(Photo by Alen Fetahi)

Throughout the week, the Kiwanis Ice Arena plays host to the Saugerties Hockey League, a “beer league” full of teams sponsored by local businesses. It’s mostly fun and games, laughing and smiling, followed by both teams going out for pizza and a beer.

This was not the scene on a recent weekend (Feb. 28-March 2), when the arena was closed to the public to host the 2014 New York State Amateur Hockey Association High School Club Tournament, the state championship tournament for high school hockey teams not sanctioned by the state’s Public High School Athletics Association.

This is not that kind of hockey. These kids are fast and mean. The puck stays in the air for much longer; the passes are high and hard, and sometimes they even fly out of the rink and come close to breaking the windows of the office that hangs over one side of the ice. Woe to the spectator who glances down at a phone or program during the action – he could end up taking a biscuit to the head.

The crowds are intense. That was clear in the semifinal game between Arlington (the home team for our purposes) and East Islip. Hockey is huge in Long Island, where East Islip is situated, and the contingent of hockey dads at the top of the stands make their presence known.

“HE’S AWF! HE’S AWFSIDES!” they yell after the first Arlington goal of the period. The claim is punctuated by two or three come awns as the play is disrupted and any potential Arlington had to score with their awfsides player is squashed.

What’s astonishing is how on-point these kids are. They cut the ice hard when they skate, kicking up chilly spray when turning hard. Sometimes they leave their feet when they’re trying to bat down a high puck with their gloves and land rather gracefully. They can execute clever not-quite-legal maneuvers, having dealt with referees all their lives. At one point, an East Islip player is knocked down around the goal, and as he rises he hacks at an Arlington player’s blades, knowing that the refs have turned their attention down-ice.

“C’MON DID YOU SEE THAT? YOU’RE NOT LOOKING OUR WAY,” yells an Arlington dad from the other side of the stands.

It’s not just the playing and the cheating that these kids are good at, though. They’ve learned style. After scoring a goal in the tenth minute, an Arlington player executes a kneeling, rock ‘n’ roll floor sweep with his left hand and his teammates trail behind him. It’s fun to watch the goal celebrations, which normally consist of a primal scream, a fist pump, and a mobbing by the scorer’s teammates.

There’s a lot of mobbing today. By the break going into the third period, Arlington is up 3-0. “Arlington’s dominated most of the game,” said East Islip General Manager Joe Mayer. “We didn’t know anything about them coming in. They’re from a different league and we’ve never ever played them before, ever.”

In the downtime, the Long Island hockey dads assemble in the corridors of the Ice Arena and commiserate loudly about the game, and the consensus isn’t good. How can East Islip possibly be dropping this game to an upstate school? They should be ramping up to play St. John the Baptist, this tournament’s alpha dog and their own regional rival, considering that St. John the Baptist is in, of all places, West Islip, a ten-minute drive down the Sunrise Highway.

It’s a heartbreaker, and it’s definitely spurring on what is the most fascinating feature of this game: the wild, kid-on-kid violence.

This is a far cry from Saugerties Hockey League hockey, where a fight can lead to an immediate and lasting suspension, and no one is really interested in doing more damage than necessary to the guy next to them. The most that ever happens there is a shove outside of the crease after a downer of a goal.

Nah. There are for real battles in this one. One East Islip player gets more than ten minutes in the penalty box for picking a fight and throwing his gloves down in disgust after being pulled from the fracas (technical) and jawing with his victim for an extended period (taunting). This is, more or less, the end of his season, though. He can do what he wants.

There are a few other tussles in the last two periods, but there’s only one marquee matchup and it comes at the end of the quarter. Out of nowhere, an East Islip player drops an Arlington Admiral with a jiu-jitsu takedown. It’s hard to make out exactly what’s happening as almost every player piles on to either help diffuse the situation or swing on someone, but one thing is for certain: The East Islip pugilist is throwing punches with both fists. It takes three minutes to sort everything out, and the Greek chorus of dads is watching silently, either quietly praying to the hockey gods for blood or hoping it’s not their kid at the bottom of the pile.

East Islip was sent back to Nassau with a 6-0 loss to end their season. Underdog Arlington headed off to face St. John, which beat the Admirals handily.

Seated Left to right: Matt MacDonald, Dylan Henninger, Chris Bull, Dan Ball, Riley Merritt, Kristian Chauncey, Gregory Dederick, Colby Amell; second row: Shane Bowen, Andrew Reynolds, Sam Speirs, Joshua Arsenault, David Alexander, Sam Bagshaw, Nick Hummer, Jakob Piratzky, Nate Cantwell; standing: Coach Reid Kappler, Dan Miller, Brian Lopez, Anthony Mallia, Owen Mathous, Matt Bucci, Jack Smythe, Connor Curry, Nick Brennan, Kyle Beck, Colden Staccio, T. O. Owen, Coach Larry Skalla; missing from photo: Riley Hewitt, John Hewitt, Gabe Swart, Trevor Dennis

While Saugerties High School senior James Bethel was finishing third in the state tournament, the best finish for any Sawyer wrestler yet, Saugerties seventh and eighth grade wrestlers were making a strong statement themselves. They were going undefeated as a team, the first to do so.

“We had 32 kids, in weight classes ranging from 67 pounds to 221, who really came through this season,” said head coach Larry Skalla.

If anyone should know quality wrestling, it’s Skalla, who has been teaching the sport since 1962.

Skalla, whose son Dennis is the junior varsity wrestling coach and assistant head coach at the varsity level, has been coaching the younger kids for the last five years. He’s assisted by former Saugerties High School standout wrestler Reid Kappler.

Many of the wrestlers have been recruited from the modified football program, whose coach is Dom Zarrella, the head coach of the varsity wrestling team.

“One of the nice things about being the football coach is that I can direct my players into wrestling, which allows us to build the program,” said Zarrella.

“Our object at this level is to let the kids explore the sport,” Skalla said. “Many of these kids have never experienced it before.”

Wrestling is unique. It’s both a team sport and an individual sport. Many of the young wrestlers have only participated in team sports such as soccer, football and baseball.

“It’s a very demanding sport,” Skalla said. “When a young kid steps out onto that mat, he is all by himself.”

“We had a really good group of kids this year,” Skalla added. “They were willing to work hard. Coach Kappler and myself tried to get the kids to understand that when you are on the mat you have to put in the work if you want to win.”

