Wednesday, April 20, 2016: Two grand slams in one inning for Norwich star

   Leading off today: Kassidy Seary Had a nice season at the plate in the third inning of her softball game Monday.

   The Norwich senior hit two grand slams in her team's 15-run inning to highlight a 21-5 victory over Chenango Valley. She finished the day with three homes runs and 10 runs batted in.

   A search of the National Federation of State High School Federations record book shows the feat being eight times nationally, and a quick spin around Google found a handful of other instances. But from the looks of it, Seary is the first New York girl to hit two grand slams in one inning.

   Seary, who was fourth-team all-state in Class B last spring, has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her career at Binghamton University next season.

   Iconic 'Pearl' dies: Dwayne "Pearl" Washington, a New York City schoolboy legend who went on to a memorable career at Syracuse University, died early Wednesday at age 52.

   Washington was diagnosed last summer with a brain tumor.

   Washington played at Syracuse from 1983 to 1986 after a stellar career at Boys & Girls in the PSAL. He led Syracuse in both assists and steals in each of his three years at the school. In his junior year, Washington led Syracuse in scoring at 17.3 points per game before making the decision to enter the NBA draft.

   As a freshman, he stunned Boston College with a buzzer-beating, half-court shot that electrified the crowd and launched Syracuse into the AP rankings, where they remained for the rest of Washington's time there.

   The year before Washington's arrival, the Orangemen averaged 20,401 fans per game at the Carrier Dome. In his junior season, the averaged soared to 26,255.

   "Everybody says that Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin made the Big East, but I think Pearl made the league," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said in a story recounted by Syracuse.com. "They were the best players, but Pearl was the player that people turned out to see and turned on their TVs to watch."

   Approaching a thousand: Marv Matteson, 73, has coached baseball, boys basketball and cross country at Kenmore East and Iroquois over portions of six decades, and his next victory in baseball this month will be a big one.

   Iroquois routed West Seneca East 23-0 Tuesday, giving Matteson a combined 999 career wins in his various sports. The Chiefs will go for No. 1,000 Wednesday at home vs. Williamsville South.

   Matteson has won 379 baseball games, 331 in basketball, 174 in boys cross country meets and 115 in girls cross country.

   Change of direction, Part 1: Floral Park point guard Kaela Hilaire, Newsday's girls basketball player of the year, has committed to continue her career at Seton Hall. Hilaire originally committed to the University of Albany but was granted her release after coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson and her staff moved on to the University of Central Florida.

   Hilaire, who averaged 29.8 points as a senior, learned of the Albany changes on April 1 and visited Seton Hall earlier this month.

   "I was kind of disappointed because I knew it could happen, but I didn't think it would happen to me," Hilaire told Newsday. "It kind of made me stressed out all over because I didn't really like the recruiting process. I just wanted to get it over with. That's why I committed early."

   Change of direction, Part 2: Emmitt Holt, second-team all-state in Class AA as a Webster Schroeder senior in 2014, will continue his college basketball career at Providence College next fall.

   Schroeder coach Matt Spadoni told the Democrat and Chronicle the forward signed with the Friars this week.

   Holt spent his freshman year at Indiana University before being kicked off the team. He played this season at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.

   Following up: Lawyers for Naesean Howard are in good shape if they intend to use the "mental defect" defense for charges that he stabbed two former Syracuse University teammates last week.

   Eight days before the incident, Howard sat down with Syracuse.com reported Nate Mink for what was supposed to be a discussion of past problems at both SU and Wagner College as well as his bid to earn another chance with the new football coaches at Syracuse. Some of his statements in that interview were clearly delusional and suggest that he may very well have not been of sound mind Saturday when he allegedly stabbed Orange safety Chauncey Scissum of Rush-Henrietta and cornerback Corey Winfield from St. Louis, both redshirt juniors.

   Howard blamed Scissum and Winfield for an incident during a recruiting weekend in January 2014 that he believed poisoned his relationship with former coach Scott Shafer's staff. Howard claimed the two players recorded him on video being carried outside from a party and acting drunk, but it's unclear if the video ever existed and/or made its way to the coaches.

   "I'm thinking they were jealous of me the whole time," Howard said of Scissum and Winfield. "They sent it to my phone. I don't have it anymore. I was pissed off, so I deleted it. Maybe they're jealous of me because I'm coming in with more speed than them. Maybe Chauncey knew I was better than him as a player, so he had to try something to hold me back."

   When Shafer and his staff were fired Nov. 23, Howard felt the new coaching staff would welcome him back.

   "I'll just take a walk-on spot so no one expects a Derrick Henry," Howard said, referring to Alabama's Heisman-winning running back, "and then the next thing you know they get something that's better than a Derrick Henry."

   Several hours after the interview with Mink, Howard texted the reporter to say the new staff would not allow him back on the team.

   "Again, I'm forced to leave," he wrote.

   He followed that with a cryptic, creepy message:

   "They'll remember."

   Extra points: Senior Brett Migliore drove in five runs Monday, raising his career RBI total to 96 and setting the Wellsville career mark for runs batted in. Migliore drove in his younger brother Jack for the historic RBI in Wellsville's 13-5 win at Dansville. He broke the mark of 95 set by Jason Mattison in 1991.