News & notes

 When the Albany Patroons come home for game 2 of the TBL Eastern Conference finals Saturday, they'll be down 1-0 in games after losing to the Capital Seahawks, 95-93, on Thursday. Denzel Banks, who played for former Siena star Marc "Showbiz" Brown in college, led the Pats with 26 points in a losing effort. Game time is 7 pm tomorrow at the Armory.

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It wasn't the rain that slowed the action at Saratoga during day 2 of the Belmont Racing Festival.

A power outage after the 3rd race due to the excessively hot weather delayed the 4th race by 31 minutes. Rain is in the forecast for the rest of the festival this weekend, so bring your umbrellas along with your sunglasses and sunscreen.

Saratoga native Dylan Davis scored his 2nd win of the festival aboard Curlin's Angel, a longshot, in the 2nd race. Davis led Limes Don't Lie to a 3rd place finish in the 6th. Davis is lined up for 10 mounts on today's 14 race card, which gets underway at 11:40 am.

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The Tri-City Valleycats defeated the Florence Y'alls, 8-3, Thursday night. Jake Reinisch was given the night off after getting his average back over .300 on Wednesday. The 'Cats open at Lake Erie tonight.

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Thursday's regional scoreboard:

Baseball:

Class A:

LaSalle 6, Jamesville-DeWitt 5. The Cadets return home to play top seeded Rye tomorrow at Bruno Stadium (weather permitting) at 3 pm.

Class B:

Mechanicville 11, Saranac 2. Mechanicville will play Canton Saturday at 1 (weather permitting) at The Joe.

Class C:

Saratoga Catholic 9, Tupper Lake 0. The Saints will play Ticonderoga at Dutchmen Park Saturday at noon (weather permitting).

Class D:

North Warren 15, Lake Placid 8. Up next for North Warren is Parishville-Hopkinton Saturday. Site & time unknown.

News & notes

 Former UAlbany & St. Rose basketball coach Will Brown has found a new home.

The Albany Times-Union is reporting that Brown will coach the women's basketball team at Queens College next season. We wish him all the best.

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Saratoga native Dylan Davis returned home for the Belmont Racing Festival, which opened Wednesday. Davis finished the day with a winner in the 10th race, after a 2nd & a 3rd place finish earlier on the card. Davis is listed for mounts on six of today's ten races. 

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The NYSPHSAA has moved Saturday's Class AAA softball game between White Plains & Shenendehowa to Friday at 12:30 pm in anticipation of heavy rain on Saturday. I don't think that's the end of the late changes........

Taking a peek at Wednesday's state regional scoreboard:

Softball:

Class A:

Ichabod Crane 20, Camden 12. The Lady Riders will face Albertus Magnus at Luther Forest. The game is scheduled for Saturday at 5, but could get moved.

Class B:

Chatham will travel to St. Lawrence University to play Canton on Saturday. Game time still to be determined.

Class C:

Stillwater 11, Lisbon 2. Stillwater will play Ticonderoga at Luther Forest, also scheduled for Saturday at 5.

Women's lacrosse:

Class A: 

Niskayuna will play Cicero-North Syracuse Saturday at Queensbury.

Men's lacrosse sectional finals:

Class B:

Ballston Spa 17, South Glens Falls 6.

Class C:

Burnt Hills 12, Averill Park 11.

Statte regional schedule:

Class A:

Niskayuna vs. West Genesee, Saturday at Lynch Middle School, 3 pm.

Class B:

Ballston Spa vs. CBA-Syracuse, Saturday at 5:30 at Lynch Middle School.

Class C:

Burnt Hills vs. Massena, Saturday at 10 am at Lynch Middle School.

Class D:

Schuylerville vs. Ogdensburg Free Academy, Saturday at 12:30 at Lynch Middle School.

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The Tri-City Valleycats saw their 6 game winning streak end on Wednesday, as they dropped a 15-7 decision to the Florence Y'alls. Jake Reinisch (Shen/Wake Forest) went 2-3 with a homer, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored.

The series concludes tonight at 6:40 pm.

