Saratoga's Peter O'Toole is tagged out by Spring catcher Nick Yash during second inning of Cal Ripken Reginal baseball action Friday August 6, 2010 at SPRING. Photo by (J.S. Carras/The Record)

Stan Hudy covered a few games at the Cal Ripken Mid Atlantic regional for us Friday afternoon, including a showdown between Saratoga and Spring Youth Baseball. Here is an excerpt:

TROY - The Saratoga American 8-year-old Cal Ripken Baseball team shook off a lackadaisical, but winning start to the Middle Atlantic Regional in Troy and came back for the nightcap looking like major leaguers.

Saratoga’s three-person pitching staff struck out 14 Spring Renegade players in the six inning contest for a 5-1 victory, its second of the day. The Americans dropped Metro New York champion Staten Island, 10-4, and are in the driver’s seat as pool play continues this weekend.

For the full story, click over to www.troyrecord.com

Spring shortstop Avery Pascucci tags out Saratoga's Dolly Cairns (10) on an attempted steal during first inning of Cal Ripken Reginal baseball action Friday August 6, 2010 at Spring. Photo by (J.S. Carras/The Record)

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Troy Renegades shortstop Joe Foran swings during the home run derby at the AABC 15-and-under Ken Griffey Jr. World Series in Owasso, Okla. (Photo courtesy http://owassobaseball.com/Owasso_Rams_Baseball/Home.html)

Renegades advance to Griffey Final Four: The Troy Renegades defeated Broken Arrow 6-1 Friday afternoon in the loser’s bracket at the AABC 15-and-under Ken Griffey Jr. World Series in Owasso, Okla.
Greg Hotaling pitched a complete game two-hitter for the Renegades. Troy earned its revenge against Broken Arrow, as the Oklahoma team had defeated the Renegades in pool play, 9-2.
During a stretch in the fifth inning, five of six Renegades batters – Greg Scott, Ian Bennett, Jason Gallacchi, Kris Muller and Joe Foran - doubled off Broken Arrow pitching.
Troy advances to the Final Four and will play the Dallas-based D-Bat Sharp team at 1 p.m. central time. The D-Bat Sharp team mercy-ruled the Renegades, 13-0, in the first game of the tournament’s double elimination portion. Preston Palmeiro, son of former major leaguer Rafael Palmeiro, plays for D-Bat Sharp.

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10-and-11-year-old New York State Little League tournament coming to Twin Town

I had a nice coversation today with Bill Rooney, tournament coordinator for the 10-and-11-year-old Little League tournament coming to Twin Town's complex on Williams Road in North Greenbush.

Although the immediate Capital Region doesn't have a team in the field (Saraotga Springs is the closest-to-home team), the army of volunteers at Twin Town will be sacrificing their time to put on the best possible event for the top 10-and-11-year-old teams from around the state.

Time Warner Cable Channel 3 hopes to televise the semifinal and championship games.

For more on this tournament, check out Saturday's edition of The Record for all the details.

2010 New York State 10-and-11-year-old Little League Tournament

Pool A
Saratoga Springs – Section III
Pearl River – Section IV
Massapequa – Section VI
Pool B
Orchard Park – Section I
Geddes – Section II
Mid Island (Staten Island) – Section V

Saturday
Orchard Park vs. Geddes, 6 p.m.
Saratoga Springs vs. Pearl River, 8 p.m.
Sunday
Pearl River vs. Massapequa, 2 p.m. (Field W1)
Geddes vs. Mid Island, 2 p.m. (Field W2)
Monday
Orchard Park vs. Mid Island, 6 p.m.
Saratoga Springs vs. Massapequa, 8 p.m.
Tuesday
Semifinals
Pool A winner vs. Pool B runner-up, 6 p.m.
Pool B winner vs. Pool A runner-up, 8 p.m.
Wednesday
Championship game, 6 p.m.

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Our pal Stan Hudy from The Saratogian is covering the Cal Ripken eight-and-under Mid Atlantic regional tournament this weekend at the Spring Youth Baseball complex in Troy. Look for his stories either in The Saratogian or The Record the next few days. You may also follow Stan on Twitter (@stanhudy).

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Athletics win two in Musial regional: Jason Martin of the Albany Athletics hit a solo home run and doubled in the A's 7-0 victory over the Buena Vista Tomahawks and he then drove in all three of the A's runs in a second round 2-0 victory over the North Haledon Reds in the first day of play in the AABC Stan Musial North Atlantic regional at Keenholts Park in Guilderland Center.

The A's play the Long Island Storm Saturday at 11 am at Keenholts Park. The Storm beat All Stars Academy 6-1 in a first round game Friday. All Stars faces North Haledon at 2 pm at Keenholts. North Haledon defeated SportsFever 7-4 in a first round game. SportsFever was eliminated by the Storm, 9-0, in the second round. All Stars eliminated Buena Vista 8-3.

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OWASSO, Okla. -- The Troy Renegades won their first game in the American Amateur Baseball Congress’ 15-and-under Ken Griffey Jr. World Series in their fourth try, earning another game and another day in the double-elimination tournament.

Troy defeated Colorado 10-2 Thursday afternoon, as starting pitcher Greg Hotaling needed only to go two innings into the game. The Renegades plan to start him today against Broken Arrow or a team from the Dallas area, depending on the outcome of that game late Thursday night.

