News & notes

 Yesterday, we noted the return of Sam Castronova to the Albany Firebirds.

Less than 24 hours later, he's gone again.

At a Tuesday presser, coach/GM Damon Ware announced that Castronova is heading back to the UFL after signing with the Houston Gamblers, who filled a pressing need after their top 2 quarterbacks were injured in an Easter Sunday loss to Birmingham.

The upside, of course, is that all UFL games are televised, be it on Fox, FS1, ABC, or ESPN, so we may well see Castronova on our screens anyway.

The other shoe dropped for Siena Tuesday when it was reported that Gavin Doty will indeed follow coach Gerry McNamara to Syracuse. Doty is from the Syracuse area, so it'll be a homecoming this winter.

We find it amusing that Bill Arsenault of the Albany Times-Union finally gave Troy grad Olivia DeCitise her flowers after throwing a perfect game vs. Merrimack two weeks ago. What he didn't mention, however, was the up & down weekend that followed vs. UAlbany.

We'll catch up with Olivia & UMass Lowell later this week before they welcome the Lady Danes, who will play a mid-week double dip at Siena today.

Tuesday's high school scores:

Women's lacrosse:

Troy 8, Johnstown 7. The Lady Horses made history in winning their first varsity game, and they'll go for 2 in a row today at Amsterdam at 11 am, not 3 pm as originally scheduled.

Burnt Hills 19, Columbia 15.

Men's lacrosse:

Shenendehowa 5, Shaker 4.

Ballston Spa 11, Colonie 3.

CBA 9, Columbia 5.

Guilderland 12, Bethlehem 9.

South Glens Falls 23, Amsterdam 5.

Saratoga 11, Averill Park 4.

Schuylerville 15, Scotia 3.

Burnt Hills 13, Ithaca 10.

LaSalle will host Schalmont under the lights at Bruno Stadium tonight at 7:30 pm. Not sure if it's the only game at The Joe, though.

News & notes

 It was assumed that Shane Kirker would continue his basketball career at Air Force after graduating from Berne-Knox-Westerlo this summer.

Things change.

The Albany Times-Union is reporting that Kirker will instead enroll at Mercyhurst after decommitting from Air Force after the Falcons dismissed coach Joe Scott in February. Well, we've seen something like that at Siena in the wake of Gerry McNamara's departure for Syracuse a couple of weeks back.

Best of luck to Shane, although Mercyhurst won't be post-season eligible until the 2027-8 season, as they transition to Division 1 from Division 2.

The Albany Firebirds begin defense of their AF1 title on Saturday against Minnesota at MVP Arena. Kickoff has been moved up to 6 pm, likely to accomodate Vice TV. The 'Birds welcomed back QB Sam Castronova, Duane Brown Isiah Scott, and Isaiah Hardy, who returned to the team after the reorganization of the UFL included the Memphis Showboats not fielding a team this season.

UAlbany didn't waste much time finding someone to succeed Colleen Mullen.

Kelly Morrone was hired late last week, coming over from Merrimack, where she spent the last 7 seasons, as Mullen departed for Rhode Island.

Monday's high school scoreboard:

Softball:

Columbia 2, Bethlehem 0.

Queensbury 25, Amsterdam 1.

Glens Falls 18, Gloversville 1.

South Glens Falls 5, Scotia 2.

Lansingburgh 13, Ravena 2.

LaSalle 18, Coxsackie-Athens 5.

Hudson Falls 10, Schuylerville 4.

Baseball:

Queensbury 9, Schuylerville 3.

Broadalbin-Perth 9, Amsterdam 5.

South Glens Falls 12, Hudson Falls 6.

Greenwich 11, Canajoharie-Ft. Plain 7.

Averill Park 4, Scotia 3.

Shenendehowa 4, Ballston Spa 3.

Men's lacrosse:

LaSalle 17, Troy 5.

Troy High sports review, through April 4

 It's Easter/Spring break for schools across the state. Time to check in on how Troy High did last week.

Softball:

Current record: 1-1.

Sean Geisel's club had to rally late to beat Saratoga, 7-4, on Saturday, after dropping the season opener to Colonie.

Next: Tomorrow's non-league road game at Shaker has been postponed due to weather, with cold temperatures today & tomorrow. That means the Lady Horses are idle until Friday, when they open Colonial Council play at Ravena, then visit Averill Park Saturday morning.

Flag football:

Current record: 1-0.

Troy set a school record with a 65-0 thumping of Lansingburgh one week ago.

