Here is an extended look at the teams that will likely be featured in our Faces in the Crowd segment this Sunday in The Record.

Sorensco Falcons Senior Babe Ruth

The Sorensco Falcons won the Eastern New York Senior Babe Ruth Championship at the Halfmoon Town Park in late July. The Falcons lost their first game in the tournament, but rallied, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 65-12. The Falcons had to beat the winner's bracket champion NE South two times in a row to take the title.

Led by the pitching efforts of Matt Busdiecker and James Vooris, the Falcons gave up just two runs in the final two games. The state title was capped off by a walk-off, three-run home run by Justin Rebhun, which gave the Falcons a 12-1 mercy rule win in the championship game.

The Falcons finished the year with a record of 19-12 and a State Championship banner to hang at Sorensco Babe Ruth.

Team photo: Standing (L-R): Coach Brian Fredericks, Tim Murdick, Zach Vandenburg, Matt Busdiecker, James Vooris, Ben Tidd, John Stanley, Coach Rich Tidd, Mgr Dan Renaud.
Kneeling (L-R): Ryan Clarke, Dan Williams, Steve Casavant, Justin Rebhun, Dillon Bethoney, Jeff Williams.
Not Pictured: Nick Faxon, Zac Larson.

New York Outkast 18-and-under softball

The New York Outkast 18U softball team won the inaugural 18U Cooperstown Classic this weekend in incredible fashion, going undefeated on Sunday despite playing the entire tournament with just nine girls.

After going 1-2 on Saturday, the Outkast reeled off three straight back-to-back wins Sunday to make the championship game. They knocked off Saratoga Thunder B 9-1 to start the day, then defeated the CNY Wildcats 4-2 and the Pittsburgh Power 8-6. Both of those wins avenged losses to those teams the day before. The Outkast overcame a 6-3 deficit in the dramatic comeback against the Power.

Since the tournament was double elimination, the Outkast met Pittsburgh again in the final. The Outkast pounded out 11 hits and got quality pitching to win 8-2 and take the title. The team had 43 hits over the four wins on Sunday.

Tournament MVP: Outkast Pitcher/OF Nikki Colamaria (Saratoga Springs): Colamaria, a rising senior, pitched 19 innings over the course of three games Sunday after the Outkast's other pitcher, Emily Fleming, injured her hand. She went 3-0 on Sunday with a 2.95 ERA and received the MVP medal in the ceremony after the championship game. She also made a diving catch in right field against in the 8-6 win over Pittsburgh, and delivered seven hits at the plate this weekend.

The other members of the Outkast (in the order of where they hit in the lineup):

SS, Shana Cooper (Cohoes): Hit .286 (6-21) and drew seven walks over the seven games. Also made a catch running into foul territory Sunday against the Wildcats while running into a wooden wall, stirring up memories of the famous catch made by Derek Jeter diving into the stands against the Red Sox.

OF, Meghan Matan (HVCC/Shaker): Hit .444 (12-27), .643 (9-14) on Sunday. She finished a home run short of the cycle in the 4-2 win against the Wildcats. Had four doubles and one triple.

P/OF, Emily Fleming (Saratoga Springs): Was 2-0 with a 3.26 ERA on the mound before injuring her hand on a play at the plate. She had at least one hit in every game on Sunday, and made many plays in right field after the injury.

1B, Bridgette Plummer (Utica College/Schuylerville): Hit .520 (13-25) over the weekend, with three doubles and 12 RBI. Broke a 6-6 tie in the first game against Pittsburgh Sunday with a two-run single in the top of the sixth.

C, Meagan Fleming (Saratoga Springs): Hit .280 (7-25) and caught all seven games for the Outkast over the two days. Went 3-4 with an RBI in the title game. Her ability to throw out baserunners stealing was crucial in keeping opposing teams out of scoring position.

2B, Ally Koney (Shenendehowa): Hit .458 (11-24) with a double and a triple, including going 2-3 in the championship game. Started the four-run rally in the first game against the Power with a leadoff single.

3B, Kylie Benoit (Catholic Central): Hit .389 (7-18) with four runs scored and laid down two important sacrifice bunts. Fielded a tough play in the hole and fired to first for the final out of the championship game.