News & notes

 More than a year after Dr. Roger Ramsammy was sacked, Hudson Valley Community College finally has a new president.

College of St. Rose grad Michael Brophy comes over from Hillbert College in Buffalo to take the HVCC job, which goes into effect August 1. Brophy spent seven seasons at Hillbert, and helped increase the school's enrollment by 30%, per the Albany Times-Union.

For sports fans, Brophy will need to win them over by doing just one thing. Reopening Robert Conway Arena. Ramsammy took some bad advice, and closed the rink stripping away revenues to the school from public skating and renting the rink to neighboring LaSalle Institute.

Stay tuned.

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Speaking of LaSalle, this might explain why as of now, the skating Cadets only have one home game scheduled for Knickerbacker Arena in Lansingburgh next season, with that game being senior night in February. If coach Tim Flanigan & his staff were aware of Brophy or anyone else coming in, this might've put off a full commitment to the Knick.

We'll have LaSalle's 2025-6 hockey schedule up at a later date.

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The Tri-City Valleycats have won 6 in a row, and took down the Florence Y'alls, 6-2, on Tuesday night. The series continues later today.

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Section II has crowned the last of its baseball champions for 2025, as Ballston Spa defeated top seeded Niskayuna to win the Class AA title, 4-3, Tuesday at Bruno Stadium.

The night wasn't a total loss for Nisky, however, as they claimed the Class A men's lacrosse title with a 14-3 win over Shaker. Also, Schuylerville claimed its 4th straight Class D title, beating Stillwater-Mechanicville, 14-5. The B & C titles will be decided today at Shaker.

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As the Belmont Racing Festival gets underway today at Saratoga, former baseball player-turned-horseman Jayson Werth is back in town.

Werth owns 2024 Belmont winner Dornoch, and is part of a racing syndicate, Icon Racing. His stable, Two Eight Racing, references his uniform number, 28, which he wore with Philadelphia & Washington during his career. Will he have another horse in this year's Belmont? Will Dornoch run at Saratoga this year? Stay tuned.

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State regional pairings up to the moment:

Women's lacrosse:

Class A: 

Niskayuna awaits the winner of today's game between Plattsburgh & Cicero-North Syracuse. Nisky will play at Queensbury on Saturday at 11:30 am.

Class B:

Columbia will play Watertown at Queensbury Saturday night at 7 pm.

Class C:

Queensbury is also idle until Saturday, but their potential opponents have not been revealed yet. The Lady Spartans will play at 4:30 pm.

Class D:

Albany Academy is also awaiting an unnamed opponent for a 9 am game at Queensbury on Saturday.

Softball:

Class AAA:

Shenendehowa vs. White Plains, Saturday at 11 am at North Rockland High.

Class AA:

Burnt Hills vs. Whitesboro, Saturday at 5 pm at Luther Forest.

Class A:

Ichabod Crane vs. Camden, today at 5 at SUNY Onondage Community College.

Class B:

Chatham awaits the winner of today's game between Canton & Saranac. The game will be at either St. Lawrence University or SUNY-Plattsburgh on Saturday, time to be determined.

Class C:

Stillwater vs. Lisbon Central, today at 5 at Luther Forest.

Class D:

Argyle vs. Eldred, Saturday at noon at Monroe-Woodbury High.

Baseball:

Class AAA:

Saratoga vs. Cicero-North Syracuse, Saturday at 6 pm at SUNY-OCC.

Class AA:

Ballston Spa vs. West Genesee, Saturday at 7 pm at Bruno Stadium.

Class A:

LaSalle vs. Jamesville-DeWitt, Thursday at SUNY-OCC at 6 pm. A LaSalle win sends them back to The Joe to play Rye Saturday.

Class B:

Mechanicville vs Saranac, Thursday at 4 at Plattsburgh High.

Class C:

Saratoga Catholic vs. Tupper Lake, Thursday  at 4 at The Joe.

Class D:

North Warren vs. Lake Placid, today at 4 at Plattsburgh High.

