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In the interest of time-saving, all audio on this site is telescoped.
In the interest of time-saving, all audio on this site is telescoped.
HEAR HERE!
(Upcoming Broadcasts)
Thanks to everyone with the Princeton Rays and the Appalachian League for a great 2019 season!
Friday 20 September 2019
TSSAA Football | Region 1 Class 6A
Jefferson County Patriots (3-1, 1-0) at Science Hill Hilltoppers (1-3, 1-0)
Steve Spurrier Field at Kermit Tipton Stadium
6:30 pm EDT | 97.7 FM/AM 1590 | ESPN Tri-Cities
(Upcoming Broadcasts)
Thanks to everyone with the Princeton Rays and the Appalachian League for a great 2019 season!
Friday 20 September 2019
TSSAA Football | Region 1 Class 6A
Jefferson County Patriots (3-1, 1-0) at Science Hill Hilltoppers (1-3, 1-0)
Steve Spurrier Field at Kermit Tipton Stadium
6:30 pm EDT | 97.7 FM/AM 1590 | ESPN Tri-Cities
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT
THE PLACE TO FIND AUDIO AND OTHER MATERIAL, ADDED PERIODICALLY. WE START WITH BASEBALL.
THE PLACE TO FIND AUDIO AND OTHER MATERIAL, ADDED PERIODICALLY. WE START WITH BASEBALL.
CYZILLA
On 14 November 2018, Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays earned the American League Cy Young Award. The lefty began his career as an 18-year old in the Gulf Coast League in 2011; the next season, the Rays promoted him to Princeton in the Appalachian League. It was there that the former 1st Round draft pick began to show the form that would take him to one of baseball's highest honors, and it was my privilege to Princeton's play-by-play announcer that season.
To commemorate Snell's Cy Young, we dip into the archives for this audio snippet from 2012. (For background, visit "Two Inning Sample: Princeton at Bristol" on my Audio: Baseball page.
(Note: That '12 Princeton squad had more than just Snell. Jake Faria, Oscar Hernandez, Omar Narvaez, and Andrew Toles also reached the Majors.)
On 14 November 2018, Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays earned the American League Cy Young Award. The lefty began his career as an 18-year old in the Gulf Coast League in 2011; the next season, the Rays promoted him to Princeton in the Appalachian League. It was there that the former 1st Round draft pick began to show the form that would take him to one of baseball's highest honors, and it was my privilege to Princeton's play-by-play announcer that season.
To commemorate Snell's Cy Young, we dip into the archives for this audio snippet from 2012. (For background, visit "Two Inning Sample: Princeton at Bristol" on my Audio: Baseball page.
(Note: That '12 Princeton squad had more than just Snell. Jake Faria, Oscar Hernandez, Omar Narvaez, and Andrew Toles also reached the Majors.)
A SWAT, AUGUST NIGHT
As the Appalachian League moves into its long off-season, here’s a treat for Princeton Rays fans – the final stretch of the P-Rays' thrilling win over the archest of arch-rivals, the Bluefield Blue Jays late in the 2018 season. (Click here for background on the teams’ unique and hotly-contested Mercer Cup rivalry.) It was one of the most memorable moments in franchise history, and I’d like to share it with Princeton’s fans. They are my people.
But first, my apologies for the sound quality. My usual trustworthy recording method – a good, small, user-friendly digital recorder – went sideways that night. It usually produces crisp, clear audio, but this time it came out so staticky and hissy as to be listenable. Sorry about that. However, back at the station, the board op recorded the game off the on-air feed, which was the phone hookup from Hunnicutt Field. All things considered, the events outweighed the technical issues, which is why I’m posting the audio here.
Now for some context. Monday, 20 August 2018 was the back end of a two-game home-and-home series between archrivals Princeton and Bluefield, which were pulling away from the rest of the Appalachian League East, and (spoiler alert!) would go on to earn the division’s two playoff spots. Both the Rays and Jays went into the series hot. Princeton had won eight of its prior ten games; Bluefield had won six of eight.
