Friday, June 5, 2015: Keaveney spins no-hitter in NYSPHSAA softball opener

   The Clarkstown South senior drove in both runs in the top of the eighth inning and then went on to complete her no-hitter to beat Kingston 2-0 in the first round of the NYSPHSAA Class AA softball tournament.

   She walked one batter and hit one other. She got big-play defensive support in the bottom of the seventh from third basemen Caroline Koch and first baseman Nicole Ritsick.

   Clarkstown South is ranked No. 1 and Kingston No. 2 in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

   Another first-round game between Sections 1 and 9 was equally as dramatic. Kirsten McGarvey’s walk-off, bunt single in a two-run seventh inning gave Pearl River a 3-2 win over Goshen in Class A.

   Pearl River's Jesse McCarthy hit a leadoff double, moved to third on Kaitlyn Amato's sacrifice and tied the game on a suicide squeeze by Jules Madigan. Caroline Alicandri singled Madigan to third, and McGarvey completed the rally.

   Goshen had rallied to a Section 9 championship after opening its season with seven straight losses.

   Huge hitting display: Averill Park ripped Peru 21-0 in another Class A softball first-rounder as McKenzie Bump and Caraline Wood went a combined 9-for-12 with six extra-base hits and 11 runs batted in.

   Wood pitched three one-hit innings, and Amelia Mamone took over in the bottom of the fourth and finished off the shutout, striking out six and not allowing a hit.

   In another one-hitter, Saranac blanked Ogdensburg 9-0. Tori Trim pitched the complete game and fanned 11.

   Senior Summer Gillespie led the Chiefs offense by going 3-for-4 with three singles and two runs scored. She stole three bases.

   Fun track stories, Part 1: That was no ordinary school record that East Aurora's Jack Zagrobelny broke last weekend.

   The mark in the 400-meter hurdles had stood since 1984. Even better, the old mark had belonged to Steve Zagrobelny -- Jack's father.

   Jack's time of 55.81 seconds bettered his father's :56.4.

   "Running the hurdles has never been something in track that most aspire to do. That is to say that they usually have to be 'volunteered' by the coach," Steve Zagrobelny, a member of the East Aurora school board, said in a statement reported by The Buffalo News. "It was that way when I ran track, and it hasn't changed much since then."

   Jack, who plans to try walking on to the track team at Xavier next year, also broke a 34-year-old school swimming mark for the 100-yard breaststroke last season, the paper reported.

   Quick note: The story makes reference to Jack Zagrobelny having the state's fastest hurdles time so far

this season. That obviously isn't true since Rai Benjamin of Mount Vernon is well ahead of them. Then again, Benjamin is well ahead of everyone this season.

   Fun track stories, Part 2: Kyler Felton of Mexico in Section 3 is a few days away from completing 12 years of perfect school attendance.

   Felton is an accomplished sprint, too. His PR of :11.1 in the 100 meters is a tenth of a second off the school mark heading into the state qualifier and possible the state meet.

   Felton told Syracuse.com he became aware of his attendance streak as an eighth-grader. His closest call came in fifth grade when a snow storm delayed the family's return from a Florida vacation. Felton's mother dropped him off at school, just beating the tardy cutoff. She returned later with a change of clothes.

   A football injury required hand surgery -- which he convinced doctors to schedule for the Friday at the start of Christmas break to give him the maximum time to rest up.

   Even with a pair of study halls to start his days early in senior year, Felton always arrives before the ball rather than opting to sleep in.

   "I wanted to a few times," Felton said.

   Extra points: Kyle Bailey has resigned as hockey coach at Cicero-North Syracuse, where he'd been in charge since 2005. C-NS finished 8-12-1 last season.

   Nicholas Todaro will be the third football coach in three seasons at Lancaster St. Mary's replacing Chris Glenn. Glenn took the head coaching position at Williamsville East following a 6-4 season. Todaro was previously the defensive coordinator at Buffalo South Park.