Ryan McGrath hit a double and a triple in the 10-2 victory.

The Renegades lost both games in pool play and were seeded sixth out of eight teams in the double elimination portion. They lost to the D-Bat Sharp team 13-0 in the first game in double-elimination play.

The Lansingburgh Royals (2007 and 2009), the South Troy Dodgers (2006 and 2008) and the Renegades have represented New York State in this World Series each of the past five years.

For the most up-to-date brackets and line scores, visit http://owassobaseball.com/Owasso_Rams_Baseball/Home.html

Twilight League Semifinals
Waterford eliminates All-Stars: The Waterford (Nolan Propane) Fordians won two out of three games to eliminate the All Stars Academy team from the Twilight League semifinals Thursday evening.

Waterford scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning in the third and deciding game to post a 10-7 victory. Patrick Reardon singled three times and drove in a run, while Paul Izzo was a single short of the cycle with five RBI in the final game.

All Stars won game one, 8-3. Waterford rallied with a 10-2 victory in game two.

Waterford will face the Albany Athletics in the Twilight League championship series, a best three-of-five affair, beginning August 9.

The Athletics and All Stars Academy will compete in the AABC Stan Musial North Atlantic regionals this weekend at Bleecker Stadium and Keenholts Park in Guilderland Center.

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This weekend, Spring Youth Baseball is hosting the eight-and-under Mid Atlantic Cal Ripken regional right here in Troy.

A schedule for the event is posted below. Click on the image to see it full-size.

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The North Colonie Padres 14-and-under team, the eastern New York State champions, is playing in the Babe Ruth mid Atlantic regional tournament this weekend in Charles County, Maryland this weekend. The tournament schedule has been pasted in below. We hope to bring you updates with the team's progress throughout the weekend.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

The tournament will consist of a pool play format as mandated by Babe Ruth League, Inc. The blind draw by the Regional Commissioner determined each team’s division in the tournament pool. No team will be permitted to play more than two (2) games in a calendar day. The pool play rules and schedule were derived directly from the Babe Ruth League web site. The scheduled fields and times were made as fair and equally as possible.

2010 Middle Atlantic 14 Year Old Regional Tournament

Pool A (left) Pool B (Right)

Pennsylvania Eastern NY

Northern NJ Western NY

Delaware Southern NJ

MD runner-up Metro NY

Host: Charles County (MD) MD state champs

* denotes home team RFS = Regency Furniture Stadium LS = Laurel Springs Park


Saturday, August 7th

Game 1 8:45 am LS7 Pennsylvania vs. Delaware *

Game 2 8:45 am LS8 Western NY vs. Southern NJ*

Game 3 9:00 am RFS Eastern NY vs. MD state champs*

Game 4 12:00 pm LS7 Northern NJ vs. Host*

Game 5 12:00 pm LS8 Delaware vs. MD runner-up*

Game 6 1:00pm RFS Western NY vs. Metro NY*

Game 7 3:15 pm LS7 MD runner-up vs. Host*

Game 8 3:15 pm LS8 Northern NJ vs. Pennsylvania*

Game 9 4:30 pm RFS Southern NJ vs. MD state champs*

Game 10 6:30 pm LS8 Metro NY vs. Eastern NY*


Sunday, August 8th

Game 11 8:45 am LS7 Southern NJ vs. Eastern NY *

Game 12 8:45 am LS8 Delaware vs. Northern NJ*

Game 13 9:00 am RFS Host vs. Pennsylvania*

Game 14 12:00 pm LS7 MD state champs vs. Western NY *

Game 15 12:00 pm LS8 Metro NY vs. Southern NJ*

Game 16 1:00 pm RFS MD runner-up vs. Northern NJ *

Game 17 3:15 pm LS7 MD state champs vs. Metro NY*

Game 18 3:15 pm LS8 Eastern NY vs. Western NY*

Game 19 4:30 pm RFS Host vs. Delaware*

Game 20 6:30 pm LS8 Pennsylvania vs. MD runner-up*



Monday, August 9th -- Quarter-finals

Game 21 6:30 pm LS7 3rd place Pool B vs. 2nd place Pool A*

Game 22 6:30 pm LS8 3rd place Pool A vs. 2nd place Pool B*


Tuesday, August 10th -- Semi-finals

Game 23 6:30 pm LS7 winner game 21 vs. 1st place Pool A*

Game 24 6:30 pm LS8 winner game 22 vs. 1st

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The Capital District Football Hall of Fame will induct its first class this Saturday. The Record will publish a special eight-page preview section for the event in Friday's newspaper. We will have capsules on all the players, coaches and officials being inducted, as well as stories on local legends such as Bob Ford, Ernie Stautner, Charlie Leigh, Joe Cocozzo and Rich Romer. So make sure to pick up The Record on Friday and read all about it!

The topic even came up Thursday at New York Giants training camp, when CBS 6's Doug Sherman asked Giants head coach Tom Coughlin about Chuck Dukes and Justice Smith, both of whom Coughlin recruited to Boston College when he was the head man there.

