of nohit ball, 1 walk 4 Ks giving up one unearned run.   Dan finding his stride after a rocky outing in Richmond mixing pitches has been the rocket workhorse for the last 4 years.  He spent the last spring coaching the south adams starfires.

5 rocket pitchers limited the mariners to 5 hits total and just 8 baserunners.

Bollenbacher, eathan daggett (Huntington) travis gray (markle) junior santos (texas) and Dylan Brammer (s. bend) all were effective. 12 ks

The home team tied the game in the 6th in a controversial manner, after travis gray gave up an infield single, the runner was thrown out  stealing by c chris miller , but after a confab the Celina manager managed to get the call overturned---next man drilled a double to tie the score,,,,,,,considering we had 3 guys thrown out on the basepaths---seemed like a little home cooking,  just saying,,,,,

In our trip to Celina, saw longtime general manager of the mariners and friend wayne miller, also saw bill miller, Kathy miller and gary miller of the pitstop. Earlier saw tim miller from tjs. And I remember once todd miller said, one more miller and we  got  a six pack.

Rockets travel to ft wayne Carrington field tonite to take on the top club in the region

Ft. wayne jackers former rocket garrett wiejak the pitcher,  we counter with Michael caley

Game time 7 pm all natural turf

Reminder 1st home game action sat 1 pm vs keith sheperd’s team from Wabash.

Thanks Kenny schwieterman for your help yesterday .

Now I have go meet a work crew from the jay county corrections department.   Mike simons and his work crew of inmates will assist me on some grounds crew duties on runkle\miller field.

Go rockets!!

 

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Posted Jun 4/13 - portland downs dayton 8-4
PORTLAND ROCKETS 8 DAYTON DOCS 4 JUNE 3, 2013

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets
Return to action mon evening  traveling to wright state university in Dayton.  The rockets jumped out to an early lead  thanks to a 2 run home run by ss zach tanner to right field no easy feat in the beautiful nichwitz stadium scoring Dalton tinsley,  tanner finished his college career at this same stadium as a wright state raider.  Portland tacked on 2 more runs in the 2nd, courtesy a double by geoff bowers plating Thomas mccowan and nick hollowell. With 22 players on hand Portland
Downs Dayton 8-4 .  mitch waters the winning pitcher works  4 innings, allowing 4 runs on
4 hits. Key in this contest of 2 hr 33 min,  relief pitchers Dalton gentry 3 innings, tyler Reynolds 1 inning and Dylan brammer 1 inning ---5  shutout innings. This brammer kid from south bend Mishawaka brings it---as evidenced by fellow unoh university of northernwestern ohio catcher bowers bruised hand,  fastball said to be 90+
Rockets outhit the docs 8-6, bowers 2 hits, tanner hits his second homer of the season, 2 runs scored by tinsley and mccowan.  Rocket batters struck out  an alarming 15 times in the game. Rockets again scored 2 in the first two frames, then 3 in the 4th walk to mccowan, single by bowers, an artistic bunt for a single by tinsley, then rbi bingos from logan hug, ben smith . 5th inning nick hollowell, ball state, singled in a vince anello to complete the scoring
Of note, this the first game ever the rockets have played on an all turf field,,,no sunflower seeds allowed,  true hops and not much dust, only dirt on the mound.
Tinsley stole second and he liked the fake stuff.  
Dayton Manager chip shaffner is an old rocket foe---a parkway oh graduate chip and brother neal who later played with the rockets played for the old van wert orioles in the limberlost league of the 80’s –a ray miller brainchild that broadened baseball outside ft. wayne.  Teams from Portland, van wert, new haven crumback simons,, Muncie orioles, bryan oh braves,
Shaffner later played and coached with ron nichwitz  for the hh morgan team from Dayton that won a national championship- in the 80’s a team that I don’t think Portland ever beat, though I recall mike meinerding giving them a tough time in Portland.

The rocket victory evens the season record 2-2 ----portland plays at Celina wed eve 7pm vs the grand lake mariners,,,,another team from the great lake conference .. dan bollenbacher gets the start,   Portland plays 6 games in 7 days ft wayne thurs then home for 2 games sat, travel to Huntington sun./  
Portland over Dayton 8-4
Celina wed at Montgomery field  or eastview park by the old huffys plant
Roll on rockettrain
Randy miller pg 14

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Posted May 28/13 - ROCKETS OPEN SEASON 1-2
The portland rockets opened their 54th season this weekend. The rockets go 1-2 on the weekend losing sun 17-7 to the richmond riverrats Sunday. The rockets split with the napolean riverbandits losing9-8 before taking the nitecap 7-6. At beautiful mcbride stadium sun mitch waters started and pitched well for 3 innings , in fact a thomas mccowan single plated zach tanner and the rockets led 1-0 in the second. Dan bollenbacher came on in the 4th with the game tied 3-3 the rocket workhorse found no good turns, taylor luna, travis gray and aaron paschal all pitched, rockets losing 17-7, this titanic struggle 3 15 minutes.3 hits doug tinsley, 2 hits including a home run zach tanner Sunday at beautiful Miami University McKie stadium rockets lost game 1 9-8 in the last inning. Trailing 4-0 in the 6th rockets marked a 7 spot keyed by a 3 run homer by justin marrero the rockets led 8-4 in the last inning. As marrero rounded third after his blast, we slapped hands, justin said, “that one’s for you pud” Zach tanner tripled in the top of the 7th and scored on a wild pitch,,,, nice to see portland on top 8-4 with but one more inning to play. Closer junior santos on the mound gets 2 strikeouts before a looping aluminum double just out of center fielder tinsley’s reach and whoops 3 straight ground ball errors and a wild pitch and we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory,,,,a 5 run implosion. Riverrats 9 rockets 8 and here is a first 7 of 9 runs unearned great pitching performance----art I called it michael caley returning starter from Indiana Wesleyan also from kyle zerface, huntington toughest loss I can recall coach mccowan called jimmy johns we win 7-6 ben smith returning rocket from 2 years ago, played in medicine hat canada last summer, goes 4-4 with 2 triples tyler reynolds gets the win dalton gentry, wabash,jon keesling wapahani, and travis gray norwell finished up dalton tinsley had 7 hits on the weekend, ben smith 6, zach tanner 5 Home runs tanner marrero nice portland contingent on hand in oxford, million dollar complex, including the brad miller and doug and stacy blankenbaker—hope that motorcyle ride did not turn into a wet ride special thanks to orie poole and crew on the new addition of a batting cage to our field rockets play thur in ft. wayne at carrington field vs the red sox, 1st game in the ft wayne league 7 pm nick mccoy from albion in the starter rockets go 1-2 in the opening weekend summer fun in store look out the rocket train is rollin

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Posted Aug 20/12 - Rockets go 1-3 in World Series

Aug. 20, 2012 world series report

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. When kids go back to school, the teacher always asks, “what did you do this summer?”  how about play baseball in the world series?!!!!  The Portland rockets represented our area in  the National Amateur Baseball Federation world series held in Buffalo NY this weekend.

The rockets went 1-3,. Very competitive and very Portland proud,  certainly could have easily been 3-1

The world series champion, the Chicago clout ,,,they beat the st. john’s lefties 8-2. tournament info can be found at www.buffalomunyaaa.com

The Portland rockets were 24 men strong, filled the dugout and were all about baseball business in this trip,,,only 7 hours away,  vans packed to the hilt, and the new kids on the  block, first world series appearance ever, had a tough bracket. 

Game one at the minor league stadium under the lights, buffalo diesel 5 portland 2.

Game 2 at erie community college field, dan bollenbacher was dan the man,  a 4 hitter with 10 Ks 1 walk,  love that effort, dominant and in command.  Game in 2hour 8 min,,,all games are 9 inn.  Rockets win 4-1 over grand rapids.  Dalton tinsely opened the game with a home run and billy wellman had 4 hits,  I told the guys we would hit on sat. after a tough game under the lights/   nothing like seeing that white pearl in the blue sky,

Game 3 the beecher muskies of Illinois were not kind to starter bill geeslin, opened a

6-0 lead and cruised to a 8-1 win.  Justin miller pitched 4 very effective inn. In relief.  Game 4 of the world series played at the university at buffalo stadium, rockets had a great performance from Michael caley. Michael from markle battled thru 8 inn. His catcher also from markle, and norwell h.s. travis gray,  did the work behind the plate for 5  inn,  knowing that he is to have knee surgery later this week. 

Interesting to note, rockets fans, namely vacman brad, queen kristie and angi were getting text updates at the greasy pickle from rocket families in attendance 

And they decorated runkle- miller field to welcome the boys upon their return sat. eve

Rockets were out scored 22-14 in the 4 game marathon, hit but .277 as a team striking out 33 times. Billy wellman, ball state, led the team with 7 hits in 17 ab.  Justin Marrero and zach tanner had 6 each.

 But the boys of summer amassed many milestones this summer,  and we stand Portland proud.  A league title, a first ever WBC championship, a  regional championship in  Cincinnati and a first ever world series bid, the 3 week whirlwind most eventful.

And the boys have grown with each experience,,,,  lessons learned beyond baseball basics,  what it takes if you dare to be a champion.

TEAM> have your brothers back, check your selfish self, don’t talk the game, play the game.

All the clubs we saw were older, many former ex-pros.  You could see the maturity in the experienced player, lack thereof in the wannabees.

Hey jon Harrison on hand from frankton , he won a 40 in tv  in the opening nite drawing,

 Great to see dan bollenbacher with his dad and uncle on hand see the good guys win and dan have such success.  Great to visit with bill Monroe from Winchester , recounting days with keith nunley, mike mccoy, thad abel and now Elijah jones part of the Winchester connection

Many memories in the this trip, none more meaningful than 77 year old president of the nabf Charlie Blackburn in the managers meeting wed nite, welcoming the Portland rockets and saluting ray miller, those 2 having many phone conversations over the years.

 

 

Rockets finish with just the 2nd  2 game losing streak of the season, and 31-13 on the season.  Another great year  in Portland.  Many milestones,  it brought many nice things said about baseball in Portland, and rocket nation took note, many rockets from years past sending in congrats and well wishes.  Saw many of those guys at the md softball rockets past, baily, heyne, geier, Schmitz,moorman,  stauffer, fullenkamp, at the softball tournament in coldwater ohio, yesterday.  Congrats to miracle lanes and gary Bernard on the runner up trophy.

Rockets go 1-3 in NY world series, 31-13 on season but we will be heard from again,

We are Portland couldn’t be prouder, if you cant hear us we’ll yell  a little louder.

As cubs fans forever say, wait till next year.

Randy miller pg 14

May I share a story of weirdness,,,I call it dualing cups

Buffalo diesel catcher while preparing for his turn at bat, takes his bat and drums it off his cup, like a percussion instrument he in effect is hitting himself down below making the drum sound.  Absolutely disgusting and if I ever see it again, there will be a game delay and perhaps an ejection. While this exhibionist pounds away,  pitcher mitch waters takes the ball while on the mound, and pounds it on his cup,,,,,mocking the ding dong at the plate,,,,,,weird but funny

Weird but not funny  3 wild pitches in the last game that ended the 8-7 loss.

Weird but funny, the conversations and discussions you hear from college age men in a van through 7 hours.

 

 

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Posted Aug 13/12 - PORTLAND TAKES REGIONAL, WORLD SERIES BOUND

Aug 13, 2012 nabf regional results

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland

Breaking news, folks, the Portland rockets in this their 53rd year, have won the

Nabf regional in Cincinnati,  yes the rockets are going to the world series in new york

Glory be , 23 rockets in Cincinnati , backed against the wall sat nite in an elimination game,,,3 elimination games as a matter of fact, did not quite and won 3 exciting games in a span of hours.  As reported earlier, dan bollenbacher and billy wellman s hr and 3 rbi defeated Springfield 7-4 thurs.. nite,  fri  nite the rockets and billy geeslin were defeated by the Cincinnati chiefs 12-7, their offense prowess is immense.

Rockets could not hold a 6-4 lead , wellman again homered. But the rocket staple pitching and defense, not in house in this key matchup. 

The 5 team field Springfield Yorkville, 2 cinci teams and Portland  then had a draw,

At quarter till ten, rockets drew the chiefs again and 3 hours later, almost 1 am, Michael caley and tyler Reynolds prevailed, rockets win 12- 6.  as mentioned these are elimination games, and now kristie Delaney and brad miller have joined a host of other rocket fans and now the boys of summer turned it  up a notch..  the hit brigade drew praise even from the cinci coaches, 14,14, and 16 hits in the next 3 games./

Michael caley goes 7 inn 123 pitches, and rockets send 9 men to the plate in the 1st  inning to go up 4-0

Rockets then enmasse at 130 am go to eat and coach tinsely unfolds the waffle house plan, save waters and bollenbacher for the chiefs in the final game,

Pitch Yorktown lefthander Justin miller,.

Never thought of that….rockets always go with the big 4, bollenbacher, waters, geeslin, caley, well, now we have the big 5,  Justin miller goes all 7 inn. Giving up but 4 hits, striking out 7 rockets roll over Yorktown yaks 12-2 in 7 inn.  Offense clicks agin and hits 3 hr in one inn----chris miller, billy geeslin and Kirby Campbell all go deep in the 3rd.

Setting the stage for the championship game.

Same setting at the same diamond we had in 2009 with Jensen painter and josh ludy

Except now we have a fresh pitcher left in mitch waters,  mitch had played earlier in the week with the canton stallions, not happy with that and that will not happen again, but flew back fri nite and arrived during game 3 of the tournament.

But mitch has a flair for the dramatic,,,,, and those on hand were about to see history

Mitch went the distance, 117 pitches all 9 inn and his offense again showed up  16 hits

Rockets formula, clutch hitting , pitching,  defense, and guts equals championship

Zach tanner had 2 home runs, Justin Marrero had 4 hits and a homer, and Portland knocked out the chiefs 10-2.  the chiefs by the way had been to the world series two years running and hoping to make it 3 but not this day, Portland has now played Cincinnati 6 times,winning 4 losing 2. and they are older and tough customers,

Rockts hit 8 home runs in the 5 games, outscored opponents 48-26  ,, wellman and Marrero had 8 hits, Kirby Campbell 7, tom mccowan and tanner 6,  tanner led the team in runs scored with 7 and rbi 6,Marrero 6 also.

Catcher chris miller and mvp of wbc tournament , was hit by the pitch, the 20th time of the season.  When asked, he just said< if they throw it inside, I just take one for the team

How about that, 

Games concluded about 6 pm sat, and here comes the water cooler the players dumped over my head,  and we have a championship in Portland. Right up there with jchs cheerleaders

Portland is on the baseball map and now headed to play on the country;s biggest stage.

The nabf world series in buffalo new york,,,,,

And we couldn’t be prouder than to represent Portland Indiana in the 10 team world series. Fla, Connecticut, new jersey, buffalo, ft wayne, Portland, Youngstown, Illinois .Louisville will contend on the last weekend of the season.

Portland proud we are in the mix,  rockets win wbc for the first time and also the regional for the 1st time. Now stand 30-10

So many calls and emails from rockets past with well wishing-----side note 11 rocket players and coaches payed respects to a fine baseball man ,. Gene daggett sun.  love ya in Portland gene

By the way welcome to the world futurue rocket, ryan ray farmer jenny farmers newborn, my great nephew

This is 30 years, at 600 dollars of registration a year,

$18,000 plus just in tourney fees, but its on like donkey kong,  Portland in the world series

what makes me proud, got an email from a team in Mississippi last nite, wanting to come to play in Portland, in wbc wow

r-o-c-k-e-t-s rockets rockets are the best here we go to buffalo

randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Aug 10/12 - rockets win game 1 in regional 7-4 over springfield

Aug, 10, 2012 nabf regional cincinnati

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland

The Portland rockets, Bachman turner overdrive, I mean taking care of business

In round one of the nabf regional , win 7-4 thurs. eve at roselawn park over the

Springfield angels.

No rain, nothing fancy, just rocket style hard ball, just like we saw from portlands championship team last weekend in the wbc tournament.

A billy wellman home run in the bottom of the first, drove in team mate Kirby Campbell

Rockets up 2 –0 in the first.  A 4 spot in the 5th opened it up, rockets up 6-0, good enough for rocket ace dan bollenbacher to cruise thru 6 inn, he gave way to codey Harrison in the 7th.

The line on big dan, 87 pitches and 7 Ks, 5 hits no runs and we will need him again later in this 5 team regional.  3 cincinnati teams, Portland and Springfield.. 

On offense, billy wellman had 2 hits and drove in 3 runs, of the ball state connection Kirby Campbell scored 2 runs,  randal muhlenkamp of coldwater oh also had 2 hits .rockets scattered 8 hits on the day.  Coach Kevin mccowan batting practice paying off.

16 rockets huddled before the game paying prayerful respects to gene daggett who passed away wed. and also to my good friend and brother kent Dilworth also known around ft recovery area as captain America,,,,, daddy daggett father to pitcher eathan daggett a great baseball man, held proudly his championship medallion that eathan presented him after our Portland wins on Sunday.

Hey, my sister mickey reports daughter jenny is having her baby this moring, ryan ray welcome to the world-----
portland advances to round 2, must play 2 games tonite starting at 630 and 830 at roselawn park

Billy geeslin and Michael caley slated as starters as the championship field narrows down

Rocket record now 27-9 and the rocket train rolls

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Aug 8/12 - ROCKETS PLAY SPRINGFIELD ANGELS IN GAME 1 OF NABF REGIONAL
news release from cincinnati nabf regional

5 team field double elimination,  favored cincinnati chiefs 22-11 9although not well represented in wbc portland
  cincinnati brewcrew 17-4
  yorkville yaks 12-19
  springfield angels 14-2
  portland rockets 26-9

rockets will play springfield angels record 14-2 thurs nite at roselawn park 6:30  dan bollenbacher of berne starter
should we win play fri at 630 and 830, lose game 1 and we play loser of yorkville and chiefs
billy geeslin game 2 michael caley game 3
so 1 may be 2 games thurs/fri
games sat at 1 and 330
winner of the 5 team field goes to buffalo ny for the world series, rockets have never done this
rockets also send condolences to family of pitcher eathan daggett of andrews, his dad gene, daddy daggett passed away today of cancer
he was at many games in portland the past 2 years. our  prayers to eathan's family
bracket emailed to you is 1. brew crew 2. yorkville  3. chiefs, 4. springfield  5. portland

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Posted Aug 6/12 - ROCKETS WIN CHAMPIONSHIP

Aug 6, 2012 rockets win championship wbc

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland

The Portland rockets hosted the world baseball congress tournament this

Weekend,  6 teams Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, ft  wayne, Lebanon, Portland

Vie for the 4th wbc title, ---certainly a blockbuster of good baseball teams

The Portland rockets were crowned tournament champion.  The home team defeated

The Illinois jayhawks 5-2 in the title game last evening. The jayhawks had won the tournament last year, and 2 of the last 3.  

This was to be portlands day.  Championship Sunday is reserved for the survivors who gut it out, execute and make the plays----3 teams entered Sunday with a 2-0 record

Ohio fightin titans, the number one seed lost to the jayhawks, the rockets edged the ft wayne jackers 3-2 setting the stage for the title game.

Michael caley won over old former rocket garrett wiejak, 3-2,  Michael from markle scattered 6 hits thru 5 2/3 inn.  But big dan bollenbacker saved the game retiring the last 5 out of 6 batters he faced,  slamming the door on a jacker rally in the 6th  with the bases loaded.  Rockets scored 2 in the 1st  on zach tanners double, then tanner again doubled in the 3rd and billy wellman drove him home,,,,that’s clutch  the 3 and 4 hitters in our lineup coming thru. 

The rockets jumped up early in the final, 5-2 in the 4th , key the logan hug bunt single that loaded the bases, followed by rbi singles by Dalton tinsely and Kirby Campbell. Billy ballgame, billy geeslin went 77 pitches, walked 5 but gave up only 2 hits, he went 4 inn, travis gray pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the 5th, then captain mitch waters, who had pitched a Friday win over Lebanon, came on and closed out the nite for Portland in a fashion only mitch could finish.  You should have seen the jubilation around the rocket veteran,,wow what a weekend ,,air horns, potato guns, broken lites, fire on the light poles, ejections, mayor geeseman on hand to welcome the teams.  Larry chittum, he played on the first rocket team in 1960 sang the national anthem.

By the way, happy to report Lebanon ss,drew brantly  who had a defibrillator trigger his heart on Friday nite ---sent him into cardiac arrest ---a very scary scene  is home and doing well. Good work jay county ems.i willalways       see Kirby Campbell holding on tto the fallen player and he , holding onto Kirby while Kirby prayed,,,,powerful,,,the rockets went on to beat Lebanon, 4-2 mitch waters was dealing going the distance giving up ust  4 hits , 7 Ks.  Billy wellman had 2 rbi ,  2 hits Kirby Campbell ---man he is a good player, solid….

Rockets the only team in the field to go 4-0 claimed the trophy ---and a beautiful world baseball congress banner from pengad  but the road to the title wasn’t easy

Over 4 inches of rain sat nite and sun made playing conditions impossible but enter vacman, brad miller and the shop vac and a lot of hardworking  rockets made the field playable,,,also thanks for the breeze and the prayers form the prayer warriors, 

Also special to the day ,  all the former players from decades past, david lyons made some calls, and we had a reunion of sorts, tom Nixon brought his collett uniform, collet billy goats, some guys like Gerald kunce and many more,

What a tournament ---mvp chris miller for his handiwork catching all 4 games zach tanner had 7 hits and the only rocket home run, tinsely 5, wellman, Campbell and waters 4 each

 

 

But great tournament atmosphere made Portland a great tournament host, and a great champion,,,,record 26-9 and regional bound in cinci this week

Portland the champion and we stand Portland proud

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Aug 3/12 - fri nite is jay county hospital nite with the portland rockets

August 3, 2012 world baseball congress tournament

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

Happy august everyone, hear those locusts singing?  The Portland rockets

Host the world baseball congress tournament this weekend.  Cincinnati, Cleveland,

Chicago, ft. wayne, Lebanon, Portland. All season long, the  rockets have been road

Warriors , driving to take on the competition,  now the competition is coming to

Portland.

Games begin tonite 630 the Chicago Illinois jayhawks vs the Cleveland fightin’ titans

The Portland rockets at 815 will take on the Lebanon merchants. At jay county high school the ft. wayne jackers will match up with the Cincinnati chiefs. 

The rockets will also be in action sat. at 415 vs the Cincinnati chiefs/   games will be ongoing all day sat starting at

Noon. Championship round will be Sunday also at noon.

The Illinois jayhawks have won this blockbuster 2 out of the last 3 years. Battle creek won the other year.

My friend 8 year old friend  matt Steiner from Geneva attended his first game in Cincinnati yesterday and what a thrill—I remember my first game seeing all that green in tiger stadium

Go to a reds game, the average cost for a family of 4---$250

Well here is a deal, this 6 team blockbuster is just $3 per day, or $5 all weekend

And fri is jay county hospital night with the Portland rockets

They are such nice people, and I love their food

Jay county hospital family show your badge and enjoy both games for free. And each family member gets a freedrink and rocket dog---how about that!!!

The competiton comes to Portland and it will be a buzzin at the corner of western and blaine,,,,,,bring your lawn chair and you cooler and root root root for the home team

And check out the lastest improvements to the greenest park in Portland. Thanks to brad miller, doug blankenbaker, and our parks dept force.

Portland is on the baseball map in the Midwest,  we have been hosting tournaments since 1991,  and we are uniquely able to do so.  Most city balldiamonds are under lock and key and an afterthought. Our field of dreams, as ken schieterman of true value called it---gets daily care,,,,,and thanks to jim eiykes and his work crew for moving all the material to the new barn---get this phil frantz,  first time in 30 years the rest rooms are clean. Happy birthday to ole rocket josh Atkinson;

Here is the likely starting lineup for the rockets record 22-9 winner of the heartland league

1st base billy wellman Portland

2nd base Justin Marrero Reynoldsburg oh

3rd base tom mccowan Dunkirk

ss zach tanner Yorktown

lf bryan brudi Churubusco or grant hendershot Pendleton

cf Dalton tinsely

rf Kirby Campbell cowan

c chris miller Topeka

p mitch waters Portland

the competitive juices are flowin,,,,,jay county marching band and the Portland rockets

couple of winners that deserve your backing

bring out the lawn chairs and coolers and potato guns and air horns

its jay county hospital nite with the Portland rockets

see ya at the ballpark

 

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Posted Aug 1/12 - world baseball congress info

4th  WORLD BASEBALL CONGRESS TOURNAMENT AUGUST 3,4,5 2012

                                          PORTLAND, INDIANA 47371

ALL GAMES AT RUNKLE-MILLER FIELD    515 BLAINE PIKE

GAME 1 AT JAY COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL  2072 HWY 67

RAIN GAMES AT BOTH SITES note:  no coolers, no alcohol at JCHS

Coolers, lawnchairs welcome at Runkle-Miller Field

Available-restroom facilities, the lunching pad (concession stand),

Batting cage time starts one hr before game time, first team listed gets 1st half hour, 2nd team gets next

Please park in parking lot, managers may drive up to dugout to unload equipment

 

 

Entry fee: $250

6 teams each will play at least 3 games

each team plays 2 games, top 4 advance to single elimination championship round

Teams will be seeded 1 & 4, 2 & 3

5th and 6th play  consolation game

$3 fan admission for game, $5 for weekend pass

no roster restrictions however no current professional players

 

 

Portland Rockets mgr. Randy Miller               Ohio Fightin’ Titans mgr. Mike Janos

Cincinnati Chiefs mgr. Jeff Hannah                 Illinois Jayhawks mgr.Mark Cladis

Lebanon Merchants mgr. Bob McPike             John’s Jackers mgr. Richard Brown

 

 

Seeding: 

Best record

Head to head among tied teams

Lowest defensive runs allowed

Most offensive runs scored

Coin flip

If teams are tied for a position,the higher position will be determined first

 

 

DH for pitcher only

All games 7 innings . 8 run mercy rule after 5 inn.

No dumping catcher

Wood, composite bats only

10 min allowed for infield on your first game of each day

all time slots are adjustable,  be ready 30 min. after the previous game----a 5 pm game may start 415

coin flip for home team except game 3 portland will be home as evening is also Jay County Hospital Nite

 

 

any questions may be directed to randy miller 260-703-2003

 

 

Friday August 3

6:30 Cincinnati Chiefs vs Ft. Wayne John’s Jackers  Jay County High School Park in right field parking lot

6:30  Chicago Illinois Jayhawks vs. Cleveland Ohio Fightin’ Titans

8:15  Lebanon Merchants vs. Portland Rockets

 

 

Saturday August 4

Noon Illinois Jayhawks vs. John’s Jackers

2:15 Lebanon Merchants vs. Ohio Fightin’ Titans

4:30 Cincinnati Chiefs vs. Portland Rockets

6:45 Consolation game

 

 

Sunday August 5

Noon #2 vs. #3

2:15 #1 vs. #4

4:30 Championship game

 

 

thanks to all and good luck

visit tournament website www.leaguelineup/worldbaseballcongress

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Posted Jul 23/12 - rockets split vs jackers regular season closes 22-9

July 23,2012 portland splits vs ft wayne jackers

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets finished their regular season sat. at Carrington field vs the ft wayne jackers. the rockets lost game one 1-0 but won the nitecap 5-2. the split gives Portland the season series vs. ft. wayne 3 games to  2. 

In game one an old fashioned pitchers duel, rockets had just 2 hits, the jackers had 3 but they pushed across an unearned run in the 3rd vs. mitch waters. Ft wayne wins 1-0 ---mitch goes the distance striking out 7 walks one hits 2 and almost starts a fight, all in one hour 13 min.  rockets had 3 baserunners in the contest vs old rocket pitcher garret wiejak, he pitched for Portland in 2007, 2008----and doesn’t play for the jackers ----he just shows up as a hired gun .  the 3 baserunners 2 picked off----are you kidding me??????