Men's lacrosse:

Class A:

Niskayuna awaits the winner of today's game between Plattsburgh and West Genesee. The game will be played Saturday at Lynch Middle School in Amsterdam at 3 pm.

Class D:

Schuylerville will await an opponent to be named.

News & notes

 Shaker basketball star Peyton Hoblock has committed to Dartmouth after she graduates in 2026, per the Albany Times-Union. Hoblock is finishing her junior season at Shaker, and was the Lady Bison's leading scorer this past season.

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While the Tri-City Valleycats are on the road this week, their promotions department might need to get together with the folks at Stride, which is hosting the June 12 game at Bruno Stadium vs. the Gateway Grizzlies.

You see, in radio, and, likely, television ads currently running, the Stride folks have misidentified the visitors as the "Getaway Grizzlies". A case of transposing a couple of letters. The radio ad is getting heavy rotation on stations, so someone's bound to call the error to the attention of the team or Stride.

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Saratoga clinched the Class AAA baseball title Monday at Bruno Stadium, sweeping Colonie, 5-0, in the nightcap of a doubleheader. We'll have state regional pairings later this week.

Earlier Monday, Ballston Spa forced a 3rd & deciding game in the Class AA finals by beating Niskayuna, 7-3. Game 3, then, begins just after 7 pm tonight at The Joe. Bring your sunscreen.

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Preakness winner Journalism will be running in Saturday's Belmont Stakes at Saratoga in a rematch with Kentucky Derby winner Soverignty. The race will be live on OTB TV (Spectrum channel 1250) and on Fox. Post time is just after 7 pm (for ratings purposes).

News & notes

 Next stop: Washington, DC.

The Albany Patroons eliminated the NY Phoenix, 102-97, on Sunday to advance to the TBL Eastern Conference finals against the Capital Seahawks, based out of Washington. The Phoenix made a late comeback despite the loss of one of their leading scorers, AJ Mosby, to an ankle injury in the first half.

Chuck Miller's account of the game:

The finale of the Route 5 Rivalry was won by … – Chuck The Writer

The Pats will be back at the Washington Avenue Armory June 8 for game 2 of the Eastern finals at 3 pm.

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Columbia grad Kennedy Ring made her debut for Team USA's U-20 (20 & under) national team Sunday in Costa Rica, helping the US defeat Puerto Rico, 3-1. Ring was on the pitch for 73 minutes before being lifted for a defensive substitution. Ring did not play in Team USA's opening round blowout of Giyana, 8-0, on Friday. The next game is Tuesday vs. host Costa Rica. FS2 (Spectrum channel 401) will carry the game at 4 pm.

Ring otherwise is currently enrolled at Penn State.

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Two sectional titles were decided in Amsterdam on Sunday.

First, North Warren claimed the Class D title, defeating Hartford-Fort Edward, 4-2. For the Cougars, it is their first ever sectional title, and up next for them will be Lake Placid in a state sub-regional at Plattsburgh on Wednesday.

In the nightcap, Mechanicville won the Class B title, defeating Cobleskill-Richmondville, 4-1. Mechanicville will next play on Thursday at Saranac at 4 pm.

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State regional pairings as of press time:

Baseball:

Class A: LaSalle will play either Jamesville-DeWitt or New Hartford at Onondaga Community College, Thursday at 6 pm.

Class C: Saratoga Catholic vs. Tupper Lake, Thursday at Joe Bruno Stadium at 4 pm.

Softball:

Class AAA: Shenendehowa vs. White Plains, 11 am Saturday at North Rockland.

Class AA: Burnt Hills returns to Luther Forest to play Whitesboro, Thursday at 5 pm.

Class A: Ichabod Crane vs. Camden at OCC, Wednesday at 1 pm.

Class C: Stillwater vs. Lisbon or Madrid-Waddington at Luther Forest, also Thursday at 5 pm.

Class D: Argyle vs. Eldred at Monroe-Woodbury, Saturday at a time to be announced.

Class B champion Chatham is still waiting to learn their first regional opponent.

Women's lacrosse:

Queensbury will host the following games on Saturday:

9 am: Albany Academy vs. Canton or Salmon River.

