Summer
• The Albany Dutchmen reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 2013, but they had to work extra innings to do so.
Albany needed 16 innings to defeat Glens Falls 6-5 on the final day of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League season to earn the third and final playoff berth in the East Division. The next day, the Dutchmen edged Mohawk Valley 4-3 in 11 innings to win the opening round.
Albany met the Amsterdam Mohawks in the best-of-three divisional final series. Amsterdam took the first game 4-2 before the Dutchmen posted a wild 9-8 victory in 10 innings at Bellizzi Field to force a third game back in Amsterdam. There were five lead changes before Anthony Marks drove in Justin Brock with Albany’s winning run.
“I know as soon as we go into extra innings, the guys are up for it,” said Marks.
In the final game of the series, Albany grabbed a 4-3 lead on Matt Dacey’s three-run homer in the top of the third inning before Amsterdam rallied for a 9-4 victory. The Mohawks regained the lead on Jordan Sansone’s two-run blast in the bottom of the third inning, and they scored four times in the seventh to put the game out of Albany’s reach.
Amsterdam went on to win the PGCBL title for the second year in a row.
For his efforts in turning the Dutchmen into a playoff team, Nick Davey was named the PGCBL Manager of the Year. Davey has been Albany’s head coach every year since the franchise was formed in 2009.
• Delmar’s Victor Fox came within one hole of winning the New York State Men’s Amateur Golf Tournament at Loudonville’s Schuyler Meadows Country Club in July.
Fox had a two-stroke lead on Matt Stasiak entering the final hole of the three-day event, but the recent Bethlehem Central High School graduate double bogeyed it while Stasiak sank a birdie putt to claim the title.
“Going into the tournament, I knew I could compete with these guys,” said Fox, who is a freshman at the University of Maryland. “This course really set up well for me.”
Fox led through the first two rounds and only lost the lead twice on the third day – once after the first four holes, and then on the 18th hole.
• Pete Rose, the all-time Major League Baseball hits leader, stopped at Crossgates Mall to appear on a local sports talk radio show and sign autographs at The Stadium. While in town, Rose was asked about the latest steroids scandal to hit the sport he played and managed for three decades.
“If you break the rules and you cheat, that’s not good for the game,” said Rose.
The former Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies star knows what can happen when a player breaks the rules. Rose was banned for life from the game in 1989 after a report revealed that he bet on baseball games while managing the Reds. Rose publicly denied that he did bet on games before confessing to it in an autobiography he released in 2007.
• The Albany Athletics earned their second straight trip to the AABC Stan Musial World Series after claiming the North Atlantic Regional title, but they failed in their quest to repeat as world champions after losing their first two games of the tournament.
“This was a great season, despite a tough ending in the World Series,” said Athletics manager and Guilderland High School graduate Joe Altieri. “We made a great run through the regular season and postseason, and represented our league and region with class and pride in the World Series.”
The Athletics posted one of the best regular season records in Albany Twilight League history with a 22-2 mark and had an overall record of 38-11. They scored 198 runs during the league season, which was three runs off their record of 201 runs during the 2012 campaign.
“We lost six position starters from the 2012 national championship team, and our new players … came in and did an unbelievable job performing at a very high level every game this season,” said Altieri. “They kept this program going in the right direction and started their own legacy.”
• Colonie Central High School graduate Caitlin Colfer was named the University at Albany women’s soccer coach at the end of July, one month before the Great Danes were scheduled to play their first game of the season. Colfer coached at nearby Sage College – a NCAA Division III program – last season before applying for the job at Division I UAlbany.
“I’m just thankful for the opportunity and very thankful that they thought of me as the one they wanted for the job,” said Colfer.
“Caitlin was one of four finalists we brought in to be interviewed,” said Dr. Lee McElroy, UAlbany’s athletic director. “We thought she looked good on paper and when we interviewed her in person, she looked even better to us. We just thought she had the enthusiasm and had the energy we were looking for.”
Colfer’s UAlbany team struggled in 2013, as the Great Danes finished with a 1-6-1 America East record and an overall mark of 2-14-1.
Fall
• Christian Brothers Academy won its first Section II Class AA football title since 2006 by edging defending champion Shaker 13-8 in the first final played at the University at Albany’s new Bob Ford Field.
CBA’s defense came up big in the second half, as the Brothers stopped the Blue Bison twice inside their 10-yard line in the fourth quarter. Lloyd Smalling was tackled at the CBA 3-yard line after catching a fourth-down pass from quarterback Matt Woods, and Michael Lewis was flipped by a CBA defender as he caught a pass at the 2-yard line as time expired.
“We did a great job defensively all night,” said CBA coach Joe Burke. “We had many times where we had our backs against the wall, and the kids kept making plays.”
Shaker also had two second-half touchdowns called back by penalties, which added to the Blue Bison’s misery.
“We got bit by penalties a couple of times, “said Shaker coach Greg Sheeler. “It was just bad timing.”
CBA’s stay in the state playoffs ended in the regional semifinals with a 38-25 loss to Section IX’s Monroe-Woodbury. Crusaders quarterback Kevin Carr rushed for two touchdowns, threw a scoring pass and accounted for 309 total yards. Senior tailback Elliot Croskey rushed for 162 yards in his final game for CBA.
• CBA cross country runner Justin Van Epps won the Section II Class B boys individual title and had a shot at the state championship before he pulled his right hamstring.
Van Epps was running third at the state meet in Queensbury when he injured his leg at the 2-mile mark. The senior hobbled the rest of the way and placed 23rd with a time of 15:16.3 — still nearly one minute off his winning pace at Sectionals, but not where he hoped to be.
“I was seeded seventh (in the state), and I figured I had a chance to finish in the top five or even in the top three,” said Van Epps. “My leg had other ideas.”
Shaker’s Maryanna Lansing won the girls Class A title at Sectionals with a time of 18:43.82, but she struggled to an 85th-place finish at the state meet with a time of 20:09.4.
• The Shaker boys soccer team reached the Class AA Sectional semifinals before losing to eventual champion Guilderland 1-0. The lone goal came early in the second half when Guilderland’s Chris Czekay redirected Connor O’Brien’s corner kick past Shaker goaltender Tommy Macutek.
• Shaker’s Natalie Rumpelt and Sedef Ishaquei qualified for the state girls swim meet with second-place finishes at the Section II Division I championships. Rumpelt was second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53.14 seconds, while Ishaquei claimed second place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 59.69 seconds.
• Shaker brothers Tanner and Hunter Donovan both qualified for the 2014 state high school golf championships with top-10 finishes at Sectionals. Tanner placed second with a two-day score of 10-over par 152, while Hunter recorded a 12-over par 154.