The Jays won the series opener on Sunday, taking a 5-0 lead after four innings on the way to a 9-5 win that pulled them to within one game of the Rays for the division lead with ten to go. The result made Monday Monday night feel like a playoff game, and it lived up to the billing.
Princeton took the first lead on 2B Jonathan Aranda’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 2nd; an inning later, a single from Bluefield’s eventual Appy League All-Star CF Cal Stephenson tied the score.
The Blue Jays opened a 6-1 lead in the top of the 5th, when Luis De Los Santos clouted a three-run homer and Dom Abbadessa added a two-run single. Princeton got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Aranda scored on a wild pitch.
Princeton posted its own five-spot in the 6th, on Carlos Vargas’ two-run homer, a two-run triple from Aranda, and Jordyn Muffley’s RBI single.
Bluefield promptly re-tied the game with an unearned run in the 7th.
The score held at 7-7 when Wander Franco came to the plate with two outs in the 8th.
Franco was in the midst of a rookie season validating his validating his phenom status. He would earn the Appy League's Player of the Year award after leading the league in RBIs and at-bats, finishing 2nd in extra-base hits, 3rd in slugging and triples, and 4th in batting average and home runs. He had the best strikeout rate. He put together a 25-game hitting streak (11 games longer than anyone else) and a 53-game on-base streak (12 better than the runner-up). Franco reached base in every game he played between June 23rd and August 24th.
On this Monday, the 17-year old was 2-3 with a pair of singles, a run scored, and a walk going into his fateful plate appearance; his leadoff single in the 6th sparked the Rays’ five-run rally.
Bluefield manager Denny Holmberg had brought in reliever Sean Rackoski to begin the home 8th, and the All-Star closer struck out Pedro Diaz before inducing All-Star INF Connor Hollis into a groundout.
Then came Franco.
Rackoski, pitching perhaps a little too carefully, fell behind 3-0. Franco stepped out on the next pitch and took a fastball down the middle for a called strike, then awkwardly fouled off a pitch out of the strike zone. With a Rackoski got back to level with a full count, but his next pitch never came back.
Princeton handed the ball to closer Michael Costanzo in the 9th. The left-hander earned 1st Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors in the spring, in his senior season at Austin Peay, putting in 90 innings along the way. Then came his first professional season. By late August, he started to run out of gas, and found himself facing the top of a Bluefield lineup that was 3rd or better in the league in hits, batting average, runs scored, slugging, on-base percentage, and walks. It seemed like they always had somebody on base.
Stephenson, the leadoff hitter, was leading the league in BA, OPB, walks, and runs scored. Abbadessa, batting second, was third in hits and had earlier extended his on-base streak to 24 straight games. Josh Groshans, batting third, was the 12th overall pick in the 2018 Draft and had been promoted from the Gulf Coast League two days prior.
No matter. Costanzo outlasted Stephenson, froze Abbadessa, and got the 1st rounder to fly out, touching off a loud celebration and pushing Princeton’s division lead to two games as the schedule wound down.
Here's the audio clip. Again, I'm sorry for the lousy sounds quality. Still, it’s a game P-Rays fans will be talking about for a loooooooong time. Enjoy!
As the Appalachian League moves into its long off-season, here’s a treat for Princeton Rays fans – the final stretch of the P-Rays' thrilling win over the archest of arch-rivals, the Bluefield Blue Jays late in the 2018 season. (Click here for background on the teams’ unique and hotly-contested Mercer Cup rivalry.) It was one of the most memorable moments in franchise history, and I’d like to share it with Princeton’s fans. They are my people.