From the Giants' nightly press release:

Chuck Dukes (Colonie Central High) rushed for 1,999 yards and 12 touchdowns at BC from 1991-92 and Justice Smith (Amsterdam High) ran for 1,312 yards and seven scores from 1992-95. Coughlin left Boston College after three years following the 1993 season.

“Chucky was unbelievable,” Coughlin said. “There was an unbelievable recruiting battle to get Justice at BC because everybody wanted Justice. But Chucky came out of junior college. He was a tough, hardnosed, multiple carry game in and game out guy that almost made it at the next level, almost did. Two outstanding athletes and really, really good football players and adjusted and did well at Boston College.”

In the meantime, to read The Record's profile about former La Salle Institute star George 'Butch' Byrd, click here.

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If you're hoping to keep track of the East Greenbush-Castleton Little League team in the New York State tournament, the West Nyack Little League homepage is a site to bookmark.

The champions of District 14 and Section 3 lost their first game in the New York State Little League tournament Thursday night, dropping a 6-0 decision to Stony Point at the West Nyack Little League complex.

East Greenbush-Castleton plays again Friday night against Sunrise.

Pool play continues through Saturday, with the semifinal scheduled for Sunday. The championship game will be played at 7:30 p.m. Monday night.

You can view a photo gallery of some of the East Greenbush-Castleton players at a pre-tournament barbecue by clicking to this website.

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If you're looking to keep track of the Spring Renegades 10-and-under team in the Willie Mays North Atlantic Regionals in Hackensack, N.J., well, you're in luck. Click here to see a tournament bracket.

The bad news for the Renegades? They've already been eliminated from the tournament and will not repeat as AABC World Champions.

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Next week, the Troy Renegades 15-and-under team begins play in the AABC's Ken Griffey Jr. World Series in Owasso, Okla. Owasso High School, the tournament host, has done a great job in years past of providing updates on its web site. Here is a tournament information sheet.

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The South Troy Dodgers 17-and-under Connie Mack team lost on its third day in the American Amateur Baseball Congress Don Mattingly World Series this past week in Albuquerque, N.M. For a tournament bracket, click to this page and scroll down.

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If I receive a UNYS Stan Musial update tonight, I will post that news here.

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Is there anything we're missing? Please let us know.

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Last summer, the Spring Renegades nine-and-under baseball team won the AABC Jackie Robinson World Series.

This weekend, the team, now playing at the 10-and-under level, is competing in the Willie Mays North Atlantic regionals in Hackensack, N.J.

To read a story on the 10u Renegades written by Ryan Kircher that appeared in Friday's edition of The Reecord, click here.

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We also received the following note from Vince Cortese, manager of the 16-and-under Nightmare Fastpitch softball team.

The Nightmare team is heading to Dayton, Ohio to compete in the ASA Nationals August 4-8.

The Nightmare Fastpitch team played in eight tournaments this season. The team went 39-7, consisting of three first place finishes, which included ASA Invitationals in Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park and Amsterdam. The team also earned three second place finishes in South Glens Falls, Latham (Eastern National qualifier) and Albany.

Back Row (L-R): Justine Makinson, Laurel Abowd, Zoe Dubois, Danielle Groat, Shannon Morrill, and Ally Gehrer

Front Row (L-R): Jenna Cortese, Sam Lane, Becky Dickman, Jess Cohen, Angie Acierno.

This is Nightmare Fastpitch's first year together. The team features local high school stars such as Shannon Morrill (Hudson Falls), Jenna Cortese (South Glens Falls), Jess Cohen and Sammi Lane (Saratoga Springs), Danielle Groat and Becky Dickman (Ballston Spa), Ally Gehrer and Laurel Abowd (Bethlehem), Angie Acierno (Troy), Justine Makinson (Loudonville Christian) and Zoe DuBois (Burnt Hills).

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The City of Troy will be host to a number of baseball tournament this week, including the eight-and-under Cal Ripken State Tournament, which will be hosted by Spring Youth Baseball.

10 teams from the New York will play in a five-day tournament, which begins on Friday July 23 and wraps up on Tuesday July 27, weather permitting, of course.

A full schedule has been posted below.
Cal Ripken eight-and-under NYS Tournament hosted by Spring Youth Baseball

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Twin Town wins seven-game series against East Greenbush, District 14 title
The Record

EAST GREENBUSH - Gregory Allard allowed one hit, one walk and one unearned run over three innings, striking out six, leading Twin Town to an 11-1 victory and a series sweep over East Greenbush in the District 14 10-and-11-year-old ‘A’ Tournament.
Twin Town won the first four games of the seven-game series by a combined score of 42-5.
Dylan Farley, who added two singles at the plate, saved Allard’s win with five strikeouts in two innings of relief work.
Christian Testo went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and a single, scoring three runs and driving in three more. Tyler Ranken added two doubles and two RBI, while Kyle Lucier hit a two-run double.
Twin Town advances to sectionals, which begin Saturday July 31.
District 14 11-and-12 ‘A’ Round Robin
Twin Town 12, Lansingburgh 8: Matt Schumacher tripled and Liam Gelden doubled for Twin Town in a victory over Lansingburgh. Ryan Gutheil added two singles, two RBI and three runs scored for Twin Town.
For Lansingburgh Luke Pondillo doubled and John Vandenburgh hit two singles.
District 14 9-and-10-year old ‘B’ Round Robin
Twin Town Red 18, Cohoes 2: Will Despart doubled and hit two singles, backing winning pitcher Cam Smith in a big victory for the Twin Town Red team.
East Greenbush Gold 15, Twin Town Blue 2: Nick Spagnitta, who drove in five runs, collected the game ball for the East Greenbush Gold team.
Rensselaer 6, Lansingburgh 5: Todd Ryder singled twice and drove in two runs and Devon Hennessy added a double and two RBI for Rensselaer. Stephen Souis was the winning pitcher.
Eastern New York State Connie Mack All-Star game
Americans 8, Nationals 5: All-Star game MVP John Mancini, from the Scotia Tartans, smacked two doubles and drove in three runs, leading the American All-Stars to a victory at the Rotterdam Babe Ruth Field.
Earlier in the evening, Zach Vandenburg of the Sorensco Falcons won the Home Run Derby, belting three home runs in each round.