Game 2 rockets righten the ship,,,with ace dan bollenbacher on the mound, he throws 84 pitches and battles out of jams all day, rockets win 5-2----dan gives up 2 runs on 6 hits fans 5 walks none,  effective relief pitching by eathan daggett and travis gray nails down the win.  Rockets outhit the jackers 8-5 in game 2

Zach tanner from Yorktown, the old pro released from the gary south shore railcats, went 3-3 with a big triple in the 5th , Thomas mccowan clutch 2 out hit brings in zach with the go ahead run. Also driving in runs, tanner a sac fly in the 6th drives in Austin bridges, Austin bridges drove in mccowan in the 2nd.  Dalton tinsely also had a sac fly in the second.  Dalton tinsely, rocket 2nd year cf from kokomo saw his 30 game hitting streak end vs. wiejak,,,,,,he has worked to make himself a steady fixture in the of and will make some college coach a fine leadoff hitter,  he currently attends Danville but is being courted by glen oaks and parkland===ah, glen oaks former rockets carey waters and good friend tyler fullenkamp went there

Speaking of former rockets had a conversation with david lyons about a reunion of guys who played for Portland Bryant collett Montpelier pennville the old independent league

Such a reunion hopefully at the world baseball congress tournament here in Portland aug 3, 4, 5  nice names like hoehamer, shawver, chittum, masters

Rockets now wrap up the regular season 22-9   league playoffs are up this weekend however teams up north have wrapped it up, rockets are heartland league champs again

But will not have to drive to south bend to vie for the title,  strangest league I have ever seen and many say a thanks  to league organizer and dropper victor canales.

Happy birthday billy ballgame, billy geeslin our pitcher from coldwater.  Well wishes to daddy daggett who had surgery Sunday eathans father from huntington

 

 

Rockets will await outcome of ft. wayne and cinci city leagues to  hopefully find an opponent for sat. at present sat we will have a team workout and open grill out at 1 pm come out and join us, young ballplayers are welcome to shag fly balls with the team,

Come see these athletes fine tune their game getting ready for the world baseball tournament in Portland, teams are already booked at the holiday inn from Chicago and  Cleveland, 

Rockets split vs ft wayne lose 1-0 to wiejak that turkey and win 5­-2 to go 22-9 on the season

Hope to see ya sat at the ole ballpark, cooler in hand

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jul 16/12 - rockets take 3 game set over indiana cubs

July 16, 2012 rockets defeat Chicago cubs 3 game set

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland

The Portland rockets hosted the Indiana cubs 2 games sat and one game Sunday

The cubs from the region area did not find the hosts gracious. Rockets take the 3 game set, 12-1, 12-0 and 17-0.  the rocket attack was bolstered by the return of Yorktown ss

Zach tanner. Zach recently released by the gary railcats. The wright state product flashed some leather this weekend and also homered sat and sun.

Lets give some kudos to the cubs,,,,they showed up and played it out with dignity.  Coach mark pavuk spent 2 nites in Portland and said he will be back next year.  He was impressed with our club and the atmosphere.  Our pa guy dan haines plays my kind of music and does sucha nice job

They came at a bad time, after 2 losses during the week to the ohio warhawks, the rockets were looking to mash.  Mitch waters had 6 hits in the 3 games, tanner, Dalton tinsely, billy wellman, Kirby Campbell all had 5 hits. Rockets had 3 home runs in the 3 games, 2 by zach tanner and one by adam Wilson.

Sat rockets starter mitch waters went 5 inn 81 pitches scattered 6 hits 1 run. Tyler Reynolds 2 scoreless innings in relief.  In the nitecap, dan bollenbacher followed up with a shortened 5 inn game winning 12-0 giving up no runs 3 hits.

Rockets wore their  Sunday best, their Sunday vests,,,,the other more old style uniform.

The 21 rockets on hand all but one got in the game. Michael caley on the hill, and he was dominant.  Caley went 6 inning giving up but one hit rockets cruise to a 17-0 win. Caley only had pitched 39 pitches thru 5 innings, hardly a workout. Ethan daggett, cody Harrison and travis gray finished up. 

Good friend , former rocket from the 90’s john bailey in the house,,,,also receiving a rocket t-shirt in a pregame ceremony, Richmond legion coach morris mccreery on hand.

Rockets score 17 runs and that airhorn of Rodney miles was blaring.

Perhaps the highlite of the day,  the potato gun!  Rodney mentioned sat he might just bring out the launcher to jim runkle, jim said do it and I will bring the potatoes.  And man, that thing is literally a blast.  And for kicks, Rodney launch one over the fence and some 4 year old kids got to run around the bases –how about that!! Rodney noted that all the rockets came out of the dugout, amazed at the spectacular bombs---the last one landed by the pee wee football field beyond center field. 

A big weekend in Portland, it rained a half inch and the field looked great.  Thanks doug blankenbaker for all your help-  thanks Kristi and analyse smith for helping out at the lunching pad.  Thanks gary pensinger for just being gary pensinger and special thanks to phil frantz for his very kind donation.

Congrats to the mr and mrs tyler newell.  Great folks and a great time at the reception sat. nite……grandparents larry and donna chittum could not have been any prouder.

 

 

Rockets win all 3 games this weekend over the Indiana cubs. that makes 9 games in 9 days.  No games this week, lima buckeyes belly up----rockets will have a batting practice workout thurs open to the public at 6 pm.  Next game is sat at Carrington field at 1 pm vs. ft. wayne jackers

Portland baseball is on the map----preparations are underway for the world baseball congress tournament aug 3,  Louisville Chicago Cleveland Portland.  In addition the rockets have been accepted in the nabf tournament in cinci

Rockets record 21-8  roll on rockettrain

Potato guns blasting

 

Randy miller  pg 14

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jul 12/12 - ohio warhawks scalp rockets 11-6

July 12, 2012 ohio warhawks 11 portland rockets 6

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets traveled to Springfield oh, just east of Dayton wed nite to face the ohio warhawks.

Yes, those warhawks, the club that travels in the vans, that beat us on crossroads nite 12-1, those players that come from all over the country to live in one big dorm and are on major league draft boards. Don’t forget they also lost to Portlands billy geeslin on june 19 7-1.  so they beat us again.  At a most beautiful Wittenberg stadium , home of the Wittenberg do you know their nickname—trent baily I believe went there, former rocket matt steinke did too, the tigers  ohio warhawks 11 portland rockets 6.

Same old bugaboo early and the rockets down 5-0  shoddy umpiring only made things the tougher. We urge our young men to be professional, but they tend to be boys anyway. We are working on that----but the men in blue are supposed to be professional too---

2 hours from home and down 5,  why not an old touch of medicine?? An old rocket rally.

And in the 5 th here come the boys from Portland. Against a pitcher from las Vegas, just signed to go to ucla, talk about traveling for the competition, rockets score 4 to narrow the game 5-4 .  grant hendershot singled, randal muhlenkamp doubled, singles by Dalton tinsely, kirby Campbell, tom mccowan, Justin Marrero and a sacrifice fly by billy wellman and we have 4 runs on 6 hits.

Rocket rally—I get excited when I mention those names---we have a good team.

But as we have on occasion, we still have some kinks.,  game close pitcher geeslin who struck out 8 in 5 plus inn. Walks the leadoff hitter, and a botched double play open the floodgates.   Keep in mind they use aluminum bat and it does make it easier to make more solid contact..  the next three ground balls find ways to produce runners and the warhawks are back on the warpath.  Cody Harrison called on to put out the fire, he gives up no runs in 2 inn. Striking out 4.. you got a like that---I do like him! Bullpen coach doug tinsely likes him too

Rocket offense had 12 hits, 3 by Marrero and hendershot 2 each by tinsely and mccowan. 

Warhawks now 21-4/ Portland 18-8

Hey baseball fans, hear is a rumor:  remember Geraldine? Well you didtn hear it from me. Runkle-miller field is getting a new equipment shed----oh please no, we have a shed—we need a building.  Currently u see our materials when taking a trip to the rest room

 Don’t trip over the firehose, bags of clay,turfus and lime, the lime chalker and paint striper, the car seat foam we use to soak up puddles of water, the old signs, helmets, steer clear of the grill and the event tent.  Don’t bump your head on the tables stacked over the stalls.  We have a lot of crap in the bathroom,,,,,,that is one better than even Jeffery o can come up,   a lot of crap in the bathroom

This aint no rumor,.  Portland hosts a year end tournament aug 3-5----we drive to the competition and they drive to us.  Portland, Chicago, Cleveland, and Louisville have all made plans to make the Portland World Baseball congress tournament.  More on this blockbuster later,  I know 33 rooms at the holiday inn express one year.

More competition this time staying in Portland this weekend.  The Indiana cubs from Chicago will play sat at 1 pm a dh. Then a single game sun at 1pm.  Brad miller asked a good question how are they the Indiana cubs from Chicago???? Guess we will find out

Happy birthday to rocket captain and all American heath Williams,,,,we sure miss him at his postion,,,,I think we have had 6 guys at second.

Sat and sun at the corner of western and blaine,   lets go Portland

Take me out to the ball game, waters/ bollenbacher/ caley the starters

We wont win em all, but we’ll win the next one.

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jul 11/12 - ohio warhawks 12 rockets 1 crossroads nite

July 11, 2012  ohio warhawks 12 portland rockets 1

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The ohio warhawks

Came to Portland tues nite on a mission.  Avenging a 7-1 loss to Portland june 19,

The warwawks tomahawked the rockets 12-1. that put a screeching halt to the

Rocket 6 game winning streak. 

The ballpark was all abuzzin, biggest crowd ever according to orie poole, it was cross

Roads nite.  No room in the parking lot.  Truly a fine community event, on truly one of the most pleasant summer evenings I can ever recall,  our friends

At crossroads made it a happening.  They all chipped in with games, prizes and smiles galore.  I do believe the highlight of the evening was the money machine.  Turn it on and try to grab as many dollars as you can in 30 seconds. 

Our rockets had trouble grabbing hold of anything.  By the 3rd inn, the warhawks pushed to an 8-0 lead.  Several misplays contributed to the undoing of 5 different rocket pitchers.

Casey stengel the new york yankee manager when asked about the execution of his team,

Said, “ I’m all in favor of it.

Travis gray made it thru 2 inn. But walked 4 and gave up 5 hits, 7 runs.

The rockets had 3 hits, eli jones scored on Justin marreros single in the 6th.  Offense had but 5 baserunners,  an exercise in futility .  they had power pitching that can make any team look lethargic. 

The game was originally to be played vs league foe van wert twisters, however, they have

Serious issues ---a loser mentality—when the tough gets going---they cower and hide.

True, they have never beaten Portland. They folded claiming it wasn’t worth the trip to honor their scheduled commitment. A late call to Dayton and the warhawks saved the game.  A big thank you to manager ron slusher and his club.  They are not really ohio.

They come from all over the country to play/  they have won the national 19 year old division world series 4 yrs in a row.  The warhawks record 12 and 1

Portland record 18-7.

Here is an opinion:  our boys, riding high on 6 game winning streak, expecting van wert losers to be in town,,really didn’t have the mindset needed to step up their game againt a solid fast powerful club like the hawks. Like a trap, and like several games I was a part of in adams central football,  they get a few big plays and get on a roll that crescendos.

But what a nite, crossroads nite.  David lyons and jim haines, mr. Robert freemyer handed me a generous donation and shared his good fortunes playing bridge with glen Bryant. Fred baily also made a donation.Particularly grand was seeing all former rockets in the house, my teammates.. really all of Portland went to bat on crossroads nite. Jeffery o, steve grabacz and of course the maloys

Doug blankenbaker and wife on hand and he has issued us a challenge with the Rock

Softball team.

Now the great thing about baseball,  put me in coach im ready to play,,,,,it’s a new day today and we play again.  Portland travels to Wittenberg university stadium, our opponent----those same speedy ohio warhawks----we have won one, they have too, this is the rubber match.. you are only as good as your starting pitcher, and we have a good one going,   billy geeslin who beat them last time is the starter.

One question remains, how many of those runkle burgers did Charlie tague eat????

Rockets beaten  12-1 by warhawks ----play em again in Springfield oh 630 pm

 

 

You cant beat fun for a good time\\\\\ thanks crossroads gang.  You have great spirit

Randy miller pg 14

 Rockets on hand,,,,,,heath Williams, Jeremy luna, Jason Stanton, larrimee van skyock

Butch gray, gary sautbine, steve takats, larry chittum, mike snyder

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jul 9/12 - Rockets rip through South Bend

July 9, 2012 rockets sweep south bend

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  After a delightful 4th of july parade, special thanks to patriot sportswear, the Portland rockets returned to action this weekend in south bend.  The road warriors did good winning all 4 games.  Sat the rockets defeated the south bend sultans 4-0 and 7-0.  mitch waters on the mound and billy wellman his batterymate, they set the tone for the weekend.  with a heat index reading of 105, mitch went the distance allowing but 3 hits no walks, 10 Ks.  1 hr 22 min. Michael caley pitched game 2 and shut out the sultans, 7-0.  Michael from markle 2 walks 5 hits 6 K’s.  Justin Marrero had 3 hits. Waters and chris miller 2 hits each in game 1.  Marrero had 3 hits in game 2 as did billy wellman.  2 hits each for Dalton tinsely, Thomas mccowan, Justin miller and adam Wilson.

Of note:  home plate umpire george zinnich 80 years old.

Sultans record 7-5,,,,Portland rockets move to 18-6.  6 game winning streak going into tues home game vs. van wert twisters,,,,,,,crossroads nite

Rockets won twice sun over the michiana scrappers.  Dan bollenbacher the winner in the first game went 6 inn. No earned runs , 3 hits 3 Ks 2 walks.  Rockets win 8-4, 4 hits by Marrero including a home run smash to left. Wellman had 2 hits. 

The final game of the weekend was toughest.   Rockets came all the way back from a 6-0

Deficit and win 9-6 in extra innings.  Starter eathan daggett was touched for 6 runs in the first 2 inn but  cody Harrison from frankton kept the rockets in the game for the next 4 inn.  Rocket pinch hitter billy geeslin hit a 2 run home run in the 6th  to tie the game ----so emotional,  he shared he dedicated it to my mom and it was his first ever in his baseball career. Part of the emotion, billy making his return to baseball after a year off for tommy john surgery on his right arm.  We were reminiscing before game 2 his days as a kid shagging flys in rocketland watching his dad pitch.   A rocket memory deluxe was a 6 year old billy singing take me out the the ballgame in portland.   His shot tied the game,  and billy geeslin the slugger turned into goose the winning pitcher as he pitched the final 2 inn.  Tyler Reynolds scored on a wild pitch in the 8 th for what proved to be the winning run.  Final score Portland 9 michiana 6.

2 hits tinsely and mccowan in the game. Only 1 hit Marrero.. but Justin Marrero was an awesome 11-15 on the weekend. 

Good to visit with coaches ron milovich, an old friend from the south bend senators, and Javier Jimenez former foe now coaching the scrappers.  Old rocket from berne area, rod bollenbacher on hand, big dan’s uncle.. he played with the rockets in 1986, 87.

Cost for to play in the Chicago league $1000,,,,Portland  charges 50

Interesting to note sun lf,,waters,Wilson, daggett, Reynolds  3 pitchers.

Rockets looking forward to continuing their 6 game streak,,,,tues nite crossroads nite

The van wert twisters coming to town Tuesday 7 pm at runkle-miller field.

Don’t miss this special event,  crossroad financial credit union always brings fun and smiles to the park----lots of stuff between innings fun for kids.  So come out and bring the young ones, lots of prizes and shenanigans.

Rockets roll through south bend with double dips sat and sun

See ya tues at the ballyard

Olivia, mitches sister would say r o c k e t s , rockets rockets are the best

Randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jul 2/12 - Rockets take 2 from Ft Wayne 3-1 13-0

July 2, 2012 rockets sweep ft wayne red sox

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland

For when the one great scorer comes to mark against your name, he asks not if you won

Or lost, but did you beat ft. wayne?

Rockets take two from the  ft wayne red sox sat at runkle-miller field, 3-1 and 13-0

Happy july everybody, all Portland is playing pick up sticks, but the rockets prevailed thru rain, wind, trees falling on the fence and more rain

Here is an unusual twist, game preparations Saturday included a chain saw, that Rodney

Miles just keeps showing up doing good deeds, he carved up the tree that made its way to the rocket bullpen.  Now  come the good stuff.

Dan bollenbacher, rocket ace from berne, pitched a gem----in the second game dan pitched a no-hitter---he struck out the 1st nine hitters, and 12 of the 16 he faced beating the ft wayne club 13- 0.  that’s a pitcher’s dream a no-no. no hits 68 pitches one hr. 23 min. rockets also had a strong game one performance from billy geeslin of coldwater,  a 2 hitter and 10 ks in an hr 37 min.  a doubleheader in 3 hr---might be a record.

Dalton tinsely has shown he likes the lead off spot in the batting order, Dalton lead the offense with 4 hits on the day, 2 triples and a double, also tripling and doubling grant hendershot, triple by Kirby Campbell, and another home run off the bat of mitch waters.

On hand many former rockets= Laramie van skyock, keith nunley, coach david waters, Jordan Steiner and especially nice visit with #12 rocket captain of 6 years heath Williams. The tournament trails he and I have shared are many, canton, Cincinnati, ft wayne, Evansville, kokomo, wow.  Did I mention don and marilyn maloy were there?  hey good luck charm zeth rupe was there.  and a whole host of wellman watch billy get some time in behind the plate.  Coach Maloney of ball state wants billy to get some work in behind the dish and each player has a summer assignment to read a book---that’s unique ---the lone survivor

You bet I am going to read it.  I heard todd Steiner of berne recounting old days, he said, you haven’t lived unless you’ve been to a softball game at riverside park in new corydon.

Rockets play next sat and sun in south bend at kennedy park, vs. the south bend sultans, and the michiana scrappers.  Then tues its crossroads nite in Portland,  that is always a big nite on the docket---I heard becky white on radio this morning,,,she makes me smile

We remember her son shane as a rocket pitcher a few years ago, drafted by  the pros right out of high school. Janet jeanna and gillispie, they sure made us feel welcome in our visit to crossroads fri.  free food, handed out some schedules

Rockets will participate in the 4th july parade wed and patriot sportswear will be giving away some cool vintage 1960 rocket t-shirts. Join us at the fairgrounds at the event tent for more baseball fun.

Rockets win 2 bollenbacher throws a no=no, mitch goes deep, 3 rockets hit 4 triples, I love triples, and it rained and I love a parade

Rocket record 14-6

Roll on rockettrain  I love a parade

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 27/12 - Rockets 12 Van Wert 1

June 27, 2012 portland 12 van wert 1

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rocket

Return to their winning ways knocking off van wert tues nite 12-1 at runkle-miller field.

4 runs in the 1st, 6 in the 3rd and the offense clicked.  a lead off triple by Dalton tinsely, and a 2 run double by mitch waters key blows in the 1st inning.  Tinsely had 3 hits showing his prowess before parkland college of Chicago coach matt kennedy.  Coach kennedy  played vs. the rockets in 2004 with the Crawfordsville eagles.  Remember the tommy pearce home run for the state championship---glory days/

more rocket fireworks in the 3rd, key blow a 3 run home run to the woods in left by brice davis. Brice had 3 hits in his last game, 2 in this game. Also with 2 hits newcomer Kirby Campbell from cowan and ball state, Kirby with  a double and a triple and 2 rbi. Kirby is cody campbell’s brother, both bsu cards and he is an athlete.

Rocket pitcher Michael caley from markle, effectively hurled 61 pitches, allowing but 1 unearned run to the twisters thru 5 inn.  Billy geeslin and travis gray each threw an inn.

Van wert defeated mich. City 8-7 sun,  a surprise after mich city beat Portland twice sat.

Van wert loses to Portland 12-1.  van wert twisters have never defeated the rockets.

19 players played for the rockets in the 7 inning game. 1 hr 50 min for this titanic struggle.  Good crowd on hand, of course the maloys were there, thanks david lyons for your generous donation===that guy just makes you feel good to be around

Team mvp, asst coach and batman, seth rupe---when seth is there we win.  Do it again sat seth.

Special thanks to chief aker and the fire department for sharing their tanker on the sportland outfield. 

Rocket notes:  congrats to elijahjones of Winchester, he competed as a class 2A all-star sat at Decatur central.  Congrats to Thomas mccowan 23 yrs old today.  We are still awaiting word if rocket ss zach tanner will be signed by the gary railcats. Steve garbacz shared he has seen many a railcat game---what is a railcat???? Tanner will be at our game sat unless signed professionally.  And congrats to josh ludy----1st team all-american  a dream come true/

June 27 2009, josh ludy came home from Wisconsin woodchucks and along with current rockets, bryan brudi, Jensen painter, dan bollenbacher were nabf regional runnerups- going 35-13 that summer.

I can remember asking ludy, how much wood can a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood. 

Rockets win 12-1 over van wert

Will rest thru the heat and play sat 3pm vs. the ft wayne red sox

DH sat orig. slated for 6 will be played at 3pm

Bollenbacher and geeslin the starts

See ya sat late afternoon

You cant be fun for a good time

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 25/12 - portland double dipped by michigan city

June 25, 2012  michigan city sweeps twin bill over Portland

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Michigan city

Came to Portland sat nite. And the Michigan city lakers came, saw and conquered.

Lakers take two from the rockets 8-0 and 4-2.  that snaps the rocket 5 game win streak.

As sports officionado Donald gillispie noted, the laker squad was loaded.

They broke open a close game with 5 runs in the 5th off starter mitch waters, out hit Portland 10-5 and cruised to a 8-0 win in game 1.  1st time rockets shutout this year. 

Last year only shutout once by lamargarita blues in regional.  A true whopping, granted rockets 3,4,5 hitters were absent on this day.  SS zach tanner was at a tryout with the gary railcats and they put him up in a hotel so they could get another look at him sun. 

Prior to game to we had a bit of a pow wow in the dugout and game plan, give the ball to big dan. And ride the strong right arm of dan bollenbacher .  we take our chances behind dan.  His folks were sitting in the new bleachers over behind third base with mr. And mrs. Tague, my support staff, Charlie said he was ready to pinch run if we ever got anyone as far as third base,

Dan did his job, rockets nursing a 1-0 lead after 5 but gave up 2 unearned runs in the 6th, tied the scored in the bottom half, then gave up 2 more unearned in the 7th , ouch if it sounds as if we handed it to them, well, yes on the proverbial silver platter1. dan bollenbacher 4 hits 0 walks 7 ks. We outhit them with 10 hits. 3 hits by brice davis from Indiana Wesleyan and 2 by bryan brudi.  Game ended with runners on second and 3rd, mitch waters hit a shot to the corner in left, just foul before grounding out to end the contest.

Game one 1 hr 37 min, game 2 1 hr 52 in. 

Michigan city manager tj jahnz is a voodoo sports product representative,  voodoo is on the car of dale earnhardt jr. and I was presented a voodoo hat autographed by jr.  how cool,  voodoo is a cleaner for cars, but tj used it to clean home plate.

Rockets record now 11-6, mich city’s fine club 15-3.  interesting to note, sun the lakers played 2 and split vs. van wert losing 8-7 after winning 7-5 in first game.  Van wert beat em, wow, van wert is who we play tues.  Michael caley from markle the slated starter.

You can see that the heartland baseball league has some fine players. Rockets will welcome the addition of new outfielder Kirby Campbell from ball state tues.

Great to have larry and donna chittum at the park celebrating their  50 wedding anniversary.  That’s 50 for larry and 50 for donna or 100 chittum years. Of course the maloys were there.

Great to have rocket rooter kristie Delaney back in the lunching pad---and  a happy birthday note to orie dean poole, the Johnny cash of jay county .

Rockets take a double drubbing at the hands of the Michigan city lakers, will rebound tues in Portland.

7pm tues vs. van wert twisters. Heartland league game

we wont win em all but we will the next one.

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 22/12 - Porltand rained out after 2 innings at Van Wert

June 22, 2012 rainout 2nd inn at van wert

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

The Portland rockets riding a 5 game winning streak motored to van wert Tuesday but wow, it rained.  How about that!  Rockets up 2-0 in the 2nd starter eathan daggett pitched

13 pitches, billy wellman and chris miller each drove in a run but then the skies opened up.  Game called due to wet grounds.

22 rockets huddled in the dugout trying to stay dry---sorry no room here for umpires they had to run to other dugout----this is a team and these guys are starting to realize they are a part of something bigger  than themselves. 

They drive to play for the love of the game, for the competition, for the challenge. They make the trip for their teammates---our mantra—we got our brothers back-

As I went thru that dugout, I say rockets from Huntington, Pendleton, Portland, coldwater, Muncie, Yorktown, frankton , Dunkirk, Churubusco, kokomo, Topeka, Winchester, Ossian.  These guys know they ;are on the cusp of something special. 

They will all be back on sat this time in Portland,  key league matchup- 6 pm dh vs. the Michigan city lakers/  Portland is the leader in the heartland baseball league, teams from 4 states in this league Indiana, ohio , mich, and illinois

Rockets vs mich city at runkle-miller sat  its on like donky kong

Mitch waters  captain Italia, the starter in game one,  mitch actually played one yr for mich city

Dan bollenbacher game 2  our best vs. their best

Mananger TJ Jahns is bring his troops and staying overnite in Portland, often in a Winnebago.  He is a rep  for voodoo sports products, their logo on ernhardt jr.’s car.

Special thanks to our friend, Jennifer Nixon helping us hook up on the community online

Calendar  neat stuff===dugout note from asst coach Kevin mccowan,,,that guy knows all that is going on,  talk about being connected, he knew immediately that coach rich Maloney is back in charge of ball state baseball.  He knows the Portland rockets.

Just a couple of bullpen lessons of live from coach doug tinsely, he and my brother brad always are reminding me to smile

You’ve got to know when to zig and when to zag, and you’ve got to eat good to be good

Come sat nite 6 pm beat the heat

The Italian stallion mitch waters and ace dan bollenbacher

I am amped, cant wait for game day Saturday

Rockets rained out after 2  innings thurs

Rockets put their  5 game winning streak on the line.

How good are we..11-4 we have some of the best athletes in the area

And that is why we are Portland proud

Portlands team, Portland rockets

Come out and picnic  at the ole ball yard on the corner of western and blaine

 

 

Sat nite 6pm vs. Michigan city

Randy miller pg14

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Posted Jun 20/12 - Rockets defeat Ohio Warhawks 7-2

June 20, 2012 rockets over ohio warhawks 7-2

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets

Defeated the ohio warhawks 7-2 tues eve at runkle-miller field.  Billy ballgame, billy geeslin stifled the warhawks on just 3 hits striking out 12 batters thru 6 innings.  Billys

Mound presense was dominate and truly showed he has come back fully from arm surgery.  Devin wilburn finished up the last 3 innings striking out 5 ---that is 17 punch outs in the game!

The warhawks, a younger team have won 4 national world series in their division, are still getting their team together, players from Alabama, Arkansas, florida and all over, they use metal bats but coming ping together 5 hits in the contest.  They are prepping for their tournament this weekend in Memphis.  We will play these guys again in Dayton in july.

The rocket attack was led again by captain Italia, mitch waters---mitch smashed his second homer in 2 days, scored 3 runs with 2 rbi.

Portland scored 2 in the 2nd inning on rbi singles by zach tanner and tom mccowan.  The offense tacked on 2 more in the 8th inning on a 2 run triple by grant hendershot.

We outhit the hawks 8-5.  game time 2 hrs 6 min ---how bout them apples ray cooney----lot better than 3 plus hrs in the ft wayne win.

New ss zach tanner joins the squad from Yorktown, as he has finished his collegiate career at wright state.  zach knows many of our players as they are connected thru baseball icon and legend bobby graves, coach of the Muncie legion.

They should make one of those old farm bureau insurance commercials with bobby. Coach graves, 79 yrs old called me yesterday and went to bat for another young prospect. 

Never having seen the tanner kid, bobby said the guy is trying out for the gary railcats sat. and wants to play -----so thanks bobby graves yes the kid can play.

