Saturday, June 8, 2024

News & notes

 Saratoga Race Course is back up & running for Day 3 of the Belmont Racing Festival after Friday's card was cut short due to a power outage.

The Belmont Stakes itself will air on WXXA tonight, with post time approximately 6:41 pm. OTB-TV (Spectrum channel 1250) will also carry the race.
=======================================
The Tri-City Valleycats have become one of the hottest teams in the Frontier League after rallying to beat the NY Boulders on Friday night. Tri-City has won 4 straight and 6 of their last 7. Ex-Valleycat Chris Kwitzer, in his 3rd season with the Boulders, and a 'Cat killer each of the last two years, was held in check going 0-4 with an RBI.

Game 2 is tonight at 6:30 at Bruno Stadium.
========================================
We can confirm that Salem's 14-1 bludgeoning of Chateaugay on Friday was called after 5 innings due to the mercy rule.

Finishing Friday's results:

Tennis:

Division 1 semi-finals:

Syosset 7, Bethlehem 0.

Softball:

Class B semi-finals:

Schuylerville 4, Albertus Magnus 1. The Black Horses will play Wellsville this afternoon.

Class C:

Berne-Knox Westerlo 11, Union Springs 7. BKW will play for the state title vs. Bloomfield this afternoon.

The rest of today's lineup:

Class AA: Burnt Hills vs. Clarence, 1 pm.

Class D: Salem vs. Deposit-Hancock, already underway.


Baseball:

Class AAA semi-finals:

Ketcham 4, Shenendehowa 3 (10 innings).

Class AA: Bethlehem 3, Eastchester 2. The Eagles play Hauppage this afternoon at 4 at Mirabito Stadium.

Also today:

Class B: Taconic Hills vs. Spackenkill, 1 pm.

Class C: Chatham vs. Burke Catholic, already underway.

Friday, June 7, 2024

High School Fridays: Section 2 started with 11 teams in today's action, and...........

 The numbers are dwindling as today's action progresses. 5 baseball teams. 6 softball teams. All vying for state titles. Let's take a quick peek at what's happened so far today:


Softball:

Class AAA semi-finals:

Corning-Painted Post 6, Saratoga 4.

Class AA semi-finals:

Burnt Hills 3, Vestal 1. The Spartans will play Clarence tomorrow at 1 pm.

Class A semi-finals:

Marlboro 2, Ichabod Crane 0.

Class D semi-finals:

Salem 14, Chateaugay 1. Have to believe this was a mercy rule game. Salem advances to play Deposit-Hancock tomorrow morning at 10:30 am.

The Class B game between Schuylerville & Albertus Magnus is underway as we write. In Class C, Berne-Knox-Westerlo will play Union Springs at approximately 6 pm.

Baseball:

Class B semi-finals:

Taconic Hills 9, Little Falls 6. 

Class C semi-finals:

Chatham 9, Pulaski 0. The Panthers will play Burke Catholic of Section 9 tomorrow at 10 am.

Class D:

Oriskany 9, Hadley-Luzerne 3.

The Class A, AA, & AAA games are underway as we write.
========================================
Other stuff:

Shaker graduate Jeff Hoffman is in England this weekend with the Philadelphia Phillies as they prep for a 2 game weekend series vs. the Mets in London Saturday & Sunday. Hoffman has found his niche as a reliever with the Phils, who sit in 1st place in the NL East. The Mets are coming off a sweep of the Washington Nationals.
==========================================
Speaking of sweeps, the Tri-City Valleycats made sure they got the brooms out against the New Jersey Jackals, even if Thursday's game was cut short by rain. 

The game was called after 6 innings, with the 'Cats blowing away the Jackals, 10-2. With the rain having subsided, the 'Cats open a weekend series vs. the NY Boulders tonight at 6:30 pm.
==========================================
The Albany Patroons return home tomorrow, looking to close out the Raleigh Firebirds after beating Raleigh on the road, 105-92, Thursday night. Shadell Millinghaus (Troy/Schenectady) had 23 points to lead 6 Pats in double figures.

Thursday, June 6, 2024

News & notes

 Fans expecting to attend tonight's 518 Futures Game at Bruno Stadium will have to wait 4 days at the minimum.

Section II officials, on the advice of meteorologist Chicken Little, postponed the game until Monday in anticipation of late afternoon storms. Tickets purchased for tonight will be honored on Monday.