And with Kappler, who is young enough to be able to relate to the kids, “they all really get it.”

Next year many of these youngsters might find themselves starting on the varsity level, which will lose 11 wrestlers to graduation this year, creating numerous openings next year for those willing to put in the work.

“I thinks some of our eighth graders will be able to break through to the starting lineup next year,” Skalla said. “And I looking forward to seeing what they can do, and training the next group as well.”

In a sports-minded community like Saugerties, it’s quite a thrill to be a successful athlete. But perhaps the greater honor comes several decades later, when the Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame picks only the best of the best to enter its halcyon hall. This year’s inductees are Andrea Ungvarsky, Billy Schaffer, and Marc Becker (pictured above left to right). They’ll be honored at a banquet April 26.

Billy Schaffer

Schaffer went the farthest after high school. A Saugerties native, he played Grasshoppers and Little League baseball in town before going on to high school and assembling an admirable varsity career. Schaffer played on the Saugerties varsity football team when Saugerties High School was still in the Dutchess County Scholastic League, predecessor of the Mid-Hudson Athletic League, and netted All-County honors as a defensive safety in his junior and senior years.

But baseball was Schaffer’s natural sport, and he played the hell out of it. In 1981 – his senior year – Schaffer was named all-league at shortstop, and his Saugerties High team won the inaugural MHAL championship. For the Section IX championship in Cornwall, Saugerties played Albertus Magnus and defeated them by an obscene margin, “something like 20-4,” Schaffer recalls.

After finishing up his career at Saugerties High, Schaffer shipped off for Middle Tennessee State University, where he started around 30 games in his freshman fall season as a utility player – an uncanny number for a freshman out of the boonies 1000 miles away. Schaffer made it into 18 games in the springtime. His MTSU team made it to the national tournament and faced off with powerhouse Oklahoma State, falling one game short of making it to the College World Series.

“I could play third, second, even center or left field,” said Schaffer. “It was good for me, I had time to learn. If someone needed a break I could jump in and help out.”

He didn’t hang around MTSU too long. Schaffer shipped back home to play at Ulster County Community College the next year, after being a little put off by the tremendous commitment of Division I college ball.

“I mean, I had the best [GPA] on the team with a 2.5,” he said. “I had a roommate down there, a guy on my team who I liked enough, had something like a 0.9. That’s like not even knowing the title of the textbook.”

After UCCC, Schaffer went on to Utica College, got a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and went to work in Oakland, Calif., as a street cop. His athletic streak didn’t really stop after college, though: in 1991, after serving on several special units in Oakland, Schaffer and his dog Arno won the Western States Police Canine circuit title for top dog and top competitor. In ’92, Arno tied for top dog and he won for top competitor.

Schaffer retired from the Oakland Police Department in 2012 and lives with his wife and son in California. He’ll be making the long trip to Saugerties to attend the ceremony.

Andrea Ungvarsky

Andrea Ungvarsky, who passed in 1999, was one of 15 kids in the Ungvarsky family.

“Back when she was growing up, there were virtually no sports for women, so she did everything she could just to get her foot in the door,” said Andrea’s brother Ed Ungvarsky. From a young age, Ungvarsky was deeply involved in sports, taking the box score at the Little League games that her father coached.

“Growing up in a family of 15, sports is kind of your only way out,” said Ed. “She won so many awards, so many scholarships. My mother always said, ‘You try to follow in her footsteps. That’s your ticket out.’”

Andrea Ungvarsky wasn’t a Saugerties native. She comes from Elmira, where she played tennis and field hockey in high school. After attending Elmira College for one year, Ungvarsky transferred to SUNY Cortland where she played lacrosse and tennis as a member of the class of 1968.

Ungvarsky started the Saugerties volleyball program in 1972, and coached until 1990. Her record as head coach was 218-54. Under her guidance, the team won six league titles and three Section IX titles, and in 1978 Ungvarsky coached a team that went 20-0, winning all matches in the first two games.

“She was an incredible coach,” said former player Shelly Pfeil.

Ungvarsky also coached softball from 1976 to 1985, gathering a record of 138-42, and won three league and four sectional titles. She was selected softball coach of the year by the Daily Freeman in 1983.

Marc Becker

Marc Becker is making the cut based in equal parts on his career as a top-notch junior league baseball player and as a high school and college basketball star.

“I played baseball and basketball and everything for a lot of years,” said Becker. “I played on a lot of all-star teams, with guys who I stayed on the nucleus of teams with since Little League.” Becker made Little League baseball and basketball all-star teams coming up, and credits his teammates – including Steve Schaffer, older brother of Bill, and Iggy Maines, both Hall of Famers – with any athletic success he mustered over the course of his career.

Becker played college basketball at Columbia-Greene alongside Lenny Hackett, another inductee and former Saugerties High School basketball star. He also played a stint with the Saugerties Dutchmen, Saugerties’ now defunct semi-pro baseball team, and the Kingston Braves.

“I’m honored and humbled, and I’m very, very proud that they saw fit to include me in the hall,” said Becker. “They’re a wonderful bunch of men, some tremendous teammates, role models in the older gentlemen. I’m just proud and humbled that I was accepted. I was nominated two years ago and I was very honored that I was even being considered, and pleasantly surprised when I got the call.”

Becker currently owns and operates Cartridge World in Clifton Park.

The Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame will hold an induction banquet on Saturday, April 26 at 6 p.m. at the Glasco Firehouse. Tickets cost $25, available by calling (845) 246-7574. Early purchase is suggested.

Left to right: Bottom row: Dallas Hooton, Lucas Sheprow, Eric Fuga, Randy Dodig, Christopher Swanson; Middle row (players): Ty Gallagher, David Henkel, Dylan Allen, Jake Hall, Ana Kimber (of Gardiner), Jake McNutt, Jackson Speller; Back row (coaches): Coach Frank Fuga, Head Coach Dan Hall, Coach Dave Henkel, Coach Randy Dodig, Coach Greg Speller. Teammate not pictured: Nathaniel Coffey

The Saugerties Peewee-A Travel Hockey Team won the Can/Am Challenge Cup on Sunday, March 23 in Lake Placid. Players were awarded gold medals on the ’80 Olympic Ice following their 4-2 championship win over the St. Jude Knights of Crestwood, Ill., making the team back-to-back tournament champions in 2013 and 2014.