Bobby was quick to say he called josh ludy the next day after the Baylor loss to Arkansas and that is just the guy he is,,,still connected .  Portland rockets probably have had 30 plus players with a bobby connection.  Love in Portland bobby graves

 

 

Rockets win and the crowd loves it. Many friends and supports on hand at the park. Donna chittum celebrated her birthday at the park with husband larry,,,and I will not believe she is going skydiving no,  and david lea who umpired for years in Portland was on hand. Steve takats, Donald gillispie, our sheriff work patrol helper jim eiynkes on hand.  Special thanks to Rodney miles and his lawn care staff for field touch up. Also my brother has now assigned Vicki tague the  OOPS Official Operations P rodder Supervisor to keep rocket management focused

Perhaps the most important sighting of the day,  the new refrigerator installed at the lunching pad by jim runkle..thanks jamar.

Rockets back in action thurs . 7 pm start at smiley park van wert.  Eathan daggatt the starter yes we are going back to ohio

 Rockets will be home again sat for a 6 pm dh vs. Michigan city lakers

Rockets on a roll record now 11-4

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

 happy birthday old rockets scott stauffer, john brigham

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Posted Jun 19/12 - portland over ft. wayne

June 19,2012 portland over ft Wayne 22-14

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. For when the one great scorer comes to mark against your name, he asks not if you one or lost, but did you beat ft. wayne? Portland rockets defeat ft. wayne jackers 22-14. it wasn’t easy, but it could have been. Rockets jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and the slugfest was on. 

Billy wellman hit a home run into the woods in left field to start the fireworks.  Wellman scored 5 times in the contest.  Rockets still led 6-2 in the 4th but the former shady nook club came back.  Score tied 6-6  more fireworks in the 4th, mitch waters hit a woods shot over the fence, a 3 run blast .  the timely blow almost turned the slugfest into an old fashioned donneybrook,  after much mouthing,  started by our team I might add, both benches were warned, order restored.   The quality of play was suspect. 18-8 and game near end, jackers came back again scoring 6 runs-5 unearned off Michael caley who was in relief of dan bollenbacher –3 innings .  rockets held on to win 22-14 in 3 hours 8 min.

Sports writer ray cooney, who stayed the duration, was wondering where the extra hour came in and we endured but it wasn’t pretty. 

Tyler Reynolds and travis gray closed up the mound duties.  Offensively, grant hendershot, Pendleton had 4 hits, as he auditioned before his college coach kyle gould from taylor university.  Coach gould was complimentary of rockets baseball and was needling the 3 rd base coach about his effect coaching, slopping baserunning resulting in

Runners picked off 2nd and 3rd.  Portland also had 3 hits by way wellman, 3 hits by adam

Wilson, 2 by Thomas mccowan,  and 4 rbi by Dalton tinsely. 

The jackers had 3 shepards from Wabash pitch, the last one 43 yr. Former major leaguer keith Shepard. I have his baseball card with the Colorado rockies

Good crowd on hand enjoyed the breezy nite- maloys, david and Jacob lykins on hand took batting practice with the team, larrimee van skyock getting ready for his 12 yr anniversary was at the park.  Special visit from max and sherri ludy---they showed me a picture of josh ludy, #22 in a philly official mlb uniform.  And also he getting engaged.

Rocket record now moves to 10-4 and we are undefeated in Indiana.  Now as summer approaches so does the biggest of challenges.  Tonite the ohio warhawks come to Portland 630 start

The Dayton club has players from all over the country.  they lost 2 games last year as they won their 4th straight national title last year.  One of their loses was to Portland. In fact, we have beaten them 3 years in a row.

Billy ballgame, billy geeslin will be on the mound.

Devin wilburn will also pitch in the game

630 start and it will be a good one, they use metal we use wood.

630 start at the corner of western and blaine

come support the home team

randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 18/12 - rockets sweep lima buckeyes

June 18, 2012 rockets sweep lima buckeyes

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets sweep

a doubleheader beating the lima buckeyes, 5-0 and 9-2 Saturday at runkle-miller field.

Mitch waters on the mound and he set the tone for the day.  The Italian stallion shut out the buckeyes on just one hit, retiring 15 of the last 16 he faced one walk, 7 Ks .  the rocket veteran, threw just  74 pitches and completed duties in 1hr 38 min. 

A billy wellman 2 run double to the fence in the 3rd scored logan hug and Justin Marrero and that was all mitch needed, rockets win 5-0.  chris miller his battery mate, also hit a home run and a double.  Thomas mccowan also had 2 hits/  billy wellman had 4 hits on the day . had a nice visit with rich wellman I am sure he had a happy fathers day.  We learned that his daughter Danielle wellman was named area player of the year.  She will continue her softball career at grace college.

Rockets continued taking care of business with a 9-2 win in game 2.  eathan daggett went 5 inn and he too struck out 7  with no/zero walks and allowed 3 hits.  Justin miller finished out  the contest. 1 hr 52 min.  5 of the lima club play baseball at ohio northern university nickname …..polar bears crazy name on a 94 degree day   speaking of hot, adam Wilson had 3 hits in game 2, in fact every rocket starter had a hit 2 each by wellman and jose Gonzales of carrucus venezeula

Many were in attendance====hey we even found a spot to claim for don and marilyn maloy on the bleacher pad ,,,,,,hey thanks for making my day with the generous donation –love ya in Portland guys

We had the music blaring and the lunching pad was cooking---tony minch used to help josh Gibson run that thing in the day,  but Saturday he was being dad to his son Sheldon;  over in the golf cart with her pseudo roster in hand, Vicki tague was rooting for the home team,  eric rogers picked up a cool rocket jersey. Former rockets larry chittum, and paul minnich on hand.  A special visit to the rocket dugout by former rocket and teammate and friend  mike Ashley  he was in town for the Portland high school reunion

My favorite rocket story, mike Ashley married the prettiest girl in Portland lana but on that special day he played rocket ball and went 4-4 before excusing himself to go get hitched---we were still in the second game when their procession came honking thru the parking lot.

Sat eve capped off at the American legion for our Portland high school reunion many friendly old faces and several former rockets on hand.  What year you might ask, well I will tell you,  we are great we are cool were the envy of the school, were the class that;s really true were class of 72

Rockets win 2  record 9-4

Big game tonite 7 pm at runkle-miller

Ft wayne jackers vs dan bollenbacher jackers the best club of ft wayne

Old rivals shady nook

Coach kyle gould of taylor will be in attendance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 18/12 - rockets sweep lima buckeyes

June 18, 2012 rockets sweep lima buckeyes

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets sweep

a doubleheader beating the lima buckeyes, 5-0 and 9-2 Saturday at runkle-miller field.

Mitch waters on the mound and he set the tone for the day.  The Italian stallion shut out the buckeyes on just one hit, retiring 15 of the last 16 he faced one walk, 7 Ks .  the rocket veteran, threw just  74 pitches and completed duties in 1hr 38 min. 

A billy wellman 2 run double to the fence in the 3rd scored logan hug and Justin Marrero and that was all mitch needed, rockets win 5-0.  chris miller his battery mate, also hit a home run and a double.  Thomas mccowan also had 2 hits/  billy wellman had 4 hits on the day . had a nice visit with rich wellman I am sure he had a happy fathers day.  We learned that his daughter Danielle wellman was named area player of the year.  She will continue her softball career at grace college.

Rockets continued taking care of business with a 9-2 win in game 2.  eathan daggett went 5 inn and he too struck out 7  with no/zero walks and allowed 3 hits.  Justin miller finished out  the contest. 1 hr 52 min.  5 of the lima club play baseball at ohio northern university nickname …..polar bears crazy name on a 94 degree day   speaking of hot, adam Wilson had 3 hits in game 2, in fact every rocket starter had a hit 2 each by wellman and jose Gonzales of carrucus venezeula

Many were in attendance====hey we even found a spot to claim for don and marilyn maloy on the bleacher pad ,,,,,,hey thanks for making my day with the generous donation –love ya in Portland guys

We had the music blaring and the lunching pad was cooking---tony minch used to help josh Gibson run that thing in the day,  but Saturday he was being dad to his son Sheldon;  over in the golf cart with her pseudo roster in hand, Vicki tague was rooting for the home team,  eric rogers picked up a cool rocket jersey. Former rockets larry chittum, and paul minnich on hand.  A special visit to the rocket dugout by former rocket and teammate and friend  mike Ashley  he was in town for the Portland high school reunion

My favorite rocket story, mike Ashley married the prettiest girl in Portland lana but on that special day he played rocket ball and went 4-4 before excusing himself to go get hitched---we were still in the second game when their procession came honking thru the parking lot.

Sat eve capped off at the American legion for our Portland high school reunion many friendly old faces and several former rockets on hand.  What year you might ask, well I will tell you,  we are great we are cool were the envy of the school, were the class that;s really true were class of 72

Rockets win 2  record 9-4

Big game tonite 7 pm at runkle-miller

Ft wayne jackers vs dan bollenbacher jackers the best club of ft wayne

Old rivals shady nook

Coach kyle gould of taylor will be in attendance.

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 18/12 - rockets sweep lima buckeyes

June 18, 2012 rockets sweep lima buckeyes

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets sweep

a doubleheader beating the lima buckeyes, 5-0 and 9-2 Saturday at runkle-miller field.

Mitch waters on the mound and he set the tone for the day.  The Italian stallion shut out the buckeyes on just one hit, retiring 15 of the last 16 he faced one walk, 7 Ks .  the rocket veteran, threw just  74 pitches and completed duties in 1hr 38 min. 

A billy wellman 2 run double to the fence in the 3rd scored logan hug and Justin Marrero and that was all mitch needed, rockets win 5-0.  chris miller his battery mate, also hit a home run and a double.  Thomas mccowan also had 2 hits/  billy wellman had 4 hits on the day . had a nice visit with rich wellman I am sure he had a happy fathers day.  We learned that his daughter Danielle wellman was named area player of the year.  She will continue her softball career at grace college.

Rockets continued taking care of business with a 9-2 win in game 2.  eathan daggett went 5 inn and he too struck out 7  with no/zero walks and allowed 3 hits.  Justin miller finished out  the contest. 1 hr 52 min.  5 of the lima club play baseball at ohio northern university nickname …..polar bears crazy name on a 94 degree day   speaking of hot, adam Wilson had 3 hits in game 2, in fact every rocket starter had a hit 2 each by wellman and jose Gonzales of carrucus venezeula

Many were in attendance====hey we even found a spot to claim for don and marilyn maloy on the bleacher pad ,,,,,,hey thanks for making my day with the generous donation –love ya in Portland guys

We had the music blaring and the lunching pad was cooking---tony minch used to help josh Gibson run that thing in the day,  but Saturday he was being dad to his son Sheldon;  over in the golf cart with her pseudo roster in hand, Vicki tague was rooting for the home team,  eric rogers picked up a cool rocket jersey. Former rockets larry chittum, and paul minnich on hand.  A special visit to the rocket dugout by former rocket and teammate and friend  mike Ashley  he was in town for the Portland high school reunion

My favorite rocket story, mike Ashley married the prettiest girl in Portland lana but on that special day he played rocket ball and went 4-4 before excusing himself to go get hitched---we were still in the second game when their procession came honking thru the parking lot.

Sat eve capped off at the American legion for our Portland high school reunion many friendly old faces and several former rockets on hand.  What year you might ask, well I will tell you,  we are great we are cool were the envy of the school, were the class that;s really true were class of 72

Rockets win 2  record 9-4

Big game tonite 7 pm at runkle-miller

Ft wayne jackers vs dan bollenbacher jackers the best club of ft wayne

Old rivals shady nook

Coach kyle gould of taylor will be in attendance.

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 15/12 - rockets defeat van wert 11-1

June 14, 2012 at van wert

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The rockets successfully opened their defense of the heartland baseball league championship last nite defeating the

Van wert twisters 11-1 at smiley park in van wert. Portland league champs last year, has never lost to the twisters.  The heartland league is a wood bat league with teams from 4 states. Members include Portland, van wert, oh. Michiana scrappers, mich, Illinois jayhawks Chicago, mich city lakers and south bend sultans.

 The rockets scored 7 runs in the first inning and cruised to the victory in 2 hours 19 min.  mitch waters and billy wellman each had 3 hits and 3 rbi.  Most importantly 3 new  rockets reported for duty .  actually returning to duty pitcher devin wilburn of ball state.  devin started and went 4 innings allowing 1 unearned run on 1 hit with 5 strike outs. 

Also returning Jensen painter of ohio university, one of the nations leading collegiate home run hitters, Jensen was a rocket with josh ludy in 2009 on our regional finalist team.

Jensen played the last  2 summers in the great lakes conference.  Jensen doubled off the fence in the first inning to drive in the games first run,

Also making his rocket debut, Austin bridges of Muncie

After wilburn, tyler Reynolds went the next 4 innings with no runs and travis gray pitched the ninth.

Dan bollenbacher went one for one as a pinch hitter. ;Portland outhit van wert 14-5

Once again, Portland had more runs, more players and more fans in this road contest

Rocket record now 7-4, van wert 2-7

Happy birthday today billy wellman

We will see you on sat as the rockets return to action 1pm at runkle-miller field vs. the lima buckeyes. Rockets also home mon and tues nite. Mon vs shady nook jackers, tues vs. ohio warhawks.

Baseball in Portland at the corner of western and blaine

Mitch waters will be our starter and we like our chances with our man mitch.

Why not enjoy the game sat then enjoy the ft. recovery jubilee in the nite?

Maybe play the duck races if you can put up with ken schoen

Thanks for that fathers day poem played earlier on wpgw rob weaver

Ray miller’s poem ray miller’s way. 

Nice touch and certainly brought a tear to my eye

Bring a lawn chair, or  enjoy our new bleachers, pack that cooler, but see ya  at the ballgame

we love ya in Portland

 

 

Randy miller  pg 14

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 11/12 - rockets split 4 games in cinci

June 10, 2012 cincinnati road trip

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Portland rockets split a 4 game set in Cincinnati this weekend.  In sweltering heat on both sat, sun Portland lost 11-10 sat  to the cinci chiefs then won 4-1.  the rockets built a 6-1 lead and starter mitch waters was cruising but a bizarre 7 run 4th inning proved to be the difference.  Billy wellmans first game catching.  Justin Marrero homered in the contest.  The chiefs featured 2 former pro players one of them  36 year old Jamie spottz from ball state and a former rocket 15 years ago. The game ended with the tying run at 3rd base but 2 strikeouts ended the threat. Manager  jeff Hannah noted he has coached for 28 years and mitch waters is one of the top 5 competitors he has ever seem

Game 2  portland won 4-1.  Michael caley went the distance.  Michael from markle, was the ace of the Indiana Wesleyan team this spring and he showed it sat.  mixing his 77 pitches he went the distance, a 4 hitter   not easy on a hot day

Rockets also split a pair on sun.

Game one rockets win 3-0 in an hour 23 min  over the cinci cobalts record now 9-2…..dan bollenbacher rocket ace was one sweaty dude,,,,but a winner no less.  Dan went all 7 inn in 86 pitches allowing but one hit

Rockets only had 5 hits but managed unearned runs in the 5th. 

Game 2 the cinci champions came in fresh replacing the cobalts.  Billy geeslin gave up 6 runs but only 1 hit and champions win 8-3. in the 4 game set, mitch waters led the hitting attack with 8 hits, Justin Marrero had 6 and logan hug from indy had 5.

The work load this week was a mountain.  Trips to Dayton, Celina, cinci –7 games in 6 days.  Rocket record now 6-4

Rockets return to action at 7 pm tues   a home game, at runkle miller field.  Lima buckeyes are coming to town,,,  devin wilburn returns to Portland for the start.

Sat game at roselawn park did bring to mind a 2009 flashback and a josh ludy story.,  In the nabf regional, Portland defeated the chiefs behind nick bruns to advance to the championship game sun vs. the Detroit jet box..  a Sunday game in summer heat and I was astonished to find out that morning our catcher josh ludy still conducted his regular grueling P90 workout…  his manager me was not really thrilled with the kid having worked out before the game but I have to hand it to josh----hard work beats talent that doesn’t work hard

Rockets split the 4 game set in cini

Home tues nite-pack up the cooler, bring the lawn chair and join us 7pm

Take me out to the ballpark,,,,the lunching pad awaits

This is randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jun 7/12 - ROCKETS FALL TO MARINERS

June 6, 2012

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

Wed twi-nite doubleheader in Celina, rockets rolling with a 4-0 record. our club has some swagger,  with many Portland fans on hand, 28 players we competed with our grand lake rivals.

Rockets go down swinging, losing 4-3 and 5-1

Both games the Portland team was in a position to win,  my sister mickey would also make that claim while playing the dice game aggravation,,,be in a position to win

We just didn’t climb that mountain

All our undoing came disappointedly, with 2 out

Tied 3-3 in the 7th ,  eathan daggett who was masterful in his 2 inn was touched in his 3rd inn on a 2 out double and a controversial safe call at first base as the mariners drove in the winning run on a ground ball that Justin Marrero made a fine play on , firing to billy wellman at first and we only could wish to see a replay.

Rockets had a good pitching performance by starter billy geeslin who went 3 innings

Giving up 2 runs on 2 hits. Tyler Reynolds gave up one unearned run in the 4th before daggett took the hill.

The rockets out hit the marines in both games

7 hits 2 each by bryan brudi and Justin Marrero,, Marrero with 2 rbi  sidenote:  Marrero was drafted out of high school 4 years ago by the white sox in the 32 round

game 2

dan bollenbacher rocket ace returned to form,,, and put us in a position to win ---

dan left us ahead 1-0 in the 5th  Marrero scoring our only run in the 4th on a 2  out error,

the big righthander from berne surrendered 1 hit with 5  ks but

again the 2 out bug bit.

Cody Harrison with 2 out  loaded the bases, travis gray then gave up a 3 run double and the game had a new leader.

Rockets gave up 2 runs in the 6th  all with 2 out also.  Really a  managers nitemare 6 walks with 2 out in those last 2 inn.  That issue will be addressed

Game 1 2hours 1 min, game 2 2hours 19 min

 Logan hug, marreo, grant hendershot, and jose Gonzalez from carrasco Venezuela a new catcher who came with bollenbacher all had hits,  ben smith also had a single, a walk and a stolen base..

Ben a rocket mvp from last year now moves on to the medicine hat mavericks in the Canadian league.. good luck ben we will miss ya

Good to see don and marilyn maloy who made the trip and also marv bruns along with many other of our ohio baseball friends.  And happy birthday gary miller of Wabash ohio

Rockets resume action sat in a weekend double header in Cincinnati

Sat vs. Cincinnati chiefs at 2 pm at  roselawn park mitch waters who pitched a no hitter vs. them 2 years ago the starter

Sun vs. Cincinnati cobalts at 11  am  at Lakota west hs.

We wont win em all but we we’ll win the next one

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jun 7/12 - ROCKETS FALL TO MARINERS

June 6, 2012

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

Wed twi-nite doubleheader in Celina, rockets rolling with a 4-0 record. our club has some swagger,  with many Portland fans on hand, 28 players we competed with our grand lake rivals.

Rockets go down swinging, losing 4-3 and 5-1

Both games the Portland team was in a position to win,  my sister mickey would also make that claim while playing the dice game aggravation,,,be in a position to win

We just didn’t climb that mountain

All our undoing came disappointedly, with 2 out

Tied 3-3 in the 7th ,  eathan daggett who was masterful in his 2 inn was touched in his 3rd inn on a 2 out double and a controversial safe call at first base as the mariners drove in the winning run on a ground ball that Justin Marrero made a fine play on , firing to billy wellman at first and we only could wish to see a replay.

Rockets had a good pitching performance by starter billy geeslin who went 3 innings

Giving up 2 runs on 2 hits. Tyler Reynolds gave up one unearned run in the 4th before daggett took the hill.

The rockets out hit the marines in both games

7 hits 2 each by bryan brudi and Justin Marrero,, Marrero with 2 rbi  sidenote:  Marrero was drafted out of high school 4 years ago by the white sox in the 32 round

game 2

dan bollenbacher rocket ace returned to form,,, and put us in a position to win ---

dan left us ahead 1-0 in the 5th  Marrero scoring our only run in the 4th on a 2  out error,

the big righthander from berne surrendered 1 hit with 5  ks but

again the 2 out bug bit.

Cody Harrison with 2 out  loaded the bases, travis gray then gave up a 3 run double and the game had a new leader.

Rockets gave up 2 runs in the 6th  all with 2 out also.  Really a  managers nitemare 6 walks with 2 out in those last 2 inn.  That issue will be addressed

Game 1 2hours 1 min, game 2 2hours 19 min

 Logan hug, marreo, grant hendershot, and jose Gonzalez from carrasco Venezuela a new catcher who came with bollenbacher all had hits,  ben smith also had a single, a walk and a stolen base..

Ben a rocket mvp from last year now moves on to the medicine hat mavericks in the Canadian league.. good luck ben we will miss ya

Good to see don and marilyn maloy who made the trip and also marv bruns along with many other of our ohio baseball friends.  And happy birthday gary miller of Wabash ohio

Rockets resume action sat in a weekend double header in Cincinnati

Sat vs. Cincinnati chiefs at 2 pm at  roselawn park mitch waters who pitched a no hitter vs. them 2 years ago the starter

Sun vs. Cincinnati cobalts at 11  am  at Lakota west hs.

We wont win em all but we we’ll win the next one

Randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jun 6/12 - rockets win 2-1 over dayton docs

June 6, 2012 rockets win 2-1 over Dayton docs

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets

Traveled to Dayton tues nite, a visit to a baseball complex deluxe at wright state.

The rockets defeated the Dayton docs 2-1.  the win moves portland’s record to 4-0.

A cool drizzly evening cleared off in time for a pitching gem.  Mitch waters was dealing.

The veteran righthander threw 4 no hit innings walking 2 and striking out 4.  mitch threw 51 pitches and even surprised a few hitters with the knuckleball.

Michael caley, markle came on and was just as effective, he went 4 scoreless frames and allowed but 1 hit.  The first Dayton hit came with one out in the 7th.   Justin miller, Yorktown, pitched the 9th and closed the deal with a nifty double play to end the game with the tying run on second base. 

Portland scored 2 runs in the opening inning and that was it.  Logan hug walked, a Dalton tinsely double, and  a wild pitch scored one run, billy wellman’s line shot single scored the other.

The rockets outhit the docs 6-2,  tinsely and bryan brudi each had 2 hits, Justin Marrero and  wellman also had hits.

The rockets had a scoring threat in the 8th with tinsely on 3rd, brudi on first with no outs, but failed to score  ---

Amazingly, it took only 1 hr. 57 min to complete this titanic struggle,  the reds game last nite 4 hours  wow

This was opening nite for the Dayton docs, their first game ever,  they will compete in the great lakes conference as does our neighboring foe, the grand lake mariners.  It cost $20,000 to plant a franchise in their league, operating expenses $105,000. 

Rockets expenses -----yearly around $30,000 total

Rockets win 2-1 over Dayton docs

Another coach in attendance called me on the way home, to congratulate our 26 member squad,,,,,Dayton had expressed concern if we would make  a worthy competitor -----and truly we aren’t supposed to win these exhibitions,,, they are stocked with division 1 players from all over,  their summer job is to play ball as they live at a host family for the  summer,   ask billy wellman he has been in Kansas the last 2 summers,,,welcome home billy hope you have a great summer,

Tonite our road warriors head to Celina,,,,,a double header first game 5 pm at westview park, billy geeslin the start,  snd game starter dan bollenbacher

I am a Baylor bear baseball fan,,,,they wear green and gold,,,not near as nice as rocket black and gold

We are proud to claim josh ludy as one of us, from Portland

Big baseball news josh drafted into the major leagues---every young player’s dream

I remember stories of perhaps the first rocket drafted,  fireballer jerry shawver  he too by the phillies

I remember more vividly playing cards with on draft day,  awaiting the call from the Montreal expos  also in the 8th round for Michael dull from berne

Love ya in Portland josh

Rockets 4-0  and rockettrain rolls onto celina

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 4/12 - ROCKETS HOME OPENER NEWS

June 3 2012

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland
happy month of june and the Portland rockets are off to a great summer

Record now 5-0

Sat marked the 53rd opening day in Portland in the storied franchise, oldest in Indiana

Yes Maggie runkle shared rocket founder dick runkle’s scrapbook

First rocket game may 29 1960  winning pitcher larry chittum, first hit steve takats

And it was festive at the corner of western and blaine----Saturday june 2,2012

 

 

Impressive ----the 32 rockets players on hand from all over the state,  some very talented to be sure

Very unimpressive ---the no show forfeit of the cinncinati chiefs –bad business ---part of being a team is honoring your commitment  very sorry indeed

 

 

The rocket team played an intersquad exhibition game,,,rocket veterans vs prospects

The outing was a tuneup for some, an audition for others,

But it was a successful event just to showcase what Portland has that brings em all together

Runkle-miller field is getting better and better every year---

Thanks to the city administrations, parks board and all who attend to our field of dreams

New fencing, new cement pads supporting new bleachers, and the old coaches boxes are sodded in, manicured edges about the field,,,,,, thanks doug blankenbaker, thanks to jim eiykes and his jail workers and special thanks to  Rodney miles and his lawncare crew----

Of course opening day must have its pomp and circumstance,  mayor randy geesman was on hand and you might remember those geesemans in the athletic arena a few decades ago  (randy reminded me we are same age) 

He did a fine job on the first pitch,,,,,

Also sharing in the first pitch ceremonies,  christain runkle-  happy birthday christain fired one into to rocket mitch waters,  then posed for a picture with adam farmer-jenny, my niece’s son, as they are great grandsons of the 2 families, dick and Maggie runkle, ray and betty miller

Maggie and mom both passed away this spring and were remembered in a moment of silence-----wow my first season of 41 without my sounding board mom ouch

Here is a sweet note,  sugar cookies made by Julia schwonmeyer with Maggie runkle’s recipe ,,,,nice with my coffee and so thoughtful

Also on hand, Samantha Thomas and steve g from the media,  helpers kristie Delaney, dan haines and of course brother brad miller

Emily Roberts and her 22 banners that outline our outfield fence from patriot sportswear on hand,

Important to note that this ballclub will miss the services of veteran heath Williams  rocket captain for 6 years, maybe he will unretire like brett favre???

Back is mitch waters from italy, bryan brudi from a bout with cancer, bill geeslin from arm surgery. Mitch was a big part of our 2005 state championship when he went 13-0 on the regular season.  Brudi was on the 2009 team with josh ludy that went to championship  of the regionals in cinci and 35-13 on the year.,   Dan bollenbacher and thtom mccowan also return as does chris miller and Dalton tinsely.  These guys major contributors to last years 38=12 season. 

 

 

Best shots of the day—dalton tinsely grand slam home run into the vines in right

Blast of the top of the center field fence by bryan brudi,  mitch waters shutout 2 inn and the rocket logo painted on field,  spectacular catch made by catcher chris miller in front of dugout

The boys of summer are back and loaded up---

Road warriors this week  tues at wright state 7pm vs Dayton docs, waters starter

Wed 5pm DH at Celina vs. grand lake mariners  billy geeslin and dan bollenbacher the starters

Sat sun 4 game set in Cincinnati

Next home game june 12 7pm vs van wert twisters

 

 

Roll on rockettrain

Randy miller –pg 14

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Posted May 29/12 - rockets open 2012 season with WINS

Portland rockets open season with 2-1 win over Richmond riverrats, then sweep twin bill

9-8, and14-3 over napolean riverbandits  to go 3-0 on weekend

in each the first 2 games the Portland rockets trailed going into their last at bat, but rallied to win. 

Sat rockets trailed 1-0 in the top of the ninth in Richmond at mcbride stadium, until mitch waters, the Italian stallion, hit  a seeing eye single thru the middle scoring ben smith with the tying run. Justin miller Yorktown and Manchester college drove in mitch then tripling down the right field line. 

Travis gray norwell, heidleberg closed out  a bases loaded jam in the 8th and took the win shutting out the prospect league rats in the 9th. 