Next: The Lady Horses welcome Holy Trinity on Wednesday afternoon, and Broadalbin-Perth on Friday.

Tennis:

No record.

Both of last week's meets were postponed due to weather.

The court is quiet this week, as play resumes after the break.

Men's lacrosse:

Current record: 0-1.

New year, same story, although to be fair, Troy was competitive in a loss to Greenwich-Cambridge on Thursday.

Next: The laxmen head across town to Sutton Field at LaSalle tonight, then host Hoosick Falls-Tamarac Wednesday night.

Women's lacrosse:

Current record: 0-2.

Thursday's game at Albany was rained out.

Next: The road trip heads to Johnstown on Tuesday, & Amsterdam Wednesday morning.

Baseball:

No record.

Trevor McCarthy's club opens play Friday afternoon at Ravena, then at Guilderland on Saturday morning.

News & notes

 After missing parts of the last three seasons due to injury, Valencia Fontanelle-Posson (Guilderland) is leaving Siena, and entering the transfer portal.

Just what Siena didn't need, after losing their two best players on the men's team within the last week.

I get that she wants playing time, now that it appears she's healthy. UAlbany would be a good option, unless Fontanelle-Posson wants to try her luck further away from home.

Stay tuned.

Seems that the Daily Gazette may be the only paper in the region covering their hometown team, the NY Phoenix, who beat Jersey Shore, 133-122, last night. The Albany Times-Union was only interested last season when the Phoenix played the Albany Patroons, who have this season off.

Finances, yo'.

A gentle reminder that schools across the state are on Easter recess through next week, so most games will be mid-day or early afternoon matinees the next few days.

And speaking of high schools, here's Thursday's scores:

Women's lacrosse:

Queensbury 15, Colonie 5.

Saratoga 11, Burnt Hills 10.

Shenendehowa 17, Guilderland 6.

Men's lacrosse:

Burnt Hills 20, Haldane 5.

Saratoga 7, Ballston Spa 6.

Bethlehem 13, CBA 6.

Greenwich-Cambridge 11, Troy 6.

Johnstown 14, Hoosick Falls-Tamarac 10.

Hudson Falls 5, Broadalbin-Perth 4.

Scotia 15, Amsterdam 8.

Guilderland 9, Shenendehowa 8.

Shaker 9, Averill Park 1.

South Glens Falls 16, Glens Falls 9.

Niskayuna 19, Columbia 1.

Queensbury 12, Schuylerville 9.

Softball:

Glens Falls 14, Granville 3.

Bethlehem graduate Claire Hutton has added another accolade.

Hutton was named by ESPN as #1 among the world's young soccer players. Pretty heady stuff (pun intended).

For viewers in the 518, we will have to wait until we're close to game time to find out where you can see the Mets-San Francisco game tonight (10:15 1st pitch at Oracle Park). The majority of games on WPIX in NYC will be on Fridays this year, and due to Fox & ABC commitments, the games likely will air on either Grit or Cozi TV for now, until the official television season ends next month. As of now, the cable guide doesn't have the game listed for airing in the 518. Fox has UFL football, and ABC has a 2 hour 20/20, which forces the Mets to digital cable.

It's all about ratings in NYC, of course, but upstate viewers are left fishing. Bleech.

Update, 11:40 am.: WTEN will carry Mets-Giants after all, as Judy Justice will air at 9, followed by the Mets' pre-game show, and the game itself. 20/20 will shift to Cozi.

Weather postponement update, 4/2

 For now, this is just a partial list, as more games could be added in the next few hours.

Baseball:

Hudson @ Ichabod Crane. No make-up date set as of press time.

Cobleskill-Richmondville @ Mohonasen. They'll try again tomorrow.

Softball:

Cohoes @ Albany. No make up date set yet.

LaSalle @ Germantown-cancelled.

Tennis:

Mohonasen @ Cobleskill-Richmondville.

Ichabod Crane @ Ravena.

Colonie @ Troy.

News & notes

 Siena has ended its search for a new men's basketball coach by going outside the box, if you will.

Nevada Smith, an assistant at Marquette the last few years, was hired Wednesday to take over the program after Gerry McNamara departed for Syracuse a week ago.

Saratoga football star Cam Toomey is still getting offers from Division 1 schools, and they're filling his mailbox, it seems, on a regular basis, per the Albany Times-Union.

Since September, Toomey has gotten offers from Penn State, Syracuse, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida State, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Kentucky, Rutgers, California, Connecticut, & Boston College. Toomey will take advantage of Easter break to visit North Carolina.

