News & notes

 The Tri-City Valleycats finally snapped a seven game losing streak on Sunday, salvaging the final game of their series with the New Jersey Jackals, 4-2, in the midst of a weekend heat wave. Denis Phipps provided the difference maker with a 2 run homer, and the 'Cats' pitching made it stand up.

After an off-day Monday, Tri-City will seek revenge on the NY Boulders beginning tonight. First pitch is at 6:30 pm.

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Kevin Huerter scored 15 points off the bench as Atlanta downed top-seeded Philadelphia, 128-124 Sunday. Trae Young led all scorers with 34 points.

The 76ers had hoped for a good luck charm from the WWE, as Paul "Triple H" Levesque came out with Sixers star Joel Embiid to ring the replica Liberty Bell during pre-game festivities. Levesque & Embiid came out to the theme of DeGeneration X, rocking the 2006-era shirts. Embiid is a fan.

With WWE resuming live events on a limited scale next month, don't be surprised if they do hit Albany before the end of the year.

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Lake George merged its football program with Hadley-Luzerne seven years ago. Now, Corinth is being added to the mix, and Lake George players, who've come to respect H-L coach Zac Kozersky over the last seven seasons, have threatened a boycott if Kozersky is not retained.

Parents are concerned because the Lake George school board did not consult with them, the players, or the coaches before making the merger deal with Corinth, which would be forced to go it alone with H-L if Lake George follows through on its threat. All we can say for now is, stay tuned.

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Monday's sectional scoreboard:

Women's lacrosse:

Class A:

Shaker 15, Guilderland 6.

Shenendehowa 23, Albany 0.

Saratoga 22, Colonie 9.

Shaker will play top-seeded Bethlehem on Thursday while Saratoga & Shen renew hostilities. Winners will meet next Monday.

Class B:

Columbia 18, Albany Academy 5. Columbia will play Queensbury on Thursday.

Niskayuna 24, Amsterdam 3. Nisky will play Burnt Hills on Thursday.

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Softball:

Class AA:

Colonie 4, Shaker 0.

Albany 4, Nisky 3.

Class A:

Troy 8, Glens Falls 2. Olivia DeCitise pitched a complete game, fanning 12, and went 3-4 at the plate. Maryssa Sano added a homer for the winners, who now play South Glens Falls today.

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake 13, Lansingburgh 1. The Spartans will visit Suburban Council rival Averill Park today.

Class C:

Hoosic Valley 3, Canajoharie 1.

Academy of Holy Names 16, Duanesburg 9.

Maple Hill 14, Waterford 2.

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Baseball:

Class B:

Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk 7, Coxsackie-Athens 6 (10 innings).

The rest of Monday's games were not reported in time for today's editions.

And, so, the sectionals begin

 Sectional titles in baseball, softball, & lacrosse will be decided over the next week-plus. Unlike in past years, there won't be a neutral site for the championships, except in lacrosse. The baseball finals won't be at Joe Bruno Stadium this year, for example, and the softball finals are not at Luther Forest in Malta, the latter of which makes little sense unless they have some sort of scheduling issue due to the pandemic. The Tri-City Valleycats' season is already underway, but the 'Cats will be on the road starting on Friday, and Section II couldn't make a deal with, say, RPI or Siena to host the finals.

As a Troy High alumnus, I'd rather that Troy's lacrosse team declined a bid for the Class B sectionals (there's no Class AA in lacrosse), but the winless laxmen will play one more game at Queensbury. The chances of a miracle run are slim.

Softball sectional pairings:

Class AA: 

Today:

Albany @ Niskayuna. Winner will play Shenendehowa on Tuesday.

Shaker @ Colonie. Winner will play Bethlehem on Tuesday.

Tuesday:

Guilderland @ Columbia.

Saratoga @ Ballston Spa.

Class A:

Today:

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake @ Lansingburgh. Winner will play Averill Park on Tuesday.

Hudson Falls @ Scotia-Glenville. Winner will play Queensbury on Tuesday.

Glens Falls @ Troy. Winner will play South Glens Falls on Tuesday.

Tuesday:

Amsterdam @ Mohonasen.

Class B:

Today:

Albany Academy @ Johnstown. Winner plays Ichabod Crane on Tuesday.

Broadalbin-Perth @ Cohoes. Winner plays Greenville on Tuesday.

Tuesday:

Fonda-Fultonville @ Bishop Gibbons.

Mechanicville @ Taconic Hills.

Hudson @ Schalmont.

Cobleskill-Richmondville @ Tamarac.

