Wednesday, April 8, 2015: Section 3 baseball veterans square off

   Leading off today: Two guys who've been around the sport for a very long time kicked off their Section 3 baseball seasons against each other Tuesday when the Syracuse CSD team defeated Syracuse CBA.

   Bob Southworth is co-coach of the combined Syracuse City School District team. Southworth is in his 50th season coaching scholastic baseball in Syracuse and has a record of 698-337.

   Tom Dotterer coaches Christian Brothers Academy, where he is in his 36th season and has amassed a mark of 606-302. He sported a full CBA uniform including purple socks.

   Both men are members of the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame and both are 79 years old.

   Syracuse CSD defeated CBA 8-4 behind an 11-strikeout performance from pitcher Jeff Belge. (More on Belge later in this blog.)

   Remember this name: Freshman Lyndsey Shaw is in her third varsity season with the Sayville softball team, and Tuesday's 16-4 win over Miller Place presumably was her best performance yet.

   Though she stands just 5-foot-2, Shaw blasted three home runs over the fence and finished 4-for-4 with a walk and seven runs batted in. She hit a combined five home runs in her first two seasons on the varsity.

   "I've gotten stronger and more mature at the plate this season," she told Newsday. "I just went with the pitch, tried to hit the ball hard, and made sure I stayed centered."

   Shaw went the opposite way on the first pitch for a two-run homer that gave Sayville a 2-0 lead in the first inning. She highlighted a six-run third with a three-run shot to right-center and finished up with a line-drive solo blast.

   Scheme alleged: The Securities and Exchange Commission revealed fraud charges late Monday against former NFL player Will Allen and a business partner, accusing them of running a $31 million Ponzi scheme.

   The SEC complaint alleges Allen, a former Syracuse Corcoran star and Syracuse University cornerback who went on to a 10-season career with the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins, and business partner Susan Daub claimed to make loans to professional athletes who were short of cash.

   Allen and Daub raised $31.7 million from investors but made only $18 million in loans to athletes through a business called Capital Financial, according to the SEC. The SEC says the two returned about $20 million to investors between 2012 and 2015 while receiving a little more than $13 million in loan repayments. The foundation of the SEC complaint is that the two allegedly used funds from investors to fill the $7 million gap and pay other investors.

   "The defendants sold investors on the idea of lending money to pro athletes, but we allege that's not where a large portion of the investors' money went. As in any Ponzi scheme, the appearance of a successful investment was only an illusion sustained by lies," said Paul G. Levenson, director of the SEC's Boston regional office.

   According to the New York Post, Allen and Daub allegedly raised $4 million from 24 investors last spring for an NHL player on the basis of a sham promissory note for $5.65 million and loan agreement never actually signed by the unnamed athlete. Even after the player filed for bankruptcy, Daub told investors the loan was "performing as expected," the suit alleges.

   Allen retired from the NFL in 2013 with 15 career interceptions.

   The race begins: The process for selecting hosts for future New York State Public High School Athletic Association final fours in basketball has begun. The

2015 Federation basketball schedule 2015 NYSPHSAA boys basketball brackets 2015 NYSPHSAA girls basketball brackets 2015 NYSPHSAA boys hockey brackets N.Y. wrestling championships (PDF): Div. I | Div. II N.Y. indoor track championships: Boys | Girls

NYSPHSAA this week released its requests for proposals for the boys and girls tournaments for 2017 through 2019, each with an Aug. 28 deadline.

   The basketball committees will hear presentations from the bidders Sept. 24-25, and recommendations will go to the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee for a vote Oct. 22.

   The rating game: Syracuse Henninger junior left-handed pitcher Jeff Belge is rated the nation's No. 2 baseball prospect in the high school Class of 2016 by MaxPreps.

   Belge, a St. John's recruit, pitches for the combined Syracuse City School District team. As a sophomore, he was 4-4 with 87 strikeouts in 46.3 innings for Syracuse East.

   The same MaxPreps list rates Shenendehowa right-handed pitcher Ian Anderson, a Vanderbilt recruit, No. 12 among high school junior prospects.

   Prep Baseball Report, whose latest database covers 21 states, has Belge and Anderson rated fourth and ninth, respectively. Six of the top nine players listed are pitchers.

   Among the current crop of seniors, MaxPreps has Niskayuna outfielder Garrett Whitley rated 47th and third baseman/pitcher Wesley Rodriguez of George Washington in the PSAL at No. 69. Athlon Sports ranks Whitley 10th but fourth among prospects from cold-weather states.

   The 2015 MLB Draft is scheduled for June 8-10.

   Big numbers: Kingston junior lacrosse star Logan Brennan is already up to 189 goals for her career and could reach 200 by early next week.

   "It's very exciting. I have to give it up to my team for setting me up," Brennan told The Times Herald-Record. "I can't wait to get to 200 goals. My dad and I have been keeping track of my goals. It's just an honor and really exciting."

   The Section 9 record for career goals is 359 by 2013 Minisink Valley graduate Jenn Peters. The NYSPHSAA record is 505 by Shannon Smith, who graduated from West Babylon in 2008.

   Brennan verbally committed to Division I James Madison during her 81-goal sophomore season for the eight-time defending Section 9 Class A champs. She's a fifth-year varsity player.

   Extra points: St. Francis Prep has promoted Rich Carroll to head football coach following the death of Vince O'Connor in February. Carroll had already been handling much of the day-to-day responsibility in recent seasons.