Five teams from Albion and one from Medina are combining to form a 10-12 age group Orleans County Short Season Baseball League.

The Albion teams will include Sandstone, Barre, St. Mary’s, Carlton and Rotary/Vets/Lions.

The league is being organized to help fill the void left by the cancellation of both the Albion Midget League and Niagara Orleans Youth League seasons due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The easing of restrictions imposed during the Pandemic is now allowing youth baseball, softball and soccer play to begin on July 6 which has made it possible for the formation of this short season league.

The teams are scheduled to begin practice on July 6.

A 10 game regular season is then slated to begin on July 30 or August 1 with teams looking to play two games a week.

A two game playoff then looks to be held with the season ending by September 3.

“We’re going to go,” said Sandstone Coach Dan Bartlett. “We want to give the kids an opportunity to have some kind of a season and I think it’s the way to go.”

The league will also be having  a 7 to 9 age group division but how many teams it will have depends on the number of participating players.

Contributed Photos – The 1983 Medina MAC’s semi pro baseball team included, in front, bat boys Dave Fredericks Jr. and Jeff Boring. Kneeling are Steve Pettine, Dave DiCureia, Sam Barber, Chris Belson and Jim Noreck. Standing are Coach Dave Fredericks, John Tierney, Don Pellegrino, Jeff Renner, Paul Benson, Merle Fredericks Jr., Tom Fredericks and Manager Merle Fredericks Sr. Absent from the photo were Chuck Barone and Chuck Weader.

Very popular from the 1950’s into the 1970’s, semi pro baseball made its return locally in 1983 with the formation of the Medina MAC’s.

Managed by Merle Fredericks Sr. and coached by Dave Fredericks and Fats Piedmont, the MAC’s opened the season with a 20-4 wi over the Brockport Bardhals team before a large crowd of several hundred fans at Vets Park.

Steve Pettine and Tom Fredericks both had three hits for the MAC’s which took charge early with a big nine run first inning. Chris Belson, Dave DiCureia, Merle Fredericks Jr. and Paul Benson each chipped in with two hits.

John Tierney started on the mound for the MAC’s as Chuck Weader, Tom Draper and Chuck Barone also shared in the pitching chores.

The season was highlighted by a matchup with rival Albion at Vets Park.

Albion bested the MAC’S 4-1 in that season ending contest as a trio of pitchers – Paul Chappius, Tim Pierce and Bill Burke – combined to hurl a two hitter with 13 strikeouts.

A three run first inning scoring burst highlighted by a two-run triple by John Snell, proved to be all the offense Albion would need as it turned out. Jeff Klips tacked on an RBI double in the second inning.

The lineup for Albion, which was also in its first season, also included Dave Terra at first base, Tim Archer at second, Klips at shortstop, Dave Cotter at third, Snell at catcher along with Mike Bowers, Frank Hildreth and Pete Madafferi in the outfield.

A large crowd of several hundred fans attended the 1983 Medina MAC’s opener at Vets Park. Here Chris Belson bangs out a leadoff triple which ignited a big nine run inning.

The release this past week of the new Section VI opening weekend schedule of high school football games really shows how much coaches and schools wanted that eighth game returned to the regular season schedule.

In all 29 games are now scheduled for the new season opening Labor Day weekend which is being called “Week 0”. The games come on the weekend which in previous years had been used for scrimmages.

“I’m not surprised.  In fact, if not for Covid 19 situation, I would bet we probably would have had everyone,” said Section VI Football Co-Chairman Ken Stoldt.  “The landscape of football has changed so much over the last 10-15 years.  Going back in time, coaches couldn’t be with their kids very much in the off season.  Now, if you’re not with kids doing camps and 7 on 7’s your behind so just about everyone is doing those things.  The days of showing up on Day 1 and installing your offense and defense are gone.  Everyone is now doing that in the off season at 7 on 7 tournaments etc..    Coaches will now use the first 10 days to get kids in shape and progress through the contact stages.  I think it’s a positive for NYS football.”

The additional game was made possible when the New York State Public High School Athletic Association voted last month to give schools the option to either scrimmage or play an eighth game on Labor Day weekend.

Locally four of the five Niagara-Orleans League schools which play 11 man football took advantage and added an eighth game.

The season is now scheduled to kickoff on Friday September 4 and locally Albion will visit Batavia (Section V) at 7 p.m. for a non league intersectional contest.

Then on Saturday September 5 there will be three Section VI interdivisional games involving area teams as Medina will host East Aurora at 1 p.m., Akron will entertain Lackawanna at 7 p.m. and Wilson will host Alden also at 7 p.m.

Albion will then begin Class B2 Division competition on Friday September 11 as the Purple Eagles host Depew.

That same evening Medina will host Class A2 foe Williamsville East in an interdivisional contest. The Mustangs first Class C North Division game will be a home contest against Newfane on Friday September 18.

Contributed Photo – Ron Mapes

Over the past seven decades the Lyndonville High baseball program has had a string of strong starting pitchers, the first of which was Ron Mapes who hurled for the Tigers for four years from 1952-55.