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Spring Youth Baseball has taught the youngsters of the Collar City the game of baseball for many years, but the organization is now hoping to extend its offerings to Troy's teenagers as well.

Members of the Troy Renegades 15-and-under baseball team run sprints during a practice Wednesday evening at the Turnpike Elementary School Field in Lansingburgh. (All photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

I spent part of this week investigating the rise of the Spring Youth Baseball program this week and found the 15-and-under Troy Renegades travel team a particularly interesting example of what the organization has to offer. For the full story, pick up a copy of Sunday's edition of The Record.

Greg Scott throws batting practice for the Troy Renegades during Wednesday's practice at Turnpike Elementary School in Lansingburgh.

For the Renegades, the story starts at their local Little League fields in Lansingburgh, Brunswick and Twin Town, just to name a few. But around the age of 10 or 11 - about five years ago - this team came together at Spring Youth Baseball, near the Emma Willard School campus in Troy.

The players and their parents believed that Spring would offer them a better challenge on the diamond than they would receive elsewhere.

As 12-year-olds, they finished in third place in a qualifying tournament for the Cal Ripken World Series. A year later, they won the 13-and-under AABC World Series in Michigan. Last year, the team was seeded first after pool play in a World Series in Lynchburg, Va.

This summer, the Renegades are headed to a national tournament in Nashville, which starts this week. They also hope to clinch a berth to the AABC World Series in Owasso, Oklahoma, which begins in early August.

From left to right, Troy Renegades teammates Ryan McGrath, Greg Ruddy and Greg Hotaling, take a moment to chat with The Record following Wednesday's practice.

Ultimately, Spring Youth Baseball is hoping that the pioneering Renegades pave the way for baseball for players aged four through 18 at Spring in the near future.

Spring is planning to construct two or three more smaller fields to give more opportunities to the four to eight year-old players just learning the game.

Spring will also have a permanent home for its 13-and-older teams with a 90-foot diamond somewhere in the city in 2011. They hope to draw some of the top teams from the Northeast to Troy for games, just like their neighbors, the Lansingburgh Royals and the South Troy Dodgers.

Is it a crazy idea? Sure it is. The Capital Region has an established path for talented players to follow to college baseball and beyond, but the folks at Spring seriously believe that they have the energy and the passion necessary to push a brand-new program for teenagers into the stratosphere of local baseball.

"I told these kids, as long as you’re having fun and you continue to do it, I’ll use every ounce of vacation I have you," said head coach Kevin McGrath. "I’m also on the City Council, which is a job in itself.

"I miss a couple of meetings here and there, but it’s worth it," he continued. "You only get one shot, you really do. So it’s worth it. To see these kids start to get looked at by colleges, it’s worth it. It really is."

Kevin McGrath oversees practice Wednesday evening as head coach of the Troy Renegades 15-and-under baseball team.

Greg Ruddy throws extra baseballs in a bucket. A rising junior at Troy High, Ruddy is wearing his breast cancer awareness t-shirt, a cause of great importance to the Troy High program.

It will be interesting to monitor Spring's progress over the years and see if they can meet the ambitious goals they've set out to accomplish. Again, for the full story, check out Sunday's edition of The Record.

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Two Lansingburgh Lady Royals softball teams are competing in the World Fastpitch Connection 16-and-under World Series in Myrtle Beach, S.C. and here are some of the team's early results, as provided by coach John Cipperly:

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Lansingburgh Lady Royals Blue and Silver Teams
Game Results

August 2009 WFC
(World Fastpitch Connection)
A Class 16&Under
World Series

Lady Royals Blue (2 ^nd year team) Pool Play Results:
3 Wins and No Losses

8/4/09

Lady Royals Blue - 7 Massachusetts Raiders - 3

Amanda Case - 2 RBI Double;
Meg Volz - Double;
Jill Venezia - 3 Runs Scored

WP: Danielle Amyot

8/5/09

New Jersey Hot Shots - 2
Lady Royals Blue - 7

Sarah Cipperly Single & RBI Double;
Rachel Heath RBI Single & RBI Double;

Kasey Ochs RBI Double.

