Thursday's sectional scoreboard, 5/26

 It was championship Thursday in Section II softball. Five games, two venues, five champions crowned.

To borrow from "The Blues Brothers", Troy High was "on a mission from God", having already avenged a loss to Averill Park on Tuesday. Coach Sean Geisel's club was looking to collect a 2nd receipt, this time against Burnt Hills, which took Troy to 12 innings before taking a 2-1 victory last month.

The Flying Horses clearly had studied the game tape from that first meeting. Senior 1st baseman Emma Thompson drove in the only run with a 3rd inning homer. Olivia DeCitise did the rest, scattering five hits while striking out 16, bringing her season total to 266. For the first time in six years, Troy High claimed a sectional championship with the 1-0 win.

In addition to being named the female athlete of the week by the Albany Times-Union, DeCitise was named Suburban Council pitcher of the year on Wednesday, and Geisel was honored as the league's coach of the year.

In other action:

Saratoga completed its recovery from a sub-.500 regular season, upsetting Shenendehowa in 8 innings, 6-4, to claim the Class AA title.

Ichabod Crane needed just 5 innings (mercy rule) in crushing Glens Falls, 12-0, for the Class B title. Kari Graziano hurled a 1 hitter with 5 strikeouts. Ava Heffner & Clare Knapp went back-to-back with homers to pace the Lady Riders.

At Moreau Recreational, Greenwich upset top-seeded Chatham to win the C title, 4-3, and Argyle won the Class D title, beating Salem, 4-1.

State tournament schedules should be available as early as tomorrow.

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There's no guarantee that they'll play baseball at Bruno Stadium today, with thunderstorms in the forecast, but Thursday's doubleheader provided plenty of excitement.

Galway claimed the Class C title, defeating Duanesburg, 4-0. The Class CC title game went 11 innings before Chatham defeated Canajoharie, 3-2, on a bases-loaded walk.

Chatham and Galway will meet tomorrow night at 7 pm, weather permitting, of course, to unify the C & CC titles.

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For some strange reason, the Times-Union, after acknowledging that Burnt Hills is a Class C school in lacrosse, mistakenly said the women won the A title Thursday in a 17-7 rout of Albany Academy. They do have editorial issues at the T-U, to be sure. MK Lescault & Ella Blesi led the Spartans with 5 goals each.

The A title is actually on the line today at Christian Brothers Academy, as Saratoga and Shenendehowa will meet for the title. Also today, Niskayuna hosts Queensbury. Even though lacrosse can be played in the rain, player safety will determine if they'll take a chance in the storm.