The Lansingburgh Lady Royals wrapped up their summer travel season on a high note, traveling to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for the World Fast Pitch Connection 16-and-under World Series from August 3 - 7. The team went 5-3, finishing 7th out of 20 teams in double elimination. They played against teams from Conn., N.C., S.C., Ohio, Md., Mass. and N.Y. Highlights were:

Meghan McKeown (Burnt Hills) .555 BA
Meg Hagerty (Averill Park) .500 BA
Katie McGreevey (Waterford) .384 BA

Maddie Coneys (Catholic Central) 2 shutouts, 17 strike outs, four earned runs over five games
Gabby Daniels (Troy) three home runs including one grand slam.

Team photo provided by Pat Coneys.

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Members of the Warning Track Heat hold up the trophy from the American Softball Association's Eastern National Championship tournament that they won on August 1 in York, Pa. (Photo provided by: http://www.eteamz.com/warningtrackheat1/)

Although I did have a post on the Warning Track Heat earlier this week, I was finally able to catch up with the team's head coach, Wayne Carter, for a story that will appear in The Record on Thursday, August 5. Coach Carter did not want to focus on any of the players individually, saying that it was a "total team effort." A team roster is pasted in below.

STILLWATER -- The players on the Warning Track Heat 14-and-under travel softball team got together for a few tournament games in the fall of 2009 and they set a lofty goal for the summer of 2010: claim a top three finish in the Eastern National Championship tournament.

After winning two tournaments in the fall, the players continued to gather for weekly practices at All Stars Academy in Latham and a monthly workout at Union College, central meeting places for players that came from hometowns from Schuylerville to Taconic Hills.

In the spring, the team got together on the weekends after having played or practiced five days a week with the varsity or junior varsity teams at their respective high schools.

"We had practices in the winter and the early spring and to be honest, some of the girls were softballed out," said Warning Track Heat head coach Wayne Carter. "We got together to practice on a Saturday or a Sunday after the girls had played four or five games with their high school teams during the week. I didn’t want to push them too much, but I asked them, ‘Do you want to finish in the top 3?"

The players buckled down and stayed true to their goal, going the extra mile to take swings in the batting cage and work on their defense.

When the summer season came around on June 4, the team was ready. Warning Track Heat finished in first or second place in seven of the nine tour¬naments in which it entered, including a berth in the American Softball Association’s 14-and-under Class B Eastern National Championship in York, Pa., which began on July 28.

Warning Track Heat won all seven games it played in the tournament, defeating the Northern Nightmare (LaFargeville, N.Y.) 9-0 in the champi¬onship game. Not only did the team exceed its preseason expectations, it became the first squad from New York State to ever win the Eastern National Championship tournament title.

Warning Track Heat finished the sum¬mer season with a 47-7-2 record.

Five other local teams – Bethlehem Tomboys Blaze (Delmar), East Greenbush Express, Lansingburgh Lady Royals, Miss Scotties (Ballston Spa) and the Waterford Wicked - also qualified for and participated in the tournament.

What makes the tournament title all the more meaningful for Carter was the fact that his 11 players came from nine different high schools. Although the team has limited practice time together, the players still developed a strong chemistry with one another.

"On the Fourth of July, we played in a tournament in South Glens Falls and one of the parents in Schuylerville invited everyone down for a barbecue and a sleepover," Carter said of one of the team’s rare get-togethers outside of a tournament setting. "And at tournaments on the road, we always try to eat out together as a team."

Carter would love to keep the team together for as long as possible and pursue more tournament championships over the next few years, but he’s aware that there are other organizations and obligations that may cause some of the girls to defect.

While the goal of winning games was a major focus for the team in 2010, that too will change as the players near their junior and senior years in school and begin to ponder their options for higher education.

"You want to get the girls the proper exposure and have them be seen by college coaches," Carter said. "A lot of the girls that we have are from middle income households, so if they could get anything for college I’d be ecstatic. A few dollars would be great. That’s a huge reward."

