Mount Saint Mary honored for work with Special Olympians
Mount Saint Mary College’s student-athletes were named the winners of the NCAA Division III Special Olympics Spotlight Poll, earning the college $500 to be used for the school’s next Special Olympics event.
The poll featured stories each month that highlighted a joint activity or event held by a Division III college. The Mount held a basketball clinic with Special Olympians from around the Hudson Valley just a week before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Out of three colleges competing, the Mount earned 709 of 1,285 total votes.
Members of the Knights’ men’s and women’s basketball teams led the Olympians
in various skill stations and games during the March 5 event. The evening culminated with a pizza party. The event was created by 2020 graduate Shannon Christiano, a nursing student who was also president of the Mount’s Student Nurses’ Association.
“We are so grateful she began this annual collaboration with the Mount’s Athletic Department,” Mount Athletic Director Jessica Mushel said in a statement.
“This recognition goes beyond winning a competition — it is a perfect summation of what our student-athletes do beyond their field of play,” Mushel added. “They are dedicated students and members of their community and I am so proud.”
Treinen comfortable in new home with Dodgers
Blake Treinen recently moved to the Los Angeles area, just minutes from Dodger Stadium.
He’s one of the jewels the Dodgers signed in their banner free agent offseason, a left-handed reliever with a nasty sinkerball who is part of a stacked bullpen along with Kenley Jansen.
His wife and children joined him here last week, so his comfort level both in the big city and with his teammates is growing.
“I’ve been blessed to be on a couple of organizations that have had some deep 40-man rosters,” Treinen said. “This is easily the deepest 1 through 40 I’ve ever seen.”
The Dodgers are a favorite to win the World Series in the 60game season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic and played their first exhibition game on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.
ICBL recognizes Performers of the Week
The Independent Collegiate Baseball League (ICBL) announces its Week #2 Performers of the Week are Matt Chase (Glens Falls Independents), Brenden Harris (Albany Athletics), Joey Kosowsky (Albany Dutch), and Dan Parslow (Amsterdam Mohawks).
Chase, a sophomore at Ithaca College and graduate of Queensbury High School, helped notch his team’s first win with a six-inning outing yielding no runs, just one hit and striking out 10 batters in the Independents’ 5-1 win Saturday.
Harris, who graduated from Guilderland High School just last month and heads to Cypress College in the fall, recorded a 7-for-12 week at the plate which included three home runs, six RBI and five runs scored in his team’s six games.
Kosowsky, a senior at Fairleigh Dickinson University and graduate of Lansingburgh High School, posted a perfect 3.2 innings of work not giving up a run or hit while also fanning six batters as he earned the win.
Messi wins record 7th scoring title in Spanish league
Lionel Messi won a record seventh top scoring title in the Spanish league on Sunday after netting twice in Barcelona’s 5-0 rout of Alavés in the final round.
Messi ended with 25 goals, four more than Karim Benzema, who did not score in Real Madrid’s 2-2 draw at Leganés.
Messi is the first player to finish as the league’s top scorer in seven different seasons. He reached the milestone despite missing games because of an injury early in the season. The Argentine’s 25 goals came in 33 matches.
Messi was tied with Telmo Zarra with six scoring titles. He has also now equaled Hugo Sanchez’s feat of four straight topscorer trophies.
“Individual achievements are always secondary,” Messi said. “I wished it could have come along with the league title.”