Waters, dan bollenbacher, south adams, and bill geeslin coldwater, urbana, all threw shutout innings.  Tyler Reynolds, Muncie, ind. Tech. Pitched in the 8th giving up one run on 3 hits.

-         great place to play and enjoy a ballgame, at john cate field ==== long time friend and founder/coach of the roosters

-         coach cate nominated ray miller to be inducted in Indiana baseball hall of fame

Did you know????

96 degrees in oxford ohio, the hottest may temp on record EVER

rockets played at Miami oh university  another great venue-incredible scoreboard, dugouts, cages

rockets behind starter Michael caley, ind weslyan,  went up 4-0 thru 3 innings, lose lead only to rally from a 8-4 deficit to win in the 9th 9-8

key blows in the rally, a 2 run single by Justin Marrero Shawnee st. a single by waters to put the tying run on first and a triple by Justin miller to put rockets ahead

cody Harrison frankton closed out the bandits for the win

also pitching, eathan daggett Huntington and derrick mckinney Huntington

 

game 2 rockets scored 6 in the first and 6 in the third,

cruise to a 14-3 win,  caleb miller Muncie, delta the winner, eric schmackers coldwater in relief

key blow 2 run triple by billy wellman in the first

wellman and waters with 2 hits

on the weekend set the rocket attack led  by  billy wellman, mitch waters, and Justin miller all with 4 hits

 

 

rockets will play Saturday 3pm vs. rival Cincinnati chiefs in a meet the team double header in season home opener  bring your cooler, lawn chair, and your young ones out to the ole ball park  go Baylor bears and our old rocket josh ludy

rockets rolling to start season 3-0

randy miller pg 15

 

 

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Posted Aug 7/11 - rockets go 1-2 in nabf finish season 38-12

NABF report from Concordia high school

 

 

8 team field

Pool A:  ft. wayne jackers, Chicago clout, Mishawaka brewers, Warsaw Indians

Pool B:  Pontiac packers, lamargarita blues, Decatur dirty birds, Portland rockets

 

 

Kudos to Concordia coach, former Indiana tech coach lance hershberger on field

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Portland rockets played in the national amateur baseball federation regional tournament this weekend in ft. wayne. The Portland team went 1-2 losing a heartbreaker 7-6 to the Pontiac parkers in 10 innings sat afternoon.  A walk-off 2 run home run off devin wilburn, 1st homer he has allowed this year, sends Portland home –a 3 ½ hour titanic struggle.  Portland rockets end this special season 38-12---one the best ever.  Portland’s wilburn actually put us ahead 6-5 in the top of the 10th  with a bases loaded walk, but the Pontiac-rhymes with cardiac-and the attack came in the bottom of the inning.

Rocket OF ben smith, a candidate for tournament MVP, hit a mammoth home run –one the many rocket faithful on hand will never forget,,,I know I won’t. estimated at 480 ft. into the treetops, to give starter eric van matre a 5-2 cushion. Ben now with 11 homers on the season went 6 for 12 with 5 rbi in the tourney.  Van matre, with the heart of a warrior, is a bulldog of a competitor. The ball state asst coach went 6 inn on 112 pitches , verlander of Detroit went 110 yesterday, struck out 7, 6 walks, 2 runs on 4 hits.  Van matre gave way to Trevor kill, and the cardiac began.  3 runs to tie in the 7th and 2 to win in the 10th.  Also pitching in relief, tyler Reynolds, tyler Holloway, and then wilburn. 

Nate clem had 2 hits for Portland –pontiac out hit the rockets 10 to 9.

Portland goes 1-2 in tournament play—fri morning we lost to lamargarita 3-0 on just 3 hits.  Dan bollenbacher pitched well, but had just one bad inning.  His college coach  Hartman of lima northwest was on hand, other lima recruits from Portland, geoff bowers, ben smith and Thomas mccowan.  Nice Portland flavor with 4 rockets next spring.

Game 2 and facing elimination Portland responds. With a good rocket crowd on hand, yes Kristi Delaney was there representing sesame st., we turn the lights out on the Decatur season.  Portland wins 6-3 ---7th consecutive win over the nasty birdies this year.

Brad benbow, tyler Reynolds, eathan daggett and Trevor kill with the mound duties. Ben smith’s 2 run double in the 6th the key blow along with a tie breaking home run by  Dalton tinsely.

Hey, good to see doug tipton in ft. wayne sat at the football meeting for officials.  Go robotics, well done dude. 

 

 

Rockets chance to advance came to a cardiac arrest vs. Pontiac. Season started in may –50 games and a whole lot of fun—the boys of summer become men we win 38 games (43 wins is the record in 1996 with the luce boys –I played back then) . memories aplenty from this Portland campaign—pitching, defense, more double plays than I can ever recall, every game a tradition-laced representation.  This team took more batting practice than all other rocket squads combined.  Thanks to Kevin mccowan—rest that arm for next year. The Portland rockets earned respect and many compliments throughout the year.  We finish the year 38-12 and stand Portland proud.. we ended with many shared thanks, hugs, a few tears but all were proud to be a Portland rocket.  Watch out next year, the rockettrain will roll again. Randy miller

Note:  rocket nation well represented in tournament field.  Pontiac player luke momrik was a rocket around 10 years ago ----he passed on many warm thoughts of rocket days and the impact of one ray miller on a team summers ago

Also on hand rockets on other teams, randy moss, matt ousley, garrett wiejak, bryan brudi, josh shatto,. Keith shepeard,

Happy birthday to old rockets mark flueckiger and Jason murdog murray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Aug 2/11 - draw for NABF tournament at concordia high school

rockets play in pool B at concordia high school (just across from IPFW) on anthony blvd. behind zollner stadium

fri games 10 am portland vs. lamargarita blues

                 4 pm portland vs. decatur dirty birds

sat. games 1 pm vs. pontiac mich.

                   4:30 group A winner vs group B runner up at carrington 9 inn

                   4:30 group B winner vs group A runner up at concordia 9 inn

sun. championship game at noon , concordia high school 9 inn

we have to do our duty in pool play, this is the sacrifice that puts us on the map---it takes ALL to make this work,,,team unity, chemistry and perserverance makes this collective unit a CHAMPION

Cody Campbell cant make it this weekend so someone will have to step in and step up---

5 games in all to be regional champs, a full pitching staff should be on hand

you never know when a player may be ejected, injured, ---we must have our brother's back

go rocket train 37-10 and ready to roll

 

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Posted Aug 1/11 - rockets make it championship, lose to illinois jayhawks

World baseball congress report:  Illinois jayhawks win, Portland runner-up

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Portland hosted the world baseball congress national tournament this weekend.  The action was hot and intense. The rockets, riding a 19 game winning streak took on all comers and beat em.  In pool play, Portland defeated Decatur 8-3, then the Illinois jayhawks 5-0, then the Louisville angels 6-2  But  come the championship game Sunday, an old formula became the determining factor.  Illinois jayhawks win the crown defeating Portland 3-1, the formula pitching, defense, and timely hitting.  They seized the day scoring just 3 runs, 2 earned off starter eric van matre and made all the plays.  The rockets streak ended with scoring opportunites squandered, and the jayhawks closer struck out 7 of the last 9 outs recorded.

Jayhawks out hit the rockets 5 to 4 and took the title for the 2nd time in 3 years.  Battle creek mich. The winner last year.

Portland knocked out Decatur 8-3 in the first game, that makes the 6th consecutive win this year over the dirty birds.  Brad benbow the winner going 5 innings. Justin marrero’s 3 run home run the big blow. Portland then defeated the jayhawks sat. nite 5-0 behind a stellar pitching performance by devin wilburn. Wilburn went the distance scattering 7 hits striking out 7. ben smith had 3 hits, 2 triples and cody Campbell had 4 hits  the team had 14 hits .

Championship Sunday was baseball on stage, drama , suspense  hey, it was the gunfight at the ok corral---rockets beat the Louisville angels 6-2 but in the 6th inn. The Louisville pitcher hit rocket shortstop brady roundtree in the head, and it was on like donky kong,  both brady and the catcher had to be restrained,  words were exchanged, I think I heard rocky Williams reprimand a rocket saying, “rockets don’t do that “  and he is rght on----

We are representatives of Portland and we do it right,, order restored and bollenbacher goes the distance to garner the win.  Mark isenberg hit a towering homer to left.

Now hear is an acorn for you,,,, Rodney miles of miles mowing and lawncare would blast that loud airhorn for each rocket rally and it surely got all of south west portland’s attention. Thanks Rodney good stuff

Mayor bruce hosier was on hand sat. to throw out the first pitch and was there sat. too.  Samantha Thomas was on hand to cover the action…..many former rockets on hand to root for the rockets, thanks to chris hearn, steve takats, larry chittum and many others. Also former rocket and now college coach kurt rammel now at tiffin university was on hand with his folks.  He is recruiting some of the rocket players.  

In the 4 game field Portland went 3-1, so did the Illinois jayhawks they just won the championship game.  Again the loss marks the end of the 19 game win streak, leaving the team record at 37-10.  our last loss was july  3, in the championship game again at the 4th of july tournament in ft. wayne.

On the weekend heath Williams went 7 for 15, ben smith went 6-11 with 6 rbi, and cody Campbell went 6-13 to lead the rocket attack…

Rockets will take that airhorn and travel to ft wayne fri to start the nabf  national tournament----fri action 10 am vs. lamargarita blues at  Concordia field

What I take from this tournament,  not just the runner up trophy but that we have winners here in Portland,,,,,,support and community involvement.  It is about the people, players and fans…. Many compliments given to Portland,,,about the field, the team, the hospitality.  Congrats to the winners, the Illinois jayhawks of Chicago,,,,,,but we are sure sitting pretty good right here in jayland,,,,love ya in portland 

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Aug 1/11 - rockets make it championship, lose to illinois jayhawks

World baseball congress report:  Illinois jayhawks win, Portland runner-up

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Portland hosted the world baseball congress national tournament this weekend.  The action was hot and intense. The rockets, riding a 19 game winning streak took on all comers and beat em.  In pool play, Portland defeated Decatur 8-3, then the Illinois jayhawks 5-0, then the Louisville angels 6-2  But  come the championship game Sunday, an old formula became the determining factor.  Illinois jayhawks win the crown defeating Portland 3-1, the formula pitching, defense, and timely hitting.  They seized the day scoring just 3 runs, 2 earned off starter eric van matre and made all the plays.  The rockets streak ended with scoring opportunites squandered, and the jayhawks closer struck out 7 of the last 9 outs recorded.

Jayhawks out hit the rockets 5 to 4 and took the title for the 2nd time in 3 years.  Battle creek mich. The winner last year.

Portland knocked out Decatur 8-3 in the first game, that makes the 6th consecutive win this year over the dirty birds.  Brad benbow the winner going 5 innings. Justin marrero’s 3 run home run the big blow. Portland then defeated the jayhawks sat. nite 5-0 behind a stellar pitching performance by devin wilburn. Wilburn went the distance scattering 7 hits striking out 7. ben smith had 3 hits, 2 triples and cody Campbell had 4 hits  the team had 14 hits .

Championship Sunday was baseball on stage, drama , suspense  hey, it was the gunfight at the ok corral---rockets beat the Louisville angels 6-2 but in the 6th inn. The Louisville pitcher hit rocket shortstop brady roundtree in the head, and it was on like donky kong,  both brady and the catcher had to be restrained,  words were exchanged, I think I heard rocky Williams reprimand a rocket saying, “rockets don’t do that “  and he is rght on----

We are representatives of Portland and we do it right,, order restored and bollenbacher goes the distance to garner the win.  Mark isenberg hit a towering homer to left.

Now hear is an acorn for you,,,, Rodney miles of miles mowing and lawncare would blast that loud airhorn for each rocket rally and it surely got all of south west portland’s attention. Thanks Rodney good stuff

Mayor bruce hosier was on hand sat. to throw out the first pitch and was there sat. too.  Samantha Thomas was on hand to cover the action…..many former rockets on hand to root for the rockets, thanks to chris hearn, steve takats, larry chittum and many others. Also former rocket and now college coach kurt rammel now at tiffin university was on hand with his folks.  He is recruiting some of the rocket players.  

In the 4 game field Portland went 3-1, so did the Illinois jayhawks they just won the championship game.  Again the loss marks the end of the 19 game win streak, leaving the team record at 37-10.  our last loss was july  3, in the championship game again at the 4th of july tournament in ft. wayne.

On the weekend heath Williams went 7 for 15, ben smith went 6-11 with 6 rbi, and cody Campbell went 6-13 to lead the rocket attack…

Rockets will take that airhorn and travel to ft wayne fri to start the nabf  national tournament----fri action 10 am vs. lamargarita blues at  Concordia field

What I take from this tournament,  not just the runner up trophy but that we have winners here in Portland,,,,,,support and community involvement.  It is about the people, players and fans…. Many compliments given to Portland,,,about the field, the team, the hospitality.  Congrats to the winners, the Illinois jayhawks of Chicago,,,,,,but we are sure sitting pretty good right here in jayland,,,,love ya in portland 

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 29/11 - portland to host wbc tournament game at noon sat

World baseball congress notes july 29,2011

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets host the 3rd world baseball congress national tournament this weekend at runkle-miller field.

Games begin sat. at noon Portland vs. Decatur. The rockets will also play at 730 sat nite vs. the Illinois jayhawks (Chicago).  Last year’s field was 8 teams from 5 states, battle creek mich the winner.  This year we have 4 teams, Portland, Decatur, the Louisville angels and the winner 2 years ago, the Illinois jayhawks. 

Portland has been hosting statewide tournaments since 1991, only possible with community support.  Just yesterday the boys from the parks dept, tom hicks and company along with jim ieynkes and his crew from the jail were out prepping the field.  Then for good measure, Rodney miles of miles moving and lawncare brought his tractor in for maintenance on the bullpens. All part of the Portland machine that makes this community just a notch above ----thanks guys, love ya in Portland

Portland’s team is a notch above as well, coming off a big weekend claiming the heartland league;s eastern division crown, the rockets take a 16 game winning streak into sat. action.  Portland’s trip to east Chicago for the league championship was cut short due to rain, still to be made up. Happy birthay Kathy miller

This note: coach lea selvey is helping coach the summit city sluggers and they are advancing in pool play in Chicago.  They were placed as of thurs, 12th of 50 teams. 

Talking with josh Gibson of the lions club, he shares the jay county fair is bigger and better than ever,  so why not take a break and catch some of the tournament action this weekend at runkle=miller field.  Rockets record 34-9 play Decatur at noon sat, then at 730 vs. Illinois jayhawks ---it is jay county hospital nite, should be festive----mayor hosier will probably stop out

Rockets will also be in action on Sunday at 10 am vs. the Louisville angels then ;the championship in the afternoon.

It is all a buzzin in Portland, not just demolition derby—and we all root for orie poole-he is the Johnny cash of jay county—it is tournament baseball at the corner of western and blaine,  lawn chair and cooler ---take me out to the ballgame and root root root for the home team

Craig martin of taylor university is slated to go game 1, devin wilburn of Selma game 2, and dan bollenbacher game 3  should we make the finals, eric van matre the starter

Randy miller pg 14

All games to be played at Runkle-miller field  Entry fee will be $300

 

American league rules with Dh Composite bats are allowed, flip for home team.

 

Saturday

Noon Portland Rockets vs Decatur Dirty Birds

2:30  Decatur Dirty Birds vs Louisville Angels

5:00  Louisville Angels vs Illinois Jayhawks

7:30  Illinois Jayhawks vs Portland Rockets

 

Sunday

 

10 am Portland Rockets vs Louisville Angels

noon   Illinois Jayhawks vs Decatur Dirty birds

2 pm   Consolation game

4:30 pm Championship game

 

Area 51 wood works will be vending the tournament on Saturday afternoon, stop by and check out their wares!

 

Good luck this weekend.

 

 

 

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Posted Jul 25/11 - ROCKETS CLAIM EASTERN DIVISION CROWN, DEFEAT WARSAW AND DECATUR SAT.

Rockets win 2 games in playoffs sat. 11-1 over warsaw, 7-5 over decatur 7/24/11

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. It rained, and that stopped the train.  Portland winners of the east division of the heartland baseball league, hosted the eastern playoffs sat.  and the rockettrain took on all comers, beat em all.  Portland’s team beat van wert thurs, remember that day, the hottest in 30 yrs. Then Portland ambushed the Warsaw Indians 11-1 sat. the nitecap matchup, Portland 7 decatur 5. Portland now the number one seed loaded the train and set out for the championship Sunday in east Chicago, whiting actually, but games where cancelled due to rain. So the championship is unsettled, Portland is to play gary patriots or mich. City lakers.  We will issue them a challenge.

Sat playoff action ;;;the rockets blasted Warsaw 11-1 in 5 inn.  Devin wilburn went all 5 inn biving uup just 3 hits. They touch wilburn up for one in the 1st but that is all they would get. The lefty struck out 8.  game time 1hr 27 min.

All starters had hits and cody Campbell had 2. mark isenberg hit the last blast over cf head to complete the ten run mercy rule. 

 

In the nitegame the rockets rallied to beat the Decatur stinky pigeons 7-5  down 4-0 early the boys of summer put up 4 in the 4th on some clutch 2 out hitting and creative baserunning. Geoff bowers and Dalton tinsely drove in runs and advanced bases in the rocket rally, we heard ya mickey, the 10th man factor is loud and clear down the right field line.  Rockets score in the 5th, 3 insurance runs in the 6th and now have defeated Decatur 5 times in a row. Heath Williams, ben smith, geoff bowers each with 2 hits.  The game also was the pitching debut of mark isenberg – ice, the strongest arm on the club, one of  5 rocket pitchers was helped out by catcher chris miller. With 2 on, 2 out a the ball was hit straight up in the air, with runners going past him, catcher miller stayed on it and hauled it in  rockets win

4 games in all played at the ballyard sat, thanks brad, mickey, gary, kristie coach Kevin mccowan his long weekend, and doug tinsely, also to the community center and for dinner at the greasy pickle, even had a visit from mayor hosier.  Thanks to chief aker and dustin hilfiker for aiding in the watering of the field.

The rockets have now won 16 games in a row, and as ambassadors of Portland they were in route to Chicago, their quest a league championship.  But the rain came, no game

18 rockets soldier up each weekend to go wherever, that is commitment.  Especially when we had to stay up with the laundry till 1am sat. nite .

league championships are on hold,,,,,,coming to Portland ya, the j county fair,  also the world baseball congress national tournament begins fri this week.  Rockets will play fri nite, and sat nite will be jay county hospital nite.  Last years winner battle creek in a field of 8 teams from 5 states.  More details as the week unfolds

rockets division champs, 16 wins in a row, record 34-9  we stand Portland proud

randy miller pg 114

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Posted Jul 22/11 - rockets trounce van wert 11-1 in playoff opener

Rockets win 11-1 over van wert in opener of playoffs  july 21,2011

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. Baseball players like hot weather---especially if you are on a hot streak, and the Portland rockets are on a roll. Portland trounced van wert thurs evening 11-1 in 5 innings in the playoff opener at runkle-miller field.  The van wert twisters scored first in the first, one run and that’s all they got.  Portland outfielder ben smith tied the score with a home run in the bottom of the first, then hit a 3 run bomb in the 3rd and the rockets rolled on to the mercy rule win.

I called the second hand store last nite to remind jayland the game was a 730 start, and kiddingly said come out to the ballgame and maybe you will see ben smith hit another one in the parking lot and holy smoke, he hit 2 patented moon shots---smith now with 10 homers on the year. He is the first rocket to hit 10 home runs in a season since tommy pearce did in 2004.  another rocket launcher was on hand last nite, bud finch and shared stories of the early rockets and bud is modest,, he was known for tape measure blasts..  you know he said catches his eye about this year’s club. Defense. And he is right

The rockets have outscored opponents in league play 129 to 37 in 19 games.

The offense caught fire with 13 hits last nite, every starter but one had a hit, 3 by smith ,2 by roundtree, Campbell, and tinsely.  Doubles off the fence by roundtree and Justin Marrero. You might recall Marrero was the rocket clean up hitter last year, he returns from a wood bat league in new jersey and we are glad to have him in the lineup.  Pitchers martin, benbow, and Reynolds limited the twisters to just 5 hits. Speaking of returning, the mayor of sesame street dave Johnson made his 1st rocket game last nite, with the maloys and our great helper kristie Delaney, sesame street is the rocket clubhouse—thanks guys,,,,last nite we had several from the commercial review on hand. And jack Ronald was quick to remind us steve Ronald was a member of that first rocket team in 1960.  happy birthday to mike dull and bill geeslin, I have a feeling billy ballgame will be back in rocket gold next year .

Rockets have now won 14 straight, record now 32-9.  playoff action continues with games sat. at noon and 730.  Portland the division winner in fact, hosts 4 playoff games all at runkle-miller field sat.  rockets play Warsaw at noon, then van wert and Decatur play, rockets return for the nite game at 730 vs. Decatur. The wapahani connection will be dealing ---wapahani pitchers wilburn and van matre on the mound.  Between games the rockets will shower and freshen up at the community center, (thanks jack houck) then we invite all rocket fans and family to join us for lunch around 3pm at the greasy pickle.

Warsaw Indians at noon sat------they have beaten us 3 games out of 4,  Portland has an ambush awaiting at the corner of blaine and western,,,,,this is good stuff, get on board the rockettrain  randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 16/11 - Rockets over Red Sox 11-2

friday nite baseball means good old fashioned hard ball at the corner of western and blaine wood bats, nine innings, home runs, rocket dogs, sodas, double plays, good community spirit all in a couple hours

rockets take the friday nite marquis, 11-2  brad benbow went 5 inn and allowed just 2 runs, but the locals already had 8 runs after 4 and threatened to end it early with the mercy rule, but left runners on in both the 7th and 8 th innings.  benbow gave up just 3 hits, but 5 walks, enter tyler reynolds.  he goes 3 inn. in 29 pitches allowing 0 runs 1 hit.  tyler holloway throws 7 pitches to close out the ninth.

offense: every rocket starter had a hit except 1,,we ouhit em 11-4, but lets talk about right fielder ben smith. smith had 3 hits, scored 3 runs, and 4 rbi and a most impressive moon shot to right field that was so high, so long everyone had time to gasp for breath twice..  the ball landed in the parking lot---that is correct---beyond the hedges and onto the pavement  that has to be near 500ft.  i will measure when i get there today.  last blast like that may have been former rocket mark hillman in the 90's or maybe mike meinerding from ft. recovery./ ben smith is a maria stein native and a leader on our team, he has 8 home runs (we had 4 as a team all last season)

thomas mccowan and cody campbell also had 2 hits each. still the rockets left 13 men on base in 8 inn at the bat. we had runners in scoring position every inn. but the 8 th.

great to see a buzzin about the bleachers with a fine crowd on hand,  good to see former rocket duane sautbine and rose and they always make me laugh---thanks for the generous donation salty!!!!

also larry and donna chittum, the maloys don and marilyn, and my old teammate and friend randy "nubs" smith and his wife. and dont forget phil from lynn--he gets on the rocket train every year this time as he gets pennant fever

here is a portland rocket first::::: dry weather is tough on a playing field that is over used. after nature's green landscaping provided an outfield treatment, doug blankenbaker spoke with fire chief chad aker and............the fire department gave a spraying to the runkle-miller outfield.. thanks, now that is community support

no game sat----bad business on the hands of the cinci chiefs---i have never called a manager ever and said we are unable to come, and now it has happened 3 times this year to us,,,,it really messes up our pitching plans and gives us a bad taste   this old manager rarely gets a burr up, but those 3 failed committments will NOT be forgotten

sun rockets play huntington at 1 pm DH in portland.  it is the last regular season home games of a fine season.  dan bollenbacher the starter game 1, eric van matre game 2

it will be interesting to see how eric's tryout went this past week with the gary railcats

see ya sun at the ballyard

 

 

 

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Posted Jul 14/11 - Rockets take 4th straight from Decatur 8-6

Portland Rockets 8 Decatur Dirty Birds 6  July 13, 2011

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Tough assignment, beat your rival 4 times in a row, especially tough when at their home field and they bust out with a 4 run first inning.  Let’s call it a character builder.  Rockets rally and defeat the Decatur dirty birds 8-6 at bellmont h. s. last evening.  Decatur was league champion last year, Portland sweeps the regular season set 4 games to none.

Devin wilburn settles in after a rough start, pitches 4 scoreless innings, craig martin goes 2 inn. Giving up 2 runs, and Trevor kill closes it out 2 inn. 0 runs. But it wasn’t easy

The rockets started chipping away, that’s what good teams do 2 runs in the 2nd, one a towering home run blast by Thomas mccowan, 1 run in the 3rd, single by heath Williams he scores on a  bad bounce triple by ben smith , mark isenberg slams a double in the 4th to tie the score,  rockets take the lead on ben smith’s home run to left center.  Smith now with 7 home runs on the season. Rockets would tack on 2 more runs in the 6th on a couple errors and a beautiful steal of home plate by geoff bowers who timed perfectly the return toss back to the pitcher then came in the back door to literally steal a run . the iceing on the cake  mark the iceman  isenberg’s home run to left in the 7th. 

Rockets comeback gives Portland the win again the 4th over Decatur this season.

And good chance we will see them again in playoffs next week.   And maybe even in regionals.

Playing at bellmont hs. Means shorter fences and the rockets hit 3 home runs, smith, mccowan and isenberg. And 2 double plays, roundtree to Williams to clem  and many broken dirty bird bats.   Heath Williams and isenberg each had 3 hits.  2hr 58 min in this game happy birthday ray gerber

Quite a day for geoff bowers and dan bollenbacher,,,,,they made the trip to Louisville and participated in a reds tryout and still made it back to Decatur for the game. 

Good rocket crowd, they travel well, the maloys on hand, chance to visit with a former rocket of 11 years, terry bultemeier and wish his family well. Also our banker from the bank of Geneva, keith muhlenkamp and ava on hand.

Thanks to scott bollenbacher for having me on hand talking baseball with the rotary club. We recounted some of the great community sharing Portland has had with the rockets for 52 years.  The rotary club, what a unique fun bunch, some of portland’s finest. I enjoyed.

Rockets record now 26-9—division champs with a 14-4 mark, and did I tell you we swept Decatur 4 times this year.

More baseball this weekend.  And I cant wait I love to watch these guys perform,,brady roundtree from Anderson, a glove surgeon at shortstop,,brings memories of some rocket shortstops of the past, and we are talking some good ones, jack wood, dave neuenshwander, doug Bolton, pete milas, ryan rammel, mike moorman, wow

See the action Friday at runkle-miller field,,7 pm vs. the ft. wayne red sox,,,,,,Friday nite at the corner,  come have a picnic with us at the lunching pad----brad benbow the starter

Games sat at 2 vs. the Cincinnati chiefs  dan bollenbacher the starter

Sun DH vs Huntington at 1pm

Cant beat fun for a good time

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jul 11/11 - Rockets sweep ft. wayne red sox 13-0, 11-1

Rockets sweep ft. wayne red sox 13-0 and 11-1  sun july 10, 2011

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. Portland rockets run thru the ft. wayne red sox like a hot knife thru butter ---a DH sweep Sunday at runkle-miller field 13-0 and 11-1.  we will try to not make any more reference to the hot weather / 

Rockets started off with a 6 run bang in the very first inning,  that is all starter eric van matre would need as Portland cruised to the 5 inn mercy rule. Van matre struck out 7 of the 13 batters he faced allowed but 1 hit. Craig martin pitched one scoreless inning.  Van matre has a professional ball tryout this week with the gary railcats.  Good luck to our veteran lefthander from wapahani. Rockets right fielder ben smith drilled his 6th home run of the season over the right field fence to add to the fireworks. Roundtree, Williams, mccowan and Campbell all had hits. 