Warning Track Heat roster
Rachel Baker, Schuylerville
Alyssa Carter, Stillwater
Kayla Doty, Chatham
Heather Dugan, Maple Hill
Danielle McOmber, Cohoes
Jackie O’Brien, Niskayuna
Jordan Podkladek, Schuylerville
Jackie Rossi, Shaker
Morgan Rumpf, Saratoga Springs
Hannah Sears, Taconic Hills
Michaela Smith, Chatham
Head Coach, Wayne Carter
Coach, Mike O’Brien
Coach, Mike Podkladek
Coach, Gary Sears

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The Warning Track Heat, a 14-and-under softball team based out of Stillwater, posted a 9-0 victory over the Northern Nightmare (N.Y.) to win the American Softball Association Eastern National Championship title recently in York, Pa. It was a 60-team field as players from all over the east coast converged for the tournament. Warning Track Heat went 7-0 in the tournament.

 Kayla Doty throws a pitch during the ASA 14-and-under Eastern National Championships last week in York, Pa. (Photos provided by Lisa O'Brien).

Warning Track Heat roster:
Michaela Smith
Rachel Baker
Jordan Podkladek
Heather Dugan
Danielle Mcomber
Hannah Sears
Morgan Rumpf
Jackie OBrien
Jackie Rossi
Kayla Doty
Alyssa Carter

Head Coach - Wayne Carter
Coach - Gary Sears
Coach - Mike O'Brien
Coach - Mike Podkladek

Last week, The Record covered the Lansingburgh Lady Royals as they prepared for the same tournament.

Thank you goes to Lorrie Pizzola, a mother of a player on the East Greenbush Express, who gave us the heads-up on this, as well as to Lisa O'Brien, who sent us a roster and pictures.

We love to pass this news along, but we can't do it without your help, so if you have any tournament results, please send it to us at sports@troyrecord.com

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The Albany Twilight League playoffs begin tonight. Here is a press release sent to us by Albany Athletics head coach Joe Altieri.


ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Albany Twilight League will open its 2010 postseason at Bleecker Stadium on Monday, August 2 with the top seed and defending League champion Albany Athletics taking on No. 4 Blue Slate Blue Hawks, and No. 2 All Stars Academy hosting No. 3 Waterford Nolan Propane.

The Athletics, who won the Twilight League regular season with a 20-4 mark for the third time in the last four years, started the season 3-2 and then went on to win 16 straight league games. All Stars Academy (18-6) meanwhile started the season hot with an 8-0 start and returns to the playoffs after failing to qualify in 2009. Waterford Nolan Propane, the 2009 Twilight League and State Tournament Runner Up, bounced back from a 4-6 start to go 11-3 and end the season 15-9. First-year franchise Blue Slate Blue Hawks (13-11) qualified as the No. 4 seed by winning their last four games of the season.

Winners of each series will advance to the Twilight League Championship Series following the North Atlantic Regional tournament this weekend. (more info to come later in the week on the Regionals).

All Stars, who just captured their first state title Sunday, and the Athletics, who have nine state championships including four straight (2006-09), have both earned berths in the North Atlantic Regional Tournament August 6-8.


Monday, August 2nd:
6:30 pm - #2 All Stars vs #3 Waterford Nolan Propane
8:30 pm - #1 Albany Athletics vs #4 Blue Slate

Tuesday, August 3rd:
6:30 pm - #4 Blue Slate Blue Hawks vs #1 Albany Athletics
8:30 pm - #3 Waterford Nolan Propane vs #2 All Stars Academy

Wednesday, August 4th, if necessary:
6:30 pm - #2 All Stars vs #3 Waterford Nolan Propane
8:30 pm - #1 Albany Athletics vs #4 Blue Slate

Note: home teams listed first

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One more note of interest to local baseball fans...the East Greenbush-Castleton Little League team was ousted from the New York State Tournament Sunday night, losing to South Shore 8-3.
South Shore plays Stony Point in the championship game tonight at 7:30 p.m. in West Nyack.

In other Little League news, World Series coaches will now be able to challenge calls thanks to a video replay system in Williamsport.

Will the Major Leagues follow suit?