Mapes, who posted a career record of 30-3, helped Lyndonville capture Section V championships in both 1953 and 1955.

In 1953 Lyndonville nipped Naples 2-1 in the title contest as Mapes hurled a three hitter with five strikeouts.

He then capped off his sparkling career by striking out 17 and allowing only three hits in Lyndonville’s 3-0 win over Cuba in the 1955 championship game.

During his career, Mapes pitched 8 no hitters which is still the Section V record. In addition to several other shutout wins he also had nine one hitters and one perfect game. He also struck out 441 of the 822 batters he faced.

Mapes’ success on the mound understandably attracted plenty of attention from major league scouts beginning in his sophomore year.

Following his sectional title win over Cuba, Mapes attended tryouts for a number of major league teams and ended up signing with the New York Yankees. He played one season (1956) for the Yankees St. Petersburg team in the Florida League.

Interestingly, the Section V record book also has the names of several other Lyndonville pitchers among its career leaders.

Rob Riemer (1982-84) is second on the career shutout list with 10 while Chris Hayes (1986-89) is tied for fourth with 7 and Terry Stephens (1993-96) and Jeremy Dracup (1998-99) are both tied for fifth with 6. Riemer had 5 shutouts during the 1984 season which is tops on the Section V single season list while Hayes is second with 4 in 1988.

Efforts are now underway to put together a program of organized baseball activity for interested Orleans County area players ages 13-16 this summer.

“Right now we’re just trying to gauge what kind of an interest there is among kids in the Orleans County area ages 13-16 to play 90 foot baseball,” said Greg Bennett of Albion who is trying to put the program together along with Chris Goyette of Medina.

“We’re asking anyone who is interested in playing to contact either myself or Chris by July 1,” said Bennett.

“We really need to see how many kids are interested as that will determine what kind of a program we can run,” he added. “Depending on the turnout it could be scrimmages or splitting the group up into teams. It all depends on the numbers. We’re looking to run a 4 to 8 week program but again that will be dependent on participation numbers.”

Bennett can be contacted by e-mail at Nikegb7@gmail.com or by phone at 585-429-0315. Goyette can be contacted by e-mail at cgoyette2113@gmail,com or by phone at 716-984-4790.

They are targeting to begin the program on July 6th which is the date Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that youth baseball, softball and soccer play can start.

Contributed Photo – Veteran members of Albion’s 1985 sectional playoff team include, in front, Pam VanWycke, Tammy Prest and Betty Ann Smith. In back are Kim Prentice, Dedo Froman, Chris Snyder, Mindy Thompson and Barb Mayer.

Albion made its first ever appearance in the Section VI softball playoffs an impressive one in 1985 by reaching the Class B2 finals.

The Purple Eagles romped past Grover Cleveland of Buffalo 41-9 in their first ever sectional contest.

Kim Prentice pounded out six hits including a double, two triples and a home run and Betty Ann Smith added five including a triple and two home runs to lead the Albion offense.

Winning pitcher Chris Snyder, Tammy Prest. Barb Mayer and Mindy Thompson each chipped in with four hits and Pam VanWycke three. Snyder’s hits included a home run, Prest’s two doubles, a triple and a home run, Mayer’s a double and two triples and Thompson’s a double and a home run.

Keeping the momentum, Albion then edged past Eden 7-5 in the semifinals.

Breaking away from a 5-5 tie, Albion pulled out the win by scoring twice in the seventh inning as winning pitcher Snyder and Prentice both had clutch RBI doubles.

Prentice finished with three hits as Snyder and Prest both had two.

The Purple Eagles  had held leads of 3-0 and 5-3 only to see Eden rally into a tie on both occasions.

The victory propelled Albion into an all Niagara-Orleans League Class B2 title contest against N-O champion Starpoint.

The title contest, which was held at Medina’s Vets Park, was dominated by Starpoint pitcher Michelle Cyr who hurled a two hitter with 11 strikeouts in leading the Spartans to a 9-0 win over the Purple Eagles.

Breaking away from a scoreless deadlock, Starpoint scored the only two runs it needed in the fourth inning on a fielders choice play off the bat of Brenda Reinard and a single by Cyr.

Prest and Snyder had the lone hits for Albion which had also been blanked by Starpoint twice during the regular season by scores of 3-0 and 7-0.

However, the Purple Eagles could take some satisfaction as they lost to a Starpoint team which advanced all the way to the state finals.

The Spartans defeated Tonawanda 5-1 for the overall Section VI Class B title and then downed Chenango Forks 6-1 in the regionals and Massena 5-1 in the state semifinals before bowing 2-0 to Port Jarvis in the state title contest.

Albion earned its first ever sectional berth by nipping rival Medina 9-7 in the N-O season finale.The win also avenged an early season 9-6 loss to the Mustangs.

The presentation of a number of special awards and scholarships highlighted the annual Medina High Block ‘M’ program which was held via a YouTube video on Tuesday evening.