Thanks for the donation to portland’s team, bob freemeyer .  and to portland parks dept for the completion of the new outfield fence----old fence replaced over $8000  1985

After a short break, the lunching pad grilling burgers and serving cold drinks---the rockets went back to work and extended their hot streak.  The 11-1 pasting of the red sox in game 2 extends Portland’s win streak to 6 games. Included in that hot stretch-sat. forfeit by the Indiana breakers –their mgr called sat morning and said he could not make a team to Portland----he expressed his apologies to all the players, fans, and city of Portland—he had heard how Portland cares about its baseball,how well attended and how it is an event==== well- thanks for the compliment but the greatest compliment is how our guys show up to hone their craft, honor their commitment, and have each other’s back=we show up –whiting, mich. City, Warsaw, Mishawaka, we respect the game and a may the best team win—we represent Portland we don’t call in sick.  League officials share that the breakers although leading the west division will be excluded from post season play.

Anyway rockets take game 2 11-1,  dan bollenbacher the rocket ace, he always shows up and you better fear the beard, dan throws his 3 inn of no hit shutout ball, eathan daggett and tyler Reynolds finish up. 2 hits each for roundtree, clem, bowers and miller.

Rockets sweep both games slightly over 3 hours and have field cleaned up for the jay-randolph legion team.

Rocket record now 24-9 league record now 13-4 and assures Portland of western division championship. We have bigger fish to fry down the road in post season play, 

League playoffs, we host the national world baseball congress tournament july 29, then the nabf regionals and hopefully world series in Louisville

Rockets play tues in Portland vs. van wert at 7pm

Come see championship play at runkle-miller field tues devin wilburn the starter

Champions do it every day, they don’t call in sick

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

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Posted Jul 7/11 - Rockets Revenge: Defeat jackers 3-1

Portland rockets 3 shady nook jackers 1  july 6, 2011

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  For when the one great scorer comes to mark against your name, he asks not if you won or lost, but did you beat ft. wayne.   Rocket revenge so sweet, Portland defeats ft. wayne shady nook jackers 3-1 wed nite at runkle-miller field.  It was crossroads credit union nite and the crowd was the largest of the season.  Those folks made it an event,,,,most festive games, prizes, food and  the rockets win again to cap it off. 

The jackers, fresh off their weekend championship over Portland at their place ( they beat us 3-2 sat, and 8-1 sun) brought their club to Portland and it was a a different story.  Devin wilburn was dominate thru 8 inn, striking out 8 scattering 5 hits. The jackers touched wilburn for one run in the 8th on a simple throwing error from the mound to first. Wilburn had been sidelined with a serious bout of poison ivy, but he sure looked like the mound doctor out there.  he was picked by sportswriter steve grabacz as player of the game. Tyler Holloway pitched the 9th , coaxed a game ending double play to finish it off.

The rockets scored all 3 runs in the 3rd –a walk to brad kindred, a single by brady roundtree, then after a nifty double steal, ben smith delivered a 2 out 2 run single to put the boys on the board. Nate clem followed with another rbi single to close out the scoring.  All 3 runs off former major league pitcher keith shepeard 44 yrs. Old.  I have his card while playing for the Colorado rockies. 

Rockets out hit the jackers 10-5 and turned 3 double plays.  2 hits each by roundtree, smith, clem, and Thomas mccowan. 

The rocket lunching pad was a buzzin with activity, mayor hosier on hand, rocky Williams took his turn at flippin burgers,and  I always get a kick out of seeing tyler newell--- and it was quite a community event----all in an amazing 2 hours 2 min.tin caps game yesterday 2hr 42 min.

Special well wishes to Maggie runkle who is on the mend after her fall this week at jc hospital. Happy

Rocket record now 20-9 .  home dh sat and sun---as the new fence gets put in----thanks to our parks dept as they continually help us make improvement on our field of dreams.

Dh sat starts at 4 pm vs. the Indiana breakers----they are from the region, calumet area and are the current leaders of the west division of the heartland league. Sun dh starts at 1pm  vs. the ft. wayne red sox

Lawn chair, cooler, sun gear, make it your event sat game time 4pm

This rocket team is good and will be heard from come tournament time,

Rockets win revenge match 3-1 over ft wayne  revenge so sweet

Randy miller pg 14  

 

 

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Posted Jul 6/11 - Rockets best Decatur 3-0, 3rd time this year

Portland rockets 3 decatur dirty birds 0 july 5, 2011

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. The Portland rockets continued their winning ways tues nite besting the Decatur dirty birds 3-0 at runkle-miller field.  This marks the third straight win over over rival, we beat them 2-0, 5-1 and now 3-0.  a huge crowd on hand, of course the maloys were there, did not see much offensive firepower, had plenty of that at the july 4th skyshow at the fairgrounds.  This contest was scoreless until the rockets scored 2 in the 5th . brad kindred singled to left, blake turner executed a sac bunt, kindred took 3rd on a wild pitch and was ruled safe at home plate on brady roundtrees ground out to first.  And he was safe, confirmed from the rocket pressbox by both public address man dan haines, and his scoreboard operator judge clem.

Rockets added another run on an 8th inning home run blast by ben smith over the hedges in right field, ben’s 5th home run of the season. Smith and heath Williams led the attack with 2 hits each.

Rocket pitching was the highlight of the evening,  brad benbow of delta went 7 scoreless inn. For the win. Brad allowed just 3 hits and struck out 5 giving up 4 walks and he hit 3 batters.  Tyler Reynolds went unscathed in the 8th.  Trevor kill closed out the game…the last out was made on a sparkling diving catch by kinderd in cf. with a throw to 1st to double up the dirty birds.  They  end up with 13 runners left on base and 0 runs.  So exasperated with his inept offense, manager victor canales came out of retirement to take an at bat, he bounced out to Williams at second

In attendance was former rockets Jason Stanton, corey locke, paul minnich and coach dean lehrman from heritage high school. 

Last nites game went 2 hr. 8 min.

Rocket record now 19-9 and 11-4 in league play.

And as judge clem stated, we get to do it again today. Rockets play the shady nook jackers tonite in Portland.  Yes, that is the same team that knocked out the rockets in tournament play this past weekend.  Well, this has a revenge match flavor to it,,,,and certainly some home town community spirit will be in vogue …. We will have our friends from crossroads financial credit union help set up the ambush. 7pm at the corner of western and blaine, bring your lawn chairs and root root root for the home team.

Rockets vs. shady nook jackers in a rematch  -----devin wilburn the starter

The rematch ===sounds like a rocky movie, cant wait to see it.  And all those zany folks from crossroads on hand, this will be fun.

Special birthday wishes to Robert freemeyer from ft. recovery and to max ludy, josh ludy’s dad,  and josh is still in texas darn it.  Last nite 3 rocket catchers were unable to make the game, we called blake turner and he backed out of his umpire gig and made the trip to Portland and caught the shutout.  Great work blake.

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Posted Jun 30/11 - email from former rocket terry bultemeirer
Dearest Crudly Pud!
 
Hey, great season thus far with the rocket train!  Keep them moving!
 
Just a quick note to wish you well this year again and to (seriously now) convey my thanks for allowing me to play for the many years with the Rockets.  There is a lot of pride in wearing the yellow & black.  Very much appreciated your father and what he gave to so many of us...the chance to play the game we love(d).  If I calculated correctly, I played 13 years in the Musial league, 11 of them with the Rockets.  No matter the age, that is a huge portion of my life.
 
I'm planning to bring my boys to see the game (13th) at Bellmont against the Decatur shitty pigeons, plus try to find a few more. Because they both have been playing this summer, we haven't had a chance to get to see the Rockets.  We will make it...
 
Thanks again,
 
Terry
Proud Rocket #7
 
 
See ya at the ball field.

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Posted Jun 27/11 - padres tryout info
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The San Diego Padres will hold a tryout camp at Parkview Field on Friday, July 1.

High school and college players between the ages of 16 and 22 who are currently not drafted or under an affiliated Major League Baseball team contract are invited to showcase their baseball skills at the tryout camp conducted by area scouts of the Padres' organization.

 

The tryout is free of charge. Position player check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.; pitchers should check in starting at at 11:30 a.m.

 

Scouting officials and personnel directors of the Padres system will handle the entire camp and will make any decisions on players. Fort Wayne TinCaps personnel will not make any decisions on player signings.

 

Players are not required to pre-register for the tryout camp. All players under the age of 18 will need to have their approved registration waivers signed by a parent or legal guardian before the tryout camp or on the day of the event.

 

All players trying out will need to bring the following items - uniforms, gloves, shoes and/or cleats, and catching equipment if needed. All baseballs, wood bats and batting helmets will be supplied by the Padres' and TinCaps' organization.

For additional information not covered above regarding the tryout camp should contact the TinCaps' front office at (260) 482-6400.

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Posted Jun 27/11 - Rockets good enough thur,fri sat not sun

Rockets defeat van wert 13-5 fri, napolean sat. 1-0, 4-1  drop to at Warsaw 3-5, 1-2

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. Rockets go 4-2 over weekend stretch, down goes Decatur 5-1, down goes van wert 13-5, down goes napolean riverbandits 1-0 and 4-1 but rockettrain kinda ran out of gas in Warsaw,. Doubledipped 5-3  and 2-1.

Fri. rockets rallied from a 3-1 deficit and put up 7 runs in the 9th to defeat van wert twisters 13-5 in van wert.  Brad benbow the winning pitcher in relief of  eathan daggett, Trevor kill closed out.  4 hits by brady roundtree, 3 hits by new rocket cody Campbell from cowan and bsu, a monster home run by nate clem,

Sat at runkle-miller field the rockets sweep the napolean riverbandits 1-0 and 4-1. pitching and defense ,  eric van matre throws a 3 hit shutout 1hr 23 min, masterfully done the eric of old extended himself and was a swing and miss pitcher they swing they miss, 6 Ks.  Geoff bowers 2 out single in the 1st scored Thomas mccowan for the only run.

Game 2 more pitching, more defense-- 6 inn by tyler Holloway , a save for kill and rockets beat a good club 4-1.  1 hr. 26 min on this one-rockets outhit em 7-4 nate clem 2 hits----riverbandits who leave for an Alaska baseball trip this week, were 21-3, now 21-5. 

Samantha Thomas of wpgw, did profiles of each player and she is a media specialist.  She works also for the ft. wayne tincaps.  Hey larry hiatt thanks for coming out  and sharing with us.

Ray cooney, local sports editor, was on hand in the rocket dugout .  just as we were talking, a shot in the hole at short was tagged and ran down by rocket ss brady roundtree, like a wild west gunslinger, cooney shot from the hip his camera ripped off 4 pics of the catch.. impressive!

Happy birthday geoff bowers, 23 .  happy birthday orie poole, the Johnny cash of jay cou nty

Sunday the rockets play games 5,6 in 4 days at grace college vs. Warsaw Indians.  We split with them last week.  Game 1 tyler Reynolds throws 5 shutout innings, but that 2nd inning with his right contact lens giving him fits, they score 5 times—the rocket rally comes up short and we lose 5-3,,,,both teams had 6 hits but they had most of theirs in the fateful 2nd. Ben smith provides instant offense with his 4th home run of the season.  Ben had 2 hits in both games. Rockets muster only  5hits in game 2 vs. warsaw’s best pitcher elliot rowe of bethel college.  Being league leaders, we often see teams best.  Rowe wins 2-1.  rockets struck out 7 times. Our pitcher did a remarkable job, craig martin gave up just 2 runs and was a damage control specialist going 5 innings scattering 6 hits.  Dan bollenbacher threw 1 inn. In relief.  Rocket Dalton tinsely tripled to lead off the 7th and scored on brad benbow’s groundout. But there was no more.  The rockets suffer their 6th one run loss of the season.

Record 14-7 league 9-4.

Rockets return to league action tues 7pm at smiley park, van wert.  Wed. home game at the corner of blaine and western vs. the ohio warhawks. 

Note:  sparky Anderson, longtime manager of the Detroit tigers, had his number 11 retired yesterday in Detroit. Sparky would sign autographs and would say thank you. Always.  He was a man who knew to appreciate.  To paraphrase a comment he made and make it fit this report-----you don’t have to live in Portland to know it’s a great town,,,just go to a ballgame.  So bring your lawnchair and see a great game wed. in Portland.  Thank you Portland.

 

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Posted Jun 24/11 - rockets have new lumber

straight from louisville, coach kevin mccowan on business, did a rocket stop at the bat factory and yes they are louisville sluggers, so lets be sluggers

larry chittum addressed the jay county historical society tues (thanks for the invite larry hiatt) and shared that back in the day a woodbat could be purchased at watson's sporting goods in dunkirk for $3.95 a bat.  mccowan got this major league wood with blemished decals for $40/ bat.  by the way get well wishes to kevin's wife stephanie,,,she has to take care of both kevin and thomas...wow

remember the jackie robinson bat (thick handle) the pete rose and mickey mantle?

geometry lesson:  take a round ball, a round bat and hit it square

 

 

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Posted Jun 24/11 - Rockets beat Decatur again 5-1

rockets vs. rival dirty birds again its portland 5-1 thurs nite at bellmont hs. rockets score 2 in the 6th , 3 in the 7th and knock out any threat decatur has on offense with pitching and defense.

cold, drizzly, wind rocket dan bollenbacher was all about fear the beard, at 6'5"" and with full black beard, the grizzly berne bear was dominate, 5 inn just 2 base runners one walk, one hit,, dan faced one over the min. in 5.  bollenbacher got the win and has now pitched 23 inn, 10 hits 4 bb and 27 ks  very consisent. 

teammate devin wilburn finished up, not as sharp as last outing but 4 inn and 1 runscored on 4 hits.

rockets pretty much won this game with pitching defense, and baserunning----several rockets on base unnerved the birds into throwing errrors.  also 4 stolen bases, 2 double plays. 

rockets had just 7 hits and 11 strikeouts 2 hits by ben smith  --rbi walk to geoff bowers in the 6th , a ground out by nate clem, then dalton tinsely had an rbi single to  right,

rockets now 11-5 on season and 9-2 in league travel to van wert fri  smiley park at 7pm  eathan daggett starter

sat. rockets home at 1pm at runkle-miller field vs. napolean riverbandits  starters eric vanmatre and tyler holloway

sun rocket road warriors at grace college vs. warsaw indians,,,,,tyler reynolds and craig martin starters

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 20/11 - Rockets go 3 out of 4 on weekend, split with warsaw, sweep South Bend

Portland rockets go 3 for 4 on weekend, split with Warsaw, sweep south bend june 20,2011

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Portland rockets this weekend, just like last weekend go  3 out of 4.  rockets split with the Warsaw Indians sat winning 2-0  game 2 we lost 9-8 in 8 innings.  Sunday the rockets swept the south bend sultans at Mishawaka marian h. s. 12-0 and 7-2.

 

 

Sat. Portland beat the Warsaw Indians riding the wing of rocket veteran eric van matre 2-0. eric, assistant coach at ball state, threw 5 inn. No-hit baseball . masterful mixing up of pitches, he is returning to top form after injury last year.  Brad benbow and Trevor kill finished mound duties preserving the shutout. Good crowd on hand , of course the maloys, carl funk, chittum saw a the game in 1 hour 21 min. after a half hour rain delay.

Game 2 rockets came all the way back from a 5-0 deficit, took an 8-5 lead into the last inning, but couldn’t hold it , lose 9-8 in 8 inn.  Craig martin, taylor univ. was not hit hard, but hit with bad luck, giving up 5 runs, 5 hits in 5 inn. Brad benbow quieted the Indian uprising,  and geoff bowers blasted a moon shot to left, home run as the rockets took the lead. Trevor kill who had 3 saves in row, came in the 7th but was touched up and took the loss. Rockets had the winning run at 3rd in the 8th in Dalton tinsely, but after the squeeze was fouled off, a pitch later, Dalton broke for home on a wild pitch.  The ball caromed off the new cement backstop right to the turned around catcher, and it was close but his shoveled toss to the pitcher covering was in time for the out.  Just a split second earlier, Dalton.  Wow 

 

 

Sunday the rockets traveled to Mishawaka  to face north west division foe, south bend sultans.  Portland swept the DH 12-0 and 7-2.  game one tyler Reynolds, Muncie threw a nohitter in the 5 inn game.  Only 1 man reached base. Every time out we become more impressed with this lefthander------Tyler struck out 4, 56 pitches in his masterpiece. lefthanders----  wilburn, van matre, martin, and Reynolds--- pretty impressive arms stash from the left side. Righthanders bollenbacker, kill, benbow, Holloway and daggett.

Sunday was a treat: game one, every rocket starter had at least one hit and ben smith maria stein, hit a monster home run in each game., 3 on the young season .  I love games we win especially when we have a double play and a home run.   We had 4 double plays on the day. 

Game 2 was all tyler Holloway , complete game much like his last start, a 3 hitter allowing 2 runs, 1 earned.  And his knuckler was working.

Offensively this weekend the rockets are timing it up, 44 hits in 4 games-home runs by bowers and smith but check this out—brady roundtree Anderson in the last 5 games

Roundtree 17 ab 10 hits  also bowers 14 ab 9hits, mccowan 16 ab 7 hits, miller 11ab 6 hits

Rockets have won 9 out of last 11 and are now 10-5 overall, 8-2 in league as leaders of the eastern division of the heartland amateur league. Rockets have 3 days off before rematch with Decatur thurs at bellmont h.s.  fri at van wert. Sat home vs. napolean sun (schedule has a glitch) we go to warsaw.

Congrats to heath Williams voted player of the week by the league. 

Happy birthday sat to donna chittum and today, jack houck and john brigham

 

 

 

 

Interesting note;  Mishawaka marian lost to Crawfordsville in the state finals sat. at victory field Indianapolis. We were on their field sun. and met coach jim Aldridge and wished him well,.. one of south bend’s pitchers attends bethel college---his coach is seth zartman former rocket and owner of some of thelongest balls hit in Portland---this kid pitched sun after his bachelor party sat nite.. special thanks to judge tom clem for his help in the press box. 

Tues I will speak at 7 pm to the jay county historical society on the history of the Portland rockets. All are welcome to attend. I had a special visit last week with Maggie runkle and we went over Richard runkle’s detailed scrapbooks.  Richard her son, founded the rockets in 1960---did you know the Portland’s team original name?? Our boys.

Note by coach john Edwards Warsaw on sat. DH in Portland.

Classy day, classy program

 

 

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Posted Jun 17/11 - Rockets win 7-6 over Huntington at Forest Glen Park

Portland Rockets 7 Huntington Foresters 6  June 16, 2011

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  The Portland rockets defeated the Huntington foresters thrus. Eve at forest glen park 7-6.  the rocket train keeps rolling---6 wins in the last 7 games.  But it wasn’t a walk in the glen park---

Bottom of the 9th with the fog rolling in,  Trevor kill coaxed a ground ball to second baseman zach tumulty with the tying run at second to seal the deal.  Kill’s second save in 2 games.

This contest, 2hr and 39 min was a back and forth, see saw affair.  Forestes up 2 in the first ,rockets up 2 in the second – they touched up starter eathan daggett , he too from Huntington just off coach degitz high school sectional championship team, 5 runs in 3 inn and the score is tied 5-5 in the 5th .   with one out in the 6th  catcher chris miller, Winchester, singled –tough at bat with 2 strikes, chris tillery breaks his bat but places it to right for  another hit, brady roundtree  and ben smith prove to be clutch performers, each with a solid run producing hit. 

Dan bollenbacker pitched the middle 3 inn and picked up the win, dan nursing a blister on his right hand, struck out 6 allowing only 1 hit.  Brad benbow went the next 2 and shut em down. Trevor kill, 4th rocket pitcher the save in the 9th.

20 rockets in the dugout, more batting practice with coach Kevin mccowan is paying off.

Rocket offense 12 hits on the game, we cut down our whiff ratio---only 4  Ks.

Brady roundtree the leader with 3 hits from the lead off spot in heath Williams absence,,2 hits each by geoff bowers and Thomas mccowan.  Chris tillery scored 2 runs.

Rockets win now moves the season record to 7-4

Rockets will host the Warsaw Indians sat at runkle-miller field at 2pm  starters eric van matre, and craig martin.  The rockets will then travel to Mishawaka sun to marian high school vs. the south bend sultans, tyler Reynolds and tyler Holloway the starters.

Side note:  Warsaw always loves to come to Portland to stay the night then play Decatur on their return trip Sunday.  Main reason:  a visit to rocket sponsor the greasy pickle, in fact they often make both the pickle and buffalo wings and rings.

Today I have the good fortune to pay a visit to Maggie runkle—her husband was the pioneer who founded the rockets in 1959. Maggie, sharp and very neat lady is 97 and she is quite willing to share with me some of her scrap books and artifacts of early rockets days.  Very timely as I will speak at the jay county historical society museum tues nite .

By the way rocket nation is everywhere---our opponents last nite had 5 former rockets on their team.  coach Andrew Drummond played with the rockets in 2007 in the aabc regional in Evansville .  also tribolet, mills, palmer, and brannock were with the rockets in the past couple seasons.

Reminder 2pm start vs. Warsaw Indians

Rockets 5-1 in heartland league standings, Indians 4-3

Check league info on heartland amateur baseball league on the web.

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Posted Jun 15/11 - Rockets outduel Decatur 2-0

Portland Rockets 2 Decatur Dirty Birds 0 June 14, 2011

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. 2 rival teams met and battled in Portland at runkle-miller field and the battle turned into a duel, a  pitcher’s duel

The rockets defeated Decatur tues nite 2-0 and the guns were smoking. Rocket pitchers struck out 16 birds, allowing but 3 hits and walked just 2 .  the guns were impressive to say the least, a nine inning game that lasted 2hr 5 min.  a big game atmosphere with a big crowd on hand, and the duel was on.

 

 

Devin wilburn, Selma, and ball state, was on fire.  Wilburn went 6 inn striking out 10 allowing 2 hits. Enter eric van matre, veteran who debuts after pitching in only 1 game last year—an emotional and testy appearance for eric, he proved to be awesome, 2 innings striking out 4. eric a ball state assistant baseball coach, and of course, mamma matre, his mom, and team mom lisa was there and that is so cool.  Trevor kill of st. marys closed the 9th and he struck out 2 more, guns ablazing.

 

Scott baker, the Decatur pitcher, will attend bsu next year. And he was a gunner as well,  he had 11 k’s and ryan leaguers and he limited the locals to 2 runs on 4 hits.

 

 

Portland scored a run in the 5th and one in the 6th .  Dalton  tinsely walked, stole second and scored on brad benbow’s seeing eye single up the middle.  Brad kindred, leadoff hitter in heath Williams absence, heath has a sprained ankle will be out for a while,  brad walked to lead off the 6th , went  to 2nd on brady roundtree’s single, abvanced to 3rd on a passed ball and scored on ben smith’s sac fly.

 

 

Rockets have now won 5 of last 6, and lead the eastern division of the heartland league with  a  5-1 mark, team record 6-4 overall.  Next game at Huntington university, at forest glen park thurs at 7 pm . eathan daggett of Huntington, our starter.  Next home games sat at 2pm :  note the change from 4pm,  we play the Warsaw Indians at 2pm at runkle-miller field. Starters for sat are tentatively listed as craig martin and eric van matre

 

 

Side note :  happy birthday billy wellman  and to former rocket Cameron brannock

Check out the cool rocket schedule on the rocket lunching pad----special thanks to pengap printing.

 

 

A first ever at runkle-miller field, you can listen to the broadcast of last nite’s game, yes, I said broadcast on www.adamscountyvoice.com-- I broadcasted football for them last fall and coach victor canales of Decatur and his sidekick steph have done much on the broadcast trail.

Portland has the makings of a bonafide pitching staff---who will fit what roles!!!  5 games in 4 days and do it again starting thurs.

How do you number these 9?  Bollenbacher,Martin,Wilburn,Reynolds, Holloway,Benbow,VanMatre,Daggett,Kill  5 rhp, 4 lhp

Lets build an Indian ambush for sat. at 2pm vs. warsaw

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 15/11 - Rockets outduel Decatur 2-0

Portland Rockets 2 Decatur Dirty Birds 0 June 14, 2011

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. 2 rival teams met and battled in Portland at runkle-miller field and the battle turned into a duel, a  pitcher’s duel

The rockets defeated Decatur tues nite 2-0 and the guns were smoking. Rocket pitchers struck out 16 birds, allowing but 3 hits and walked just 2 .  the guns were impressive to say the least, a nine inning game that lasted 2hr 5 min.  a big game atmosphere with a big crowd on hand, and the duel was on.

 

Devin wilburn, Selma, and ball state, was on fire.  Wilburn went 6 inn striking out 10 allowing 2 hits. Enter eric van matre, veteran who debuts after pitching in only 1 game last year—an emotional and testy appearance for eric, he proved to be awesome, 2 innings striking out 4. eric a ball state assistant baseball coach, and of course, mamma matre, his mom, and team mom lisa was there and that is so cool.  Trevor kill of st. marys closed the 9th and he struck out 2 more, guns ablazing.

 

Scott baker, the Decatur pitcher, will attend bsu next year. And he was a gunner as well,  he had 11 k’s and ryan leaguers and he limited the locals to 2 runs on 4 hits.

 

Portland scored a run in the 5th and one in the 6th .  Dalton  tinsely walked, stole second and scored on brad benbow’s seeing eye single up the middle.  Brad kindred, leadoff hitter in heath Williams absence, heath has a sprained ankle will be out for a while,  brad walked to lead off the 6th , went  to 2nd on brady roundtree’s single, abvanced to 3rd on a passed ball and scored on ben smith’s sac fly.

 

Rockets have now won 5 of last 6, and lead the eastern division of the heartland league with  a  5-1 mark, team record 6-4 overall.  Next game at Huntington university, at forest glen park thurs at 7 pm . eathan daggett of Huntington, our starter.  Next home games sat at 2pm :  note the change from 4pm,  we play the Warsaw Indians at 2pm at runkle-miller field. Starters for sat are tentatively listed as craig martin and eric van matre

 

Side note :  happy birthday billy wellman  and to former rocket Cameron brannock

Check out the cool rocket schedule on the rocket lunching pad----special thanks to pengap printing.

 

A first ever at runkle-miller field, you can listen to the broadcast of last nite’s game, yes, I said broadcast on www.adamscountyvoice.com-- I broadcasted football for them last fall and coach victor canales of Decatur and his sidekick steph have done much on the broadcast trail.

Portland has the makings of a bonafide pitching staff---who will fit what roles!!!  5 games in 4 days and do it again starting thurs.

How do you number these 9?  Bollenbacher,Martin,Wilburn,Reynolds, Holloway,Benbow,VanMatre,Daggett,Kill  5 rhp, 4 lhp

Lets build an Indian ambush for sat. at 2pm vs. warsaw

 

 

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Posted Jun 13/11 - Rockets win 3 out of 4 on region roadtrip

June 12, 2011 Portland Rockets take 3 out of 4 on Mich. City road trip

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Portland rockets road trip to

The region resulted in a resounding success—rockets win 3 games, lose one.  Sat. 18 rockets made the trip to Michigan city and swept the lakers, 6-0 and 3-2.  Sunday in whiting Indiana, the team split games with the northwest patriots losing 5-4, then rebounding with a big 10-1 win.  Mich. city , one  time a home for minor leaguers turned major leaguers, juan marichal, and many,matty,jesus alou and others.  For the weekend we had more players, more fans, and

More runs, we outscored our foes 23-8 in the weekend. 

Sat. big dan bollenbacher rocket ace, went the distance with a 6 hit shutout rockets win 6-0.  55* and blustery, foggy strange day but the rockets went on to sweep as craig martin from marion kept pace, with relief help from new pitcher ethan daggett from Huntington, martin 6 inn. 7 hits and some strong defense including a catch by heath Williams that had everyone looking for a replay.  Martin defeated a pitcher just released from AA Milwaukee, we had 3 hits in game 2.  key, scoring first-williams  the straw that stirs the drink got the party started, a bunt single, stole second, scored on geoff bowers single. 