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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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Shannon Johnson warms up during Lansingburgh Lady Royals 14-and-under practice Thursday evening at Averill Park High School. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

I caught up with the Lansingburgh Lady Royals' 14-and-under team Thursday night as they practiced at Averill Park High School in preparation for their upcoming appearance in the Eastern National Championships in York, Pa. starting July 28.

A group of about half a dozen players has been together for the past three years. As a 10-and-under team three years ago, playing at Classie Lassies in Wynantskill, the team won the ENC title.

Last year, the team played to a runners-up finish.

For the full story, check out Friday's edition of The Record.

For a video clip with player interviews, visit www.troyrecord.com/video/sports

Shelby Fenton prepares to catch a fly ball in front of head coach Matt Johnson during Thursday's practice at Averill Park High School.

Some of the players are from the immediate Troy area, as Catholic Central, Tamarac, Averill Park and Cohoes student-athletes have found spots on the roster. The team also draws from all around the Capital Region, as Genevieve Paeglow makes the commute from Delmar to play with the team.

Unlike their baseball counterparts, who have house leagues and Sandy Koufax teams on which to compete, softball players are often on the road all the time, traveling to tournaments in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Some of the Royals' coaches also said that they know of girls as young as 14 who travel to Binghamton multiple times per week to play on teams they feel fit their talents.

The Royals, however, have not strayed too far from home this season. The ENC trip is their only overnight adventure on the schedule for 2010.

"We want to keep their summers as normal as possible because they’re going to be jammed up for the next six to seven years," assistant coach Sean Wood said. "When they start hitting a certain age, you have to do that travel stuff. I just don’t think they’re ready for that yet."

Nina Freed makes a throw during Thursday's Lansingburgh Royals 14-and-under softball practice Thursday evening at Averill Park High School.

The team will enjoy the social aspects of the trip, but they're also going to get down to business once the games start.

Teams will have a bit of social get-together prior to the opening ceremonies. Gift bags, which includes trinkets from each team's neck of the woods, are exchanged, as are pins.

But with 52 teams in the tournament, the Royals are aware they could be headed home Friday morning if they don't play well.

The Bethlehem Tomboys Blaze, East Greenbush Express, Miss Scotties (Ballston Spa), Warning Track Heat (Stillwater) and Waterford Wicked will also be representing the Capital Region in the 52-team field.

Fundraising is also part of the game for the Royals, who will hold a car wash event Saturday. All of the work they do on the outside allows them to keep costs to $150, which is much less than what some other teams charge.

The Royals aren't quite at the level of some of the area's elite travel teams in playing in college showcase events, but head coach Matt Johnson hopes to change that in previous years. All of the Royals' success at the ever-popular ENC tournament can't hurt that goal.

Kelly Donnelly takes a mighty cut at a basketball in an unusual soft-toss training drill for the Lansingburgh Lady Royals 14-and-under softball team. The coaches picked it up during a clinic at Colgate University in February.

"We just want to have fun because we all love the sport," said multi-talented outfielder, first baseman and catcher Nicole Matthews. "We also want to prove to other places that you may be from nowhere, but you can still improve and be really good if you come from nowhere….like Wynantskill."


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The chat has now gone live. Click the play button below to join the conversation.
Summer baseball, softball and basketball are all up for discussion, as is the upcoming high school football season. I'll keep the chat open until about 11 p.m. tonight.



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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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Do you have similar news that you'd like to share? Please read the instructions (by clicking here)
on how to be a part of our weekly Faces in the Crowd section every Sunday.

You will need to submit a brief note and a picture in .jpg format.

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The 16-and-under Lansingburgh Lady Royals played to a second place finish at a 24-team PONY National Qualifier on June 19-20 in New Windsor, N.Y.

In the round robin on Saturday, they won two of three games, allowing only 5 runs with two shutouts. They were seeded No. 6 for single elimination on Sunday and defeated Rapid Fire (7-1), Morris Co. Belles (4-1) and the East Coast Tsunami (9-4) to make it to the finals. They lost to BP Allstars (3-2) in the championship.