This year, the team was undefeated in five games and posted wins over teams from Illinois, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. In the tournament’s skills competition, Mustangs goalie Chris Swanson won the goaltender award for most saves in a shootout, while Mustangs forward Randy Dodig won for most penalty shot goals.

“Take me out to the ball game” is going to be one of the phrases heard in Saugerties all summer long starting in 2015. The Saugerties Stallions, our own franchise of The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, is on its way to Cantine Field. As we watch the players, we’ll be able to see the beginnings of what might become professional baseball careers at field #11.

Deputy Supervisor Fred Costello began the April 19 Town Board meeting by announcing what he deemed “really great news.” He, Supervisor Helsmoortel, and Parks and Recreation Superintendent Greg Chorvas met with representatives of the franchise over a three-day period here in town. Costello called it “exciting” to see the level of enthusiasm from the powers behind the team.

“They showed a real commitment to Saugerties as well as to a quality program of baseball,” said Chorvas. “The Stallions director and his wife actually volunteered to staff the Kiwanis Club booth during next year’s Garlic Festival.”

To pave the way for the new team, the town Department of Parks and Recreation obtained a $66,000 grant from the state for lighting. Corporate donations from the community and individual contributions were also employed.

The highway department worked with the parks department to begin the excavation needed to install lighting cables and other infrastructure. Benson Steel, Mullen Construction, Riozzi Construction, Richards Electric and Jack Warns Carpentry, among many other local firms, contributed both in-kind labor and materials to reduce the cost of this project. Markertek installed a state-of-the-art sound system last year that provides PA services to the field. Still to come will be upgrading the bathrooms, providing a changing space for the players, and possibly building a clubhouse, all done with local labor and contributions of time and resources.

Ashley Werner, number 18 (center), is surrounded by her coaches and teammates after scoring the 200th goal of her career (photo by Robert Ford)

Ashley Werner became Saugerties High School’s top girls’ lacrosse career scoring leader late last season and on Tuesday, April 29 she passed the 200 goal mark, ranking her in the top 25 career scoring leaders in the state, according to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.

“I’m just so glad that it’s over and done,” Werner said after the game, citing the pressure of knowing she was approaching the mark.

In Tuesday’s game, Werner scored seven goals moving her total up to 203, and helping her team defeat James I O’Neill High School 20-9.

“When I started out, I never expected to get this many goals,” she said.

Werner was moved up to the varsity late in the season when she was an eighth grader and scored a couple of goal that year. “In my freshman year, I started out slowly with just four or five goals, but later in the season I began to score more often,” said Werner.

Now she said of her role on the team, “it’s my job to score.”

She doesn’t use a lot of tricky moves to score, she’s just in the right spot to field a pass from a teammate or a rebound from a shot and put it home. Werner can be found lurking around the net when her team is on offense, just waiting for a feed from a teammate or to snag an errant pass from the opposing team. Oftentimes she’s so close to the goal that when she shoots the goalie has little or no time to react.

Other teams know of Werner’s goal-scoring prowess and will double-team her, but her uncanny ability to find the ball and an opening to score leavers her defenders scratching their heads, and walking away in defeat.

“I knew she had that champion mindset the minute she walked on the field,” said Coach Chris Curnan.

“Her stick skills are phenomenal,” Curnan added. “It’s just amazing watching her play. She’s our go to player and the one that makes things happen for us.”

Werner will be attending Hartwick College next year to play lacrosse for the Division 3 school.

If you were a kid growing up in Saugerties during the 1960s, ’70s, or mid-80s who played baseball and loved the Yankees, it was a special time.

During that time, New York Yankee players would come to speak at either the sports awards banquet for the Glasco Little League or for the annual banquet for the Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame.

Most years, it would be Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto, but other years it was Mickey Mantle, and one year it was Joe DiMaggio, according to Greg Chorvas, current president of the Saugerties Hall of Fame Club.

“When they’d come up here they’d always bring stuff with them, such as autographed pictures, and other items for the kids,” Chorvas said.

“It was all because of Fred Davi and Jack Keeley,” Chorvas explained.

Davi worked for the Yankees’ minor league team in Connecticut and had a connection with the big team in the Bronx, Chorvas said.

Davi also founded the Glasco Little League and would work with the Yankee organization to have a player come up every year to talk with the kids at the annual banquet.

“He could also get you on the field at Yankee Stadium for batting practice or into the dugout,” Chorvas said.

“He was just such an all-around great person,” Chorvas said of Davi.

Keeley, who wrote a sports column for the predecessor of the Post-Star, had almost as many connections with the Yankees as his buddy Davi did.

Each year Keeley would use his connections to get a Yankee to come up to speak at the annual Hall of Fame banquets.

“They’d all pile into a car and drive down to New York City to pick up one of the Yankees and drive them up here for the banquet and then take them back to the city,” Chorvas explained.

One year Chorvas and his friend Eddie Feldman got to go with Keeley to pick up Rizzuto. “You should have heard the stories they told,” he said.

However, all that ended when Davi and Keeley passed away and the old Flamingo Restaurant, where the banquets were held, closed, Chorvas said.

During those years, Chorvas and Feldman would save most of the stuff the Yankees brought with them.

“We both have boxes and boxes of stuff,” Chorvas said.

Feldman, who moved to California a couple of years ago, even has bats from Mantle and some of the other Yankees, and a uniform worn by pitcher Don Larsen (he of the perfect World Series game)

There’s only one problem: The Saugerties Hall of Fame has no museum to show all of this memorabilia. There is no place to hang the pictures of all those Saugerties athletes who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, “and that’s a shame,” Chorvas said.

So the Hall of Fame Club has begun a project to raise money for a museum.

“Ideally it would be in the center of the village,” Chorvas said, “but if not there then at the Cantine sports complex.’

But buying a building in the village is an expensive proposition “because we don’t have enough money to rent space each year. We would have to purchase a building or have one donated,” Chorvas said.

The town has said the Hall can build a museum at Cantine as long as it does not cost taxpayers any money. “That’s how we’ve always done it,” Chorvas said. “When the fields needed dugouts or when we built the press boxes, we never used any money from the taxpayers. It was always money we raised.”

The main fundraiser for the club is its annual golf tournament, which in addition to improvements at the fields is used for the scholarship for Saugerties High School athletes.

Now the club is reaching out to the community to help raise enough money for a museum where all the Yankee and local sports teams and stars memorabilia can be displayed.

