Leading off today: Queensbury coach Jay Marra provided to be wise in the ways of baseball when he spoke to his players before Saturday's game vs. Shenendehowa.
"I told them, 'Swing the bats. You might as well get three tries as opposed to looking at two strikes,'" Marra said.
It was a nod to the fact that Shenendehowa was sending senior ace Ian Anderson -- very likely a high selection in next months MLB draft -- to the mound for his second start of the season.
And it worked. The state's top-ranked Class A team (latest rankings here) strung together consecutive run-scoring singles from Justin Trolestra and Matt Zita in the sixth inning and went on to a 2-1 win over the Plainsmen, the state's No. 7 Class AA team, to complete a 20-0 regular-season.
"We got a couple of hits and a couple of ground balls that got by (Anderson). Things worked out," Marra told The Times Union.
Said Queensbury standout Brett Rodriguez: "We knew (Anderson) would supply the power, so we just had to make good contact. Matty and Justin put the bat on the ball and went right up the middle. Those are clutch hits."
Anderson, who consistently threw between 90 and 93 mph, Anderson registered 49 strikes among 73 pitches over six innings.
Loucks Games: Huntington senior Infinite Tucker pulled off a solid hurdles double Saturday as the Loucks Games wrapped up in White Plains.
Tucker won the 110-meter hurdles in :14.53 and the 400 hurdles in :52.77 for a pair of comfortable victories as the only competitor to score in both.
The girls 2,000 steeplechase went to North Rockland junior Alex Harris, who wired the field in 6:52.22
for the best showing in the country so far this season. John Jay-Cross River's Eion Nohilly won the boys 3,000 steeplechase in 9:22.68.
After winning the shot put on Friday, Iona Prep's Andrew Cannistraci took the boys discus with a heave of 173-6.
"I want to hit 195 (before the end of the season)," he told The Journal News. "That's a really high goal but I feel I can do it."
Rush-Henrietta junior Sammy Watson added to her win the girls 800 (2:06.05) by capturing Saturday's 400 title in :53.48.
Big day at the plate: DaVonia Lamar drove in nine runs with a 5-for-6 showing at the late in Beacon's 25-13 softball win over Peekskill. The fresh-man doubled twice and scored three runs.
Sydney Dexter was 1-for-2 with five walks and five runs scored.
On the water: The New York State Scholastic Rowing Championships continue Sunday at Fish Creek.
Dad's message: Just showing up isn't good enough for pro football player DeAngelo Williams when it comes to his two daughters. The Steelers running back may not necessarily demand that his children win when they compete, but he's also no fan of the "everyone gets a