Maddie Coneys (CCHS) went 4-1 for the tournament with (2) shutouts, ERA 1.23, 29 strikeouts
Megan McKeown (Burnt HIlls) batted .500 scoring 7 runs, 2 doubles and 3 triples
Meg Hagerty (Averill Park) batted .400 scoring 6 runs, 2 doubles
Gabby Daniels (Troy) batted.391 scoring 3 runs, 5 doubles, one triple

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Cameron Sprague, a Clifton Park native and member of the Class of 2011 at Shenendehowa High School, pitches for the Electric City Bombers 18-and-under team in the summer months.

Cameron Sprague from Shenendehowa High School has recently been selected to compete in the Queen of Diamonds Showcase South (QDSS) at Winthrop University in Rock Hill South Carolina, September 3rd and 4th, 2010.

This event continues to attract elite athletes from 30+ states and 2 Canadian Provinces. Its’ sister showcase, the Queen of Diamonds North, in its 17th season, is the largest showcase in the nation. Both events have over 2,000 applicants in which 264 are selected. This showcase is very unique as athletes actually ‘apply to’ this event individually and are selected based on many criteria ranging from ability, potential, academics, grad year, coaches requests, and referrals. Cameron is a senior pitcher on the Electric City Bombers 18U Gold team.

We're going to be publishing a big feature story on summer sports and the college recruiting process on July 4. Many of the elite local athletes are beginning to self-promote themselves to colleges, using websites such as the one where Sprague hosts a profile. There, they can post statistics and videos such as the one below that can showcase their talents to college softball coaches who are trying to fill a few roster spots at any given time.

It definitely a time of change on the youth athletics front as parents and coaches have multitude ways to promote and research players. For many players, it's the summer season, and not the high school season, that helps them become college athletes.

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With local families spending in upwards of $1,000 per summer per athlete to have them compete on elite-level travel teams, we here at The Record are curious and are looking for your input. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

On July 4, all newspapers in our chain will be publishing an edition through the use of free online tools only. But that's only half the story. We're also looking for you, the readers, to help us tell your stories. It's part of a one-time only edition, but we're also looking to make this a regular piece of how we put the paper together every day. For more information, click here to read more on the Ben Franklin project.

Do you have any horror stories from money wasted on fees for travel teams? Or did that experience help you (or your son or daughter) earn a Division I or Division II scholarship that saved a pile of money in the long run?

Because of this specialization, is the three-sport athlete dead?

We value your stories, experiences and ideas and would greatly appreciate your input in putting this project together. If you would like to share, please contact me via email at troyrecordsports AT gmail DOT com or call me at the office at 518-270-1246.

Thanks for reading.

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A Bethlehem High parent has passed along the following information:

Jessica Mendoza, a former Olympic medalist winner and a softball player for Team USA, will be coming to Delmar in September to work with the Bethlehem Tomboys in a clinic. Local college coaches and players will also be present at the camp.

For more information and a flyer, click here to view the Tomboys' website.

It isn't free (the cost is $150 per session), but it certainly is interesting that a high-level athlete is coming to the Capital Region to work with the area's high school-age players.

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Do you have any other news of upcoming camps (baseball, soccer, basketball, etc) in the area? Please send it in to the email address above on the right-hand side.

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Here at The Record, we're always looking to report on the accomplishments of our local athletes. In the summer, however, we need your help.

With literally hundreds of baseball and softball teams in Rensselaer County and beyond, it's impossible for us to keep up-to-date with all of them through the grapevine. So, please report your scores and keep us in touch with any tournaments or trips in which your teams will compete.

Please click here to see our list of requirements and where to submit your news.

We're doing our best to reach out to everyone so as to provide balanced coverage this summer. We get calls every August from a team that just won the World Series in Oregon, but had not reported a single score all summer. It's hard for us to report on something days or weeks after the fact, so report your scores and we'll do our best to get it in the paper the next day and on the web site instantly.

Please keep in touch with us and we'll do our best to ensure your team is covered throughout its Little League and summer seasons. We're not out to cover any one team over the others. Some teams have done great jobs reporting scores in the past and have received our attention because they let us know what was going on. All it takes is a simple phone call, fax or email every night before 10:30 p.m.