Sunday the rockets traveled past merriville, past Hammond, past east Chicago to  starndard oil park, a new $5million dollar complex in whiting and a beautiful ballpark indeed. With oil refineries on the perimeter, rockets got off to a big bang, a big ben smith (maria stein) blast over the right field wall, Portland had a 4-1 lead over the northwest patriots thru  4 inn.  But the home team scrapped back and tied the game off lefthander tyler Reynolds in the 6th . reynold, 97 pitches his family reports, a yeomen’s effort gave way to brad bendow (delta) in the last inning and after an obvious blown call on an out at third, took the loss 5-4.  again we need that replay board---portland represented themselves well in all phases on the trip, personally proud of their conduct, but several umpire discretions tested our mettle---

Rockets rebound in game 2 with a big 10-1 win to make a statement.  Tyler Holloway went all the way scattering 4 hits, 93 pitches, many knuckleballs.

Thomas mcowan, chris tillery and Dalton tinsely (kokomo) had 2 hits each.

On the weekend, tinsely, bowers, and mccowan led the offense with 5 hits.  Williams had 4 .  special thanks to coach Kevin mccowan for the extra bp.  But really the starting pitching was key in this 4 game set.  Bollenbacher, martin, Reynolds, and Holloway all going deep into games, complete games, bollenbacher and Holloway.

Rockets now have won 4 out of thelast 5, and record overall 5-4, 4-1 in heartland league play.  Check the league website www.league/lineupheartland  (google) for updates and maps.

Rockets the road warriors, took some chinks in their armour, injuries to nate clem, severe bruise right hand-day to day, likewise heath Williams turned ankle preparing for his 5th stolen base of the weekend, also chandler sidwell still 2 weeks on hamstring.

Rockets return to a tues matchup with league foe and rival ,  Decatur dirty birds.  Rockets will send ball state lefthander devin wilburn to the hill, and hopefully tues will mark the return of lefthander eric van matre,. Also of ball state.

Check your rocket website for upcoming games and news

www.ballcharts.com/portlandrockets2010

rockets tues 7pm bring your lawn chairs-----should be a big game atmosphere

 

 

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Posted Jun 8/11 - Rockets win 12-1 over Van Wert in home opener

Portland Rockets 12 Van Wert Twisters 1  June 7,2011

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.  Baseball at the runkle-miller field last nite and it was fun to see everyone, fun to play at the corner, fun to win

12-1 over vanwert.  Meet the team night, 20 rockets were introduced before a fine opening nite crowd, and the team did not disappoint. The locals scored as they often do, first, captain and home town favorite heath Williams walked, stole second, and scored on ss brady roundtree’s long double to rightcenter.  Roundtree then scored on nate clem’s single..  Clem of Anderson gave the crowd a jolt with a vicious home run smash in the 3rd, that cleared the left field fence on a line, and rolled to the woods.  

Clem had 2 hits as did c geoff bowers, 3 hits for cf brad kindred.  The rockets had 17 hits in the 7 inning contest. Also cody Johnson ft. wayne had a 3 run double to the gap in right.

 In discussion with ray cooney, he pointed out that the competition we faced in Richmond and Celina no doubt, has us ready for these league games.  Those power arms we faced last week have us timed up and more ready at the plate. 

Also on showcase was mound performer, left hander devin willburn of Selma.  He went 4 perfect innings and not one ball was hit out of the infield. he struck out 7 of the 12 he faced.  He could have perhaps pitched a perfect game,  but we are developing a staff so tyler Holloway and brad benbow completed the chores,  and no hits for van wert, that’s right,  wilburn, Holloway and benbow combine on a no-hitter.

Mercy rule in effect, this titanic struggle –2 hr. 7 min

But just  as important, we played a home game, so much to be thankful for, so thanks city parks dept, moving all that grass, rocky Williams for moving twice the infield, jim eyink for bring your work crew out, james Brewster Brewster electric for his full day on the lights project, judge clem for his field help, gyles laux for posting game today sign

See this home game, not just the Selma kid, the Pendleton guy, the jay county guy, this successful venture made possible by the team effort.  Thanks for the support, love ya in Portland and the sea of lawn chairs in the shade, the kids know we have something in this town.  Cant wait to see all the folks next tues when Decatur comes to town.  Special!

Rockets record now 2-3, and big project in store,,longest road trip of year,,,,league DH in mich city sat, then in whiting vs. northwest patriots on sun.  Portland will be represented and they always save their best for us.  Check out league standings on www.leaguelineup/heartland league.com  happy birthday tyler Reynolds, 20  good to visit with my coach larry chittum  did I mention don and marilyn maloy in the house???

Rocket train to Michigan city sat   roll on rockettrain  

Samantha from the radio station has some pictures of last nite’s action  check www.wpgwradio.com on the facebook link.

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 6/11 - Rockets fall 1-0 to Grand Lake Celina

Rockets return to celina’s jim hoess field Sunday for a 9-inning wood bat contest with

The grand lake mariners. Same results. We battled, we competed, we played well enough

To win, same results as sat, we lost, we didn’t score  grand lake 1 portland 0 in 2 hr 19 min.

A gem pitched by rocket lefthander craig martin of marion went by  the wayside,  he went 6 innings (1st rocket starter to do so) no runs, 2 hits, one walk and 2 Ks.  Grand lake touched reliever tyler Reynolds with an unearned run in the 7th  as tyler struck out 3 in his 2 inn. Work giving up just 1 hit. In that 7th ,grand lake 3rd baseman corey klenke, of coldwater,  a rocket someday I hope, singled, sac bunt to 2nd, stole third? The ump said, then scored on a throwing error from third.   Each team had 3 hits, we had 8 baserunners to their 7. 4 runners in scoring position but they never dented the plate.

Brad smith, brad kindred, and geoff bowers each had a hit.

The rockets loaded the bases with 1 out in the 4th, but after fouling off a squeeze attempt, tom mccowan grounded to pitcher for a rally ending DP

Rockets had the tying run at second in 9th but a strikeout ended that threat. 

Lots of rocket fans in attendance saw rocket starter martin retire the 1st nine he faced.  Talk about grooving game time 2hr 19 min game time in Cincinnati sun 3:50

Rockets will get their groove on tues 1st home game vs. the van wert twisters.  Devin wilburn of Selma the starter, portland’s team is 1-3 but have all games have been 1 run affairs.  Come these warriors, you will be amazed, our ss,2nd baseman, cf are fast, faster and fastest, wow

Great to see rocket rooter scott bollenbacher and family, and happy birthday . happy birthday also to rocket tony mccowan, and to gary miller of the pitstop.  And buckshot may  Have you heard? Miracle lanes softball and gary Bernard wins another tournament,  MVP stumpy

Tues it’s meet the team nite

Rockets vs. van wert at the corner of western and blaine,  bring your lawn chair, cooler and play music trivia with dan haines our pa guy

Take me out to the ballgame, in Portland tues 7pm

 

 

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Posted Jun 5/11 - Rockets lose to Grand Lake 1-0 in 10 innings

in the young season, we have a 1-2 record, the 2 loses by 1 run each in extra innings  yes, we compete, contend, and are in the hunt each game against pitching of an upper echeleon  saturday again 3 games and 3 times we K 14 times akron, xavier, eastern ky,  they are solid power pitcher we must adjust

rockets lose 1-0 mustering but 2 hits, heath williams and nate clem,  5 base runners in the 10 inning game that went 2 hr 29 min.  chris tillery had 99 degrees on his truck gauge but dan bollenbacher on the mound was dominate thru 4 inn striking out 5 2 hits,  brad benbow was his equal the next 3, tyler holloway likewise,, we allowed 4 hits walking but 2.

in the tenth, a pop up near the mound dropped among 3 rocket infielders and the winning run soon crossed on a sac bunt, a phantom balk call and with the infield in a single over ss

brady roundtree at ss made a play for all seasons, throwing out a batter from left field as he ranged into the hole and came up firing ala jeter,

this team is still in its development stage but will contend  game today 1pm vs. celina at jim hoess field  craig martin to start tyler reynolds. chris tillery in relief

Note:  hamstring pull sidelines rocket catcher from anderson chandler sidwell, former north=south indiana all star

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Posted Jun 2/11 - rockets lose heartbreaker 3-2 to richmond in 10 innings

RICHMOND RIVERRATS 3 PORTLAND ROCKETS 2 10 INNINGS

 

AT RICHMOND JOHN CATE FIELD,  JUNE 1, 2011

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland. Bottom of the ninth, Portland leads Richmond 2-1, 2 out, nobody on base and but one pitch away from winning back to back games vs. the riverrats.  Lefthander craig martin of taylor u., in his third inning of relief, found fate unkind.  A seemingly harmless walk, a single to right and ben smiths throw to third got by Thomas mccowan, and in blink of an eye, the score tied.  2 – 2 in the tenth, heath Williams singles, advances to second, but becomes the 11th  man left on base,  rocket tyler Reynolds who pitched well last nite, takes the tough loss after a single, stolen base-error, and with the infield in , a ground ball well played by Williams at second, throw just off the mark at the plate, Richmond wins 3-2 in ten innings.

 

The rockets had 5 pitchers hold off the home team thru 9—ball state lefthander devin wilburn drew much  praise from the opposing coaching staff, he went 4 innings and gave up one run on 5 hits, struck out 5,   mike werling, brad benbow (delta) each 1 shutout inning, craig martin went the last 3 before Reynolds in the 10th.  Had the game ended on the 9th inning ground ball single to right, we would have finished in 2 hr 22 min.  not to be---

 

Rockets out hit em again wed nite, 9-8  captain heath Williams, the straw that stirs the drink, finding his all-american form, led all players with 4 hits but strangly, never scored, in fact 3 times runners from 3rd with less than 2 outs were left stranded.  Too many strike outs, 14, ouch. 

 

Brady roundtree ss of Anderson, many considered the best player on the field in the 2 game set, just missed a home run in the 6th, ended up with 3 hits.  Richmond is in the prospects league, play chiloquothe today, 43 players from their league have been drafted into the pro ranks.  Players from st. xaiver, st. boneventure, heck I know where st. Anthony is,, we like those guys, chad wendel, chico, and richy vogel.anyway , the rivverats are tough, and they whopped us good last year, but they quickly see that Portland has a much improved team. 

 

Rockets continue on the road to Celina sat and sun vs. the grand lake mariners,,,another tough foe, this one from the great lakes conference.  Our league the heartland league,  division teams include Portland, Decatur dirty birds, Warsaw Indians, and van wert twisters.    Lets have rocket rooters out at Westfield park on fairground round rooting the boys on.  Coach john cate, hall of fame inductee, high school, college, we all have heard of the roosters, his pro team in Richmond,  we talked at length, the ball field is named in his honor and deservedly so.. former rockets to play with the roosters, doug Bolton , john pettibone, and pete byrum.

 

Sat rockets play at 2 pm Celina, dan bollenbacher and craig martin starters Sunday devin wilburn the 1pm starter,  see ya in Celina roll on rockettrain

 

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Posted Jun 1/11 - Rockets win Opener 6-4 over Richmond

PORTLAND ROCKETS 6 RICHMOND RIVER RATS 4

June 1, 2011

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland--- and happy june 1, happy summer of 2011.  the Portland rockets opened their 52nd  season last nite at beautiful mcbride stadium on john cate field in Richmond last evening.  And this years new version of Portland’s team won 6-4.  certainly a new team, but with an old winning formula , pitching, defense and timely hitting.   Behind returning veteran dan bollenbacher of berne, the rockets retired the river rats 12 up and 12 down, thanks to 2 baserunners cut down by catcher geoff bowers (lima)., dan faced the minimum in 4 inn.allowing but 1 hit and 1 walk. Scoreless into the 7th, Portland drew 1st blood when 3rd year rocket Thomas mccowan walked, stole second and scored on chandler sidwell (kokomo) base hit.  Richmond in their half scored 3 off tyler Reynolds (Muncie)  and tyler Holloway (Anderson) but the rocket rally ----now there is an old welcome concept-

4 runs in the 8th  rbi singles by ben smith (maria stein) Thomas mccowan, and chandler sidwell.  Brady roundtree (Anderson) tacked on an insurance run after tripling in the ninth.  But it is never easy, on a 92 degree nite, closer Holloway loaded the bases and the riverrats had the tying and winning runs on, truly a gutcheck, but Holloway ensued the hitter to pop out to roundtree----several special defensive plays by our up-the-middle guys, roundtree, team captain and 7 yr.vet, heath Williams, and cf brad kindred,,,man can this kid fly.

Round tree and sidwell 2 hits each –portland outhit em 10-7

Rockets return to Richmond tonite address 201 n w 13th st. devin wilburn of ball state(wapahani) the starter.  Rockets play this weekend in Celina then home on june 7   special note of appreciation  baseball icon john cate has coached and impacted baseball at many levels, many ways including as a pioneer of the professional richmond roosters---congrats on having the field at mcbride stadium dedicated as john cate field,,,,,proud of our association with this connected baseball man

note game is at 7pm at 201 n w 13th street

come support porrtland

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Posted Apr 25/11 - former rocket and ball state cardinal lorenzo scott joins mets

ball state linebacker lorenzo scott has speed and NFL credentials but baseball was to be his vehicle to professional sports.  after spending a summer with portland in the outfield, lorenzo was signed by pittsburgh in the baseball draft and currently is playing minor league ball for the mets.  may the force be with lorenzo, i am sure he has fond memories of playing ball in portland his last year as an amatuer.

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Apr 25/11 - randy miller names to NSPBA hall of fame

Coach randy miller has been named to the National Semi-Pro baseball hall of fame.  Coach miller is entering his 40th year as a rocket.  guess longevity is a good thing.  ray miller was in the first class ever inducted into the hall of fame in 2007 along with long time friend and foe, mick owens of kokomo.

trivia:  the last ever kokomo memorial day weekend tourament was won by the portland rockets in 2000.....keith nunley, matt luce, matt deckman, scott hall, matt ousley, jim geeslin, and many others were key contributors

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Posted Apr 25/11 - portland city parks department has more renovations in store

on the heals of the newly installed $15,000 backstop last july at runkle-miller field, the city parks department has more renovations on the field in store.  already a load of clay/dirt has been provided.  nature's green lawn care services are again contracted to service the luscious green at portland's field, site of the world baseball congress national tournament. 

 

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Posted Apr 25/11 - portland moose to host a benefit dance/meet the team nite
the portland moose is in the process of scheduling a benefit dance/meet the team nite in portland at a date to be announced.  they have already benefited many a good cause in portland and dave lyons is willing to work with our team to have a special nite in their behalf.  the band for the evening is depending on availablity, grove hill band.  a moose nite will be scheduled upon completion of schedule at runkle-miller field

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Posted Apr 25/11 - congrats pete milas and eric vanmatre
congratulations to former rockets pete milas and eric vanmatre for their assignments as assistant coaches for coach marconi at ball state.  milas, rocket shortstop for many championship seasons also serves as 1st base coach and proudly gave me the tripod sign when i was at bsu watching the cards beat rocket nick bruns (his first MAC loss). vanmatre, still in shape, is hoping to pitch again this year again for portland.  he serves as bsu volunteer assistant.

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Posted Aug 8/10 - rockets lose to cinci chiefs 1-0 end tournament trail and season

To:                                               cr.sports@comcast.net; ramiller15@embarqmail.com

 

Subject:                                     rockets

 

 

Rockets lose in Cincinnati nabf tournament 1-0 to Cincinnati chiefs   loss ends tournament run and season

 

Rockets end year 19-19

Bill geeslin pitched a gem giving up 2 hits but the rockets only had 3 on the day . The proverbial rocket rally was not to be this day, the rockets did put the 1st two runners on in the 7th inning, single by bryan brudi and a walk to justin Marrero just back from the great lakes conference tournament

 

, but after a failed sacrifice attempt, riley muhlenkamp hit into a double play and thomas mccowan popped out and the rally was squashed.

 

Geeslin gave up a lead off two strike double to  start the 1st inning and after advancing  on a ground out , the only run of the game scored on a wild pitch. 

 

Bill gave up 2 hits , walked 3 and struck out 3, all in  a game that lasted one hr and 18 minutes

 

Bill went the last 5 innings pitching no hit baseball.

 

Rockets had hits from heath Williams and mark Isenberg and bryan brudi.

Just yesterday the rockets had 0 hits losing 4-1 to Cincinnati cobalts  left 0 runners on base,  tonite rockets leave 3 but get shut out 1-0

 

Portland defense turned 3 double plays in the game and made many defensive gems as they have all season to keep the game close.

20 portland ambassadors of summer baseball on hand  to finish the year , Portland travels well and as always, more fans, more players but this time not more runs/ as you may recall the rockets played 5 games in regional last year, only to lose in the championship game to the detroit jet box.

Said coach miller,  we have pitching still waiting in the wings, mounsey, walters, mills, and palmer,  as we prepared for a  5 game marathon, but it wasn’t meant to be as rocket s go out 2 and done

special thanks to all rocket fans and families, as well as to coach kevin mccowan for his many contributions.

thanks also to max and sheri ludy, david lyons, and don and marilyn maloy for their donations.

a big rocket thanks to all rocket sponsors for a great year in portland

and best wishes to our rocket facebook photographer lisa van matre on her medical recovery.

dont forget the rocket golf outing sept. 25 at the portland golf club

as we sign off for an other. we echo the same sentiment cubs fans do annually, just wait till next year

love ya in portland, this is randy miller pg 14

 

 

 

 

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Posted Aug 6/10 - Round One of NABF Regionals - Cincinnati Cobalts 4 Portland Rockets 1
Good morning baseball fans! It’s a beautiful day in Portland!

The Portland Rockets played in round one of the North Central NAB Baseball Regionals in Cincinnati last evening and lost to Cincinnati Cobalts 4-1.


 Game was a close one through 6 innings as score stood 2-1 against the Cincy league and City Champions. As you may recall Portland defeated the Cincinnati Chiefs last Friday in the World Baseball Congress Tournament in Portland 10-1. They will be our opponent at Roselawn Park tonight at 6:30 pm.

Rockets dented the plate first when Heath Williams (the straw that stirs the drink) walked, stole second, and scored on Bryan Brudi’s ground out. But, that would be it for the offense, in fact the Cobalt pitcher fired at no-hitter as only 2 rockets reached base, Williams and Muhlenkamp via walks. Dan Bollenbacher battled thru 5 innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits, striking out 5. Tyler Mills gave up 2 runs in the last inning.

Cincinnati Cobalts record 18-8; Rocket record now 18-18.

The Rockets regroup tonight vs. the Cincinnati Chiefs at 6:30 at Roselawn Park with Bill Geeslin on the mound. Returning at a great time is infielder, Justin Marrero, who arrived last night about 10 pm after his game with the Ohio Copperheads. He stayed in Kevin McCowan's room and we are happy to have him. Rockets win the 6:30 game and will play at 9pm as well tonight.

Nineteen Rockets, (well 20 counting me) are Ambassadors of Portland and were proud of them! Let's go Portland!

this is randy miller pg14

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Posted Aug 2/10 - championship battle creek 4 portland 1

Battle creek behnke wins world baseball congress title, rockets runnersup

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland happy august everyone

The world baseball congress national tournament concluded yesterday at runkle-miller field. 8 teams from 5 states, Indiana, ohio,Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky- competed and it came down to 2 teams on championship Sunday.  Portland rockets and the battle creek buds,  .  your winner, battle creek behnke 4-1 over the rockets.  The 2 teams had met on Saturday nite and battle creek beat Portland 4-3 but Portland was declared winner of their pool based on the fact they had allowed 2 fewer runs in pool play than behnke. 

So on championship Sunday, the in semifinals action, Portland rockets defeated the northwest patriots from Merrillville, and battle creek took out the Illinois jayhawks.

Portland lost then in the finals to battlecreek, 4-1 spoiling a fine pitching effort by mitch waters who gave up 3 earned runs on 5 hits, striking out 10.  the rockets only could muster 2 hits vs. the battle creek 18 yr old pitcher cam bortell, one of them a home run by bryan brudi.  We only had 4 hits against em on sat. nite in that 4-3 loss.

 

 

Rockets won on Friday nite, 10-1 over Cincinnati chiefs, mitch waters 6 innings of no hit baseball,  then on Saturday after a 2hour rain delay, Portland defeated ft. wayne pirates 12-4. will walters pitched a 5 hitter striking out 10, brian brudi 4 hits, mark isenberg had 3. so Portland was 2-0 and set for the big battle creek game.  Playoff atmosphere to be sure.  Battle creek took down dan bollenbacker with 4 runs scored in the middle innings but on 6 hits and 6 walks,Derek mounsey in to finish em off, but Portland conjured up a rocket rally in the last inning, scoring 3 times and brudi at 3rd with the tying run,,, mitch hit it hard, but a fine defensive play nailed brudi at the plate, behnke wins 4-3

The rockets Sunday knocked out the northwest patriots 6-2 behind 5 hit pitching by bill geeslin.  Bill struck out 8 in 6 innings, mounsey again finished em off.  0-0 in the 4th , rockets loaded the bases, mitch waters drives in one run, Thomas mccowan’s double drives in 3 rockets lead 4-0 and cruise to the 6-2 win.

 

 

Lots of compliments on a fine tournament, good crowds, good food good competition. And we are Portland proud of our facility. Truly the big city has nothing over Portland on a baseball park  and its fans.  Special thanks to jeff harker and doug blankenbaker for their efforts.  Also to those on field preparations,, brad miller, rocky Williams and david waters.  And its always fun to have mickey and gary out there at the lunching pad.  Great show put  together by director victor canales.

All 3 days at the ball park we raffled off free nite stays at the holiday inn express and also coupons were given for buffalo wings and rings.  Portland went to bat and did well……

As tournament runnersuup, the rockets had 4 players on the all-tourney team…  of. bryan brudi went 8 – 15 on the weekend scoring 8 runs and had 7 rbi,,,,,,,mitch waters pitched 2 big games struck out 17 in 13 innings, also went 4-15 at the plate, heath Williams went 6-13 scoring 5 runs, 3 rbi bill geeslin pitched portlands win over northwest 5hits, 8 ks.

Thomas mccowan also had 6 hits for the weekend.

That completes all baseball in Portland this season, but the rockets advance to nabf regionals this Thursday in Cincinnati. 

Rockets lose championship game to battle creek to complete the wbc tournament.

Winners received a trophy, medallions for each player, a wbc banner by pengap, we like those guys , and numerous team photos.  MVP was ss kyle kracht.

Portland got the second place trophy, not as cool as the championship trophy we won in ft wayne july  4th weekend, and each player received a medallion .

Rocket roadtrip to Cincinnati in regionals

We love ya in Portland

This is randy miller pg 14

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Posted Aug 2/10 - WBC Tournament Wrap-Up News

Subject: 2010 National championships concluded

The 2010 national championships were again played in the town of Portland, Indiana. The tournament has already grown to include teams from 5 different states with more teams inquiring every day about the next tournament. After three days of baseball were complete, the Battle Creek Behnke squad from Michigan had ran to a 4-1 record and the national championship. In pool play, the Battle Creek team defeated the Fort Wayne Pirates 18-1 on Friday night for a great start to the tournament.

On Saturday afternoon, the Behnke team took their only loss of the tournament in pool play when the Cincinnati Chiefs took them down 6-4. Knowing they faced a must win game, Battle Creek got the job done against the host team, Portland Rockets, on Saturday night 4-3.

On championship Sunday, Battle Creek faced off with the defending national champions from Chicago, the Illinois Jayhawks. Playing like champions through injuries and fatigue, Behnke persevered against the champs 6-2 as Illinois through their star pitcher from Rice University. This set the stage for a return bout with the Rockets and hometown hero Mitch Waters. But, Behnke was not to be denied as they rode the wave of momentum touching the Rockets star for 4 runs, 3 earned on the day to take the championship home to Michigan. For his play in the tournament, Kyle Kracht of Battle Creek was named national player of the year, adding his name to the trophy that includes last years player of the year from Chicago, Jon Kuzilinski.

"I was impressed with the level of competition at this years tournament.", stated tournament co-director Victor Canales. "You had league champions from different state who didn't make it to championship Sunday. 4 ranked teams, and players from all different levels of baseball on the field. It's a great tournament to be a part of and we are only going to get bigger!"

There were great crowds all weekend and the teams were very impressive. So one more year goes into the books with the final national rankings coming out in two weeks. Results from the weekend Pool "a" Portland Rockets (IN) 2-1 Battle Creek Behnke (MI) 2-1 Cincinnati Chiefs (OH) 2-1 Fort Wayne Pirates (IN) 0-3 Pool "b" Illinois Jayhawks 3-0 Northwest Patriots (IN) 2-1 Decatur Dirty Birds (IN) 1-2 Louisville Angels (KY) 0-3 Championship Sunday Battle Creek over Illinois Portland over Northwest Championship game Battle Creek 4, Portland 1 wp- Cam Bortell lp-Mitch Waters 2010

All American's Fort Wayne-Jason Nantz, pitcher Louisville- Kiley Jones, outfield-pitcher Decatur- Dan Maringer, catcher Decatur- Travis Case, designated hitter Decatur- Ryan Leugers, pitcher Illinois- Kevin Graham, outfield Illinois- Jon Kuzilinksi, catcher Illinois- Dan Claddis, pitcher Cincinnati- Josh Scipner, outfield Cincinnati- Rex Baker, first basemen Cincinnati- Ronnie Witt, pitcher Northwest- Tony Hoolihan, pitcher Northwest- Chris Skibinski, first basemen Northwest- Jeff Strbjak, outfield Portland- Heath Williams second base Portland- Bryan Brudi, outfield Portland- Bill Geeslin, Pitcher Portland- Mitch Waters, Pitcher Battle Creek- David Blaylock, Pitcher Battle Creek- Travis May, first basemen Battle Creek- Dave Larson, Designated hitter National player of the year Battle Creek, Kyle Kracht, shortstop

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Posted Jul 31/10 - ROCKETS OVER CINCINNATI 10-1 IN FIRST ROUND WBC PLAY FRIDAY NIGHT

WBC Round 1       Portland Rockets 10   Cincinnati Chiefs 1

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

Portland hosts the World Baseball Congress National Tournament this weekend.

Games were played at both Jay County High School and Runkle-Miller Field last evening. The 8 team field includes teams from 5 states, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky.  In Round One action, winners were:

Northwest Patriots 9 and Louisville 2,

Illinois Jayhawks 7 and Decatur Dirty Birds 5,

Battle Creek 17 and Ft. Wayne 1, and

Portland Rockets 10 Cincinnati Chiefs 1.

 

Portland Rocket right-hander Mitch Water (the Italian stallion) was dominating with a capital “D”.  The 6-year Rocket vet returned home and retired the first 11 men he faced.  With a 90-plus fastball, he pitched a no-hitter into the 6th striking out 7.  

Rockets broke open a 0-0 game in the 3rd, Heath Williams smacked a lead off home run to left and the Rockets took off, 2 runs in the 3rd, 2 runs in the 4th, and 6 in the 5th inning.  Big blow in the 5th inning was a bases clearing triple by Waters.  Mitch also led the offense with 3 hits, oh yeah, his dad David Waters did the field preparations on the day too, thanks man. All with 2 hits, Heath Williams including his Rocket shot over the fence, Brian Brudi and Bill Geeslin.

 

Rockets had 12 hits to Cincinnati 2. The Chiefs, the winner of their city league, now fall to 21-8.  We will see them next week at the NABF Regional in Cincinnati.  Rockets now 16-15.

 

Happy big “0” birthday Karen Roesler, from our sponsor bank of Geneva. Rocket fans were in for a treat last night, we had a bunch of Sautbines and Clarks there, and if you missed it, hey we get to do it again! In round two Saturday, the Rockets play Ft. Wayne at 11am and then Battle Creek at 5pm. The 5 pm matchup Portland vs. Battle Creek is huge in the pool play format. Dan Bollenbacher will start vs. the Battle Creek Buds. Let’s go Portland; we need your support at 5pm if we dare to be a champion. 

 

Glad to hear Oriel Poole was a champion at the demolition derby last night, he is the Johnny Cash of Jay County, you know; wonder if he drove his car barefooted???

Rockets win over Cincinnati; play at 11 and 5 pm today (Saturday). Grab a cooler and a lawn chair and a Rocket dog and have a great time at the ballpark.

Hey, we are giving away a free night’s stay at the Holiday Inn Express tonight, stop by for details on other prizes as well.

You can’t beat fun for a good time.