CF, Alex Staroba (Guilderland): Hit .333 (7-21) with four doubles and six RBI while making many tough plays in centerfield. Her two-run double in the championship game was the "dagger," as it gave the Outkast a five-run cushion against a tough team.

Almost every player fought an injury at one point or another this weekend, but they fought through it with no subs to bring home the title. The two Flemings and Benoit have been a part of the Outkast for four years, while Cooper, Koney and Staroba have been on the team for the past three.

Team photo: Top Row, from left: Ally Koney, Bridgette Plummer, Meghan Matan, Meagan Fleming
Bottom Row: from left: Kylie Benoit, Nikki Colamaria, Alex Staroba, Shana Cooper, Emily Fleming

Saratoga Sparks 14-and-under AAU basketball

The Saratoga Sparks 14-and-under basketball team took sixth place in the 2010 AAU Girls Basketball National Championship Tournament held July 6-10 at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. The team is comprised of Section II freshmen players who finished their regular AAU season undefeated with 30 wins. At the National Tournament, the Sparks were 5-3 against a field of the 40 best teams in the United States. The Sparks advanced all the way to the Elite Eight round.

The Sparks had qualified for the Nationals by winning the East Coast Super Regional tournament in Windsor, Conn. They also became one of only two local girls AAU team to ever win the prestigious GymRat Challenge Tournament held earlier in the year at Siena College.

At the Nationals they beat teams from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and two from Pennsylvania. Outstanding players at the tournament were: Sydney Rosales and Madison Rowland, who scored a total of 87 and 83 points respectively; Madsion Rowland, who swiped 39 steals; Cassie Broadhead with 42 rebounds; and Ailaiya Demand, who scored a team high 25 assists and, whose two free throws with 0.8 seconds left gave the Sparks a one point victory.

The team is lead by head coach Anthony Mingione and assistant coach Serita Holland, who have put together this formidable team in only four short months. Most of the team members had not played together prior to the season.

Players on the team were: Kelsey Cowell of Mohanasen; Sidney Rosales and Jackie Welch of Colonie; Katherine Small of Holy Names; Madison Rowland of Shaker; Alyx Gleason, Brittany Lefebvre and Alyssia Marsal of Shenendehowa; Ailayia Demand and Lashana Tolliver of Watervliet; Sidney Hansen of Ballston Spa, and, Cassie Broadhead of Scotia.

The trip to the Nationals was made possible in large part by contributions by area residents and businesses. More information on the National Tournament can be found at http://aaugirlsbasketball.org/ and the Saratoga Sparks Girls AAU Basketball website is www.saratogasparks.org.

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Notes: It's an incredibly busy time of year, so here are a few hit-and-run topics.

• Twin Town Little League is hosting the New York State 10-and-11-year-old Little League tournament from August 7-10. All games will be played at the Twin Town complex on Williams Road in North Greenbush. Time Warner Cable is in negotiations to broadcast the games on television.
• The District 14 Little League tournament continues Monday night. A sectional championship game will be played Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in Chatham as the road to Williamsport continues.
• Albany's Krank Park will play host to the Little League Softball Eastern Regional from July 31 to August 8. 11 state champions and a local host team will battle it out for a berth in the Little League Softball World Series, which is played in Portland, Ore.
• Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School baseball coach Paul DeLuca writes to say that Spartans shortstop Bret Dennis, who has verbally committed to St. John's University, is playing for the Bayside Yankees in the CABA World Series in Charleston, S.C. this week.
• The 10-and-under Spring Renegades baseball team is competing in a regional tournament this weekend in New Jersey with hopes of advancing to the World Series, which will be played in Puerto Rico. This team won the nine-and-under World Series last summer in Oklahoma.
• The eight-and-under New York State Cal Ripken championship will be played Wednesday at Spring Youth Baseball in Troy.

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The target of The Record's Sunday Profile this week (put together by staff writer Andrew Santillo) is on C.J. Sohl, a pitcher with the Albany Dutchmen. Sohl, a rising junior at Siena College, formerly played with the South Troy Dodgers and Guilderland High School.
The text of his recent interview with Andrew Santillo is below.