To donate to their efforts, contact the club through its Facebook page (search: Saugerties Hall of Fame Club) or give Chorvas a call at (845) 246-5890 ext. 309.

Hanson sets herself up on the shoulder of the New Paltz runner, a position should would hold until the last lap. The boys’ team runners were taking part in their 3200-meter race at the same time (photo by Robert Ford)

She stands about 4-feet, 8-inches, weighs all of 72 pounds, and she reminds you of your best friend’s kid sister, always hanging around and trying to take part in whatever you and your friends do.

But while Chloe Hanson might be looked at by most of the Saugerties varsity track team as their little sister, this 13-year-old seventh grader is also the second fastest girls’ long distance runner on the team, just a few steps behind senior Shannon Averill.

Running is in Hanson’s genes. Her dad, Bill, is the modified team track coach, helps out with the varsity team, and coaches the modified cross country team.

Her mom, Joanna Driscoll, a teacher in the Beacon school system, is also a runner, and says of her daughter, “she’s been running since she could walk. She ran everywhere. We’d look away and she’d be gone running around.”

The family realized their only child might just have some talent when she entered the Cahill Classic as a fifth grader and did well. From there it was on to a number of other events, which she either won or finished near the top against a field of mostly older kids and adults. Next, she attended a Nike-sponsored camp for elite runners where she picked up a few pointers.

“I’ve always loved running and I knew that I could beat the other kids,” Chloe said. “My parents pushed me somewhat, telling me that the type of talent I have shouldn’t be wasted.”

Last fall, when Chloe entered the seventh grade and could step up and start running regularly against older kids, she started to win everything she entered as a member of the high school’s modified cross country team.

“The varsity track coaches came to me and asked me to come run distance events for the team this spring, and I said, sure,” the self-confident teen said.

And how is she doing this spring? “I’m winning some and doing well in others,” she said.

When Chloe’s seventh grade math teacher Mike Story learned his student would be running varsity track this spring, he told her to contact Shannon Averill.

“She’s been my mentor and friend, and looked out for me,” Chloe said of Averill.

Averill says Chloe is just like a little sister to her, a very talented little sister.
“I really love mentoring her,” said Averill, who will attend Monmouth University in the fall to run track.

“She is just so dedicated and works so hard,” Averill added.

When Chloe began running for the varsity team there was some concern that her older and bigger opponents would overwhelm her.

“The older kids see me as little, but I take advantage of my size and when they try to box me in on the track I’m able to run in and around them,” Chloe said with a smile.

And while running may be her favorite thing to do, Hanson also has a life away from the track. “I love to read and write,” she says. “But I have this dark side. I like reading and writing creepy stories.”

That dark side sometimes comes out on the track during competitions — A dark side that includes stalking and breaking her opponents down psychologically.

This dark side was evident in a 3000-meters event against New Paltz. Hanson and two older runners from New Paltz were the class of the field, quickly pulling away from the pack.

Hanson moved herself between the two New Paltz girls into second place and began to push the lead runner into setting a fast pace — so fast that the second New Paltz runner quickly fell well behind the front two.

For lap after lap, Hanson stayed just behind the lead New Paltz girl, letting her hear her breathing and the pounding of her steps, goading her to run faster and faster to a pace the New Paltz girl was uncomfortable with.

And after stalking the New Paltz runner for the better part of the race, with about 200 meters to go, Hanson made her move, quickly breaking around her opponent and into the lead. The physically and mentally tired New Paltz runner couldn’t keep up, and ended up losing to the younger runner by 100 meters.

The 3000-meters isn’t even her favorite race. “I get bored running it because it’s so long,” Chloe said. “My favorite race is the 1500 meters. It’s not too long and I can concentrate the whole way.”

While the 1500 meters is her favorite race, it’s one that she will not win this year, because her competition is her mentor, Shannon — the fastest distance runner at Saugerties — and while Averill may look on Hanson as a younger sister, it’s every girl for herself out on the track.

“Just wait until next year when I’m an eighth grader, and Shannon has graduated,” Hanson said.

(Photo by Robert Ford)

Thanks to a natural love for the game, senior tennis player Giovana Guimares has become one of the better female tennis players in Ulster County. If she can develop her mental side of the game, there’s no telling how far she’ll go.

Guimares, who will be entering her senior year at Saugerties High School this fall, finished second in the Ulster County Junior Tennis Open/Tony Bell Memorial tournament at Forsyth Park, which wrapped up Aug. 9.

This is the teen’s second year competing in the tournament and her best finish so far in the singles, the event she had her sights set on. (Last year, she and then-fellow Saugerties High School student Meg Creen took first in the doubles competition.)

Why tennis?

“It’s the sport I love,” she replied.

Guimares is originally from Brazil, where she began playing tennis when she was 10. “My grandfather belonged to a tennis club there, and I began to go with him, and fell in love with the sport and began to take lessons,” she said.

The move to Saugerties, while a happy one for the family, left Giovana a bit disappointed.

“I was in seventh grade and was looking forward to playing tennis here,” she said. But at the time, there was only a varsity team, no modified or JV programs for younger students. (And unlike the other teams, tennis players hold car washes and fundraisers to buy uniforms since they are not provided by the school.)

So Guimares played tennis with friends, eventually signing on for private lessons with Kingston pro Andrew Contract, whose dad is the coach of the Kingston High School team.

“It was a tough start for my daughter when we came here,” says her mom, Adrianna, who was a competitive swimmer back in Brazil. “She had no English. But she took one year of English as a Second Language at the high school, and by the end of the year she was speaking perfect.” She’s now a member of the National Honor Society.

All of the playing, despite no modified or JV team at Saugerties, paid off when Guimares became a freshman. She started out playing on the second doubles team, but an injury to one of the first doubles players moved her up to the top team, and they clicked so well they finished second in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League that year.

Her sophomore year, she made it into the sectionals and the quarter finals of the MHALs as a singles player, and this past year played well as a doubles and singles player. Just after the season ended, she broke her femur while running wind springs, which took seven months to recover from. “But I never thought I would not play again,” she said.

She came back from the broken leg to finish in the semi-finals in the doubles section of the county tournament.

This year, she hopes to win the MHALs, finish high in the sectionals, and make the states.

Her second place finish in the just completed county tournament will serve her well in the coming fall high school season, Guimares said, especially since her semi-final match in the county tournament was such a tough one.