This is Randy Miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 29/10 - WBC TOURNAMENT NEWS

We originally had 9 teams in the draw, due to outside factors; a team had to drop on Monday night. Therefore the pools had to be slightly adjusted.

The pools are as follows

Pool A will be: Portland Rockets, Cincinnati Chiefs, Fort Wayne Pirates and Battle Creek Behnke

Pool B will be: Decatur Dirty Birds, Northwest Patriots, Illinois Jayhawks and Louisville Angels

The format will be as follows: All teams will play 3 games on Friday and Saturday. The winner of pool A and B will face the runner up from the opposite pool. We will be flipping before each game for the home teams. Baseballs will be provided for each game. The tournament will appreciate any help with retrieving foul balls for the tournament play as you would your home field. Wood bats and wood composite bats are legal. College slide rules. There will be no infield allowed between games.

Championship game on Sunday will be a 8 inning contest. All innings will be played.

Pools play tiebreakers:

1.head to head competition

2. Least amount of defensive runs given up

3. Most offensive runs scored

4. Coin flip

Players must have photo identification on their person at all time. Team members in uniform will be allowed through the gates, no uniform, then you must pay. Ticket prices for the weekend will be $3 per day or $5 for all weekend pass NO COOLERS will be allowed on the grounds of Jay County high School. You may bring your drinks in by hand, but no coolers. (Alcohol will not be tolerated)

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Posted Jul 28/10 - EMAIL FROM CHRIS TILLERY
To the Rockets, Pudman, and Fans,

Well this is Chris Tillery and have some bad news. Saturday during our 1st game I hyper extended my knee hitting 1st base after a sac bunt. It sure felt like a pain like I have never felt before. Pudman helped me up and was attempting to walk me back to the dugout but I pushed him away so I could try to walk under my own power. It was hard but I did it. I went to the hospital and got x-rays which were negative, but I was still in major pain so I actually got a pain shot. I came back to see our Rockets win the 2nd game of the day. I was up walking (with a little limp) and felt pretty good telling everyone I was going to be back for this weekends games.
I woke up Sunday not able to walk, it was the pain meds talking on Saturday. Monday morning I got an MRI done on my knee and sat and waited for the results which I received today (Tuesday). My worst pain was on the back left side on my knee, and that's where my news was coming from. The doctor told me I did some damage, and I had partial tears in different places, but nothing that required surgery. I have 3 partial tears and a bruised bone. Great news that I didn't have to have surgery, but bad news.... I'm out for 3 months. It should be about 6 weeks to heal, and 3 months total to get back in to baseball and full activity. I am gonna be on crutches and in knee braces for awhile till everything is fully healed.
I just want to say thank you to all my teammates, Pudman, and all of Portland thank you for an amazing summer and season. For the Rockets and all the returning guys for accepting me and letting me come to the team. I am going to miss all the guys and the fans. Sitting at the hospital I was thinking about was the team. I kept saying we had to get back to the 2nd game so I could watch them win. I kept telling the doctor that we had to make sure I was ready to play by this weekend, that can't happen now. This has been the best summer I have ever had, and this is a HUGE buzz kill to end it. I will be at the games this weekend still yelling and making sure everyone hears me out of the dugout, you may not see me dancing and jumping around, but I will still be there.
Now I am just going to work twice as hard to get ready for my school season, and I am really looking forward to coming back to good ol Portland and play with the Rockets next summer. This has definitely been an experience that I will never forget, but I sure didn't want it to end like this.

Thanks again everyone, See you next season, Cause I will be back, Chris Tillery #2

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Posted Jul 26/10 - Rockets Double-Dip Warsaw 5-4 and 6-3
Rockets defeat Warsaw twice 5-4 and 6-3 July 24, 2010

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland!

Double plays, home runs, Rocket rallies, clutch hitting, gutsy pitching,
It was all there at Runkle-Miller Field on Saturday, where the Portland Rockets took down the Warsaw Indians twice, 5-4 and 6-3. On the hottest day of the year, Dan, the man, Bollenbacher pitched his strongest game of the year. Dan went the distance in game one striking out 7, giving up 7 hits but it took last inning heroics and a Rocket rally to win the game. Needing one to tie and 2 to win, Max Ludy gave me the 2 sign, just get 2 and win the game he said... well, it worked. Heath Williams got his second hit of the game to lead off, Chris Tillery laid down a nifty bunt, to move Heath up…Tillery nearly collided with the Warsaw infielder covering and went down in a heap, injuring his knee. Latest reports are he has a sprain and should be ok this week. Brudi, who crushed a home run earlier, smashed a ball that ate up the 3rd baseman. Then Mark (they call him the iceman) Isenberg made Ludy a prophet with a shot to the gap scoring Brudi...winner, winner chicken dinner!!!!

Rockets made 5 errors in the contest but Bollenbacher faced a season high 33 batters and prevailed. Rockets with 2 hits from Williams and Tillery. In game 2, Will Walters pitched shutout ball for 6 innings, he allowed no runs in 3 innings last week, Will gave up but 3 hits and Ko'd 7. Bryan Brudi hit another home run blast (that was 2 in 2 games) and while it was quite breezy on Saturday, as well as hot, his drives needed no help...long gone! Rockets scored 3 in the 1st 2 frames and took a 6-0 lead into the 7th . Tyler Palmer finished the 7th allowing 3 runs, 3 hits. Rockets took down Warsaw in one hour 35 min. in game one, then 1hour 33 min. in game 2 . Those Indians were beaten and ready to cool down at the Greasy Pickle.

Sunday’s game vs. Taylor University rained out! Rockets are hoping to schedule a game Tuesday, but as it stands, Portland ends the regular season 15-15 . Big fish to fry this weekend ….World Baseball Congress tournament draw is today, action begins this weekend. Teams from all over the Midwest will be in Portland, I hope they enjoy the Jay County Fair, because when they come to our house, the competition will be intense. Rockets win twice over the Warsaw Indians, good stuff !!!!
This is randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 22/10 - Rockets lose to Decatur 8-5
Decatur 8 Portland 5 July 21, 2010

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

Last evening the Decatur Dirty Birds avenged last week’s loss to the Portland Rockets with a 8-5 win at Bellmont High School. Rockets will look back on this one, chances squandered again and again. Decatur had 7 hits, to Portland’s 5, but Decatur issued ten walks, and Portland left 10 men on base. Heath Williams was the only Rocket with 2 hits. Heath led off the game with a single, a nifty bunt single by Chris Tillery, and then a sacrifice fly by Mark Isenberg (the ice man) and we are up 1-0. Starter Tyler Mills got touched up for 2 runs in the first, and 2 in the 3rd inning. Heath led the charges back when we Rocket rallied in the 5th inning. Williams, Bryan Brudi and Isenberg singled, 3 walks in a row and now we are down just 6-5 with bases loaded 0 out…(oh the agony)!! Johnson strikes out looking, Cook fouls off the squeeze bunt, then hits into a double play and our Rocket rally fizzles. Zero runs with the bases loaded. We would not score again. After Mills had 4 runs in 3 innings, Bill Geeslin had some tough luck; he gives up 4 runs in 3 innings. Five of those Decatur runs came with 2 outs and 2 strikes on the batter.

We just didn’t put the birds away. They have beaten us now 3 out of 4 this year. But wait the National World Baseball Congress is in Portland next week and we shall meet again. More on the tournament later!

Dan Bollenbacher pitched the final 2 innings and he was on. He struck out 4 of the 6 men he faced. Four of Decatur runs were unearned, Portland had 3 errors in the game. And I may mention as well, our fine fan contingent including the Maloys and their grandson, did not find favor with the umpire. Too many walks, too many balls, too many what was that’s...this epic struggle 2 hours 34 minutes goes to Decatur. Rocket record moves to 13-15.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to Michael Dull. This Berne native signed a scholarship to play baseball at Southern Alabama (while still in a Rocket uniform) after a game in Van Wert. He later played professionally for Montreal. Michael, one of the best hitters ever in Portland, along with several other South Adams players, brother Ron, Mark Flueckiger, Scott Dubach, Dave Neunschwander, and Jim Geeslin, were all instrumental in the Rockets 1st State Championship in 1985.

Next game two games are at home.

Double Dip Saturday and Sunday in Portland. Rockets play the Warsaw Indians Saturday at 1pm at Runkle-Miller Field. On Sunday, the Rockets host Taylor University. See ya this weekend for some old-fashioned hard ball at the corner of Western and Blaine. Don’t forget the carry-in after the game on Sunday.

Portland Rockets is the oldest semi-pro franchise in Indiana.

This is Randy Miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 21/10 - Rockets win 7-3 over Indiana Wesleyan
Portland Rockets 7 Indiana Wesleyan 3 July 20, 2010

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland!

The Portland Rockets hosted the Indiana Wesleyan Tuesday night at Runkle-Miller Field, but the hosts were not that hospitable. Game ended with Rockets 7 runs and Indiana Wesleyan University 3 runs. Two runs in the 2nd inning, 2 runs in the 3rd inning and 3 more in the 5th and the Rockets jumped to a 7-0 lead. Derek Mounsey of DePauw University had plenty of to work with. Derek pitched 5 innings (no runs, 1 hit, and struck out 5). Will Walters pitched 3 more shutout innings, striking out 4, giving up just 2 hits. Tom McCowan pitched the 9th inning for the home team. Rockets had 11 hits by 10 different hitters. Mark Isenberg, the only player with 2 hits, led off the 2nd with a triple off the left-center field fence, right off the Pac-a-Sac sign. He scored on a double steal executed along with Michael Ingram, then Ingram scored on a two out 2 strike bingo by Bryce Cook. Third inning RBI to Bryan Brudi and Ingram and the Rockets were rolling. One of the longest balls hit on the day by Laramee VanSkyock, but he was on their ball club to help fill out their lineup. Corey Locke, Rocket outfielder from the 2005 and 2006 teams, is now in the coaching ranks. He brought along some of his players also to round out the roster.
A large crowd on hand saw the Rockets win 7-3 in 2 hours and 9 minutes. (They had a 3 hour rain delay in Cincinnati last night). Lots of those same little guys who participated in our instructional clinic were running around at the park last night. And you know what, we lost only 1 foul ball last night---- how about that for payback. Thanks fellows love ya in Portland!

Tonight the Rockets move north on Hwy 27 to play a rivalry game with the Decatur Dirty Birds at Bellmont High School. Game time 7:15pm.

We knocked off those Dirty Birds last time we played. What is a dirty bird????? Tyler Mills is the starter for Rockets tonight.

Our next home games are Saturday and Sunday. Don’t forget the carry-in lunch after the double-header on Sunday. We are all behind our baseball team! Go get 'em, Portland Rockets!

This is randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 19/10 - Alumni/Youth League Clinic a Success

Rocket Home Run Derby, Youth League Instructional Clinic and Alumni Gathering Success    7/17/10

  

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland!


Saturday it was all Portland baseball at Runkle-Miller Field., kids from 8 and under to Kids 55 and older, all Portland, all playing baseball.  Portland Rocket alumni home run derby, and youth league instructional clinic was the theme for the day.

Corey Heniser brought out his pitching machine, and we all smacked the ball around.  With the help of Rob Lennartz, Jason Minnich, and a host of other moms and dads, we had about 30 kids out shagging fly balls during home run derby. Lico and I played music and cracked jokes on the sound system watching this circus event unfold…  and these guys did well!


The alumni report a success, no pulled muscles, no herniated discs.

Mike Hosier and myself of the 70’s,  and Corey Heniser, who still holds the Portland Rocket record with his 26 game hitting streak in the  80’s.  Also, Ron Dull, captain of our 1st state championship teams in 1985,  Laramee Van Skyock and Jason Stanton on the 1996 state championship team. Rocket favorite, Brandon Cooley, the catcher on our 2005 state championship team also participated.  70’s, 80’s 90’s....almost sounds like one of those K-Tel music commercials!


Great music last night in Ft. Recovery at the park with Gary Burbank and his blues band. 


Anyway, the home run derby became a contest between those old fellas and current Rocket players. Every one got a chance to hit, even commercial review reporter, Steve Grabicz and rocket coach Kevin McCowan.  The finals came down to Laramee Van Skyock who can hit 'em out left, or right-handed, Corey Heniser, looks in great shape and Heath Williams and Brandon Vanmatre from the current Rocket Team.  The winner was Brandon Van Matre in a playoff, good job Bubba.


But the best part of the day was seeing those kids, boys and girls, mind you running rampant around the park.  We had an instructional clinic, 4 stations with Rocket coaches working on fielding, pitching, cage hitting and on-field hitting---Brad and Easha fixed up the free Kool-Aid.  I passed out eating coupons for Wings and Rings. There was a hub of activity all about,  baseball moms and dads following around to take pictures and offer encouragement.  Great day  for Portland and thanks for your insights and manpower, Corey Heniser. I think we have some future Rockets in the making.

This just in rocket game Sunday rained out----how about that...Rockets took a 5-0 lead over Crumback in the 1st inning but the storm came quickly to end the Fort Wayne Double-Header.

Heath Williams, Riley Muhlenkamp, Tom McCowan, Bryce Cook, and John Clawson all had base hits in the 1st, but Derek Mounsey never got to pitch ----it rained hard!


Rockets next action...Tuesday night at 7pm in Portland vs. Indiana Wesleyan.

Come see the Boys of Summer on this the last week of the regular season. Rockets at Runkle-Miller on Tuesday 7pm.

Be there or be rectangular!!

Randy Miller pg 14

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jul 15/10 - Rockets Revenge Decatur 7-3
Good Morning Baseball fans, it's a beautiful day in Portland!

Portland hosted Decatur last night at Runkle-Miller Field. A large crowd witnessed a fine rivalry game. It was Crossroad Financial Credit Union night. The good spirit prevailed for the home team.  Rockets won the game with a 7-3 score over the Dirty Birds. Lots of fun, free stuff and good Community karma. The kids took part in the bat spin competition, the strike toss, and, of course, the girls from Crossroads (Janet, Gina, Becky, Paula, and others) decked out in their baseball shirts, sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" in the 7th inning stretch.  Wow, we have a nice PA system, it even made them sound good! And the new backstop made Portland look good.  The other Park Department offerings have helped our "Field of Dreams" have a new sparkling look about it...even sounded busy with all of the fans lining the fences on both sides. Love ya in Portland guys!!! For the record, our pa man, Dan Haines, pointed out that Riley Muihlenkamp was the first to hit a foul into the modern netted backstop.

The focus point of the evening was to find out if the Rockets, loser to Decatur twice this season, had an answer for the Dirty Birds. Solid pitching by Dan Bollenbacher and Bill Geeslin and timely hitting (a 4 run Rocket rally in the 4th inning) RBI's that inning to Justin Marrero, Thomas McCowan, and Mark Isenberg helped offset spotting Decatur a 3-0 lead.  GOOD DEFENSE, and I dare say GOOD KARMA and GOOD ENERGY when Billy Geeslin comes to the game.  Billy "Ballgame" was lights out the last 4 innings, 0 runs on 1 hit, striking out 7.  There is an answer, and it comes with an exclamation point.

It is always a great game in Portland when we see a Rocket double-play defensively and a Rocket home run blast on our side!  Williams-Marrero-Muhlenkamp on the double-play and Bryan Brudi in the 7th inning with a monster home run over the left field fence to add some insurance to the cause!  Rockets outhit the Birds 10-7. Hits by Muhlenkamp and Mark Isenberg.

Special thanks to bat boy, Seth Rupe, and our helpers Mitchell and Chuck Brunswick.  Congratulations to Graphic Printing on their Koufax Championship.  Also, good for Portland...coming out and rooting en masse for the home team.  Rocket defeat Decatur 7-3 in a 2 hour and 29 minute game.

Tonight we play at home again and have another big rivalry dame with our old friend, Leo Ocha and the LaMargarita Blues.  Come out and join the fun - have a Rocket dog and a pop!

Sure can't beat fun for a good time!

This is Randy Miller pg 14

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Posted Jul 14/10 - Portland 9 Indiana Wesleyan 1
Portland Rockets 9 Indiana Wesleyan 1

Good Morning Baseball Fans, It's a beautiful day in Portland!

Portland Rockets traveled to Marion Tuesday night and defeated Indiana Wesleyan 9-1.  Portland scored in the opening inning on hits by Chris Tillery and Bryan Brudi. We executed a double steal, Tillery taking home, then 3 more runs in the 3rd inning.  Brudi's triple was the big hit, then cruised with 9 runs on 12 hits for the 9-1 victory. Bryan Brudi of Churubusco and Vincennes University had 3 hits and 3 RBI's . Two hits for Tom McCowan and Chris Tillery.  Rocket righthander, Tyler Mills, was dealing, for his second consecutive start. "General Mills" (as I call him), was in command. He allowed 0 runs on 5 hits through 7 innings. I can't resist....I guess you can say "General Mills" had them for breakfast!!!!  Mills threw only 66 pitches as the game lasted 2 hours and 26 minutes. Tyler Palmer, his Huntington Forester team mate, pitched the last two innings.  Four double-plays were turned by Portland.  What a beautiful ballpark Coach Chad Newhard has at Wesleyan, and a fine program as well.

Rockets return to action tonight at our own beautiful ballpark, Runkle-Miller Field. Come see the new netted backstop.  The whole place looks brand spanking new...thanks to our Parks Department. The corner of Western and Blaine will be hopping tonight. It's Crossroads night and I am sure that Janet and her zany group will have some shenanigans in store for the crowd. Our rivals tonight are the Decatur Dirty Birds.  They beat us 4-3 in 11 innings a couple of weeks ago.  Dan Bollenbacher gets the start.  I like our ball club and I think you will like them too!

Special thanks to our new sponsors, Holiday Inn Express and Wings and Rings.  They have cooked up some good deals for us.  Come out to the park and find out more of what is happening on the home front. It is great to work with local promoters like Sue and Vicki. 

Don't forget the Alumni Picnic on Saturday, July 17 at 4pm.  Home run derby begins at 3 pm. 

Happy Birthday to Ray Gerber, Baseball Icon from Geneva.

Once again, Portland 9 Wesleyan 1.  Tonight is Crossroads Night with the Decatur Dirty Birds at 7 pm.
Rockets, rockets are the best....R O C K E T S !!!!!

This is Randy Miller, pg 14

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Posted Jul 12/10 - ROCKETS LOSE AT TAYLOR AND FT. WAYNE SAT,SUN

 

Rockets lose doubleheaders -- Saturday to Taylor University 2-1 and 4-1 and Sunday lose to Fort Wayne Shady Nook, 4-0 and 16-9.

  

The Portland Rockets returned to action this weekend after a long week of no action. Games cancelled Wednesday and Thursday,  left the boys a bit rusty..  After winning 6 of the last 7, the Rockets were beaten twice at Taylor University Saturday and twice at Fort Wayne on Sunday.  On Saturday, Dan Bollenbacher took a no-hitter into the last inning but our 1-0 lead was not enough...(kind of sounds like that Reds pitcher, Travis Wood).  Two hits and a walk and we were walking off the field stunned, defeated 2 –1.   Justin Marrero had 2 hits and so did John Clawson.   Game 2 was another solid outing. Bill Geeslin and Derek Mounsey were our pitchers, but our hitters only had one hit as we lost 4-1.


On Sunday,  the week lay-off brought us back to Fort Wayne, where just last week we beat Shady Nook in the Carrington Field Firecracker Classic for the championship.  We had an army of Portland fans on hand, including the Maloys, to support the troops. However, Sunday this week had a different ending. with the Nooksters 4-1 in game one and Nooksters 16-9 in game 2.  Rocket lefthander, Will Walters, went the distance giving up 2 hits, but 7 walks.  The offense still sputtered, just 2 hits this game, both by Chris Tillery.

During Game 2,  the offense broke out with 7 runs in the 3rd inning to take a 7 –4 lead.  But it was 11-9 in the 6th and finished 16-9. Bryant Cook and Bryce Cook took the brunt of the blows in relief of Justin Scott, new rocket pitcher from Manchester College.  Thomas McCowan came on to end the Shady Nook five run 6th inning.  Marrero, the slick-fielding shortstop,  had 2 hits, so did Bryan Brudi, Tom McCowan and catcher,  John Clawson (caught both games Sunday). I bet he slept good last night!


Again, after winning 6 of last 7, Rockets lose 4 this weekend.  We picked up some help in the bullpen in the right-hand slants of Justin Scott and Tom McCowan.


Rockets record moves to 10-14 this weekend...kind of like the fortunes of the Cincinnati Reds.

 

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This week the Rockets travel Tuesday to Indiana Wesleyan at 7 pm, then are home on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday is Crossroads night and we are looking forward to seeing our new backstop.

Thanks to the Portland Lions Club for 50 years of  service to the old backstop, but cant wait for the new one!

On Saturday, July 17,  we will have the Rocket Alumni Game and it will be a lot of smiles and fun for old times sake----just an FYI...never say "old" around old guys like Speedy Man and Hearn!!! Speaking of "old", Happy 25th birthday to our Captain, Heath Williams.   Two years ago, Heath was first team All-American and last year,  honorable mention. He has been a Rocket for 6 years. Of course,  Rocky and Lisa and Hannah were on hand yesterday...Love ya in Portland guys!!!


Hey, we won't win 'em all, but we’ll win the next one, Tuesday at Indiana Wesleyan at 7 pm!!  See you there!


This is randy miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jul 5/10 - ROCKETS TAKE TOURNAMENT IN FT. WAYNE

Portland Rockets win Fort Wayne Federation Championship over July 4th Weekend.  Sweep Fort Wayne to go 4-0 in the Tournament.

Good Morning Baseball fans, it's a beautiful day in Portland.

For when the one great scorer come to mark against your name, he asks not if you won or lost, but did you beat Fort Wayne!  Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!!

Rockets blast off July with 4 tournament wins in Fort Wayne over the weekend. Your winner and champion Portland Rockets take the Fort Wayne Federation Tournament. Portland, the only team to go unscathed, took on all comers from Fort Wayne and made trips on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to Carrington Field. But, as often is the case despite the distance factor, we had more players, more fans, and more runs. And oh, I love it when our fans get on those umpires so we don't have to!!!

Rockets won Friday night behind the 2-hit pitching of Dan Bollenbacher. Final was 5-4 over the Fort Wayne Cubs. Last at bat heroics by Michael Ingram (Richmond) with a 2-out, bases loaded walk off single. Rockets win Saturday on a one-hitter by Bill Geeslin through 6 innings, Tyler Mills finished up, and final was 2-1 over Shady Nook. A walk off suicide play by Chris Tillery scored Bryce Cook with the winning run. What an exciting play when it works and it worked again Sunday with John Clawson executing. Sure makes a coach look good and is demoralizing to the opposition.  Don't tell anyone but if Heath Williams is on second with a man at third, we are working on a secret play to score 2 runs in one squeeze bunt.

Saturday night the Rockets defeated LaMargarita 7-2. Will Walters, Derek Mounsey, Tyler Palmer all on the mound. We got three hits from Chris Tillery (not big in stature, but big on heart, hustle, and smarts), two hits by Michael Ingram sealed the deal!

This sets the stage for championship Sunday! What a Rocket turnout! Of course, Don and Marilyn Maloy were there and Rocket fans and cameras flashing all over! Baseball on July 4th, how American is that! I am proud to be on the Portland team. They lined up for a team photo reserved for champions, and five people were lined up to take their picture.

On Sunday, we led 2-0 through 6 innings before Shady Nook touched Mills and Mounsey for four runs. Singles by Muhlenkamp and Thomas McCowan scored one run. Tyler Palmer was the winning pitcher and held them in the 7th inning. Then Rockets had a two-run rally in the 7th, winning run scored on a wild pitch to Bryan Brudi. Justin Morero scored the last run in the last at bat in three of the four games. Exciting, but excruciating for this old timer!

Tyler Mills goes into the 6th and manned up in 95 degree heat, 95 pitches (ironically), giving up 2 runs, 3 hits, 4 walks. Tyler Palmer in relief gets the win in his second day of work. This Rocket Team adds Bryan Brudi from Churubusco, who just got back from Australia. Bullet Brudi makes this team solid along with Ingram, Isenberg, and Tillery in the outfield, the return of Justin Moerero in the infield -- hey, they have won 5 out of our last 6 games to go 10-10 in the season.  Remember last year we started slow, 9-8 when Josh Ludy joined us on June 27.

On the weekend, Heath Williams led the offense with 5 hits, 4 hits by Tillery and Muhlenkamp.  Rocket all-tourney selections are Bollenbacher, Geeslin, Williams and Tillery.  Hey Mom...where are we going to put this championship trophy? I know, we will put it on display at Crossroads Credit Union...They have a big night planned on July 14 at our park.

This just in...the fireworks show at the Fairgrounds had championship kudos to all!

Rockets play at 6:30 pm Wednesday at Canterbury High School in Fort Wayne against the Fort Wayne Cubs. Then, we will be home on Thursday night.

Rockets champions of Fort Wayne Tournament 4-0 on weekend, mission accomplished...Portland Champions has a nice ring to it!

This is Randy Miller pg 14

 

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Posted Jul 4/10 - Portland Undefeated in Ft. Wayne Federation Tournament

Good morning Rockets Fans...It's a beautiful day in Portland!

Happy July 4th to all you Great Americans!

Portland Rockets win 3 games in Fort Wayne Federation Tournament to be the only undefeated team headed to the Championship Sunday.  Rockets defeated Fort Wayne Cubs behind Dan Bollenbacher, with a clutch 2 out hit by Michael Ingram in the last at bat. Then on Saturday, we defeated Shady Nook behind one-hit pitching for 6 innings by Bill Geeslin. A squeeze bunt in the last inning by Chris Tillery scored Bryce Cook to get the 2-1 win over Shady Nook. In the winner's bracket on Saturday, Rockets beat LaMargarita 7-2. Will Waters, Derek Mounsey, and Tyler Palmer pitched the victory. Key hits in this game were by Mark Isenberg and Justin Morero.

On Sunday, July 4, the Rockets play for the championship at 2 pm vs. the winner of the LaMargarita and Shady Nook game. If the "Boys of Summer" win, we are champs! If we lose, they have to beat us twice and we go back on Monday, likely at 11 am.

Rockets welcome back last year starter and outfielder, Bryan Brudi, who this spring finished a most successful campaign helping Vincennes to post-season status.

Go Rockets...Tyler Mills is starter on Sunday!

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Posted Jul 1/10 - Rockets fall to Decatur in 11 innings 4-3

Decatur Dirty Birds 4      Portland Rockets 3                               June 30, 2010

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

Portland Rockets were defeated Wednesday evening by the Decatur Dirty Birds by a score of 4-3 in

11 innings.  The Rockets, undefeated at home, saw that streak end in a squeaker that wasn’t over until it was over.  Two out and 2 men on and our most productive hitter, Mark Isenberg, at the plate. .Still many of the large crowd on hand were holding their collective breath as Mark hit it hard, deep to right, but it came down at the warning track in the right fielders glove much to the dismay of the locals. Lots of suspense at the corner of Western and Blaine in this one. Decatur scored first, 3 runs off starter, Eathen Tribolet, he went 4 innings. Will Walters pitched the next 4 innings allowing 0 runs, and the Rockets rallied with runs in the 3rd and  7th innings. However, in the 9th, we were down 3-2 and Brandon Bubba Van Matre delivered a clutch lead off double, pinch runner, Corey Scott, advanced to third on Chris Tillery’s single, and scored on a long sacrifice fly drilled by Heath Williams to tie the score.  We still had two more innings of jams and stomach churning action to go.  Derek Mounsey pitched the last 3 innings and only has one pitch he wish he had back.  Decatur ‘s Austin Grate hit a home run to left –the Rocket rally was not to be in the 11th as Isenberg's drive was just short. We spent 3 hours 11 minutes in this Titanic struggle.  Decatur had 8 hits, Portland 6. Portland had baserunners in every inning including a threat in the 10th, 2 on and 1 out, but the next 2 hitters struck out on 3-2 pitches by closer Josh Shatto.