Coxsackie-Athens @ Catholic Central.

Granville @ Schuylerville.

Class C:

Today:

Schoharie @ Berlin-New Lebanon. Winner plays Chatham on Tuesday.

Middleburgh @ Voorheesville. Winner plays Saratoga Catholic @ Geyser Park on Tuesday.

Galway @ Hoosick Falls. Winner plays Warrensburg on Tuesday.

Duanesburg @ Academy of Holy Names. Winner plays Lake George on Tuesday.

Waterford @ Maple Hill. Winner plays Greenwich on Tuesday.

Hoosic Valley @ Canajoharie. Winner plays Whitehall on Tuesday.

Tuesday:

Mayfield @ Stillwater.

Berne Knox-Westerlo @ Rensselaer.

Class D:

Tuesday:

Fort Edward/Hartford @ Salem.

Fort Ann @ Argyle.

The winners will meet Thursday at the highest remaining seed.

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Baseball sectional pairings:

Class AA:

Tuesday:

Bethlehem @ Guilderland. Winner plays CBA on Thursday.

Schenectady @ Columbia. Winner plays Colonie on Thursday.

Albany @ Shaker. Winner plays Ballston Spa on Thursday.

Saratoga @ Niskayuna. Winner plays Shen on Thursday.

Class A: 

Tuesday:

Mohonasen @ Averill Park. Winner plays South Glens Falls on Thursday.

Glens Falls @ Albany Academy.

Hudson Falls @ Troy.

Lansingburgh @ Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake. 

Scotia-Glenville @ Queensbury.

Gloversville @ Amsterdam. Winner plays LaSalle on Thursday.

Class B:

Today:

Watervliet @ Cobleskill-Richmondville. Winner plays Hudson on Tuesday.

Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk @ Coxsackie-Athens. Winner plays Broadalbin-Perth on Tuesday.

Tuesday:

Fonda-Fultonville @ Granville.

Catskill @ Ichabod Crane.

Taconic Hills @ Tamarac.

Schuylerville @ Mechanicville.

Saratoga Catholic @ Schalmont.

Cohoes @ Greenville.

Class C:

Today:

Berne Knox-Westerlo @ Stillwater. Winner plays Fort Plain on Tuesday.

Bishop Gibbons @ Duanesburg. Winner plays Chatham on Tuesday.

Voorheesville @ Hoosick Falls. Winner plays Greenwich on Tuesday.

Berlin @ Maple Hill. Winner plays Rensselaer on Tuesday.

Middleburgh @ Waterford. Winner plays Galway on Tuesday.

Corinth @ Schoharie. Winner plays Canajoharie on Tuesday.

Tuesday:

Whitehall @ Hoosic Valley.

Lake George @ Hadley-Luzerne.

Class D:

Thursday:

Hartford-Fort Edward @ Salem. Winner plays Germantown on Saturday.

Northville @ Argyle. Winner plays Fort Ann on Saturday.

News & notes

 It seems the Tri-City Valleycats can't finish off their games.

The 'Cats let another game slip through their fingers Saturday night, as New Jersey beat Tri-City, 7-5, extending the 'Cats' losing streak to seven straight.

Tri-City will attempt to salvage the final game of the series today, thankful that they'll have a day off tomorrow.

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LPBA veteran Kelly Kulick taught the youngsters a thing or two Saturday in Glens Falls when she won the tournament. Rotterdam native Liz Kuhlkin finished 24th.

Will we see Kuhlkin in a televised finals? We'll see.

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Tennis season is officially over at Troy High. Averill Park snuffed out the momentum the Flying Horses built from beating CBA in their regular season finale, and handed Troy another shutout, 7-0. Troy tennis finishes 1-13 on the season.

On the diamond, CBA beat Troy in baseball, 12-7, so Troy enters the sectionals on a 2 game losing streak (9-6, 9-5 league play). However, the softball team decimated Cohoes, from the Colonial Council, 14-2. Jody Rogers pitched a complete game for Troy (8-7 overall, 6-7 Suburban Council).

We should have an idea of Troy's sectional opponents in the next 24-36 hours.

News & notes

 Country singer John Conlee had a hit song back in the day, "Friday Night Blues". Sports fans in the 518 were feeling those blues, but for a different reason.

Our tale of woe starts in Clifton Park, where Troy High finished a winless season in lacrosse, falling to Shenendehowa, 21-1, to finish the regular season 0-13. To their credit, the Plainsmen, on their Twitter page, chose not to disclose the final score to spare Troy further humiliation, saying only that Shen had 8 players tally goals. The talent just isn't there at Troy in lacrosse, and it'll be a while before they can find someone that can lead the laxmen to the win column. At least they scored a goal in the final quarter of the season, so there's that.