“It lasted three and a half hours,” Guimares explained. She lost the first set to the tournament’s eventual winner, Stephanie Smith, but made show of it in the second set, which went to a tiebreaker.

“I was down 0-3 in the tie-breaker, but came back and we went back and forth,” before Smith finally put the game away, she said.

“I lose a little focus at the end,” she admitted. She said she really needs to work on the mental side of the game if she wants to make it to the next level — winning MHALs and playing collegiate tennis. Her favorite two tennis players are Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal because they both stay so focused throughout their matches and never give up. “That’s how I want to be,” Guimares said.

For Suzi Filak, Saugerties’ late receiver of taxes and active member of the sports community, there were two overriding passions; the children of Saugerties and the love of baseball and softball. She brought them together through the Saugerties Little League by making sure that if the youth wanted to play sports they had the opportunity.

On Friday, Sept. 19, members of the Saugerties Little League community returned some of that love, dedicating one of the fields at the Cantine Sports complex in her honor.

Members of the Saugerties High School JV football team wore purple socks at a recent game in memory of a teammate’s aunt who died of pancreatic cancer (photo by Robert Ford)

It all began with a JV football player’s wish to honor the memory of his favorite aunt, who recently died of pancreatic cancer. Soon, the whole team and cheerleading squad joined in.

Vinny Incorvaia’s aunt, Joylynn Dalton Richman, died at the age of 53. “They were really close,” said his mom, and Richman’s sister, Marlane Barbier.

At first they were just going to pass out purple ribbons to the members of the JV football team to wear in a game against Highland on Oct. 9.

“It quickly changed to all the players wearing purple socks,” Barbier said.

But before Incorvaia’s hope of honoring his aunt’s memory could become a reality, head JV coach Joseph Tiano had to give his approval.

“This was something special,” Tiano said prior to the Highland game, which Saugerties won. “Everyone on the team knows someone who either has cancer or who has died from the disease, so when Vinny came to me, I said yes.”

“We’re trying to stomp out cancer,” Barbier said. “And we hope to make this a yearly observation. Each year, we’ll collect money and sell items at the game to raise money for a different cancer.”

(Photo by Robert Ford)

Two Saugerties coaches are hoping to make lacrosse popular again in Saugerties.

At one time, according to coach Bob Slate, there were a number of youth lacrosse teams for boys and girls in Saugerties. The program held successful tournaments and served as a valuable feeder program for the high school boys’ and girls’ teams.

“We had such a successful program at one time,” Slate says wistfully. “There were teams for both boys and girls for fifth and sixth graders, and teams for seventh and eighth graders.”

And those numbers translated into good turnouts for the high school teams, which became successful in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League and on the regional level as well.

But over time, interest waned among the parents who were needed to run the programs, then the kids lost interest, too, and the program just “died.”

The result: smaller, less experienced high school teams. Each year, coaches complain about the lack of numbers.

But Slate and Tony Salinas hope to change that.

This fall, Slate on the boys’ side and Salinas on the girls’ have begun to hold practices for any boy or girl in third to sixth grades who would like to come out and learn the sport.

The coaches provide all the equipment, thanks to donations of equipment from U.S. Lacrosse.

With the weather turning colder and snow not far off, the Saturday practices are drawing to a close. The coaches have asked district officials for permission to use some of the elementary schools for practice during the winter months. If granted, the coaches will be sending out flyers to students and parents asking for participants. Information about the teams and how to get involved can be found on Facebook by searching “Saugerties Youth Lacrosse.”

Alex Moors

Iain Lydecker

Participants watch and wait

(Photos by Doug Freese)

The Saugerties Knights of Columbus held its annual Free Throw Championship event Sunday, Feb. 1 at the Donlon Auditorium on Partition St. It was open to boys and girls ages nine to 14.

In a game that was closer than it should have been, the Saugerties boys’ basketball team repeated as Mid-Hudson Athletic League champions after defeating Spackenkill 65-54 on Feb. 26 at SUNY Ulster.

Several nights earlier the Sawyers defeated FDR to win their division and get into the MHAL playoffs and then cross-river rival Red Hook to get into the finals with a chance to repeat.

Spackenkill, which narrowly defeated Coleman to make the finals, came out right from the opening tip-off, which they won, and got a quick two points. Saugerties committed a foul and it was quickly 3-0 Spartans.

Saugerties was getting the chances and taking the shots but nothing drop during the first two minutes of play, until Darnell Edge popped in two points.

Junior Dondre Francis then netted three of his six points, and at the end of the first quarter it was knotted at 12 all.

Both teams came out playing sloppy ball in the second period, with Saugerties managing to take a one point lead with two minutes gone in the quarter.

After Curtis Jorgensen’s three-pointer at the 3:20 mark, it was pretty much all over for the Spartans. Of course they didn’t know it at the time. But from then on out, every time they got close Saugerties would pull away to keep the game out of reach.

At the half it was 32-22 Saugerties and the Sawyers started coasting.

When the game recommenced Edge came out and hit two quick baskets and it was 34-22.

Spackenkill managed to put Saugerties off its usual game, which calls for scoring points from the paint. The Sawyers were forced to make their points from outside. This approach normally hurts the Sawyers because outside shooting is not one their strong suits, but the players stepped up their game and started netting threes. Sophomore Omar Mazariego dropped in two three-pointers before the third period drew to a close. Saugerties was up 43-31.

At the 5:20 mark of the final quarter Saugerties increased its lead to 50-36 but then the wheels came off their bus and the Spartans were able to mount a quality attack.

Saugerties defense lost its way and Spackenkill managed to pull to within three, 52-49, with three minutes left in the game.

Shawn Jansen then stepped up and seized control of the game, hitting a two-pointer, getting fouled and dropping in two points from the charity line, and then pulling down two big rebounds.

Three minutes later the final buzzer sounded and Saugerties had won its second straight MHAL championship.

“The second championship is just as good as the first,” head coach Mike Tiano gushed after the game.

“Now we have to go out and win the regionals,” Tiano added.

Darnell Edge finished with 21 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Other scoring: Paton Gibbs – 14, Dondre Francis and Omar Mazariego – 6, Nick Teitter, Shawn Jansen, and Curtis Jorgensen – 5, and Darius Edwards – 2.

The Sawyers were scheduled to play Port Jervis in the opening round of the regionals today but inclement weather pushed the game back to March 4.

