News & notes

 Don't look now, but Arena Football season begins on Saturday. The Albany Empire open at home at MVP Arena vs. Carolina, with a 7 pm start. The game will be streamed on YouTube, as was the case last season. The Arena will be a busy place this weekend, with Smackdown airing live on Fox on Friday.

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The Atlanta Hawks are down 2-0 in games to Miami as the 1st round playoff series shifts to Atlanta on Friday. Kevin Huerter (Shenendehowa/Maryland) has been held to a total of 17 points in the first two games, a credit to the Heat defense recognizing the scoring threat he is. Friday's game will likely be on ESPN.

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Tuesday's off-season mixed precipitation forced the postponement of almost everything in high school & college sports, with few exceptions. The boneheads at the Albany Times-Union mislabeled Tuesday's lacrosse scores under boys' basketball, but then, we expect the errors to slip past proofreading.

Tuesday's scores:

Men's lacrosse:

Suburban Council:

Burnt Hills 14, Shaker 2.

Ballston Spa 15, Saratoga 1.

Women's lacrosse:

Suburban Council:

Saratoga 19, Albany 1.

Ballston Spa delayed the start of their softball & baseball games vs. Troy by four hours to 3 pm, but the information wasn't passed to the Times-Union, which also listed the tennis meet that took place on April 12, thinking no one would remember. Yeah, right.

Troy High says thank you very much.

Former Troy coach Curt Nobles has had the Flying Horses' number since leaving for Ballston Spa, but that wasn't to be on Wednesday. Mike Kennedy, who was MIA when Troy lost their first three games due to injury, combined with Austin Francis on a 3 hit shutout. Kennedy fanned 10 in 4 innings, and Francis added 5 K's in going the final 3, as Troy ran their winning streak to 4 in a row with a 7-0 win. Troy's road trip continues with two non-league games at Lansingburgh (Friday) & Mohonasen (Tuesday), sandwiched around a trip to Albany on Monday.

Update, 10:27 am: Schedule Galaxy shows that the Troy-'Burgh baseball game has been moved to Saturday morning due to Tuesday's game vs. LaSalle being rescheduled to Friday. First pitch is at 11 am. For Lansingburgh, Colonial Council scheduling takes precedence.

Meanwhile, Troy's Olivia DeCitise and Ballston Spa's Livia Wiltsie had a pitchers' duel for the ages. Both went the distance. Wiltsie fanned 16, but gave up a game winning 2 run homer to Katie Pryor, as Troy softball also ran their winning streak to 4 in a row, 3-1. DeCitise struck out 14 for the 2nd straight game, and has 128 for the season. Keep in mind, she's a junior who also plays for Troy's bowling team. The Lady Horses travel to Lansingburgh on Friday.

The rest of Wednesday's high school scoreboard:

Baseball:

Suburban Council:

Shenendehowa 11, Averill Park 1.

Colonie 1, Columbia 0. Tyler Sausville tossed a 2 hit shutout, and struck out 11.

CBA 6, Bethlehem 2.

Patroon Conference:

Maple Hill 12, Cairo-Durham 5.

Men's lacrosse:

Suburban Council:

Niskayuna 13, Guilderland 12.

Non-league:

Hoosick Falls-Tamarac 10, Lansingburgh 2.

Women's lacrosse:

Suburban Council:

Niskayuna 12, Guilderland 9.

Colonie 21, Columbia 3.

Non-league:

Shaker 11, Elizabeth Seton 10.

Softball:

Suburban Council:

Saratoga 5, Albany 0.

Shenendehowa 10, Averill Park 3

Columbia 3, Colonie 1.

Tennis:

Suburban Council:

Saratoga 7, Albany 2.

Shaker 9, Burnt Hills 0.