But first, my apologies for the sound quality. My usual trustworthy recording method – a good, small, user-friendly digital recorder – went sideways that night. It usually produces crisp, clear audio, but this time it came out so staticky and hissy as to be listenable. Sorry about that. However, back at the station, the board op recorded the game off the on-air feed, which was the phone hookup from Hunnicutt Field. All things considered, the events outweighed the technical issues, which is why I’m posting the audio here.
Now for some context. Monday, 20 August 2018 was the back end of a two-game home-and-home series between archrivals Princeton and Bluefield, which were pulling away from the rest of the Appalachian League East, and (spoiler alert!) would go on to earn the division’s two playoff spots. Both the Rays and Jays went into the series hot. Princeton had won eight of its prior ten games; Bluefield had won six of eight.
The Jays won the series opener on Sunday, taking a 5-0 lead after four innings on the way to a 9-5 win that pulled them to within one game of the Rays for the division lead with ten to go. The result made Monday Monday night feel like a playoff game, and it lived up to the billing.
Princeton took the first lead on 2B Jonathan Aranda’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 2nd; an inning later, a single from Bluefield’s eventual Appy League All-Star CF Cal Stephenson tied the score.
The Blue Jays opened a 6-1 lead in the top of the 5th, when Luis De Los Santos clouted a three-run homer and Dom Abbadessa added a two-run single. Princeton got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Aranda scored on a wild pitch.
Princeton posted its own five-spot in the 6th, on Carlos Vargas’ two-run homer, a two-run triple from Aranda, and Jordyn Muffley’s RBI single.
Bluefield promptly re-tied the game with an unearned run in the 7th.
The score held at 7-7 when Wander Franco came to the plate with two outs in the 8th.
Franco was in the midst of a rookie season validating his validating his phenom status. He would earn the Appy League's Player of the Year award after leading the league in RBIs and at-bats, finishing 2nd in extra-base hits, 3rd in slugging and triples, and 4th in batting average and home runs. He had the best strikeout rate. He put together a 25-game hitting streak (11 games longer than anyone else) and a 53-game on-base streak (12 better than the runner-up). Franco reached base in every game he played between June 23rd and August 24th.
On this Monday, the 17-year old was 2-3 with a pair of singles, a run scored, and a walk going into his fateful plate appearance; his leadoff single in the 6th sparked the Rays’ five-run rally.
Bluefield manager Denny Holmberg had brought in reliever Sean Rackoski to begin the home 8th, and the All-Star closer struck out Pedro Diaz before inducing All-Star INF Connor Hollis into a groundout.
Then came Franco.
Rackoski, pitching perhaps a little too carefully, fell behind 3-0. Franco stepped out on the next pitch and took a fastball down the middle for a called strike, then awkwardly fouled off a pitch out of the strike zone. With a Rackoski got back to level with a full count, but his next pitch never came back.
Princeton handed the ball to closer Michael Costanzo in the 9th. The left-hander earned 1st Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors in the spring, in his senior season at Austin Peay, putting in 90 innings along the way. Then came his first professional season. By late August, he started to run out of gas, and found himself facing the top of a Bluefield lineup that was 3rd or better in the league in hits, batting average, runs scored, slugging, on-base percentage, and walks. It seemed like they always had somebody on base.
Stephenson, the leadoff hitter, was leading the league in BA, OPB, walks, and runs scored. Abbadessa, batting second, was third in hits and had earlier extended his on-base streak to 24 straight games. Josh Groshans, batting third, was the 12th overall pick in the 2018 Draft and had been promoted from the Gulf Coast League two days prior.
No matter. Costanzo outlasted Stephenson, froze Abbadessa, and got the 1st rounder to fly out, touching off a loud celebration and pushing Princeton’s division lead to two games as the schedule wound down.
Here's the audio clip. Again, I'm sorry for the lousy sounds quality. Still, it’s a game P-Rays fans will be talking about for a loooooooong time. Enjoy!
For Starters: Sports Update
Here's a local SportsCenter for Montana Radio.
Here's a local SportsCenter for Montana Radio.