(Photo provided)

The last year and a half has been quite a ride for wrestler James Bethel. During that time, he has traveled to numerous states, took third place in the New York State high school wrestling finals, become nationally ranked in Greco and Freestyle wrestling, and two weeks ago, took fourth place in the collegiate Division 3 wrestling final and was named a collegiate All-American, all before he turned 18.

Oh, he’s also been invited to train with the U.S. Olympic wrestling team in Colorado Springs, Co.

Bethel’s college coach William Cooper at SUNY Oneonta, where he’s majoring in early childhood education, had this to say: “We have watched him mature a great deal this season and as of right now, he is on pace to become the greatest athlete to ever go through our program. I have also had conversation with him about achieving Academic All-American and he has expressed this as being a serious personal goal moving forward. What an outstanding young gentlemen.”

“He’s also one of the nicest kids I’ve ever coached,” said his former high school wrestling coach, Dom Zarrella. “James is a very special athlete and person. He is loyal and unassuming and the type of kid you root for. His potential is limitless and he is bound to achieve great things. This accomplishment is remarkable for a person his age.”

Unassuming is the perfect word to sum up this soft-spoken young man.

Whether it was at Saugerties High School or Oneonta, “wrestling with a team has been the best part. I’ve become really good friend with all of them,” Bethel said in an interview last week.

On his breaks from college, he comes back to Saugerties and works out with the members of the high school team while still wrestling with his Ironman Club team in Poughkeepsie and soon to join the Dark Corners wrestling club in Kingston.

Looking back at his first year as a college wrestler, Bethel said the speed of the matches and their intensity surprised him at first.

“I started off slow as I got used to the pace,” he said.

One of his earlier matches was against a 25-year-old from Rhode Island “eight years older than I was.”

Bethel lost that match but later in the season, faced the Rhode Islander again and this time pinned him. As a matter of fact, all of the matches that Bethel lost in the early part of the season he avenged by beating them later in the season.

“I got a lot of satisfaction from that,” Bethel said.

Next year he wants to be bigger and faster. He wrestles at 289 but has found that college kids are a “big 289,” while he is usually about 280.

“I really need to get quicker and stronger so I can handle the big guys. They’re slower moving so being quicker should help.”

“And I want to slowly move up the national rankings and hopefully become number one in the nation,” Bethel said.

And then there’s the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. “That might be fun,” Bethel said with a smile.

Above, during his playing days, and below, present

Jeff Dodig, 2015 Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame inductee, has lived and breathed baseball since he was a young kid who went out on the diamond to play ball with his cousins. While Dodig also played basketball during his years at Saugerties High School, baseball has always been his passion. He went on to play in college and the minors.

Baseball taught him the values of dedication and humility and how to lose with one’s head held high. But he didn’t get into sports for character-building. He played for the rush, that magic feeling that only comes from winning and losing with your friends. “Magic moment” is a phrase Dodig loves to use. “An individual magic moment that I had was an at-bat I had [on varsity baseball at SHS]. I was facing Charles Davis, who is now an ESPN announcer for football. Charles threw me a fastball and I was a line-drive hitter, not a homerun hitter, but that particular day he threw an inside fastball, and I happened to get underneath it. So I’m running to first base because as a line-drive hitter, you hit a ball in the gap, you’re thinking three, right? So, I’m running around first base and I’m looking where the ball is, and all of a sudden I see the ball hit, bounce, then bounce real high, and I’m like, whoa, that ball went into the tennis courts!”

Dodig’s father was a man of few words, but when he did speak, it was something to be remembered. He’ll never forget what his father told him after a biddy league basketball game. “I started to realize that the other players, my friends, my cousins, were getting better than me. My dad looked over at me and said, ‘Son, if you want to be good at something, you have to practice. You practice, you’re gonna be the best of the best.’ So I applied that both on the sports playing field and in business.”

Dodig was a part of the varsity Sawyer baseball teams that went undefeated in ’82 and ’83, as well as a member of the Saugerties Dutchmen. After he graduated from high school, he attended Brevard College in Florida to play baseball, but transferred to Winthrop College in South Carolina after his freshman year. The most significant testament to his father’s advice occurred in another of Dodig’s ‘magic moments.’

“One of the greatest memories that I have is when my dad got the call. It was after midnight, and I remember like it was yesterday. He picked up the phone and he was all excited, and I knew that was it. I ended up talking to my coach and he told me I was picked up in the 41st round by the Atlanta Braves. It was definitely a highlight for sure.” Dodig played outfield for the Atlanta Braves organization for two years. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury that caused him to be released from his contract, but his love for baseball didn’t end there.

Dodig coaches in Greene County, where he is involved with the American Legion 19U program. “I use the baseball platform to mentor kids. I teach them baseball, but more importantly, I’m teaching them life skills on the baseball field.” A value he tries to instill in his players can be summed up with the acronym TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More.

Now and again he opens up his book of contacts that he has accumulated throughout his amateur and professional baseball days for a little inspiration. One of his players was looking to play ball down in Tennessee where it just so happened Charles Davis had gone. “I sent him an email, introducing myself, hopefully he would remember my name! So, he sends me an email right back, and in the first couple sentences, what does he mention? The homerun. The pitch that he threw to me. So, that was really fun, a real magic moment for me.”

Dodig speaks about baseball with exuberance and passion. He’s an optimist, more interested in solutions than problems. This outlook most likely comes from his brother’s encouragement while growing up.

“My brother John, when I look back on my Saugerties sports career, one thing that he did such a great job with is he always built me up. He always gave me the affirmations. He always talked highly about me when he was with his coach and teammates. When you hear that, you start really believing it! That was huge for me.”

Family has always been his inspiration, from his parents to his cousins to his siblings. Everyone was involved in sports in some way, whether it be through playing, coaching or cheering on the team. He credits family support with his success. He also made clear how he would like to thank his father in heaven and his faith in Jesus for leading him in the right direction.

After his time with the Braves, Dodig went on to earn his degree, which led him into business. He was always drawn to self-employment, and after hard work and perseverance, he opened a successful technology consulting company.

It may not be the most popular sport anymore, but there’s nothing more American than baseball. Most of us have memories of playing it growing up. In that, Jeff Dodig is no different from us. But he is exceptional in that, through hard work and talent, he was able to ascend to the highest levels of competition, where everything is faster and tougher. But he never forgot his Saugerties roots, and his exploits on the local ballfields loom just as large in memory as those of his professional career.

