Announcement
Hamburg Post 527 put together their most complete performance of the week, and sent Saugerties Post packing for home 7-2 this afternoon to advance to the Finals of the NYS American Legion Tournament. Michael Heilig (St. Francis) answered the bell and took a shutout into the final frame, ending the outing with a dominant CG three-hitter. His mates not only played flawless defense behind him, they erupted with some timely hitting after some early frustration.
Hamburg (3-1) had runners in scoring position with no outs in each of the first three innings but came away empty. But Heilig stayed composed and kept the opponents at bay until the bats came alive. Leadoff hitter Joe Roward (Orchard Park) set the table all day long by reaching in all five plate appearances and scoring twice. Zach Evans (Lakeshore) also scored twice while collecting three hits behind Roward in the 2 hole. Not to be outdone by the “Daily Double” ahead of him, Jordan Prince (Orchard Park) banged out 3 doubles and drove in two. Prince is hitting a cool .538 during his stay in Utica.
The improbable uphill climb from the losers bracket continues tomorrow at 10:00 for the District VIII champions, as the three time defending champs, Rockland County Pirates (4-0) await. Rockland defeated Hamburg 5-0 on Sunday night. As if it won’t be tough enough for Hamburg to deliver the upset, if successful they will have to go back out there and beat them again at 1:00 to advance to the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Raleigh, NC next week.
On another note, the Annual ALB All-Star Classic will take place at UB/Nothtown Center tomorrow beginning at 5:30. In the first game (Scholastic), District 8 all-stars yet to graduate will host their equals from District 7 (Rochester). The Collegiate game will then pit the older players from District 8 up against a group of stars from AAABA. It promises to be a fun night and beautiful baseball weather so make it out to catch the very best that the region has to offer in youth baseball!
