It’s hard to separate Class AA baseball contenders

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jim Schiltz

Nine Class AA baseball teams entered in the Section II tournament posted 10 or more league victories. Four more teams registered nine.

“You’ve got 15 teams there, and anybody can come through this thing,” said Al Roy, the Section II baseball coordinator, after the tournament pairings were released Wednesday. “It’s been that kind of season. It’s going to be interesting. It should be fun.”

Shenendehowa is the No. 1 Suburban Council and overall Class AA seed for the sectionals, and is the lone large-school team to receive a bye into Saturday’s quarterfinal round. It’s a spot veteran coach Jim Carrese did not expect to be in back in late March.

“When you’ve been coaching for 30 years and when you have two senior starters back, you don’t say, ‘Look at us,’ ” said Carrese, whose young cast presented him with career win

No. 300 Tuesday. “When we kicked this season off, our focus was on getting eight league wins and getting into the sectionals.”

The Plainsmen took care of that goal and then some, finishing 12-4 to win the Suburban Council North Division banner, and going

18-6 overall. They’ll bring a six-game win streak into the postseason, that run of success capped by Tuesday’s 11-2 drubbing of Foothills Council titlist Queensbury.

“Since the Saratoga stomping [a 12-6 loss on May 13] we’ve reeled off six in a row. We beat some very good Suburban Council teams, we beat the Foothills champion, and we knocked off a state top-10 team in Liverpool,” Carrese said. “The kids were embarrassed with the way they didn’t compete that day, and they responded. In our six wins, we scored 52 runs and only had two errors.”

Shenendehowa will have a rematch one way or another, with Queensbury (13-1, 15-7) and Bethlehem (9-7, 15-7) meeting today, and the winner playing in Clifton Park Saturday. There are seven Class AA first-round games slated for today, and five others throughout the brackets.

“There are a number of [Class AA] teams that believe they have a legitimate shot to get to the Joe [Joe Bruno Stadium] on Wednesday night,” Carrese said of the semifinals.

Columbia (13-3, 17-4), the South Division champ, is the Suburban Council’s No. 2 seed, followed by Colonie (10-6, 13-8). Albany (12-4,

13-10) and Christian Brothers Academy (12-4, 12-7-1), the Big 10’s regular season-co-champs, are that league’s No. 1 and No. 2 seeds followed by 2008 Class AA winner LaSalle (11-5, 16-7).

LaSalle is the only team to win two Class AA titles since that class was introduced in 2003, with Suburban Council schools claiming the others. Guilderland (8-8, 14-9 was the last in 2007, and put together a late-season run to make it back in.

“Guilderland came on fast and furious at the end of the season,” said Carrese, who serves as the Suburban Council chairman. “They had some quality wins at the end of the year. You can’t count them out. You can’t count any team out.”

Shenendehowa took a No. 1 seed into last year’s tournament and lost to Niskayuna in the quarterfinals, 3-1.

This year’s other No. 1 seeds are Lansingburgh (15-1, 19-3) in Class A, Chatham (18-0, 23-1) in Class B), Lake George (13-1, 15-7) in Class CC, Waterford-Halfmoon (11-1, 17-4) in Class C and Fort Ann (13-2, 14-2) in Class D).

The Western Athletic Conference has a trio of 20-win teams entered in Class B No. 3 Fonda-Fultonville (17-2, 21-3), Class B

No. 4 Saratoga Catholic (16-3, 20-4) and Class C No. 2 Fort Plain (16-3,

21-3). Fort Plain has won three straight Class C championships and four of the last five, with its 2008 team reaching the state semifinals and its 2007 squad capturing the state title.

Ichabod Crane (Class A),

Chatham (Class B), Corinth (Class CC) and Fort Ann (Class D) are other defending tournament champions.

The rain date for today’s games is Friday, and if necessary, Saturday.

The semifinals are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at various locations, and the championships are scheduled for next Thursday and Friday at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy.

SECTION II TOURNAMENT

Class AA

First round

Today

SC-1 Shenendehowa (12-4, 18-6), bye; SC-5 Bethlehem (9-7, 15-7) at B10-2 Queensbury (13-1, 17-4), 4 p.m.; SC-7 Niskayuna

(8-8, 12-10) at B10-2 CBA (12-4, 12-7-1), 4 p.m.; B10-6 Schenectady (10-6, 14-9) at SC-3 Colonie (10-6, 13-8), 4 p.m.; SC-8 Guilderland (8-8, 14-9) vs. B10-1 Albany (12-4, 13-10) at Bleecker Stadium, 7 p.m.; B10-5 Amsterdam (10-6, 16-8) vs. SC-4 Saratoga Springs (9-7, 13-9) at East Side Recreation, 4 p.m.; B10-7 Troy (9-7, 12-9) at SC-2 Columbia (13-3, 17-4), 4 p.m.; SC-6 Shaker (9-7, 14-8) at B10-3 LaSalle (11-5, 16-7), 4 p.m.