Check out Sohl's profile on the Albany Dutchmen website by clicking here.

C.J. Sohl
The Albany native is pitching this summer for the Albany Dutchmen of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. Sohl, who went to Guilderland High School, will be a junior at Siena College in the fall. The right-hander also pitched for the South Troy Dodgers.

Age: 20

What’s on TV: I don’t really watch TV. I used to watch Lost and shows like that, CSI. I watch ESPN and SportsCenter in the morning.

What’s in my IPod: Rap mostly. I listen to some country from teammates, as you know there’s a lot of country music associated with baseball.

Favorite Flicks: My favorite of all time was Bad Boys II. I saw Toy Story 3 a couple of days ago and that was pretty good.

Love to trade places for a day with: Cliff Lee. He strikes out a lot of people and I’d like that. It would be cool.

First Job: I worked in a nursing home in the kitchen making food.

Talent I’d most like to have: I’d like to be really good at math.

Favorite Meal: It’s definitely steak and mashed potatoes.

Favorite place to visit: The beaches in Florida.

Favorite sports teams: Mets & Jets.

Heroes: My dad (Chuck). He was a hard worker.

My Bucket List: I kind of want to go to Australia and see the other side of the world.

Favorite Restaurant: Outback Steakhouse.

Friday night I’m not playing baseball, I’m: Going out if it’s nice. I’m doing something with my friends.

Favorite baseball player: Griffey (Ken Griffey Jr.). Griffey was my guy.

Favorite baseball field: I’ve been to the Braves stadium (Turner Field). That was pretty nice.

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Rain altered Saturday's schedule in the Connie Mack World Series Qualifier, but the South Colonie Raiders kept their hopes alive by defeating College Select, 6-3. The Raiders, however, failed to qualify for the double elimination portion of the tournament.

For Saturday's scoreboard and Sunday's schedule, scroll down.

South Colonie center fielder Nick Valletta throws to third base during the first inning of Saturday's game against College Select....

And Valletta caught College Select's Jake Deacon at third base for the final out of the inning. South Colonie's Brady Talbot, a Tamarac High product, applies the tag.

South Colonie starting pitcher Anthony LaValley throws a pitch during Saturday's game. He and Jake Mullen pitched three innings apiece (Mullen earned the win) to pitch the Raiders to victory. (All photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Third base coaches have a language of their own when it comes to relaying signs to batters and baserunners, tapping their faces, chest, arms and legs in complicated patterns.

Sometimes, Ed Kelly, head coach of the South Colonie Raiders Connie Mack team, likes to keep it simple. He sticks out his meaty index fingers, points to the corners of his mouth and gives a big goofy grin.

Smile.

That message worked for Justin Harris, who on the first pitch after seeing the sign, smacked an RBI double down the left field line in the fifth inning of Saturday’s Connie Mack World Series qualifier game against College Select, breaking a tie and putting the Raiders ahead for good.

"I had a talk with him. He was out in front of the pitches early on," Kelly said. "I had to settle him down. I said you’re alright. Settle down. Smile. Let the game come to you. Don’t try to press so much."

Colonie won the game, 6-3, at South Colonie High School, but it wasn’t enough for the Raiders to advance to the double elimination portion of the tournament. Team N.Y. Scout won Pool D, leaving the South Troy Dodgers, a wildcard selection from Pool B as the lone local team remaining. Today, the Dodgers play host to the Florida Legends, three-time defending champions of the tournament, at 10 a.m. at Geer Field.

South Colonie starter Anthony LaValley was lifted after three innings having allowed just one earned run on seven hits. Jake Mullen provided three innings of relief, earning the win. Jaime June used 15 pitches in the seventh inning to pick up the save.

"I thought that, with having so many games in a couple of days, you have to go to anyone that can really throw," Mullen said. "I thought I might get in today, I got the call and I try to keep it as close as I can. If we’re in the lead, I just want to maintain it."

Second baseman Chris Kalica led the way with two hits for the Raiders, adding a double and a stolen base. He and Chris Kearney pitched South Colonie to victories over the Jack Cust Diamondjacks and the Long Island Tigers on Friday.