The Decatur victory gives coach Victor Canales his 100th career win. Decatur Dirty Birds now 13-3 on the year.  Rockets rally but fall short in extras, record now 6-10.

 

Rockets will play in the Ft. Wayne Federation Tournament on Friday and Saturday. We won that tourney 2 years ago. On Friday we play at 6:15 at Carrington Field vs. the Ft. Wayne Cubs with Dan Bollenbacher the starter. On Saturday, we play either 1pm or 4pm.

 

Cool evening on Wednesday but some hot action.  Thanks to Vicki and Charlie Tague for helping out at the lunching pad. Thanks to bat boy Seth Rupe and future Rocket, Colton Compton for helping out.  Also, thanks mom for those blt’s.

Happy anniversary Larry and Donna Chittum, 48 years!!!

 

On this historic day, we are proud to report the Runkle-Miller Field backstop donated by the Lions Club in 1960—will be torn down and a new netted backstop will be constructed.  50 years of service and $15,000 of improvement.  Nostalgic note, I remember Coach John Engle of the Portland Panthers throwing bp to Rich Matchett at that backstop and Rick putting on a power display. He hit 7 of 10 pitches over the fence...wow!!!!  Somehow those 15 baserunners left on base last nite don’t seem that important when you consider the "field of dreams" some innovative guys had named Runkle and Miller, and the city of Portland’s support over the years.  Makes us Portland proud and we say "thank you"!

Guess we will go to Fort Wayne and win a championship for Portland this weekend.  Rockets in Fort Wayne Friday—615 at Carrington field.  All tournament games 7 innings. We’re all behind our baseball team, go get 'em Rockets!!!!!

Randy miller pg 14

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 30/10 - Rockets roll over Shady Nook 10-6

Portland Rockets win 10-6 over Shady Nook Jackers Tuesday June 29, 2010


Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland.

Runkle-Miller Field was the scene for action, and plenty of it Tuesday night vs. Ft. Wayne Shady Nook Jackers.  Doubles, double plays, double ejections, and double your fun. Lets just say, as one wise coach said many a time,  "for when the one great scorer comes to mark against your name, he asks not if you won or lost, but did you beat Ft. Wayne"!

Portland beat Ft. Wayne, 10-6 before a large crowd ----the place was hopping!!! Bill Geeslin, Rocket starter, was dominate; shutting down the Jackers through 5 innings allowing 2 runs on 1 hit striking out 7.  Head coach from Indiana Tech, Kip McWilliams, was scouting Bill and had him on the jugs gun at 88 mph , topping out at 92...that is some serious heat. And how neat that his mom and grandma were there to see it. Portland scored 2 in the 1st , Williams again the catalyst, single stole second, scored on Mark Isenberg's hit, he scored on Thomas McCowan’s single.   Riley Muhlenkamp plated Michael Ingram in the third to put the Rockets ahead 3-2. Then the doubles started.  In the 5th , Bill Geeslin and Nook outfielder, Richard Berich, exchanged pleasantries and were both thrown out.  Double ejection----key double by Chris Tillery from Earlham College drove in 2 runs and Rockets push to a 9-2 lead.  But its never easy,  6 Rocket pitchers used in the game gave up 13 walks but just 4 hits. A Jacker threat was thwarted on a nifty double play by second baseman Tillery, as he gloved the ball, tagged out the runner passing by, and fired to first to get out a bases loaded jam in the 8th.  Rockets had 13 hits, 2 each by Ingram, Bryce Cook, John Clawson, and Tillery, to stay unbeaten at home this season. 


Kudos to the City Parks Department for their efforts in making the field playable, and also to Rocky Williams for his help.

Quite the buzz on the corner last evening and we get to do it again tonite, Decatur dirty birds coming to town,  lets give em a real Portland welcome.

Former rockets jobe, takats, mann chittum, stauffer were on hand and they were giving the ft. wayne coach the Portland welcome when he too was ejected.

Speaking of former rockets, I saw UCLA in the college baseball world series, and they were there also in 1969,, that is about the time Portland standout athlete mike Ashley was pitching for ucla. 

So what’s happening?

Its happening at the ballpark, brad had to go get more buns, and we are selling fishers award winning rocket dogs so come on out and root, root root for the home team

Decatur vs Portland big rivalry matchup tonnite 7pm at the corner  eathan tribolet the starter

Reload the cooler jobe, we will double our fun at the ballgame

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 28/10 - Rocket shots doom Dayton

Sat. june 26 portland rockets 19 miami valley dragons 0

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland!

Portland Rocket baseball in winning form Saturday at Runkle-Miller Field,  just the second home game of the season and it was a good one; Portland all over Miami valley dragons, 19-0.   The offense clicked,  7 runs in the first and it was on like donkey kong,  The Dragons never recovered.  All but one starting player scored at least one run , Captain Heath Williams scored 4 times himself and hit the fence with a long double to left.  But the key offensive performer on this day was Rocket right fielder from Muncie, Mark Isenberg. Mark hit not one, but 2 massive blasts over the left field fence for back to back grand slam homeruns.  In the 4th,  Isenberg sent a missle over the scoreboard with the bases loaded, then in the 5th he did it again almost in the same place.   The odds must be incredible and that feat is something you would read in “faces in the crowd” Sports Illustrated.  Mark, 23-year-old Ball State player, said it was the first grand salami he hit in his life. And both of his brothers were there to witness.  Bryce Cook scored 3 times on 2 hits. We had 19 runs on 12 hits, what an early fireworks display!  Bill Geeslin and Will Walters did the mound duties for Portland and shut out the Dragons on 2 hits. The Rockets are now 2 and 0 at home and build up for a nice homestand,  Tuesday nite at 7pm the Shady Nook Jackers come to town, and on Wednesday, Decatur comes in. Shady Nook won the Ft. Wayne NABF regional last year to earn a world series trip to Louisville.  Portland made it to the championship game at the Cincinnati regional before bowing to eventual champion Detroit Jetbox. Come out Tuesday...Ft. Wayne vs. Portland. Eathan Tribolet will be the starter. More fireworks in store at the corner. Speaking of fireworks, what a show at Musicfest in Geneva—great job by the Geneva fire department. We will have some fireworks Tuesday at the corner of Western and Blaine, 7pm Portland vs. Ft Wayne. Stick an extra one in the cooler and I’ll  see ya at the launching pad!

Happy 21st birthday to one of my favorites, Thomas McCowan.

This is Randy Miller pg 14

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 23/10 - Rockets lose to Decatur

Rockets lose to Decatur dirty birds 7-0

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland

Summer nite in Decatur no rain , just tornado warnings, crazy

Final score rockets lose to Decatur 7-0

Muggy nite indeed but the only unsettling was Decatur pitcher settlemeyer who

Quieted rocket bats on but 3 hits, no runs  rockets were without  3,4 ,5 hitters on this evening,  catcher Justin branock elbow surgery scheduled july 8, matt hitt  moves on to prospect league, concepcion morero  moves to great lakes conference, oh and cleanup hitter riley muhlenkamp has a class for the week.  They caught us shorthanded.

Settlemeyer, from purdue pitched for crumback last year and we beat him,  but that was

Last year. Tough customer 8 k’s thru 7 inn.  Retired 11 straight thru one stretch

Rocket starter dan bollenbacher gave up one run in 2 innings, he has a major league tryout sun sohis stint was short.  Too bad could have been a real pitchers duel.

As it was we played em tough in 9 inn 2 hours 26 min. but Derek mounsey gave up 3 runs in 3 innings, tyler palmer 3 in 2 innings.

Rockets had 2 on base in both the 3rd and 7th innings but a tough call at the plate went decatur’s way on a sliding bryce cook after a wild pitch to nab him at the plate

Hits in the game by heath Williams, Michael ingram, and cody Johnson.

On the bright side, the rocket defense was pretty awesome, 4 double plays on game

Williams, cook and van matre

Quite frankly heath Williams at second plays like no other I have seen at any level

He is like curly neal of the globe trotters with ground balls,  his range, his glove, arm and 

The word is , wizardry trulysomething to see

Good for Decatur,  our rivals we smoked em4 tmes last year we outscored them 52-11 in those games . they are a force to be contended with this year. And we look forward to that challenge next wed in Portland. 

Good to have coach mark flueckinger in the rocket dugout rooting the troops on, former rocket on the 85 state championship team, he is now coaching at Huntington university and is a huge connection in the baseball community.

Flick is also expecting his first child and mother-in – law gyneth augsberger of the tourism bureau is a noted Portland fan but a bigger mark and kim fan..  I am proud to call them friends.  Side note,,,,,,,flick loves betty miller’s potato salad

 Rockets haven’t played back to back games all season and are striving to hit their stride

Big opportunity weather permitting thur.  Home game vs Indiana Wesleyan.  Time for Portland to go to bat.  Rockets at home tonite 7pm be there or be rectangular lawn chairs, coolers we have the rocket dogs and popcorn

Enjoy baseball, Portland rocket baseball corner of western and blaine

Game today 7pm in Portland

Randy miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 21/10 - rockets split vs. lamargarita

Portland rockets split DH with lamargarita blues, 9-7, in 9 innings, lose 7-3 6/20/10

 

 

Good morning baseball fans, it’s a beautiful day in Portland,

Happy 1st day of summer, officially 7:28 am. This day June 21, 2010

Portland rocket baseball in ft wayne vs. the lamargarita blues,  Sunday , a DH split rockets eak out a 9-7 win in xtra innings in game one, but lose the nightcap 7-3.

Portland needed some late inning heroics from outfielder mark isenberg and some gusty

Pitching in traffic by billy geeslin to nail down the nailbiter in 9 innings.

Down by 2, in the last inning Portland down to its last out, mark isenberg drove a ball to the right centerfield fence to score corey scott and Derek mouncy  and tie the game at 7-7. isenberg again with 2 out and the bases loaded in the 9th laced a single to left to score 2 and billy geeslin put the fork in em pitching a scoreless 7th , 8th  and 9th for the win.

I am now a wes-del warrior fan, mark isenberg 23, out of ball state coaches baseball for wel del with his brother.  I bet there will be some of those guys at our home game Tuesday rooting him on. Rockets had 11 hits, 2 each by isenberg, riley muhlenkamp and Michael ingram.  Good to see back in action, 3 yrd  year rocket righthander eathen tribolet.  Tribolet from Huntington was tough thru 4 innings before giving way to forester teammate will walters. Walters gave up 5 runs in the 5th but geeslin was in just in time to save the day. 

Billy geeslin came thru and it was like a personal gift to me on father’s day. And happy fathers day everyone. Billy’s dad jim was a rocket pitcher for many years and to see #17  out there, a spittin image of his dad, what a treat.  I made sure to wear my dad’s socks yesterday,  back when he wore 2 of them anyway.

Rocket victory over lamargarita in 9 how grand

Game 2 not so el grande.

A 6th run 1st  roughed up starter tyler mills, and we never recovered in game 2 losing the nitecap 7-3. we had an extra delay a wild pitch broke the umpire’s hand ouch,,,, a replacement was called in .Derek mounsey and tyler palmer kept the game close. A 2 run single by Justin branock made the score 7-3 in the 5th but we stranded baserunners in every inning but the 7th.  Ex rocket and family favorite matt ousley was on hand to close out the game for the blues.  Great to see john and Karen ousley at the game. John said matt should have pitched the 1st game for us , and the second for them. 

This just in, Justin branock gets a doctor report mri on his arm today, john clawson on vacation, rockets pick up new catcher matt hitt of fishers Indiana.  Matt played at kewaukee ill. This spring headed to eastern mich. This year.  A very fine pickup with a great baseball name, matt hitt.

You know its summer when its jubilee time in ft. recovery and it was rocking on sat.nite

Grove hill band putting on the hits. Good stuff . and well done lori thein the jubilee a success.  We had a tribute to my friend big P, paul staugler and ami his daughter gave me a hug afterward.  Sweet/ hey happy birthday gary Bernard big 40 and john brigham

Baseball in Portland tuesnite 7pm vs crumback-symons,  a home game at last.  Lets give ft.wayne something to talk about.  Last year I recall one ft. wayne player remark as he came past the lunching pad  “wow, these guys take it serious”
darn bet ya,  Portland is ready and we will fight the good fight with Derek mounsey of Yorktown on the mound.

. see ya at runkle-miller field  tues. 7 pm.  randy miller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Jun 14/10 - No Game Tonight - June 14
NO GAME TONIGHT (MONDAY, JUNE 14)!! We have standing water in the infield and outfield.  Play tomorrow (Tuesday) at Indiana Wesleyan Field, Wildcat Drive, Marion IN. Game is at 7:00, players be there at 5:30.
Randy Miller

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Posted Jun 14/10 - Warsaw Indians 2 --- Portland Rockets 0 Saturday June 12, 2010
Good Morning Baseball Fans -- It's a beautiful day in Portland!
Portland Rockets traveled to Grace College in Warsaw in Saturday to play a double-header against the Warsaw Indians. In a rain-shortened game (5 innings), Warsaw bested Portland by the score of 2-0.  That counts as a complete game and is the second consecutive game Portland has played that was stopped by rain. The game was a pitcher's duel times two. Dan Bollenbacher of Berne went all 5 innings, only 1 earned run and struck out 7 as he topped out at 92 mph. It took a hot of gas on a hot, humid day to do that!! We had 21 players but none of them  scored. Indians pitcher, Augustine, from Manchester College, was just a bit better, giving up just 2 hits to Thomas McCowan and 0 runs. Speaking of Manchester College, Jay County and Manchester All-Conference pitcher, Josh Atkinson, joined the team. He came down from law school orientation at Valparaiso University. Congrats, Josh, on all your honors and good luck in law school.  As the clouds rolled in, Derek Mounsey showed me his phone with the Doppler gizmo, and seconds later it was like Donkey Kong...rained in torrents! The game was called and Sunday's action in Fort Wayne was canceled as well. A Warsaw player mentioned during the delay that he wished we had played in Portland because they could have gone to the Greasy Pickle when the game was called. The Indians had quite a pow-wow there last year.

In talking with John Boggs this week, we noted all the fine sports programming made available by our local radio pg-14 and that is only made possible by our fine sponsors. So, a quick thanks to Williams Auto Parts, Jamar, Liggetts, and Strohls for being on Portland's team. Congratulations to the Miracle Lanes softball team and big tourney championship this weekend in St. Henry.  Congrats go out to Coach Gary Bernard, Scott Stauffer, Tyler Fullenkamp (former Rocket) and a good bunch of guys, they know how to win! They may come over and support the Rockets tonight in the double-header vs. Fort Wayne Cubs at 6 pm at Runkle-Miller Field. Billy Geeslin will be the starter on the mound for Game 1.  Happy Birthday to Tom Hirschy of Bryant. 

Rockets lose to Warsaw Saturday 2-0...we won't win 'em all, just the next one!   Randy Miller  pg-14

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Posted Jun 8/10 - Portland Rockets Score 8 to defeat Napoleon RiverBandits in 11 innings
Good Morning Baseball Fans.  It's a beautiful day in Portland!
The home opener for the 2010 season was a good one. Portland Rockets scored 7 times in the third and once in the eleventh to edge the Napoleon Riverbandits in extra innings. We had a big crowd on hand, Rockets dogs sold like hotcakes and the crowd was in for a real ballgame, wood bat, 5 Rocket pitchers, 21 Rockets played, Drama 9--- I mean 11 innings and a home town victory.  Runkle-Miller Field was still a bit soggy Monday night but it played well and our guests, whom we had beaten twice last week, were impressed. Not many teams have their own diamond like we do. Our players arrived at 4 pm to put this together. Thanks also to our parks department, new sign, new flagpole, and thanks to city guys Smith and Penrod for helping out. Also, special thanks to Rocket Bat Boy, Seth Rupe. Seth, you look good in that Rocket hat.  Also want to thank Rocky Williams, representing the Rocket alumni and Williams Auto Parts, for being willing to throw out the first pitch. Rockets starter, Tyler Palmer of Huntington University went a strong first 3 innings and gave up 3 runs. College teammate, Will Waters, went the next 3 and were were up 7-3. Derek Mounsey of DePauw pitched in the ninth and it was 7-7 and bases loaded with Bandits, no one out! Bill Geeslin came in from 3rd base and shut down the would be rally, a fisted ground out back to Bill and 2 big punch outs, a gutsy and game saving performance. Bill pitched the 10th, he struck out 4 of the 6 he faced...DOMINATION! Tyler Mills also of Huntington came in the 11th inning, did his job and we won in the 11th.  That is three pitchers from Huntington...no wonder.  Their pitching coach is an old Rocket and a dear friend, Mark Flueckiger. He does a great job getting his pitchers to work fast, throw strikes, and change speeds. Love ya in Portland...Flick!  The seven run 3rd inning started with singles by Corey Scott and Heath Williams. The next 3 hitters walked, scoring 2 runs,and then the big blow was a 3-run triple by Mark Isenberg to the wall in left center. The relay throw went out of play and Mark trotted home, clearing the bases. Rocket offense went dormant until called on to win the game in the 11th. Corey Scott walked, Bryce Cook (another Wapahani product) bunted and beat the throw which went down the line and 2 men on. Concepcion Morero,our shortstop for the week, swings at the first pitch and hammers the game winner up the middle. Concepcion will not be with us Tuesday night as he turns pro in the draft. Rockets win 8-7 in 11 innings.  Record for season: Rockets 3-4 and Napoleon 5-3 (all three losses to Portland).  Time of game 3 hrs and 8 min. Rockets had 7 hits from 7 different players. Tonight we return to Westview Park in Celina for a 7:15 start vs. Grand Lake Mariners. Eric VanMatre will be the started. We may see old Rocket,Nick Bruns. Rockets win at home and that is special. We have free admission passes for tonight's game in Celina. If interested, contact Coach Miller.  "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOONA".  Check out the new team website www.ballcharts.com/portlandrockets2010.  See ya in Celina             Randy Miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 7/10 - Grand Lake Mariners Take 2 from Rockets -- 4-2 and 4-0 on Sunday,June 6
Good morning baseball fans, it's a beautiful day in Portland!
Portland Rockets made the trip to Celina on Sunday; a delayed start at 4 pm due to rain.  We played the Grand Lake Mariners tough, but lost 4-2 and 4-0. Dan Bollenbacher, the starter in Game 1, pitched well enough to win but we made just enough mistakes to lose. Dan was a closer for us last year and turned starter and he was lights out through 5 innings, striking out 6 while giving up 3 hits. When he left in the bottom of the 6th inning, the score was tied 2-2. The Rockets had scored 2 runs in the 4th to tie the score on a double by Concepcion Morero. (This New Jersey native is awaiting the MLB draft. He should know in the next two days where he will be going).  He stole second and after Riley Muhlenkamp walked, he scored on Mark Isenberg's sac fly.  Walks to McCowan and John Clawson loaded the bases. A 2-out wild pitch scored Riley, but 2 strike outs and the rally fizzled. The 6th inning is where the plot thickens. Bollenbacher gives up a single after a foul popup is dropped. Their cleanup hitter and former Rocket launcher, Justin Painter, bunted but Dan hit him in the ribs. Bill Geeslin is summoned to pitch and errors the next man's bunt to to load the bases. Bill strikes out the next 2 hitters except the umpire squeezes and calls a ball on the 3rd strike. The Franchetti kid from BSU hits the next pitch for a hit to score 2. The 6th inning ends when we turn a nifty double play. Rockets had 3 hits in Game One, striking out 12 times. That Igelh pitcher from IU, 6'3" and 255 lbs southpaw, was tough.  Game 2 in Celina saw the Rockets again get 3 hits, 11 strike outs and the Mariners handed Portland their first shutout 4-0. Trevor Kill, of St. Marys, went 3 innings giving up 4 runs and broke 2 bats. (I love when our pitchers break their bats). Tyler Mills and Geeslin went the last 3 scoreless innings.
Speaking of the MLB draft, Coldwater native and University of Dayton produce, Craig Stammen got his Major League debut with Washington yesterday vs the Reds. I talked with Craig about five years ago about pitching for Rockets, but he said he was going pro. We are really hoping for the best for Concepcion Morero. The Indians asked how much it would take to sign him and he said enough that he didn't have to go back to school right away, so we will see! Good Luck to him!
Rockets open their home season tonight at 7 pm vs. the Napoleon RiverBandits. Come out and support our "Boys of Summer" and you know the price is right...NO CHARGE!  The ump in Celina told me at the golf course that at the golf course, he has measured over 7 inches of rain in 15 days; so let's hope our field dries out. Marilyn Maloy reports over 2 inches yesterday morning. We look forward to playing at our park tonight. You can't beat fun for a good time!
Trivia Question: Why are left handers called southpaws?
Answer: All diamonds are to have home plate positioned in the southwest corner. Therefore, first base runs due east, and hence left handers when on the mound, have their left arm on the south side...South Paw!
One of our southpaws, Tyler Palmer of Huntington, will pitch tonight in Portland in our home opener...Weather Permitting!
Randy Miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 3/10 - The Rockets traveled again to Richmond Wednesday night to finish business with the RiverRats at McBride Stadium
Good Morning Baseball fans, it's a beautiful day in Portland!  The Rockets traveled again to Richmond Wednesday night to finish business with the RiverRats at McBride Stadium. Business was finished early! Rockets got the lead off man, then hit into a double play. Richmond got their first three men on, scored 9 runs in the 1st inning and let to a 13-1 romp, business done early! Had sprinkles, but no rain. Weatherman, Kevin McGowan, shared his Doppler phone gizmo and assured us we would get the game in, and we did. I have to get one of those gizmos! Rockets, a 5-2 loser on Tuesday, played them tough after the first inning allowing no runs over 7 innings, but 2 innings were the undoing! Nine runs in the 1st off starter Billy Geeslin.Tyler Mills came in for 4 innings pitching 1 hit shutout baseball; guess the old coach started the wrong guy! Tyler Painter pitched an inning and Derek Mounsey of DePauw pitched the last 3 innings and allowed only 2 base runners.  Despite the lopsided score and the 11 walks in the game, the pitchers are starting to mold into a rotation and the hitters are making more solid contact. This competition will only serve to make us better down the road. Offensively, the Rockets had 6 hits (5 the night before), and we hit into 3 double plays in 4 innings. We did manage to score in the 8th inning.  Here's a name to watch out for...Conception Morero, a Shortstop from Sinclair and a teammate of Thomas McGowan, is going to be drafted by the Cleveland Indians. He was drafted once before out of high school but now it is his time. To stay fine tuned, he played for Portland last night. He doubled in the 8th. Another Rocket recruit, Cody Johnson from Fort Wayne Snider High School, had a clutch 2 out single to drive him in.  This just in...4 games into the season and we have an injury list. Pitchers Josh Atkinson (All-Conference and Manchester ace) hurt his arm in the championship game and is probably done for the year. Josh set several Spartan records and will continue to serve as pitching coach in Portland. Ethan Tribolet is out with a sprained ankle suffered in Regionals for Huntington University. Also, Assistant Coach, Doug Tipton, is recouping after being in the hospital.  Get well soon, Doug!!
Of special note, Coach Jon Cate, gave us a tour of the clubhouse, home office and all the "cool stuff" inside McBride Stadium. We highly encourage you to travel down Highway 27 to this jewel. What an organization and it feels like baseball for all ages. Coach Cate has been a good friend of years and is a member of the Indiana High School Hall of Fame and a charter member of the Indiana coaching fraternity. John founded the Richmond Roosters. Former Rockets Doug Bolton, John Pettibone, and Pete Byrum played on this frontier franchise.  The Rockets go back to action on Sunday in Celina, then Monday at home.  Next week on Sunday is a doubleheader at Jom Hoess Field at 2 pm. VanMatre, Kill & Bollenbacher are starters for the Rockets.  Speaking of "old relics" like McBride Stadium, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" this week to Chris Hearn.   Randy Miller pg 14

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Posted Jun 2/10 - How Fleeting is the Undefeated Season...Richmond RiverRats 5 - Portland Rockets 2
Good Morning Baseball fans. It's a beautiful day in Portland. The RiverRats are a wood bat team comprised of college players from all over the nation. The players live with hose families and their summer job is baseball...and they are good at their job. They are very much like our Celina neighbors, the Grand Lake Mariners, who we will play this Sunday, June 5. Richmond pitchers from Akron, Purdue, St. Joe, and Earlham, limited the Rockets to 5 hits, and jumped to a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning. By the ninth, the Rockets were down 5-0 but with an good ol' fashioned Rockets' rally, we loaded the bases with no one out and scored 2 runs. Dan Bollenbacher was the starter and went 5 solid innings, striking out 3 and walking 1. Will Walters of Huntington and Bryce Cook finished the game in a solid manner (Cook had 2 scoreless frames). The Rockets threatened in the 1st inning when Michael Ingram's long drive to right field bounced off the fence for a double, just inches away from clearing the fence for a home run. However, second base was not touched again until the 9th inning, as the offense went down 1-2-3 five times in the game. In the 9th, Derek Mounsey reached on a third sackers error, walk to Mark Isenberg, single up the middle by Riley Muhlenkamp, and the bases were loaded with the tying run on deck. Justin Branock bounced into a double-play but the throw to first was high and 2 runs scored. It was 5-2, had a pop out ground out and lights out! Game time for nine-inning game was 2 hours 19 min. The major league game average is 2 hrs and 36 min.  As we talked after the game, we are about the competition. It will make us tougher down the road. We are developing a pitching staff. You should have heard the fans when we brought in Bryce Cook to pitch and John Clawson to catch (Delaware County connection). Bryce struck out the first 2 batters he faced and retired 6 of 7 batters.  We had more players, more fans, just not more runs!!! Rockets return to action tonight at 7 pm at McBride Stadium. Billy Geeslin will be on the hill. We won't win them all, just the next one!!!  This is Randy Miller  pg 14

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Posted Jun 1/10 - Rockets win 2 games over Napoleon to start the season...I guess he met his Waterloo!
Good Morning Baseball Fans,  It's a beautiful day in Portland and a Happy June 1 to everyone. Portland Rockets Baseball is underway in a winning way. Opening Day had the Rockets vs. Napoleon Riverbandits at the University of Miami in Oxford, OH. Rockets used 9 pitchers and swept the doubleheader 9-8 (1st game -8 innings) and 11-3 in the second game. In game one, the Rockets scored 5 runs in the 1st inning, cruised behind ace started, Eric Vinometer, who clocked in his Rocket debut at 86 mph, and cruised behind Tyler Mills and Tyler Palmer (both from Huntington University), and we led 6-2 in the 8th. Dan Bollenbacher of Berne, had a rocky 8th as the Bandits tied the score. Thanks to a gutsy dive at home plate, retrieving the ball that bounced in the dirt, catcher Justin Bannock picked up the carom and made a bare hand tag on a sliding runner with the potential winning run...it was all tied up in the 8th. Heath Williams (6 year Rocket veteran and the straw that stirs the drink), walked, stole second and then singles in Riley Muhlenkamp, Justin Brannock and then a timely 2 out double by Michael Ingram (CF from Southern Illinois) plated 2. Bill Geeslin from Coldwater OH came in from SS to the mound and held off the home team and Portland won 9-8. In the second game, Michael Ingram from Centerville IN is a CF burner; i.e. he covers a lot of ground and his 2 hits and 4 RBI's led the offense. Trevor Kill from St. Marys OH, Derek Mounsey from DePauw University, and Tyler Palmer shut down the Bandits 11-3 on 5 hits in the second game. Kill, who played ball in Kansas this Spring, gave up no hits through 3 frames but after 2 aboard in the 4th, Mounsey killed the Bandit rally. Using the wood bats became easier as we scored 4 in the 5th and 5 in the 6th for the win. The key hit/highlight was a 3-bag blast by Bubba VanMatre (probably the only triple he has ever clubbed, and this first baseman is not a fast man but a good man). Justin Brannock had 3 RBI's and Billy Geeslin had 2 hits in game 2.  The Rockets head to Richmond tonight (Tuesday June 1) for a 7 pm night game at McBride Stadium with the RiverRats. First home game is Monday June 7 at 7 pm with the Napoleon RiverBandits and Dan Bollenbacher will be on the hill.     Randy Miller  pg 14

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