Lansingburgh shortstop Joe Winston (23) chases Schalmont's Shane Musk in a rundown. (J.S. Carras)

The Lansingburgh Knights gave it a great effort Wednesday afternoon, but just could not cap a comeback rally over Colonial Council rival Schalmont.

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The Lady Knights played very well on Thursday, defeating Holy Names 4-1 in Colonial Council action. It wasn't easy though.
Holy Names left two runners on in both the fourth and sixth innings - Lansingburgh pitcher Erin Glikes was able to pitch the Knights out of two jams.
Glikes made a great defensive play in the fourth, looking back the runner to third before firing to first for the first out of the inning. Shortstop Sarah Cipperly made a great catch to end the inning and she also hit an inside-the-park home run in the first.
Lansingburgh catcher Meg Volz also made a great catch in foul territory in the top of the seventh.
Center fielder Kayla Coles was three-for-three, a triple, two singles and two runs scored. Carissa Russell (third base) was two-for-three with one run batted in.
Holy Names' Sarah Karpovich went two-for-three with two doubles. Catcher Gaby Elsbree was one-for-one, but also reached base on a walk and was hit by a pitch.

The Lady Knights should have their hands full in the Colonial Council this year. Cohoes, Mechanicville and Holy Names are all tough adversaries. But, as long as they play smart defense like they did on Thursday, I think they can hang with anyone.

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Here were my preseason softball dream teams that ran in the softball preview section last week.
There were some tough choices to make, so tell me, who else is due for a big year?

Large Schools

P Toni Fusco, Colonie

P Erin Glikes, Lansingburgh

P Nikki Heddrick, CCHS

P Dana Rizzo, Columbia

P Colleen Whalen, Shaker

C Amanda Perry, South Glens Falls

1B Olivia DeMarco, Catholic Central

2B Molly McDonough, Lansingburgh

3B Kayla Lynch, Colonie

SS Barb Shea, Shenendehowa

OF Shannon Jones, Troy

OF Leanne Merchant, Burnt Hills

OF Lauren Napoli, Guilderland

Small Schools

P Brianne Fahrenkopf, Rensselaer

P Megan Fitzgerald, Tamarac

P Courtney Galuski, Cohoes

P Jen Mineau, Hoosic Valley

P Mikayla Wells, Schuylerville

C Jessica Dearstyne, Cohoes

1B Bryanna Plummer, Schuylerville

2B Jess Pipino, Hoosic Valley

3B Meghan Welcome, Cohoes

SS Laura Burek, Rensselaer

OF Beth Deer, Holy Names

OF Lindsay McKeever, Mechanicville

OF Kat Kulzer, Tamarac

Small Schools

1. Hoosic Valley

2. Cohoes

3. Mechanicville

4. Tamarac

5. Schuylerville

6. Rensselaer

7. Spa Catholic

8. Waterford

9. Maple Hill

10. Holy Names

Large Schools

1. Colonie

2. Columbia

3. Troy

4. South Glens Falls

5. Catholic Central

6. Shaker

7. Shenendehowa

8. Lansingburgh

9. Schenectady

10. Burnt Hills

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Pretty nice setup at the City Rocks' AAU media night at SUNY on Thursday. Jim Janson of Scotia won the dunk contest, mainly because he was the only player that could actually dunk. (Being 6-11 helps a bit in that regard).
What players and teams should we be watching AAU-wise?

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As always, drop us a line or leave a comment if you have something to say. Any other softball and baseball teams we ought to be looking out for? Any track and field records being broken?

-- Will Montgomery