Tickets are available now for the Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame Club’s 52nd annual induction banquet on Saturday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern. Doors open an hour prior with a cocktail reception from 5:30-6:30 p.m. This year’s inductees are Jeff Dodig, Albert Giannotti (posthumously), John Harris, Randy Nilsen and Mark “Doc” Silinovich. Tickets are available by contacting Mark Becker at (518) 641-9520 or halfink@verizon.net. Cost is $25. Reserve early.

Doc during his playing days, and present

Saugerties has long been a sports-centric town with a wide variety of activities for sports fans. Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame inductee Mark “Doc” Silinovich is someone who has taken advantage of just about all the sports Saugerties has to offer. Sports have always been a major aspect of his life and continue to influence him today.

In high school, Silinovich was a three-sport athlete. He played football in the fall, basketball in the winter and rounded out the school year with baseball in the spring. Although he does not have a favorite, Silinovich gives solid reasons for why he enjoys each sport so much. “Football for the aggressiveness, baseball has a little more finesse and psychology, and basketball for the speed of the game.”

He played football aggressively. He injured his hand senior year. The injury wasn’t career-ending, but it did have consequences when he tried out for his winter sport, basketball. “Usually you would get a kind of bye if you were hurt from a prior sport. They cut me first day. After they cut me, I was a little perturbed. Hank Smith came up to me, he was the wrestling coach, he said, ‘I’ll see you at wrestling practice Monday,’ and I say, ‘Oh no, you won’t.’” That year, he won the league basketball MVP award for his contributions the year before.

Silinovich also had another major sports success when the baseball team made it to the section championship. Although the Sawyers beat Poughkeepsie during the year, the rivals had to face each other again in the section championship due to the round-robin setup. Unfortunately, the Sawyers lost. Doc still remembers a key moment. “I was playing center field and our pitcher threw to this guy named Tony Johnson. He had two strikes on him, and this Tony Johnson hit this thing out of the ballpark, foul ball. I’m yelling in center field, ‘Keep it away from him!’ Pitcher threw another strike, and [Johnson] hit the homerun. Would’ve been the last out.”

However disappointing that loss may have been, it could not cast a shadow on the fond memories Silinovich has of his high school playing days: the camaraderie, the glory, the rivalries. He spoke about one instance concerning the Saugerties-Kingston football rivalry. “I had some friends from Kingston and they said they were going to whip up on us and we beat them good.” Sports rivalries can often create the most exciting game scenarios. Decades later, you can still hear the passion in Silinovich’s voice when he reminisces about victories over Kingston.

After high school, he moved to Washington State and immediately started work. As far as sports go, Washington did not have much to offer. In 1979 Silinovich moved back to Saugerties and got involved in many different sports organizations. “When I came back here, I got back into the local scene. Premiere league at the auditorium at the high school, flag football, softball, had some basketball half-court leagues.” He also played on teams with current Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame members Jerry Malgieri and Rich Koegel. “I played with those guys and we won quite a few events.”

Silinovich worked in construction, so he didn’t have the time to commit to a team like the Saugerties Dutchmen, but that did not stop him from getting involved in a sport. He decided to join a local A-league softball team. “I had a little competition with my brother about batting averages. I won the batting title that year with a .564 batting average. So my brother took my bat and cut it open to see if it was corked. I had to end up welding it back together after I proved him wrong.”

His proudest moment would come later. “One of the things I’m most proud of is when I switched over to golf, winning seven times Ulster County Seniors for my flight out of the whole county. I didn’t start playing golf until I was 40 years old, so it was pretty cool.”

Golf has remained a passion for Silinovich. He even plays with fellow 2015 inductee, Randy Nilsen. “One of the things I love about golf is that you’re one-on-one with the course. You can play against the field or the guys.”

Golf is such a mental sport, and people are often fooled by how difficult it really is. “That ball is not even moving and it’s kind of hard. A buddy of mine when I first started playing golf said to me, ‘Fourteen clubs allowed in your bag. Thirteen of them will get you on the green. One of them is for half of your strokes for the round.’ Everybody tries to hit the long ball.” Silinovich’s patience on the green is a strong factor in his success.

Today he owns the successful local business Doc’s Cycle Shop. This keeps him busy, but he always finds time to keep sports in his life. He is both humbled and honored by his induction into the Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame. “I’m lucky. I stayed healthy, played a lot of sports. Played everything Saugerties had to offer pretty much. And I played on a lot of winning teams, got to play with a lot of good ballplayers.”

The deadline is May 3 to purchase tickets for the Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame Club’s 52nd annual induction banquet to be held on Saturday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern. Doors open an hour prior with a cocktail reception from 5:30-6:30 p.m. This year’s inductees are Jeff Dodig, Albert Giannotti (posthumously), John Harris, Randy Nilsen and Mark “Doc” Silinovich. Tickets are available by contacting Mark Becker at (518) 641-9520 or halfink@verizon.net. Cost is $25. There are no ticket sales at the door.

Read about the other inductees on Saugertiesx.com

Randy during his playing days (above) and today (bottom left)

It is easy to look back on an athlete’s career and assess every statistic, every homerun, complete pass and goal. It is easy to compare numbers to determine a player’s level of greatness. That is the easy part. For Randy Nilsen, a 2015 Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame inductee, the significance of statistics pales in comparison to the stories he has to share. Nilsen reminisces about his glory days as a baseball player: the camaraderie, the exciting plays and the unforgettable undefeated season. Nilsen did not play for the numbers, but for the simple love of the game.

His father was a boxer, but Nilsen never had any interest. “I’m not boxing,” he said. “I’m not breaking my nose.”

It was his neighbor, Robert “Mouse” Wolven (also a Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame member), who inspired Nilsen to play baseball. “A lot of people thought he was my father because he would always take me up to the field. I played on his softball team. He was very instrumental.”

Nilsen also found support from his elementary school phys ed teacher, Coach Vizzy. Coach Vizzy asked a young Nilsen if he wanted to be a bat boy, and he eagerly accepted. Through that experience he found his love of the game.

John Harris, another inductee of this year’s Hall of Fame class, happened to be Nilsen’s best friend in high school. Some may even know them as “Chinner” and “Zambo.” Unsurprisingly, Nilsen’s nickname, “Zambo,” came from baseball. Ken Reitz of the St. Louis Cardinals was an extraordinary third baseman with an extremely impressive fielding percentage that got him the nickname of “The Zamboni Machine.” In Nilsen’s ninth grade year, he, too, played third base and did not make a single error. Thus, “Zambo” was born.