Quarterfinals

Saturday

At highest remaining seeds, noon

Semifinals

Wednesday

At Joe Bruno Stadium, 4 and 7 p.m.

Championship

Friday, June 5

At Joe Bruno Stadium, 7 p.m.

———

Class A

Quarterfinals

Saturday

8. Mohonasen (4-12, 7-13) at 1. Lansingburgh (15-1, 19-3), noon; 5. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (6-10, 10-13) at 4. Ichabod Crane (11-7, 11-12), noon; 6. Gloversville

(6-8, 9-10) at 3. Schalmont (12-4, 17-6),

11 a.m.; 7. Bishop Maginn (4-12, 4-15) at

2. Glens Falls (11-3, 11-7), noon

Semifinals

Wednesday

At Shuttleworth Park, 4 and 7 p.m.

Championship

Friday, June 5

At Joe Bruno Stadium, 4:30 p.m.

———

Class B

First round

Today

1. Chatham (18-0, 23-1), bye; 9. Cairo-Durham (10-8, 15-9) at 8. Johnstown (8-6, 12-9), 4 p.m.; 5. Hudson (15-3, 18-3), bye; 4. Saratoga Catholic (16-3, 20-4), bye;

11. Hudson Falls (6-8, 9-12) at 6. Watervliet (9-7, 12-12), 4 p.m.; 3. Fonda-Fultonville

(17-2, 21-3), bye; 10. Broadalbin-Perth (6-8, 12-12) at 7. Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk (9-7, 10-9), 4 p.m.; 2. Granville (13-1, 20-1), bye.

Quarterfinals

Saturday

At Highest remaining seeds, noon

Semifinals

Tuesday

At Bleecker Stadium, 4 and 7 p.m.

Championship

Friday, June 5

At Joe Bruno Stadium, 2 p.m.

———

Class CC

First round

Today

9. Stillwater (6-8, 11-8) at 8. Schoharie

(9-10, 11-11), 4:15 p.m.

Quarterfinals

Saturday

Stillwater-Schoharie at 1. Lake George (13-1, 15-7), noon; 5. Voorheesville (8-8, 12-11) at 4. Maple Hill (11-7, 12-8), noon;

6. Hoosic Valley (7-7, 11-8) at 3. Corinth (9-5, 10-11), noon; 7. Berne-Knox-Westerlo (9-10, 10-12) at 2. Cambridge (9-5, 11-6), noon

Semifinals

Tuesday

At Clifton Common, 4 and 7 p.m.

Championship

Thursday, June 4

At Joe Bruno Stadium, 4:30 p.m.

———

Class C

Quarterfinals

Saturday

8. Rensselaer (5-13, 6-18) at 1. Waterford-Halfmoon (11-1, 17-4), noon; 5. Canajoharie (13-6, 17-7) at 4. Warrensburg (10-4, 10-10), noon; 6. Greenwich (7-7, 14-8) at 3. Duanesburg (15-4, 17-6), noon; 7. Mayfield (9-10,

10-14) at 2. Fort Plain (16-3, 21-3), noon

Semifinals

Tuesday

At Clifton Common, 4 and 7 p.m.

Championship

Thursday, June 4

At Joe Bruno Stadium, 2 p.m.

———

Class CC-C Playoff

Saturday, June 6

At Geyser Road Field, 1 p.m.

———

Class D

First round

Today

9. Sharon Springs (5-14, 6-16) at 8. St. Johnsville (7-12, 7-14), 4 p.m.

Quarterfinals

Saturday

Sharon Springs-St. Johnsville at 1. Fort Ann (13-2, 14-2), noon; 5. Heatly (7-5, 10-6) at 4. Argyle (9-6, 9-9), noon; 6. Schenectady Christian (11-8, 12-8) vs. 3. Germantown (9-3, 10-9) at Columbia Green CC, 11 a.m.; 7. Hartford (7-8, 10-10) vs. 2. Loudonville Christian (9-3, 13-6) at Cook Park, noon

Semifinals

Tuesday

At Boght Complex, 4 and 7 p.m.

Championship

Thursday, June 4

At Joe Bruno Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

SAINTS VICTORS

Shane Matthews went 2-for-3 with two RBI, and four Saratoga Catholic pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts in a 12-5 non-league win over Corinth Wednesday.

Dale Long and Tucker Carlson also had two hits for the Saints. C.J. Saunders had two RBI for the Tomahawks.

Wednesday

NON-LEAGUE

SARATOGA CATHOLIC 12, CORINTH 5

Corinth 300 002 0 — 5 4 5

SC 111 612 x — 12 11 0

Saunders, Millington (5) and Elliott; Furey, Garcia (4), McDonough (5), Anderson (6) and Keller.