WP: Lauren Hagerty ( One Hitter, 9 K )

North Carolina Starz - 0
Lady Royals Blue - 10

Amanda Case - 2 Singles & 2 RBI;
Sarah Cipperly 2 Runs Scored & RBI Single;

Jessica Freemantle Single & 2 BB & 2 Runs Scored

WP: Jessica Freemantle (2 Hitter, 5 K)

Lady Royals Silver (1 ^st year team) Pool Play Results:
3 Wins & 1 Loss

8/4/09

South Carolina Florence Fury 3
Lady Royals Silver 4

WP: Maddie Coneys

Lady Royals Silver 4
North Carolina Randolph Rage 5

Cassie Smith - RBI; Katie McGreevy RBI

8/5/09

Lady Royals Silver 3 South Carolina Dixie Diamondbacks 0

Gabby Daniels - Triple & scored game-winning run when Anasa Benbo drew a bases-loaded BB

WP: Amanda Adee (1 hitter)

Lady Royals Silver 7 NY Montgomery Devils Heat 2

Kat Rice - Triple & 2 Singles & 2 RBI;
Cassie Smith - 3 Singles; Kolbi Smith - 2 Singles

WP: Maddie Coneys

Lady Royals Blue - Bracket Play results:

8/6/09

So. Carolina Florence Fury 4 Lady Royals Blue 3 (International Tie-Breaker)

Jill Venezia - 2 BB; Sarah Cipperly & Jess Freemantle - Single; Rachel Heath - RBI Single

Alex Rogers - RBI HBP.

Lady Royals Silver - Bracket Play results:

8/6/09

Lady Royals Silver - 5 Ohio Eclipse Fastpitch - 0

Lady Royals Silver - 2 So. Carolina Dixie Diamondbacks - 3

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In other softball news, the Classie Lassie Lightning 12-and-under team finished second overall at the at the Class B Eastern National Championships, finishing the tournament with a 6-2 record.

Here is a bracket for the tournament.

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In Cal Ripken North Atlantic Regional baseball action in Troy on Thursday, Spring Youth Baseball held off the Clifton Park Thunder, 8-3.
Stan Hudy of The Saratogian was there, so make sure to check out his story in Saturday's edition of The Record and The Saratogian. He's also providing updates on his blog, www.stanhudy.blogspot.com

Here's an excerpt:

After an 18-4 beating at the hands of last year’s 8-year-old Mid-Atlantic Champions, East Brunswick, and Spring answered the bell against their local rivals.

“I told them today that this was their most important game,” Spring manager Dave Judge said. “We gave up so many runs last night that we’re in trouble if we tie another team. We need to win the next two games.”

With a 2-1 pool play record, Spring controls its own destiny, facing Northwest Pennsylvania champion, Audubon 12:30 today.

“I was a little concerned after the second inning, but I knew they had it in them,” Judge said. “They stepped up from the third inning on.”

Royals bounced in Owasso

Despite the efforts of Zeb Gaston (above), the Lansingburgh Royals 15-and-under Mickey Mantle team was eliminated at the American Amateur Baseball Congress World Series in Owasso, Okla. on Thursday. (photo courtesy www.owassobaseball.com)

The Royals won their opening game on Tuesday, but dropped games on Wednesday and Thursday in the double elimination, 14-team tournament. Many of the players on this team will be stars on their respective varsity teams next year and will likely be back on Mantle and Connie Mack teams in the summers to come.

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Melvin Roads Post impressive in game No. 1 at American Legion North Atlantic Regional

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The Melvin Roads American Legion Post baseball team scored a 12-2 victory over the New Castle, Del. Post in the opening round of the Mid-Atlantic regional Thursday morning.
Mike Barna hit a three-run home run and doubled and Annibal Maldonado and Bobby Peluso added home runs for Melvin Roads in the triumph.
Matt Montross, who pitched a complete game victory, also doubled twice and hit a single for Melvin Roads.
The East Greenbush-based club will face the winner of Thursday’s game between the Maryland and West Virginia state champions in a winner’s bracket game today at 4:30 p.m.
Live box scores of the games are available at www.baseball.legion.org

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Closer to home, Spring Youth Baseball's nine-and-under team started things off with a win in the Cal Ripken North Atlantic Regionals in Troy on Thursday.

Our colleague Stan Hudy at The Saratogian and The Community News was kind enough to send us a report from the game, which appears below.
Stan will also be offering updates from the tournament on his blog, which you can view by clicking here.


Stan Hudy
For The Record

TROY – The 9-year-old Spring Baseball All-Stars have shown they can win on the big stage, even the biggest, capturing the AABC 2009 Jackie Robinson World Series in Tulsa earlier this year.

On Thursday, they opened the 2009 Cal Ripken Baseball 9-year-old Mid-Atlantic Regional with a thud, but with a win, hoping they had shaken off their doldrums with a 6-4 win before facing three more opponents in pool play at the Spring Baseball Complex.

“They fought tough, but didn’t hit the ball well,” Spring manager Dave Judge said. “The first win is huge, I’m happy with the outcome.

The tournament hosts spotted the Southern New Jersey champions, Montgomery a first-inning one-run lead before posting their own two-run second inning, taking on single runs in the third and fifth innings, doing the most damage in the bottom of the fourth, including a wild run by Brett Young.

Down 1-0 after Montgomery’s Michael Hrudowsky reached on a single and advanced on a single by teammate Brian Giordano and grounder by Joey Schneider. He came around to score on a wild pitch in a shaky first inning.

