Ohio Returns Home to Battle Brandywine
As the regular season begins to wind down, (63) Ohio Roller Derby wraps up a whirlwind month of travel and returns to the Ohio Expo Center to square off against (69) Brandywine Roller Derby (Downingtown, PA) on Saturday, June 8th in their penultimate home game of the year.
Currently 2-4 in 2019, the Belligerents scheduled a season similar in length to the All Stars, and have slowly crept up in the WFTDA rankings over the past few months. Their first trip to Ohio in March resulted in a narrow loss to Cincinnati, while their home opener in April brought a 101-point triumph over Charm City. Brandywine also made the journey to the Put Up Your Toques invitational in Canada in early May, but fell short in each of their three games against Toronto, Orangeville, and Ottawa Valley, all of whom Ohio has bested this season. Most recently, the Belligerents took down Charlottesville in a 203-173 victory at home; Ohio is their last scheduled game before the June 30th cutoff for postseason determination.
Ohio and Brandywine have clashed only once previously, when the All Stars cinched a 248-108 win at home in April 2017. The Belligerents have experienced minimal turnover in their charter roster, retaining 8 of their 13 skaters from their last matchup with Ohio; notable losses include high-scoring jammer Lurz Lemon to Rose City after last season and heavy rotation blocker Rapid ArrhythMIA to Boston in April, but much like Ohio, they have picked up a handful of transfers in addition to developing B team skaters over the past two seasons.
Immediately following the charter game, Gang Green will battle the Brandywine Brawlers; their last meeting in 2017 resulted in a 314-113 victory for the Ohio B team. The Brawlers are 1-3 for the season, struggling with the B teams of Cincinnati, Philly, and Charm City, but taking home a road win against Penn Jersey’s B Devils in March.
Doors open to the public at 4 p.m.; the Ohio Roller Derby All Stars will take on the Brandywine Roller Derby Belligerents at 5 p.m., followed by Ohio Roller Derby Gang Green versus the Brandywine Roller Derby Brawlers around 7 p.m. Individual tickets and group sales are available online at ohiorollerderby.com/tickets/ through Friday, June 7th.
Photo courtesy of Jammer Line.