Leading off today: Bishop Ford High School in Brooklyn is the latest school to fall victim to declining enrollment, with officials announcing Monday that the
school will close its doors in June.
"There has not been a sufficient revenue stream other than tuition, which alone cannot support the operation," Principal Thomas Arria said in a statement. "Thus, it was determined that, despite Herculean efforts on the part of many people, the school was just not sustainable."
The CHSAA school saw its enrollment slip from 1,347 to 499 in the past eight years, and the school projected just 422 students next year.
Eight is enough: Southern Cayuga fielded just eight players for Monday's softball game vs. Moravia but still walked away with a 4-1 victory.
The Chiefs were led by Sarah Zakour, who struck out 16 batters in a three-hitter, and Jessie Farkas, who drove in a pair of runs.
Repeat performance: Senior lefty Chris Introcaso threw his second consecutive no-hitter, striking out eight and walking two in a 3-0 Newburgh victory over Washington (W.Va.) at the Mingo Bay Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Introcaso struck out 10 and walked one in an April 7 no-hitter at Middletown.
"We've played very good defense, but he's just pounding the strike zone," coach Matt Iorlano told The Times Herald-Record. "When you're getting strike one, it's a lot easier to pitch when you're pounding the strike zone."
"When you're ahead, it's an extreme advantage," said Introcaso, a College of St. Rose recruit. "You have confidence in your pitches and you can throw anything anywhere you want."
A year ago in Section 9, Chester's Ryan Cabrera followed up a no-hitter with a perfect game in which he fanned 20 batters.
Milestones: Fort Plain baseball coach Craig Phillips is coming up on career win No. 700. He picked up No. 697 Monday as the Hilltoppers posted a 5-1 win over Duanesburg.
Phillips already owns the Section 2 record for wins to go along with 21 league and nine sectional championships. Fort Plain won a NYSPHSAA Class C title in 2007.
"I always believed in doing things the right way and working hard could make up for a lack of talent," Phillips told The Times Union while suggesting he might be ready to retire. "The last couple of years, our school has gotten smaller and smaller."
Phillips, who has also coached football and basketball, was elected into the Capital District Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
• Joseph Staszewski tweeted Monday that St. Francis