Although the game featured six errors – three on both sides – Harris made the play of the day behind the plate in the bottom of the fifth.

With the bases loaded and one out, Mullen threw a pitch that bounced in the dirt in front of Harris. He reached out with his bare hand to grab it, but it skipped to the backstop, where it ricocheted off a post right back to Harris. He looked to flip the ball to Mullen, but the pitcher was not close enough to the plate, so Harris dove and tagged Matt Mastroianni out in the nick of time.

"To catch the ball and have the wherewithal to know that the pitcher was late in covering and take a dive at the plate, it’s just a great, heads-up play in my opinion," Kelly said. "I don’t know how many catchers would make that play."

The Upper New York State Connie Mack Tournament begins Wednesday in Schenectady’s Central Park and the Raiders are hoping their experience in the World Series Qualifier has prepared them for the Empire State’s finest.

"We want to kind of use this as a template to compare yourself with where you are with all the big teams," Mullen said. "And kind of use these games as momentum for the states and do very well there."

Jake Mullen (above) and Justin Harris (below) played well for the Raiders Saturday and will lead the team into the Upper New York State Connie Mack Tournament beginning Wednesday in Schenectady.

Saturday's Connie Mack World Series Qualifier Tournament Scoreboard

Pool A (At St. Rose’s Bob Bellizzi Field, Albany)
Kalamazoo Maroons vs. World Yacht Clippers - forfeited
South Troy Dodgers 17s vs. Florida Legends - forfeited

Pool B (At Geer Field, Troy)
Cincy Flames 2, Devilcats baseball (East Greenbush) 0
South Troy Dodgers vs. Team N.Y. Nationals - forfeited

Pool C (At Clifton Common, Clifton Park)
Frozen Ropes Titans 4, Richmond County Baseball Club 3
Upstate Vipers vs. Clifton Park Yankees, Noon - forfeited

Pool D (At South Colonie High School)
South Colonie Raiders 6, College Select 3
Team N.Y. Scout 4, Jack Cust Diamondjacks 3

Sunday's double elimination round schedule
First round games at 10 a.m.

Frozen Ropes Titans vs. Cincy Flames at the College of Saint Rose's Bob Bellizzi Field, Albany
Florida Legends vs. South Troy Dodgers at Geer Field, Troy
Team N.Y. Scout vs. Richmond County Baseball Club at South Colonie High School, Colonie

Note: Second round games to be determined based on first round results

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We also have a Sunday Profile on former South Troy Dodgers player Greg Holle in Sunday's edition. Holle was recently signed by the Milwaukee Brewers and will learn his minor league fate sometime next week.

To read the profile, click here.

We're also featuring the CCHS modified baseball team, Joe Mahoney and Jimmer Fredette in our weekly Faces in the Crowd section. To see those faces, click here. If you have news you'd like to see in this feature, please send it to sports (AT) troyrecord (DOT) com.

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The 15-and-under South Troy Dodgers baseball team won the prestigious War at the Shore baseball tournament in Mystic, Conn. recently. In three games, the Dodgers beat opponents by more than three runs, invoking the mercy rule.

"The boys simply overwhelmed their opponents, in every phase of the game" said assistant coach Gary Sprague.

The power was supplied by Eric Golderman, Niko Church, Dylan Sprague, Jack LeRoux and Andrew Hauser, who all contributed extra base hits. In the medal round, Mike DeCarlo, and Travis Buckley shut down a strong Long Island team , winning 12-1. In the semifinals, Mike Pastore pitched a complete game , beating the strong Long Island Vipers. In the championship game, the Dodgers again used Mike DeCarlo, who shut down a team from Connecticut.

"We knew we could win this tournament, and playing three games in ninety degree heat was not easy, but the boys actually got stronger with each game. they smelled blood in the water," said coach Sprague.

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In softball news, the Original Slik Chix (coached by Mechanicville HS softball coach Don Arceneaux) are hosting an 18-and-under tournament this weekend at the McBride fields in Mechanicville. Games begin Saturday at 8 a.m. and every team plays three games for seeding, followed by single elimination on Sunday. There are 15 teams in the tournament.