After their own 1-2-3 first, Anthony Germinero singled to centerfield and moved over on Will Burger’s fielder’s choice that erased leadoff batter Saverio Yamin. Young grounded to the shortstop, but the throw went awry allowing Germinero to score. Burger raced home on a wild pitch, pushing Spring ahead, 2-1.

Spring’s Joe Casale led off the third with a double to right, advanced to third on David Judge’s groundout and scored on another Montgomery pitcher’s wild pitch, pulling ahead, 3-1.

It appeared to be all but over in the fourth after Burger singled to right, stole second and moved to third on another wild pitch. Young grounded to short, but the ball squirted underneath the fielder, allowing Burger to score and Young was on his horse. He also stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch.

Then it was just heads-up base running.

When teammate Connor Sicko struck out, the Montgomery catcher rolled the ball towards the mound and the visitors assumed the inning was over. It wasn’t and Young raced home for the commanding 5-1 lead.

“Our coach always yells to us if the ball is coming in and to slide,” Young said about his early steal. “When he rolled the ball, I was surprised too. Coach yelled to me and I knew I had to go.”

With their backs against the wall, Montgomery battled back in the top of the fifth as the bottom of its order and newly inserted pinch-hitters, Matthew Heidt, Joey Gutterman and Kyle Kuminski each reached on singles to load the bases.

Judge called on Zachary Ziter to come on in relief of starter Connor Sicko to end the threat.

He struck out the first batter and enticed Michael Pedota to a grounder back to the mound that allowed Heidt to score. Hrudowsky reached on a throwing error by the shortstop, allowing both Gutterman and Kuminski to score, cutting the lead, 5-4. A strikeout would end the threat.

Spring sprinted to another run in the fifth, this time it was by David Judge who reached on a two-out walk in the fifth. He ran to second after the throw by the catcher sailed into the outfield and he was off to third. He didn’t have to stop as the throw back over the diamond also went wide, allowing him to score.

Ziter returned for the sixth for a 1-2-3 inning and two additional strikeouts.

“I was just trying to do my best and hoping they wouldn’t hit any doubles,” Ziter said about his relief appearance. “We had to hold them.”

The Spring squad is the focus on the tournament, already as World Series champions and local diamond stars, expecting a tremendous turnout for the tournament, a different experience than traveling to Tulsa.

“When we went away it just the parents and the coaches,” Judge said. “Here we have a lot of people cheering them on and coming to see them play. It’s different pressure now, they’re home, their known and people want to see them and these other teams want to beat them.”

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11-year-old Section III Championship Game
East Greenbush-Castleton 1, Colonie 0: Jared Fortin pitched a no-hitter in a complete game shutout for East Greenbush-Castleton, as they defeated the Colonie "Wrecking Crew" in the Section III 11-year-old championship game at Twin Town.
Anthony Butler’s home run in the fifth inning was the only run needed by East Greenbush, which advances to the state tournament against the other five Section champions this weekend in Oswego.

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Albany's Kimdo Bethel (right) will make his professional boxing debut Frioday night at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy. He'll fight Cleveland, Ohio native James Rankin (left). (Photo by J.S. Carras - The Record).

They call Bethel the 'X-Factor' - for more on that, pick up Friday's edition of The Record, and he went 82-6 in his amateur career, which included a spot as an alternate on the 2008 US Olympic team.

"I did everything in the amateurs that I wanted to do," Bethel said. "So now I’m going to try to do the same thing I did in the amateurs in the pro ranks and try to work my way to the top. I want to fight the top fighters and start making history."

Battle at Troy
Friday, Joseph L. Bruno Stadium

Doors open at 6 p.m.
Fights begin at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets - $30, 40, 50

Blue Corner Red Corner

Super Middleweight–Four Rounds
Donyell Dukes (0-5-0) vs. Tony Brinson (pro debut)

Lightweight-Four Rounds
Laquan Lewis (0-2-0) vs. Zach Smith (2-0-0)

Lightweight-Six Rounds
Bryan Abraham (1-2-1) vs. Broderick Antoine (5-8-1, 4KOs)

Intermission

Heavyweight-Four Rounds
James Rankin (0-2-1) vs. Kimdo Bethel (pro debut)

Super Middleweight-Six Rounds
Markus Williams (2-0-0, 1KO) vs. Nick Brinson (3-0-0, 2KOs)

New York State Welterweight Title Bout-Ten Rounds
Frank Houghtaling (19-16-4, 4KOs) vs. Danny Sostre (9-3-0, 3KOs)

The Spring Youth Baseball nine-and-under team is already a World Series champion squad, but they've got more games to play this weekend in the Cal Ripken North Atlantic Regional right here in Troy.

Spring hosted a skills competition Wednesday afternoon and our Andrew Santillo was there. Read his story from today's paper here. Here are some shots from the event.

Spring's Anthony Germinerio runs the base path during the skills competition of the Cal Ripken Mid-Atlantic Regional baseball tournament Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at Spring Youth Baseball Field in Troy. (All photos by J.S. Carras - The Record)

Spring's Brett Young looks to catch ball during the fielding skills competition of the Cal Ripken Mid-Atlantic Regional baseball tournament Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at Spring Youth Baseball Field in Troy.