Next, we head to Saratoga. Troy's softball team dropped its 4th straight, 4-1, to the Lady Streaks. Sean Geisel's club (7-7, 6-7 Suburban Council) will get to play Cohoes after all, as the non-league game will be the home finale this afternoon at 3 pm. Troy baseball split a doubleheader with Saratoga, taking the first game, 5-1, for their 3rd straight win, but the Blue Streaks turned things around in the nightcap with a 9-0 win. Troy is now 9-5, and will finish the regular season with CBA today, also at 3. The 2nd game was considered a non-league game.

The upside is that Chris Strack's club will finish above .500 for the first time in a long time, and their ace, Mike Kennedy, will return next season.

Back at home, the Tri-City Valleycats opened the home portion of their season hoping to end a 5 game losing streak as they welcomed the New Jersey Jackals, making their first visit to Troy.

First pitch was pushed back to 7:20 pm due to pre-game tributes to team founder Bill Gladstone and Senator Joe Bruno, both of whom passed away last year.

Tri-City never led, as they fell behind, 2-0, despite a standout performance by starter Carlos Sano, who went six innings, and left with the game tied at 2 thanks to a Juan Silverio homer in the home 6th. However, the Jackals abused the 'Cats' bullpen, scoring 15 runs in the final three innings to post a 17-2 victory, sending the 'Cats skidding to their 6th straight loss while ending a brief two game losing streak of their own. Ouch!

The series resumes tonight at 7.

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Shenendehowa grad Ian Anderson was hoping to rebound from a loss to the Mets last Saturday night when he took the hill at Truist Park to face the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, the defending World Series champions had other ideas.

For the 2nd straight game, Anderson was knocked out in the 5th inning, going 4 1/3 this time, giving up four runs for the 2nd straight game, as the Dodgers beat Atlanta, 9-5. In hindsight, maybe Brian Snitker's plan to give Anderson an extra day's rest backfired after all.

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But, there is a happy ending, supplied by the Albany Empire.

Albany rolled into New Jersey to take on the Jersey Flight. This YouTube broadcast is being called by the Flight's own announcers.

This is the only Friday game on the regular season schedule for Albany. It's Saturdays going forward, starting with a home game next week at Times-Union Center. 

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Lest we forget that the Albany Dutchmen's opener at Glens Falls on Thursday was suspended by rain in the 5th inning, with Albany already up, 10-1. They will finish that game as part of a double-dip when they return to Glens Falls on Tuesday. No boxscore until then. The Dutchmen will christen their new home field in Guilderland today with a doubleheader.

News & notes

 If you tuned in to MLB Network Thursday, expecting to see Shenendehowa grad Ian Anderson back on the hill for the Atlanta Braves, you got a rude surprise.

Anderson had his start moved to tonight, as the Braves welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers. Manager Brian Snitker made the decision to give Anderson an extra day's rest, and the move paid off, as the Braves beat Washington, 5-1, behind rookie Tucker Davidson.

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Meanwhile, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jeff Hoffman (Shaker) was placed on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder injury a week ago, but, given how arm injuries of any kind can be unpredictable, there is no timetable for Hoffman's return.

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As we noted in a late update yesterday, Troy High's baseball game vs. CBA was pushed back to Saturday due to wet grounds at THS. What is meant to be the Senior Day game will now be the regular season finale, as Troy will play at Saratoga in a twi-night doubleheader. First game at 4:30, with the nightcap at 7, weather permitting, of course. Tomorrow's game is set for a 3 pm first pitch.

The Troy softball team travels to Saratoga today as well, hoping to snap a three game losing streak after Averill Park walked them off, 7-6, Thursday, on a sacrifice fly in the home 7th inning. Sean Geisel's club now sits in 4th place in the Suburban Council's Grey division at 6-6 (7-6 overall).

Troy's lacrosse team, locked in the basement, has one game remaining today at Shenendehowa. The mission at hand, of course, is to finally score. Troy was shut out again Thursday in a twilight game at Saratoga, 20-0. Now 0-12 (0-10 in league play), the laxmen need to find their pride and make a more concerted effort against Shen.

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The Tri-City Valleycats limp into their home opener tonight vs. New Jersey after a 1-5 road trip to start the season.