Some of the local teams include:

Original Slik Chix - players include Anna Arceneaux, Alysa Russell, Abby Maiello and Kelsey Hines (Mechanicville); Rachel Quackenbush (Hoosick Falls); Dani Bell and Katie Merrill (Queensbury); Giuliana Figliomeni (Shen); Meg Volz (Lansingburgh).

New York Outkast - players include Kylie Benoit (Catholic Central High); Shana Cooper (Cohoes); Meagan Fleming, Emily Fleming and Nikki Colamaria (Saratoga Springs); Bridgette Plummer (Utica College, formerly from Schuylerville); Ally Koney (Shen); Audrey Avery (Ballston Spa); Meghan Matan (HVCC, formerly from Shaker); Sally Jo Frakes (Cambridge); Alex Staroba (Guilderland).

Other local teams in the field:

The Blast

Saratoga Thunder

Northern Devils

Slik Chix Jackson (a second Slik Chix team)

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Former Catholic Central High School boys basketball coach Don Bassett coached the Crusaders from 1968 to 1984. (File photo by J.S. Carras - The Record).

The Record's sports editor, Kevin Moran, wrote a comprehensive story on the legendary career of former Catholic Central basketball coach Don Bassett that appeared in Sunday's edition of The Record.

Bassett won 304 games in 22 seasons as a high school basketball coach — he won more than 250 at CCHS, where he won 80 percent of his games.

Sunday, Bassett will be inducted into the Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be held at the Crown Plaza in Albany. The induction is open to the public. Tickets are priced at $70. Two of Bassett’s former players, Tom Bacher and Rod Owens, will also be part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2010.

We'll have more on this year's Hall of Fame class all this week in The Record.

To read the full story on troyrecord.com, click here.

During his run, Bassett turned CCHS into a nationally-recognized team that produced boatloads of college talent.

For quips and anecdotes from some of his former players, click here.

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We're also featuring two new pieces of our retooled Sunday section.

First is Faces in the Crowd. Click here to see last week's nominees.
Do you know of a local team (at any level) or person that deserves to be recognized as one of our Faces in the Crowd? Please send us your information and a picture. (Follow the directions in the above link).

We're also looking for individuals to describe in our Sunday Profile. Here is one on John Hudson, the head groundskeeper at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.

Please send us your nominees!



(Update, 12:01 a.m.): Let me throw Monday's local baseball roundup on this post as well.

Local baseball
Sandy Koufax 13-and-under
Lansingburgh 15, Queensbury 14: Connor McDonough went 5-for-5 to lift the Lansingburgh Royals over the Queensbury T’Wolves in a Sandy Koufax game Monday evening.
Greg Howard added a double and a single for Lansingburgh. Jarred Jarose was the Royals’ winning pitcher.
Queensbury’s Kyle Chambers collected three singles.
Mickey Mantle
Hoosick Falls 11, Albany 9: Josh Mulready hit an RBI triple and scored three runs to lead Hoosick Falls to a Mickey Mantle victory over Albany Monday evening.
Randy Tutunjian chipped in with a two-run triple, Steve Colvin hit an RBI double that broke a tie in the sixth inning and Alex Lilac provided three innings of scoreless relief for Hoosick Falls (4-6).
Albany’s Terrell Bickley hit a pair of singles and drove in a run for Albany (6-4).
HOOSICK FALLS 11, ALBANY 9
Albany (6-4) 210 600 0 - 9 5 1
Hoosick Falls (4-6) 102 413 x - 11 8 1
Bickley, Worden (6) and Berghela J.Brogue, Mosso (2), Lilac (4) and L.Brogue.
Twilight League
Athletics win doubleheader: Jim Shook hurled a complete game, 7-hitter and added to his league lead in strikeouts by fanning 11 batters as the Albany Athletics posted a 10-1 victory over the Blue State Bluehawks.
In the nightcap, John Marcella hit a grand slam to lift the A’s to a 14-3 victory over the Albany Senators.
The Athletics, 15-3 overall, took sole control of first place with a 10-2 mark in Twilight League action.

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