Hmmmm. ACC, Big 10, & SEC. Methinks we'll see plenty of Toomey on cable in a couple of years.

Wednesday's high school & college scores:

Colleges:

Women's lacrosse:

Mount St. Mary's 11, Siena 10 (OT).

Softball:

UAlbany 4, Central Connecticut State 0.

Russell Sage 4, Cobleskill 1.

High schools:

Baseball:

LaSalle 14, Mechanicville 1.

Taconic Hills 12, Germantown 0. Tristan Super & Maky Kirby combined to throw a no-hitter.

Flag football:

Columbia 34, Niskayuna 12.

Women's lacrosse:

Bethlehem 17, Valley Central 6.

Softball:

Albany Academy 16, Maple Hill 1.

Colonie 8, Troy 0.

Greenwich 16, Stillwater 3.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo 6, Voorheesville 5.

Hoosick Falls 19, Berlin-New Lebanon 0.

Glens Falls 9, Lake George 0.

Mechanicville 7, Waterford 3.

Duanesburg 15, Holy Trinity 5.

Albany 23, Schenectady 3.

Mohonasen 4, Cobleskill-Richmondville 1.

Taconic Hills-Hawthorne Valley 13, Germantown 0.

Schalmont 10, Amsterdam 6.

Corinth 21, Northville-Wells 10.

Columbia 9, Queensbury 0.

News & notes

 The off-season for Siena just keeps getting worse.

On Tuesday, freshman Francis Folefac announced he was entering the transfer portal. Something tells me that he, like Gavin Doty, will follow Gerry McNamara to Syracuse. Just a hunch, kids.

The Albany Times-Union, in the course of interviewing former Catholic Central star Julie McBride, learned that McBride and Hoosac School captured the Class AAA title in the New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) last month. 

Believe me, I've tried to obtain scores from NEPSAC's website on Albany Academy during the season, but, no dice. Speaking of Academy, their swim team captured a championship in NEPSAC as well. Belated congratulations.

We've mentioned previously that McBride owns a gym in Lansingburgh, occupying the former St. Augustine's gym. What we didn't know was that her business partner is former Siena star and ex-Harlem Globetrotter Tay Fisher. Talk about star power!

Time to catch up on some scores from Monday, as well as Tuesday:

Baseball:

Monday:

Hartford/Fort Edward 10, Warrensburg 0 (5 innings).

Cobleskill 9, Voorheesville 2.

Lansingburgh 2, Hoosick Falls 0.

Lake George 13, Mayfield 3 (5 innings).

Cambridge-Salem 8, Hudson Falls 3.

Albany 6, Hoosic Valley 2.

Middleburgh 13, Windham-Ashland-Jewett 3.

Germantown 18, Berlin-New Lebanon 1 (5 innings).

Waterford 8, Schenectady 5.

Glens Falls 10, North Warren 2.

Flag football:

Monday:

Broadalbin-Perth 28, Hudson 0.

Holy Trinity 20, Catskill 0.

Ravena 26, Mohonasen 0.

Colonie 25, Bethlehem 0.

Shenendehowa 7, Columbia 0.

Niskayuna 27, Burnt Hills 0.

Guilderland 12, Schenectady 6 (OT).

Shaker 23, Saratoga 6.

Women's lacrosse:

Tuesday:

Niskayuna 16, Ballston Spa 3.

Johnstown 17, Hoosick Falls-Tamarac 16.

Queensbury 25, Amsterdam-Broadalbin-Perth 0.

Shaker 16, Briarcliff 7.

Albany 11, Schenectady-Mohonasen-Schalmont 3.

Men's lacrosse:

Mechanicville-Stillwater 16, Hoosick Falls-Tamarac 3.

CBA 17, Albany 4.

Schuylerville 19, Hudson Falls 0.

Queensbury 15, Scotia 4.

Shenendehowa 12, Colonie 5.

Burnt Hills 15, Saratoga 6.

Shaker 15, LaSalle 1. The Cadets are still looking for their first win of the season.

Voorheesville @ Troy was rained out. No make-up date has been set at press time.

Glens Falls 19, Amsterdam 0.

Greenwich-Cambridge @ Johnstown was rained out. No make-up date has been set at press time.

Softball:

Fort Ann 10, Corinth 6.

Fort Edward 18, Bolton 8.

Cairo-Durham 16, Hunter-Tannersville 14.