The WRFA broadcast team that will be providing coverage of every home game of the Jamestown Tarp Skunks are (from L to R): Norman Rodriguez, Collin Wood, Sarah Disbro, Daniel Mallea, and Jason Sample.

JAMESTOWN, NY – The Jamestown Tarp Skunks and WRFA Radio are pleased to announce a broadcast agreement for the 2021 season. The new agreement involves all Tarp Skunks’ home games being broadcast on the local airwaves at 107.9 FM, as well as streaming worldwide at the station’s website, WRFALP.com.

“We are extremely proud of this partnership with Jamestown Tarp Skunks. This will be a great opportunity for community members to keep up with the ball club and its performance on the field,” explained Jason Sample, WRFA general manager.

“We are so excited and fortunate to have WRFA joining us at Diethrick Park this summer to bring our games to a new audience of people who can’t be with us in person, for one reason or another. We’re just so glad that they will still have a way of following the team and enjoying Jamestown baseball again,” said Jacob Kindberg, Jamestown Tarp Skunks general manager.

WRFA’s broadcasts of the Tarp Skunks will also provide an internship program for qualifying local college students to learn and gain valuable experience with sports broadcasting and sports journalism. Interns will learn and develop skills related to play-by-play and color commentary, player interviews, and how to provide both game previews and recaps for broadcasting. By the end of the 2021 season, the interns will also have the opportunity to participate in the live broadcasts.

“When I was in college studying broadcast journalism, I remember how difficult it was to find an internship program that was specifically geared toward sports broadcasting, especially in Chautauqua County,” Sample said. “Our hope is that through this program, local college students interested in pursuing a career in sports broadcasting and journalism will gain experience and learn skills that will help them on their career path after graduation.”

The WRFA broadcast team will be comprised of Sample and Norman Rodriguez, who have 20 years of sports broadcast experience between them. In the past, Sample has covered both high school baseball and Babe Ruth World Series games, along with high school football in both Chautauqua County and Warren County, PA. Rodriguez has covered high school baseball, football and basketball games with WNY Athletics and also was the public address announcer for the Jamestown Jammers collegiate baseball team from 2016-2018. In addition, he provides play-by-play for the Jamestown Jackals semi-pro basketball team.

The 2021 interns are Sarah Disbro from Falconer, NY and studying at Huntington University, Daniel Mallea from Mayville, NY and studying at Syracuse University, and Collin Wood from Mayville, NY and studying at West Virginia University.

“It’s exciting to see community baseball return to Jamestown after a two-year hiatus and WRFA is happy to be part of that excitement, “Sample said. “The best way to enjoy baseball is to see it live and in person, but we also understand that not everyone who wants to follow the team will have the opportunity to see every home game at the ball park. That’s why we’re happy to provide a forum where fans can tune in and listen to some of those games they can’t get to in person.”

The 2021 season will serve as the inaugural season of the Jamestown Tarp Skunks after the 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. All home games are played at Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park at 485 Falconer St. in Jamestown, NY. The first game of the 2021 season is Thursday, June 3 and the first home game is on Thursday, June 10. For a complete schedule, along with ticket information, visit TarpSkunks.com.

“We really can’t wait to bring quality baseball and family fun back to the people of Chautauqua County. We have been hard at work making sure our fans will have the best experience possible and we hope to see everyone out at the home opener on June 10. There will be a celebratory pregame festival outside the stadium with food and live music starting at 5 p.m.,” said Kindberg.

ABOUT JAMESTOWN TARP SKUNKS: The Jamestown Tarp Skunks are part of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, a 12-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 2010 and featuring teams from across New York State. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate.  The team is owned and operated by the Jamestown Community Baseball ownership group.   

ABOUT WRFA: WRFA is a listener supported, non-commercial, low power FM radio station provided as a public service by the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts. It is dedicated to providing access to the arts, cultural and educational programming and a forum for the discourse of both national and local public affairs. Funding for WRFA comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, corporate underwriting, and donations from individuals and groups in the community. It broadcasts at 107.9 FM in Jamestown and also streams worldwide at WRFALP.com.