Espinal has strong start to baseball season for Sage
Junior Brendan Espinal is the big gun for the Sage baseball team.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound outfielder leads the 5-7 Gators with a .455 average. Espinal, from Clifton Park and a Shenendehowa High graduate, has 20 hits in 44 at-bats with six doubles, two triples, a home run, 12 runs scored and 10 runs batted in.
Espinal went 0-for-10 and Sage lost all three games to start the season in New York City, but he was red-hot dur- ing the Gators’ nine-game trip to Florida. He had four hits with three doubles in a 7-4 loss to Gordon on March 5 and four hits with a home run and double in an 18-4 victory over Waynesburg on March 7. Espinal had at least one hit in every game on the trip.
Mckenzie Swinson (Troy)
The speedy junior outfielder is starting to find her batting eye for the Siena softball team. The Averill Park High graduate had five hits in nine at-bats to help the 11-6 Saints wrap up their Florida trip with two wins in three games. On the season, Swinson has started 14 games and is hitting .256 (10for-39) with a double, a team-high 12 runs scored and three runs batted in. And she is 11-for-11 in stolen bases.
James Ward (Queensbury)
The senior, a Queensbury High graduate, and junior Vince Venditti (Burnt Hillsballston Lake High) are off to big starts for the Saint Rose baseball team. The Golden Knights are 9-7 overall and 3-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference after a three-game sweep of American International last weekend. Ward is hitting .345 (20for-58) with seven doubles, a triple, a team-high 17 runs scored and 11 runs batted in. Venditti is batting .340 (17for-50) with five doubles, two home runs, 15 runs scored and six RBIS.
Andrew Wilson (Scotia)
The sophomore left-hander and freshman right-hander Jimmy Wilson (Mohonasen High) are both 2-0 pitching for the 11-1 Hudson Valley baseball team. Andrew Wilson, a Scotia-glenville High graduate, has pitched in three games with two starts. He has a complete game and has 11 strikeouts and a 0.90 earned-run average. Jimmy Wilson has a victory as a starter and another one in relief and has a 1.50 ERA. Freshman Hunter Stolov of Coral Springs, Fla., is also 2-0.
Logan Thayne (Hoosick Falls)
The 6-2 senior center was named to the D3hoops.com All-region I second team on Friday after a standout season with the 25-2 Cobleskill women’s basketball team. The Hoosick Falls High graduate averaged 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds with 16 double-doubles. She also had a team-high 56 blocked shots along with 35 assists and 21 steals. Thayne earlier was named North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year.
Seamus Camenga (Troy)
The freshman attack scored six goals to lead the Hudson Valley men’s lacrosse team to a 17-6 victory over Mohawk Valley CC on March 5 in Troy. The La Salle Institute graduate also had a pair of goals in an 11-5 victory over Sussex CC on March 10 in Newton, N.J. The Vikings are 3-1 after a 24-4 setback against No. 4ranked Onondaga CC on Wednesday in Troy. Camenga had a goal in that game, giving him a team-high nine this season.
Madalyn Ring (Gansevoort)
The junior outfielder is hitting .355 for the Sage softball team. The Gators are 3-9 after wrapping up a Florida trip with a 9-2 loss to Hope on March 9 in Clermont. The South Glens Falls High graduate has 11 hits in 31 atbats with five runs scored and six runs batted in. She is 7-for-7 in stolen bases and has handled 18 chances in the field without an error.