By senior year, Nilsen and Harris were great friends. “Both John and myself got out after fourth period, so we had nothing to do for three hours before practice. So we would go fishing every day. And it was the greatest time. Then we got — it was weird — we started watching soap operas. If you ever saw my hair in my senior picture, I loved Luke Spencer from General Hospital. It was the weirdest thing.”

In high school, Nilsen was an all-around athlete who played soccer, football, basketball and golf, but his true passion lay with baseball. His varsity career by the numbers was impressive with a record of 43-3. As a junior in 1981, Nilsen not only participated in the Sawyers’ championship game against Coleman, but helped turn the game around to lead Saugerties to victory. “They were winning 1-0, and the bases were loaded, and I was playing second base. It was a foul pop over the first baseman’s head, and I ran back, caught it behind my back, turned around, and the guy tagged up from third base and I nailed the guy at home. It was like the turning point of that game. It was one of my favorites.” The Sawyers went on to win 7-1, and victory became the norm.

The Sawyers went undefeated in 1982, Nilsen’s senior year. After the 20-0 season, the team went on to play in the state tournament at West Point. Unfortunately, in their first game against Port Jervis, the streak was broken with a 5-3 defeat. Although they lost, Nilsen spoke fondly about the experience. “It was really neat going to West Point. They actually had to stop the game because the sun was going down and they had to do taps. So everybody had to stop. All the Army soldiers there, they saluted. It was a nice time going down there.”

Although the Sawyers’ season had come to an end, Nilsen’s career in baseball did not.

After high school, Nilsen joined the Saugerties Dutchmen and played for nine seasons. Dutchmen team members Rich Kogel, Iggy Maines and Tommy Whittaker “took him under their wing,” mentoring and preparing him for this next level of baseball. He started in the field at second, but later moved to shortstop. His career with the Dutchmen had quite the impressive start when he took his first at-bat. “My first hit ever happened to be a grand slam home run. And then my second at bat, I hit another home run. Same game. I had never hit a home run in my life. In Little League, high school, Babe Ruth. Never.” In his second game with the Dutchmen, they played Columbia-Greene, and wouldn’t you know, he hit another homerun in his third at-bat. “That was one of my favorite moments.”

Today, sports remain a major part of Nilsen’s life. For the past 31 years, Nilsen has dedicated his life to Cantine Field, currently working as assistant superintendant of parks and buildings. Every Sunday he golfs with fellow 2015 inductee Mark “Doc” Silinovich and other well known Saugerties athletes from his day. Sports have been a vital aspect of Nilsen’s life; has both benefitted and contributed greatly to the Saugerties sports system. His induction into the hall is well deserved.

“I’ve played every sport. I’ve coached, I was the commissioner of biddy basketball. I’ve been on the Saugerties Athletic Association board of directors for 23 years now. Sports is my life. I think I deserve it.”

The deadline is May 3 to purchase tickets for the Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame Club’s 52nd annual induction banquet to be held on Saturday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern. Doors open an hour prior with a cocktail reception from 5:30-6:30 p.m. This year’s inductees are Jeff Dodig, Albert Giannotti (posthumously), John Harris, Randy Nilsen and Mark “Doc” Silinovich. Tickets are available by contacting Mark Becker at (518) 641-9520 or halfink@verizon.net. Cost is $25. There are no ticket sales at the door.

(Photo by Alen Fetahi)

Athletic director Dominic Zarrella discussed the future of Saugerties sports during the Board of Education meeting on May 12. After giving a review of the successes of many of the district’s teams during this school year, including football, tennis and wrestling, Zarrella fielded questions from board trustees about what additions and improvements could be made to the program offerings.

Zarrella said he is happy with the numbers on the majority of the teams, though he is actively recruiting at the elementary level for sports like golf, whose numbers he believes have suffered due to the downturn in the economy.

He suggested adding hockey to the district’s sports offerings. It would be a natural fit, due in part to the proximity of the Kiwanis Ice Arena. Zarrella’s main concern would be finding opponents within a reasonable distance. He planned to look into how many schools Saugerties would be able to play, then gauging interest. If that goes well, he would return to the board to seek approval for the formation of a hockey team.

Trustee Damion Ferraro asked about the number of female versus male applicants for coaching positions. Zarrella said that in a perfect world he would see an equitable number of coaches of both genders. However, there are challenges to becoming certified as a coach, both in time and financial commitment. It costs more than $300 and requires more than 100 hours in to earn a coaching certificate. Zarrella said there is talk of the state offering online courses. These courses would be offered for only $35.

Ferraro also asked about increasing access to scholarships for student-athletes. Zarrella said he has asked his head coaches to identify any players that might be eligible as early as possible and he is working with the guidance department to ensure that they take the proper classes to continue their eligibility.

(Photo by Robert Ford)

For baseball fans, there will be a new show in town this summer.

The Saugerties Stallions will begin their inaugural season at Cantine Field June 2. The collegiate-level team is made up of players from Division 2 and 3 schools looking to play summer ball.

The Stallions will be part of the Perfect Pitch League. While not as high-level as the Cape Cod League or the Northwoods League in the upper Midwest, “the kids that play in the Perfect Pitch League will provide an exciting brand of baseball,” said team owner Marty Radford of North Carolina. “I believe that we will have a big following in Saugerties as soon as our first game.”

Radford said Saugerties had been scouted as a site for some time and the recent installation of lights sealed the deal.

“This has been a 16-month project getting ready to play in Saugerties,” Radford said.

This year, there will be a lot of Hudson Valley players on the team, Radford said, but as the team grows fans will see players from throughout the East Coast and beyond.

Non-local players will be housed at the College of St. Rose and bused to Cantine for games, while next year, Radford hopes to have local families hosting players in their homes.

Radford is an amateur collegiate baseball entrepreneur of sorts. He’s been around the game for years and has baseball teams in the Myrtle Beach section of South Carolina as well as collegiate women’s softball teams. He says he is currently in negotiations to start a league in Havana.

Radford has signed a five-year lease at $15,000 per year with the town of Saugerties for the use of Cantine Field, a deal that town council members have lauded as a good one for the coffers of Saugerties and good for local baseball fans, as well.

The Saugerties team’s first games are at home on June 2, 3, and 4 and the season extends through the end of July. All games start at 6:35 p.m.