News & notes

 Brantley Bell extended his hitting streak to 25 games with a 1st inning home run, and then, the Tri-City Valleycats needed a 9th inning sacrifice fly from Austin Elder to walk off the Empire State Greys, 9-8. The 'Cats will go for the sweep this afternoon.

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They say it's hard beating a team 3 times in a single season, as the Carolina Cobras did in sweeping a regular season series against the Albany Empire. However, the Cobras peaked a wee bit too soon, and a late swoon enabled the Empire to be the #1 seed in the National Arena League, setting the stage for a 4th meeting between the two teams at MVP Arena on Saturday. Once the Empire took the lead in the middle of the 1st quarter, they never looked back, and won their 2nd straight NAL title, 47-20.

In football, payback can be brutal.

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The Albany Times-Union has been charting the progress of Section II alumni in baseball the last couple of weeks. You know that Ben Anderson, in the Texas Rangers' minor league chain, is recovering from Tommy John surgery. You know that Jeff Hoffman (Shaker) is on the IL for the Cincinnati Reds, so he was spared the embarrassment of pitching at Citi Field last week vs. the Mets.

But what about other players? Well..........

We'll start with Ben's twin brother, Ian, who was recalled from Gwinnett to pitch the nightcap vs. Miami Saturday night, instead of the opener, as had been originally planned. The extra time worked for Ian, as he went six innings, giving up 2 runs while walking 1 and striking out 6. Atlanta completed a doubleheader sweep with a 6-2 win, giving Ian his 10th win of the season. 

As for the rest:

Brian O'Keefe (Colonie) is a catcher in the Seattle chain, batting .283, with 11 homers and 33 RBI's at AAA Tacoma in the Pacific Coast League. Could get called up come September.

Zach Remillard (LaSalle) is a 3rd baseman, also at AAA, with Charlotte, the top affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Zach is hitting .274, with 6 homers and 37 RBI's. He could also get a look next month.

Kevin Smith (Columbia) appears to have been recalled by the Oakland A's. His current stats have him batting .180 with 2 homers and 13 RBI's. You can understand why he was benched.

Garrett Whitley (Niskayuna) is playing for AA Biloxi in the Milwaukee organization. The outfielder is batting .257 with 2 homers and 7 RBI's.

A 3rd Shenendehowa alumnus, Justin Yurchak is a 1st baseman for AA Tulsa, affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Justin is batting .275 with 6 homers and 35 RBI's.

It appears Ben Anderson did pitch early this season before being shut down and undergoing Tommy John surgery. Anderson appeared in 9 games for Hickory of the South Atlantic League (Advanced A), posting a 5-3 record, a 3.51 ERA, with 29 strikeouts in 41 innings.

Matt Gage (Broadalbin-Perth/Siena) is in Buffalo, Toronto's top farm team, and could be back in September.

Jake Fishman (Union College, the lone college only player on the list) was signed by Miami, and has appeared in 28 games for the Marlins' AAA team in Jacksonville. He's 4-1 with a 1.96 ERA, and has fanned 45 batters in 46 innings, a shade more than a batter an inning.

Tyler Mattison (Fort Ann) is with Lakeland of the Florida State League, an entry level farm club of the Detroit Tigers. Tyler's appeared in 15 games, posting a 2-0 record despite a 7.00 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 18 innings. That means he's been battered a bit early.

John Rooney (Hoosic Valley) is also at Tulsa, where he's 4-4 in 17 games, with a 5.14 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 77 innings.

Danny Watson (Columbia/Virginia Commonwealth) was drafted by the Yankees, and is pitching for Tampa. He's appeared in 31 games with a 4-3 record, a 3.97 ERA, and 54 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings.

The only one on the list drafted this year is Dale Stanavich (Amsterdam/Rutgers), who's gotten off to a fast start for Miami's FSL team in Jupiter. He's appeared in 3 games, pitching 3 2/3 innings with 3 strikeouts as a reliever.

So much for "Smallbany", right?