Meanwhile, the 'Cats will be looking to bring the brooms out against the New Jersey Jackals tonight, weather permitting, of course, after beating the Jackals, 6-3, on Wednesday afternoon. Tri-City returns home tomorrow for a weekend series vs. the NY Boulders.
====================================================
The Albany Firebirds have gotten another change in their schedule.

The unbeaten 'Birds, who will face West Texas on the road on Saturday, were to host the Salina Liberty June 15. However, it'll instead be a rematch vs. the Orlando Predators, whom Albany beat opening night, and will visit on July 29 in the season finale. Game time remains 7 pm, and the game will stream on YouTube.

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

News & notes

The revolving door has spun again at Troy High.

Word is going out that men's basketball coach Josh Pelletier has decided not to return next season, leaving after 1 season at Troy, which badly underachieved.


What might've done Pelletier in may have been the decision to bench the Merritt cousins, Legend & Stetson, during the regular season finale vs. Guilderland. The Merritts quit the team soon after, and Troy, understandably, was 1-&-done in the sectionals.

Now, Athletic Director Paul Reinisch has to work with the school board to find a new coach. Again.

In other coaching news, as Rodger Wyland reported on WNYT last week, Jeremy Friel is leaving UAlbany and Dwayne Killings' staff to become the women's basketball coach at Guilderland. The Dutchmen are also welcoming Mike Beadnell as their new men's varsity hoops coach.
============================================
Earlier this year, Saratoga senior Carly Wise broke the 1,000 point barrier in basketball. In Saturday's state regional lacrosse loss, Wise reached another milestone with her 300th career goal. Belated congratulations to Carly.
=============================================
Section II's loss is the ACC's gain.

Albany Academy senior Kennedy Swedick capped her high school career by winning her 3rd straight state golfing title Monday at Edison Country Club in Rexford. Swedick, who moves on to Virginia this fall, trailed by a stroke going into Monday's round, and ended up carding a 66, winning by five strokes. Dannah Smith (Schalmont) finished 3rd, Hayden Knapp the 8th grader from South Glens Falls, finished 4th, Zorah Williams (Emma Willard) finished 8th, and Sienna Wheeler (Colonie) fell to 9th after carding a 6 over par 78.

We'll just have to watch the ACC Network listings to see if they carry college golf this fall.

Monday, June 3, 2024

News & notes

 Arlo Marynczak (Bethlehem/Siena) got the ball to start Sunday's Tri-City Valleycats game vs. the New England Knockouts. That was the good news. The bad? Ex-Saint teammate Ben Seiler (Albany Academy) didn't see the field at all in the series.

Ex-Mets farmhand Richard Brito copied Jhon Vargus' complete game gem on Saturday with one of his own, as he outdueled Marynczak, who went 5 innings himself, as the Knockouts salvaged the final game of the series with a 6-2 win. Marynczak was charged with 4 runs in the 5 innings.

Tri-City heads to New Jersey tomorrow for a short road trip vs. the Jackals before returning home Friday to play the NY Boulders.
============================================
The NYSPHSAA golf championships wrap today at Edison Country Club in Rexford. To the surprise of no one, Kennedy Swedick, playing her final tournament for Albany Academy, sits in 2nd place, 1 shot off the lead. 8th grader Hayden Knapp (South Glens Falls) and Colonie junior Sienna Wheeler are tied for 4th, 3 shots behind Swedick, and 4 off the lead. The final round begin this morning at 9 am.
=============================================
The Albany Patroons are headed to Raleigh, NC, for the next round of the TBL playoffs, as they open vs. the Raleigh Firebirds on Thursday. The series moves to the Washington Avenue Armory on Saturday, with the finale, if needed, on Sunday. The Pats, though, could be without one of their leading scorers, as Trevis Wyche came out of game 1 of the Frederick series with an ankle injury, and is questionable for Thursday.

Sunday, June 2, 2024

News & notes

 The series between the Tri-City Valleycats & New England Knockouts wraps later today at Bruno Stadium, with first pitch around 5 pm. The Albany Times-Union is reporting that the series doubles as a reunion of old college teammates.

Ben Seiler, son of T-U editor Casey Seiler, is in his first season with the Knockouts, and, back home for the weekend, had a chance to reconnect with 'Cats pitcher and former Siena teammate Arlo Marynczak.

Neither man got into Saturday's game. Jhon Vargas pitched a complete game shutout as the 'Cats blew away New England, 10-0, in a game that went a speedy 2 hours and 20 minutes, which would be the norm in today's baseball, but for the fact that Tri-City has already had two games go 3 hours or better at home at least.

