Sectional update, 5/29

Lacrosse season is over in Section II, at least for the boys.

All four teams representing the home district played regional semi-final games on Wednesday, and all four were eliminated.

At Columbia High in East Greenbush, Class A champion Niskayuna saw its undefeated season end with a 11-6 loss to Mamaroneck. Class B titlist Ballston Spa fell to John Jay-Cross River, 14-6.

In Schuylerville, the host Black Horses dropped a 5-3 Class D game to Briarcliff, while Class C champ LaSalle ended its season with a 13-6 loss to Rye.
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On May 18, Jayden Lee pitched a complete game for Averill Park, leading the Lady Warriors past Troy, 8-3, in the regular season finale for Averill Park.

Wednesday, when they needed Lee the most, the Lady Warriors didn't have her on the field for a Class A quarterfinal rematch vs. the Lady Horses. Worse, DH Kelsey Mohl also sat out.

Why? Seems there are issues between the two seniors and coach Ken Bailey amid allegations of body shaming and other forms of verbal abuse. The story broke on television via WTEN & Spectrum News, but there is nothing to be found in the newspapers today as of this writing.

Given that similar allegations against then-Troy women's basketball coach Paul Bearup led to a botched attempt at an expose by The Record two years ago, I'd understand the print media shying away.

But, there was a game to be played. Assistant coach Dave Pugilese, the varsity men's basketball coach & assistant football coach, decided that Mohl & Lee would not play vs. Troy. Big mistake.

Troy, down 6-1 entering the 7th inning, scored 7 runs, capped by a 2-run single by Lauren McElligott, to upset Averill Park, 8-6. The Lady Warriors finish at 15-6 for the season, while Troy goes to 10-10. There is, however, no rest for the weary, as Troy moves on to play South Glens Falls, a 7-3 winner over Lansingburgh, later today at Schalmont.

There is some irony here, though. Three years ago, then-Troy coach George Rafferty had a meltdown during a regular season game at Averill Park, and was ultimately dismissed. However, that had more to do with the perception, in his mind, anyway, of biased umpiring in favor of the Lady Warriors.

While Mohl & Lee have played their last game for Averill Park, has Bailey coached his last game? Given how schools tend to keep personnel decisions in-house and away from the press, we may never know.
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Other scores:

Softball:

Class AA:

Columbia 5, Saratoga 2.
Colonie 2, Shaker 1.
Bethlehem 8, Guilderland 7.

Class A:

Ballston Spa 7, Amsterdam 0.
Scotia-Glenville 2, Mohonasen 1.

Class B:

Schuylerville 2, Glens Falls 0.
Ichabod Crane 13, Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons 1.
Tamarac 6, Greenville 0.
Mechanicville 5, Cobleskill-Richmondville 1.

Class C:

Lake George 10, Hoosick Falls 0.
Chatham 12, Fort Plain 0.
Greenwich 9, Canajoharie 1.
Hoosic Valley 3, Mayfield 2.

Class D:

Germantown 5, Heatly 4.
Whitehall 10, Argyle 0.
Fort Ann 3, Hartford-New Hartford 2.
Salem 15, North Warren 0.

Baseball:

Class A:

Averill Park 3, Amsterdam 2 (13 innings).
Ballston Spa 4, Queensbury 0.

Class C:

Fort Plain 6, Greenwich 1.
Hoosick Falls 2, Chatham 1.

Class D:

Hartford-Fort Edward 11, Germantown 3.
Whitehall 10, Salem 0.

The Class AA semi-finals will be played today at Bruno Stadium. The schedule:

4 pm: #3 Saratoga vs. #2 Shenendehowa.
7 pm: #5 Guilderland vs. #1 Niskayuna.

The winners will meet Monday. The rest of the finals are set:

Friday:

Class D: Hartford-Fort Edward vs. Whitehall, 4 pm.
Class B: Schuylerville vs. Mechanicville, 7 pm.

Saturday:

Class C: Fort Plain vs. Hoosick Falls, 4 pm.
Class A: Averill Park vs. Ballston Spa, 7 pm.