Clifton Park's Jaia Benson (3) breaks from home plate during the base running skills competition of the Cal Ripken Mid-Atlantic Regional baseball tournament Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at Spring Youth Baseball Field in Troy.

We will have full coverage of the event all weekend, so make sure to check back with The Record for the latest scores and updates.


2009 Cal Ripken Nine-and-under North Atlantic Regionals

Pool A
Northwest Pennsylvania — Audubon
Northern New Jersey — East Brunswick
Eastern New York — Clifton Park
Southern New Jersey — Montgomery
Host — Spring
Pool B
Delaware — Bear
Maryland — Walkersville
Metro New York — Glen Cove
Western New York — North Tonawanda
Southeast Pennsylvania — Warrington

Thursday’s Schedule

Field 1
Montgomery (NJ) vs. Spring 10:30 a.m.
Bear (Del.) vs. Glen Cove (NY) 1 p.m.
Warrington (Pa.) vs. Bar (Del.) 5 p.m.
East Brunswick (NJ) vs. Spring 7:30 p.m.
Field 2
Warrington (Pa.) vs. North Tonawanda (NY) 10 a.m.
Audubon (Pa.) vs. Clifton Park 12:30 p.m.
Walkersville (Md.) vs. North Tonawanda (NY) 3 p.m.
Montgomery (NJ) vs. Audubon (Pa.) 5:30 p.m.


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In other baseball news, the Melvin Roads Post team from East Greenbush is competing in the American Legion Mid-Atlantic Regionals in Morgantown, W.V. You can follow the action by clicking here and we'll be sure to update you this weekend with their progress.

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In Little League action, East Greenbush-Castleton and Colonie square off for the Section III championship tonight at Twin Town at 6 p.m. The winner of this game will go on to face the Champions from the remaining five sections of New York State Little League Baseball this weekend in Oswego, NY for the NYS Championship.

Enter Sandman. South Troy Dodgers 18-year-old's third base,an Chris Sand connects on a double to lead off the second inning of Friday's game against the Dodgers' 17-year-old team in the American Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack North Atlantic Regional. The 18s, who put together a five-run second inning, defeated the 17s 7-2. (All photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Please do not adjust your monitor - those are two teams wearing the same uniform playing each other. That's Branden Cogswell (11) of the South Troy 18s sliding into third base in front of 17s third baseman Matt Roth (24) safely with a stolen base in the first inning. Cogswell finished the game with two hits and four runs batted in.

South Troy 17s second baseman Sean Geisel makes a throw to first during Friday's game. Geisel guided the Dodgers to the Upper New York State Amateur Baseball Association title last week at the Boght Area Baseball Complex and he added a single, a walk and a run scored for the 17s on Friday.

South Troy 18s starting pitcher Jim Brennan deals early in Friday's game against the South Troy 17s. He lasted only two innings, walking three, but allowing no runs. Reliever Sean Whitty recorded the next nine outs on 26 pitches, inducing a pair of double plays to work out of trouble and make the Dodgers' early lead hold up.

"It’s great knowing you have a team behind you to back me up like they did today," said Whitty, an Amsterdam native. "I hadn’t really thrown in a while so it’s good to get out there and throw a few innings. I’ll be ready the next time they need me."

The Dodgers v. Dodgers pairing was a bit unusual - Whitty admitted he pitched a complete game for the 17s earlier this season - but the players seemed to be able to buckle down and compete in spite of the kinship they feel for each other.

"It was weird and we knew it going in," said South Troy 18s manager Kevin Rogers. "Last night I tossed and turned about it all night. Coach LaValley (the 17s manager), I’ve known him for a million years. I mean, he’s our coach. I’ve helped him coach his team and he’s helped coach my team and I’ve coached all the kids in that dugout."
"We were trying to not think about that and just go out and play," he continued, "and we did that. I think we might have put it in neutral after the five-run inning, we sort of coasted, but we’re looking to pick it up tomorrow."

Saturday’s Schedule
AABC Connie Mack North Atlantic Regionals
All games at Geer Field, Troy

South Troy 17s vs. Connecticut Bombers, 9 a.m.
South Troy 18s vs. Long Island Titans, Noon
Remaining teams redraw after noon game
Games TBD 3 p.m.

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Spring Renegades continue their rampage in the 14-and-under NABF World Series

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Spring Renegades continued to dominate the opposition in the second day of pool play in the National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series.
Spring posted a 17-0 victory over New Jersey in the morning, as Ryan McGrath and Kris Mueller led the way with two-run home runs. Jason Gallacchi added a solo home run and Joe Foran chipped in with two doubles for the Renegades.
In their next game, played at Lynchburg City Stadium - home of the Lynchburg Hillcats, Single-A affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates – Spring defeated an Allegheny, Va. squad 13-1. McGrath followed through with a triple and three singles, Foran added two triples and a single and Gallacchi also tripled.
Spring, which outscored opponents 55-5 through four pool play games, will face the second-place team from Pool B in the semifinals today at 10 a.m. Should the Renegades win that game, they will compete in the championship game at 5:30 p.m.
Many of the players on this team won the 13-and-under World Series in 2008.

TROY — The Connie Mack North Atlantic Regional begins today in Troy with eight teams vying for a spot in the World Series in Farmington, N.M.