Tri-City goes for the sweep today. We're not privy to the pitching matchup, but let's hope both Marynczak & Seiler see some action.
=============================================
The Albany Patroons are moving on in the TBL playoffs after sweeping the Frederick Flying Cows, 95-91, on Saturday in Maryland. The odd thing is, the TBL website's scoreboard for the game froze with the score tied, 3-3, as of this morning. The Cows' page on X gave fans the actual result.
==============================================
The Albany Firebirds are 6-0 after beating Nashville for the 2nd time in a month, but it got a little too close for comfort late.


Albany has a rematch with West Texas next week.
=========================================
Saturday's state regional scoreboard:

Flag football:

Plainview-Old Bethpage 14, Columbia 0. P-OB is playing for the state title as we write vs. Scarsdale.

Women's lacrosse:

Class A:

Suffern 10, Saratoga 8.

Class B:

Greeley 7, Bethlehem 6.

Class C:

Rye 11, Queensbury 8.

Class D:

Bronxville 17, Voorheesville 4.

Men's lacrosse:

Class A:

Mamaroneck 7, Shenendehowa 5.

Class B:

Yorktown 12, Niskayuna 5.

Class C:

Rye 16, Queensbury 3.

Class D:

Pleasantville 13, Schuylerville 6.

Softball:

Class AAA:

Saratoga 7, Liverpool 0. The Blue Streaks will play Corning-Painted Post Friday at noon.

Class AA:

Burnt Hills 10, Whitesboro 2. Next for the Spartans is Vestal on Friday at 3 pm.

Class A:

Ichabod Crane 6, Camden 4. The Riders will play Marlboro on Friday at 9 am.

Class B:

Schuylerville 6, Saranac 0. The Black Horses will meet Albertus Magnus Friday at 4:30.

Class C:

Berne-Knox-Westerlo 14, St. Lawrence 0. Next will be Union Springs Friday at 6.

Class D:

Salem 15, Crown Point 3. Next up is Chateaugay Friday at 10:30 am.

Baseball:

Class AAA:

Shenendehowa 11, CBA-Syracuse 10. Next up for the Plainsmen will be Ketchum, Friday at 4 in Binghamton (all the remaining games are in Binghamton at Mirabito Stadium).

Class AA:

Bethlehem 5, West Genesee 3. Next for the Eagles will be Eastchester at Binghamton University Friday at 4.

Class A:

Jamesville-DeWitt 3, Albany Academy 2.

Class B:

Taconic Hills 9, Canton 0. Next up is Little Falls at Union-Endicott High Friday at 10 am.

Class C:

Chatham 13, Ticonderoga 2. The Panthers move on to play Pulaski Friday at 10 am at Binghamton University.

Class D:

Hadley-Luzerne 13, Parishville-Hopkinton 2. H-L will play Oriskany at Mirabito Stadium Friday at 10 am.
===============================================
Jake Reinisch will spend week of the MLB draft waiting to hear his name called, drafted by one of 30 teams.

Reinisch & Wake Forest were eliminated in the NCAA baseball tournament on Saturday, losing to East Carolina, 7-6. Reinisch was 0-2 with a walk and a run scored for the Demon Deacons.

Saturday, June 1, 2024

News & notes

 Call them the Kardiac Kats.

The Tri-City Valleycats fell into an early 4-0 hole vs. the New England Knockouts on Friday at Bruno Stadium. However, after the bullpen slammed the door shut, Tri-City's offense came to life late. Down 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th, the 'Cats scored 4 times in the final frame to walk off the Knockouts, 9-8.

The series continues tonight at 6:30.
============================================
Ana Gold's college career is over.

The senior 3rd baseman for Duke homered, giving the Blue Devils their only run Friday, but Alabama eliminated Duke from the Women's College World Series, 2-1.
===========================================
Meanwhile, Shenendehowa grad Jake Reinisch may be following Gold out of town if Wake Forest doesn't find a way to reach the College World Series.

Wake Forest dropped a 1-0 decision to Virginia Commonwealth on Friday, and are scheduled to play East Carolina this morning. Apparently, if they are not in a rain delay, the game is only on ESPN+.

News & notes

 Coxsackie-Athens has cancelled the remainder of its 2026 football season due to a lack of players. This is the 2nd time in 3 years this has...