Thursday, May 18, 2017: Oneida slugger hits two grand slams in one inning

   Leading off today: Up until just over a year ago there were no known instances of a New York high school softball player slugging two grand slams in the same inning of a varsity game.

   And now it's happened in back-to-back seasons.

   Oneida's Kyra Shlotzhauer cleared the bases twice in the first inning Wednesday during an 18-1 victory over Utica Proctor.

   She finished 3-for-3 with a walk and 10 runs batted in for Oneida, which scored 11 times in the opening inning.

   In April 2016, Norwich senior Kassidy Seary hit a pair of third-inning grand slams during her team's 15-run inning in a 21-5 victory over Chenango Valley. She finished the day with three homes runs and 10 runs batted in.

   Nisky prevails: Niskayuna completed its seventh straight undefeated league schedule with a 9-8 boys lacrosse win over previously unbeaten Shaker.

   Niskayuna is ranked fourth in Class B and Shaker seventh in Class A this week by the New York State Sportswriters Association. (Full rankings here.)    Niskayuna senior star Lucas Quinn, a Syracuse recruit, finished with five goals and three assists in the win, and Eoghan Sweeney won 16 of 20 faceoffs.

   Quinn scored with 6:01 and 3:27 to play, wrapped around a Shaker tally, to expend Niskayuna's lead to 9-7.

   Shaker senior goalie Brendan Morrison made 16 saves in the loss.

   More boys lacrosse: Iona Prep defeated Fordham 8-4 in the CHSAA Class AA city championship game to advance to the intersectional semifinal next week against Archbishop Stepinac or St. John the Baptist.

   Jake Heffernan and Liam Fairback scored two goals apiece, and Joe Persico made 14 saves.

   "Joe was unreal," Rams coach Chris Hemsley told The Journal News. "I know he's good, but this is the best game I've ever seen him play. I counted something like eight 1-on-1 saves."

   Milestones: Spackenkill baseball coach Don Niese picked up his 300th career win as the Spartans beat Hyde Park FDR 10-2.

   Zach Cioffi scattered five hits over six innings as Spackenkill improved to 13-5. Joe Arcuri had a pair of doubles and four RBIs.

   "It was definitely cool to be on the mound for his 300th win," Cioffi told Hudson Valley Sports Report. "It doesn't matter what level you're playing at or what school size you are when you are talking about an accomplishment like 300 wins."

    • Albertus Magnus defeated Hastings 20-11 in the first round of the Section 1 girls Class D lacrosse tournament as Mairead Durkin scored eight times to reach 200 goals for her career.

   The James Madison-bound midfielder scored six goals in the first half.

   Discrimination alleged: Former Tuckahoe football and baseball coach John D'Arco Sr. recently filed a federal lawsuit alleging age discrimination was a factor in his being replaced.

   D'Arco filed the lawsuit late last month April against the school district two years after the school board voted not to rehire him for his 14th season as the head coach in both sports, The Journal News reported. D'Arco was 65 at the time.

   The complaint says both jobs were given to much younger coaches with minimal experience. D'Arco alleges that his age was raised in conversations initiated by AD Al Visconti pushing him to retire.

   Messages left seeking comment were not return by school district administrators, the paper said.

   Draft talk: We're at the point at which mock baseball drafts have to be taken seriously, and the New York high school ranks could be a factor in the first round.

   Baseball America's latest projection, released Thursday, has the Chicago Cubs taking Quentin Holmes in the No. 30 slot of the first round.

   Holmes is an outfielder at Monsignor McClancy in the CHSAA who's regarded as an interesting blend of power and speed.

   If Holmes does in fact get selected near the back of the first round on June 12, he'd been looking at a signing bonus slightly north of $2.1 million.

   Considering the state's rust-belt reputation, New York is on a bit of a roll in recent drafts. The Tampa Bay Rays selected Niskayuna outfielder Garrett Whitley 13th overall in 2015 and the Atlanta Braves used the No. 3 slot on Shenendehowa pitcher Ian Anderson last spring.