Perhaps the sight of some friendly faces at Bruno Stadium could provide a cure. Attendance will be capped at 2.500 fans to start the season (33% capacity), but the joint will be jumpin'. They'll also pay tribute to founding owner Bill Gladstone and Senator Joe Bruno, both of whom passed away since the team's last game.

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Also tonight: The Albany Empire are on the road to play the Jersey Flight. The game will be available on YouTube. Just punch in Albany Empire in the search box, and you're there.

News & notes

 The Atlanta Hawks moved on to the NBA's Eastern Conference Semi-finals with a 103-89 win over the Knicks Wednesday night. Kevin Huerter (Shenendehowa) contributed 8 points off the bench 

Huerter, in all, scored 47 points, or, 9.4 points per game in the five game series. While he was promoted as the top star at Shen, Huerter's actually been part of an ensemble right along, just as his father, Tom, Sr., was at Siena back in the day.

The Hawks will play Philadelphia, the East's top seed, next.

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Troy High's men's tennis team closed its season on a winning note on Wednesday.

Troy defeated CBA, 6-3, to avoid a winless season, finishing 1-12. Surprisingly, CBA is in the basement of the Suburban Council's Blue division at 0-12, as they'll have one more meet on the calendar.

The two schools will try again to play baseball this afternoon. The tennis meet was given a half hour headstart, and it turned out to be a wise decision, as rain forced postponement of the baseball game. Ignore what it says in the Albany Times-Union. Troy will play CBA today, weather permitting, and then close the season at Saratoga tomorrow night. The softball team is at Averill Park, attempting for the 3rd time to play the Lady Warriors. The T-U has the game listed as being played at Troy, but that is also incorrect. Troy's non-league games vs. Cohoes have been postponed until 2022 at the earliest.

Update, 2:00 pm: The Troy-CBA baseball game has been postponed again due to wet grounds. No makeup date has been announced, and the only date available is Saturday.

Troy's winless lacrosse team (0-11) is at Saratoga tonight, then closes at Shen on Friday.

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The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League is scheduled to begin the 2021 season tonight, weather permitting, of course. The Albany Dutchmen are scheduled to open the season at Glens Falls before christening their new home in Guilderland this weekend.

Check the video from WTEN:

News & notes

 The Tri-City Valleycats have now lost three straight after dropping a 7-2 decision to the NY Boulders on Tuesday. Carson Powell drove in both runs for Tri-City with a 2 run homer in the top of the 9th, but not nearly enough. They're back at it tonight at 6:30, provided, of course, that it doesn't rain.

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Four days after Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons pitcher Colin Campbell tossed a no-hitter, Troy High's Mike Kennedy served up a no-no of his own.

Kennedy, a junior already committed to LSU, fanned 14, walked 2, and drove in a couple of runs early with a triple to carry Troy (8-4) to a 4-0 win over Averill Park. Assuming the rain holds off, Troy will have Senior Day today vs. CBA.

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The recent string of fan incidents during the NBA playoffs the last few days recalls some unpleasant incidents in Section 2 as well.

A few years ago, a women's basketball game between Albany & Bethlehem ended a wee bit abruptly when some Albany parents got salty over how, as they saw it, the game was being officiated in favor of the Eagles in a matchup of two of the top women's teams in the Suburban Council. Not so long ago, a women's soccer match between Niskayuna & Schenectady was tainted because of some racial slurs being directed at some of the Lady Patriots, who have the worse burden of being one of the worst teams in the league. And there was a fight that broke out on the court between players from Averill Park and Bethlehem in a men's game a couple of years ago.

And, then, there's the story most of you probably don't know.

During the 1980-1 season, Troy & Linton were in a heated rivalry in the Big 10. The Blue Devils swept the season series, and that should've been all. The real drama, it turned out, was off the court.

After the February game at Troy, students from both schools engaged in a ice brawl, with only one Troy student being sent to jail. A couple of days later, it was the subject of conversation in the halls, and that's when the rest of the story came out.

When the two teams played at Linton in Schenectady, some Linton students rubbed it in by shaking the team buses. Yes, that's right. Buses. Plural. Not just the bus for the players & coaches, but one for the cheerleaders as well. You can chalk it up to kids being kids, but what was the point of shaking the buses in the first place? The perception created was one of the Linton kids being arrogant and disrespectful, in sharp contrast to the Troy kids, and the players on both squads.

This all went away, of course, when Linton & Mont Pleasant were merged into the current Schenectady High, the 2nd school to bear that name, but the bus shaking incident should never have been allowed to happen. Period.

Lesson: There's always going to be a few jokers in the deck, no matter what the schools do to prevent these things from happening.