11:30 am: Niskayuna vs. Cicero-North Syracuse or West Genesee.

2 pm: Columbia vs. Watertown or Auburn.

4:30: Queensbury vs. Potsdam or Massena.

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The Tri-City Valleycats swept Ottawa on Sunday, completing a 3 game sweep, 10-8 & 13-2. In game 1, Ian Walters went off for 3 homers, doubling his season total to 6. The 'Cats used an 8 run 5th inning in the nightcap to seal the series sweep. Jake Reinisch went 1-7 in the doubleheader, as his slump continues, with his average dropping to .273. The 'Cats travel to Florence, Kentucky, to play the Y'alls, starting on Tuesday.

Troy High sports review, 2024-5 season finale

 The 2024-5 season didn't end with a bang, but with a whimper, and for the softball team, likely, some tears.

Spring sports season at Troy High officially ended on May 27.

Softball:

Final record: 14-6.

Burnt Hills' Ava Yahoudy laid the Lady Horses to rest with a no-hitter Tuesday, and a hit batter in the 6th kept Yahoudy from pitching a perfect game.

Still, Sean Geisel's club won a Colonial Council division title in its first season in the league. If that sounds familiar, it's because the men's basketball team did the same thing in its first year in the Suburban Council in 2016. The Lady Horses will be back.

Men's lacrosse:

Final record: 2-12.

I've long advocated that a record like this should preclude Troy's laxmen from accepting a sectional bid. A 22-1 loss to Ballston Spa was evidence that while the players were there physically, their spirit was not.

So what went wrong? I didn't attend any games, but as the losses were mostly in blowout fashion, save for a nailbiting loss to Johnstown, I'd think the defense, or lack thereof, remains a major problem. Troy's only 2 wins came against an even worse Lansingburgh club. Yes, the Knights were blown out, but they're experiencing the same kind of growing pains Troy has continued to have for 41 seasons.

As the school year winds to a close, with graduation on June 27, we do need to remember that Troy High saw some improvement in sports where they'd struggled in recent years. The first season in the Colonial Council saw not only the women's softball team claim a divisional crown, but women's basketball made a strong comeback, and you can say the same for women's volleyball & soccer, golf, and men's tennis, even though the latter still finished below .500. The men's basketball team rebounded under Jamil Hood.

And, so, we bid adieu to the season. The Sports Review will be back in September.

News & notes

 Rain washed out all four baseball games on Saturday's schedule, including the Tri-City Valleycats vs. Ottawa.

The Valleycats called off their game early Saturday afternoon, and will play a doubleheader this afternoon at 4 pm.

Meanwhile, the Class D sectional title game between Hartford-Fort Edward & North Warren has been moved to Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam for tonight at 7 pm.

Game 2 of the Class AA finals between Ballston Spa & Niskayuna will be played tomorrow at 4 pm at Bruno Stadium with game 3, if needed, also at Bruno Stadium, on Tuesday at 4 pm. Game 2 of the Class AAA series between Saratoga and Colonie will be at The Joe tomorrow at 7 pm, with game 3, if needed, Tuesday at 7.

The Class B title game between Cobleskill-Richmondville and Mechanicville, originally scheduled for Bruno Stadium this morning at 10, has been moved to Shuttleworth Park, and will be played at 4 pm.

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We are down to 1 team in flag football representing Section II.

Fayetteville-Manilus defeated Albany, 21-19, Saturday at SUNY-Morrisville. However, Class B champion Columbia, defending the honor of the 518, crushed Central Square, 45-12, to advance to a semifinal game vs. Tappan Zee at Cortland High on Friday.

In softball, Class A champion Ichabod Crane will begin state play Tuesday vs. Camden at SUNY OCC at 1 pm. Stillwater, the Class C champ, is still waiting to find out their opponent. We should have the lacrosse pairings in the next couple of days.

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The NY Phoenix forced a 3rd & deciding game with the Albany Patroons, as the Phoenix squared their TBL playoff series at a game apiece with a 110-96 win Saturday. The teams return to Armory Studios today at 3 pm.