The tournament kicks off at 2:30 p.m. with the South Troy Dodgers 17-year-old team taking on the Long Island Titans at Geer Field, while the Connecticut Bombers take on the Northeast Mudhens at Knickbacker Park in Lansingburgh.

The second round of games kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with the South Troy Dodgers hosting the Brooklyn Youth Service at Geer Field and the Ontario Blue Jays playing against the Bonnie Cougars at Knickerbacker Park.

2009 CONNIE MACK NORTH ATLANTIC REGIONAL

at Geer Field

South Troy Dodgers 17’s vs. Long Island Titans 2:30 p.m.

South Troy Dodgers vs. Brooklyn Youth Service 5:30 p.m.

at Knickerbacker Park

Connecticut Bombers vs. Northeast Mudhens 2:30 p.m.

Ontario Blue Jays vs. Bonnie Cougars 5:30 p.m.



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In other baseball news, Spring's 9-year-old American Amateur Baseball Congress World Series winning team returned to Troy on Monday and had a celebration Tuesday night.
Their season is far from over, however.

Read Andrew Santillo's story here.

Spring's 11-year-old team defeated Clifton Park in the New York State Cal Ripken semifinals and Stan Hudy from The Saratogian was there. Read his story about the game here.

Spring Youth Baseball's nine-and-under team won the American Amateur Baseball Congress World Series in Tulsa, Okla. on Sunday, defeating New Jersey team 7-5 for the title.

Anthony Germinerio was named tournament Most Valuable Player.

Zach Ziter entered to record the final out and David Judge drove in Germinerio with a double for an insurance run in the sixth inning.

"We were kind of the Bad News Bears down there compared to some of the other teams," said Spring head coach Dave Judge, "but these kids from Troy, they were just phenomenal."

Our colleague at The Saratogian, Stan Hudy, covered Spring's 11-year-old team in a come-from-behind victory over Clifton Park. He was kind enough to send us his story and here it is:

Stan Hudy
For The Record

WILTON – Spring Baseball coach Mark Ruddy joked after his 11-year-old Cal Ripken Baseball team earned a 4-2 come from behind win over Clifton Park Green Sunday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the Eastern New York State tournament Sunday that he didn’t know how much more he could take.

It wasn’t the baseball, the kids or the parents; it was the winning or more importantly how his Spring squad continues to make so many contests nail bitters.

“They never stop coming,” Ruddy said. “For two years they’ve been coming back in games. They just never give up.”

Spring earned the number one spot in the semifinals with a perfect 3-0 record, looking to face tournament host, Wilton 6 p.m. Tuesday at Gavin Park in Wilton. But the squad kept Ruddy and their parents in suspense throughout its Sunday finale, courtesy of a sharp Clifton Park defense.

“I thought we were playing against Willie Mays in the outfield, Brooks Robinson at third and Derek Jeter at short,” Ruddy said. “We just couldn’t get past them.”

Spring was limited to only two hits through the first four innings against Clifton Park starter Greg Waldek before taking advantage of hard-throwing reliever Matt Alverson in their final at-bats.

Ryan Ruddy, Spring’s number nine hitter, started the rally, leading off with a single to short right field. He moved over on a passed ball and stole third. Justin Luther singled through the left side and Bayley Haskin drove in Ruddy with an RBI single and Luther scored on Brian Seabury’s RBI single, knotting the game at two runs apiece. Mel Swartz drove in Haskin with his single for the eventual game-winner and Nolan Porcelli plated Seabury on his groundout to third in the top of the sixth and final inning.

“(Justin) Luther pitched lights out to keep us in it,” Ruddy said. “My number nine hitter, he got the rally going for us.”

Luther went the distance, six innings, allowing only one hit and two unearned runs on the afternoon, sending Clifton Park down in order in his final three innings, including striking out the side in the fourth.

“I felt good,” Luther said. “It’s the best I’ve thrown in my life. I have a two-seam fastball and a change-up, they both worked today.”

For Luther the loss, which didn’t eliminate Clifton Park from the tournament, but moved them down in the standings, was sweet revenge.

“We faced them last week and they hit me OK,” Luther said. “They won in the bottom of the sixth and I was determined not to let that happen again.”

While Luther won’t be eligible to pitch in Tuesday’s semifinal against Wilton due to Cal Ripken Baseball league pitching rules, he is ready for Wednesday’s championship game.

“I have two stars, Luther and Nick Porcelli,” Ruddy said. “Porcelli goes in the next game and Luther will pitch in the championship game. Let them know what’s coming at them, that’s how ready we are.”

Spring will face Wilton 6 p.m. Tuesday in the semifinal. A win would place them in Wednesday’s 6 p.m. title game against the winner of the Clifton Park Green/Queensbury contest with a bid to the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Indian Mills, New Jersey.

SPRING 4, CLIFTON PARK 2

Clifton Park Green 110 000 – 2 1 1

Spring 000 04X – 4 7 3

Clifton Park – Waldek, Alverson (5) and Drum. Spring – Luther and Houser. 2B – (S) Haskin. SB – (CP) Drum, Gregory, Collins. (S) Luther, Seabury 2, Houser 2, Swartz, Barnes, Ruddy.