The Babe Ruth Award was presented to seniors Nate Sherman and Hannah Heil and the Russell Houserman Award to freshmen Lydia Fox and Aiden Paul.

The Athlete of the Year Awards were presented to seniors Chris Goyette and Lacey Kenward; juniors Faith Ann Vanderwalker and AJ Seefeldt; sophomores Joe Cecchini and Lily Jo Carpenter and freshmen Gabe Mark, Rachel Hill and Madeline Satkowski.

The Mustang Heart Award was presented to Bobby Geiger and Margaret Klotzbach and the Fats Piedmont Fan of the Year Award to Mrs. Fran Heil.

Lacey Kenward received the Ossont-Decker Scholarship, Ian Wagner the Larry Decker Scholarship, Bobby Geiger the Beverly Sargent Scholarship and Nate Sherman and Margaret Klotzbach the Niagara-Orleans Dick Diminico Scholarship.

PONY Awards were presented to the following student/athletes and are listed here by sport:

Football – Brian Fry, Boys Soccer – Dan Mandujano, Girls Soccer – Miranda Zelazny, Boys Cross-Country – Arian Cayea, Girls Cross-Country – Ashley Woodroe, Boys Golf – Trevor Luthart, Girls Golf – Melanie Green, Fall Cheerleading – Lisa Shafer, Volleyball – Elle Gross, Field Hockey – Lacey Kenward.

Boys Swimming – Hunter Heil, Girls Swimming – Hannah Heil, Wrestling – Miles Hartway, Winter Cheerleading – Alexis Hare, Boys Basketball – Jarin Rhim, Girls Basketball – Faith Ann Vanderwalker, Unified Bowling – Gracelin Mahnke and Karina Beilan.

Baseball – Chris Goyette, Trevor Luthart and Nate Sherman; Softball – Lacey Kenward, Morgan Allis, Micaela Erway, Abi Neuman, Tessa Pecoraro and Grace Cook; Lacrosse- Wesley Hughes, Robert Geiger III, Caleb Boyce, Thomas Vasquez, Riley Black, Cooper Fearby and Colby Stephens; Tennis – Yulie Hinselman, Hannah Heil and Alex Hetrick; Boys Track – Hunter Heil, Lincoln Pace and Caleb Cudzillo; Girls Track – Olivia Carter, Kristiana Mitchell, Nodia Osby, Elliana Stewart, Ashley Woodroe and Miranda Zelazny; Unified Basketball – Jackson Tuohey and Josh Calus.

The link directly to the video is https://youtu.be/v-FZV9pSv78

Providing Covid-19 restrictions continue to be eased as is expected, the Medina Women’s Softball League is targeting July 6 to open its season.

Currently Orleans County, which is part of the Finger Lakes Region for Covid-19 restrictions, is in Phase Three. The region is expected to move into Phase Four, which involves recreation and entertainment activities, shortly.

The league is looking to play a six week long regular season. Teams would play doubleheaders each week and there would be no playoffs this season.

The league is looking to have as many as 13 teams this season. Traditionally the league has split up its teams into two divisions for regular season competition.

The league schedule has not yet been finalized.

Previously Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that youth baseball, softball and soccer teams could begin playing on July 6.

The annual Medina High Block M athletic awards program will be shown as a video presentation at 7 p.m. Tuesday on YouTube.

The link directly to the video is: https://youtu.be/v-FZV9pSv78.

“The  video is an hour and 15 minutes long,” said Medina Athletic Director Eric Valley in announcing the time of the program. “So get comfortable, grab some popcorn and enjoy the show!”

The awards to be presented will include the Babe Ruth Award, the Russell Houserman Award, the Athlete of the Year (by grade), the Fats Piedmont Fan of the Year as well as the Ossont-Decker, Larry Decker, Beverly Sargent and Niagara-Orleans Dick Diminico Scholarships.

Contributed Photo – Jim Underdown holding his Niagara-Orleans League tournament championship trophy.

The spring of 1990 proved to be a very special one on the links for Medina High senior Jim Underdown which he capped off by helping the Section VI team capture the state golf championship.

Underdown fired a round of 78 on the opening 18 holes of the state tourney which was played at the Cornell University course helping Section VI stay within two points of the top spot.

A second round score of 90 by Underdown then helped the Section VI team claim the state title by a narrow two point margin over Section IV 930-932.

Underdown qualified for a spot on the Section VI state team by finishing in a tie for fourth place at the Section VI championships which was held at the Wanakah Country Club.

He fired a round of 80 over the first 18 holes which was good enough for a share of second place in the 76 player field.

In the final round, which was composed of the top 20 scorers from the qualifying round, Underdown carded a 42 over the nine holes to earn a share of fourth place and a spot on the state tourney team.

Underdown’s big senior year of golfing for the Mustangs started when he captured the Niagara-Orleans League Tournament title the previous fall.

A first team N-O All-League honoree, he shot a 79 over the 18 holes to win the tournament by one stroke over Akron’s Brian Salmon.