Friday, April 12, 2019: Daughter beats dad's team in Sec. 2 softball action

   Leading off today: Here's the lead to Jim Schlitz's story for The Daily Gazette from a softball game in Section 2:

   Mohonasen sophomore Matti Muller has pitched in a lot of softball games, but never in one quite like Thursday's Colonial Council matchup with Schalmont.

   As she prepared to face each batter, her dad Jeff Muller offered encouragement and guidance -- but not to her.

   Instead, he focused his attention on the Sabres stepping up to the plate to challenge her.

   The daughter got the better of dad as Mohonasen defeated Schalmont 13-1 with the help of her four-hit pitching and four RBIs at the plate.

   "I tried to do my job, and focus on my team and have tunnel vision," said Jeff Muller, who is in his first season at Schalmont but has coached players from both schools with the Rotterdam Reign travel team. "They're a good team and they're going to do what they're going to do."

   Milestone win: Williamsville East rolled past Sweet Home 15-1 in boys lacrosse, giving coach Ed Greenway his 300th win with the Flames.

   "When you work hard at it, it's a culmination of what you've been doing for a long time," said Greenway, who started the program in 1985. "I've also had some great assistant coaches. And it shows that you have great kids, too. They play the game of the lacrosse, learn a little bit, and hopefully become good parents and citizens."

   The Flames are 8-0 following the win. Ryan Mitchell put up a hat trick and Clayton Osborne, Jordan Polk and Frank Annunziata connected twice apiece.

   Baseball highlights: Gage Dombal threw a five-inning perfect game with eight strikeouts as Minisink Valley defeated Monticello 10-0 in the first game of a doubleheader. Brendan Beairsto threw four shutout innings in the second game as Minisink Valley won 14-1.

      Also in Section 9, Ellenville blanked Onteora 6-0 as Justin Guiliano pitched a 17-strikeout no-hitter.

      Beaver River's Logan Farney, Noah Zehr, Bryan Ardison and Sam Bush combined to no-hit Sackets Harbor 11-2.

ADVERTISEMENT

   Tuesday action: Claire Odett scored four goals and added two assists in the Comets' win over Canton to reach 300 career points. The senior midfielder, who has committed to Ohio State, has 207 goals and 94 assists in a five-year varsity career.

   Back on the job at M-W: James Sciarra was approved as Monroe-Woodbury new football coach at a school board meeting Wednesday.

   Sciarra, 40, who was 40-25 as the head coach at Warwick from 2006-12, was a Monroe-Woodbury assistant from 2013-15. He has spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Burke Catholic.

   He was greeted by returning players Thursday on his first day on the job.

   "This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities," Sciarra said. "When you get to be invited and accepted into a great community and great school district, first of all, those are the things that you can't pass up."

   New Spencerport AD: Jennifer Placito will move over from assistant principal to athletic director at Spencerport on July 1 when John Pelin heads off to retirement.

   Prior to her time at Spencerport, Placito taught and coached at Brockport.

   Service in honor of Lake Shore coach: More than 700 mourners illuminated the Lake Shore track Thursday night in tribute to Chris Ignatowski, a middle school teacher who coached tennis, swimming, volleyball and track and field teams for the Eagles over the span of more than two decades.

   Ignatowski died April 3 from complications after contracting a parasitic illness. He was 48.

   Here we go again: Right on cue, politicians have begun cold water on the idea of allowing Public Service Leadership Academy at Fowler High School in Syracuse the opportunity to play football and soccer games on home soil again for the first time in a decade.

   Some Syracuse Common Councilors expressed reservations about the proposed $20 million athletic complex project and suggested finding other sites for the project.

   Councilman Tim Rudd said he's concerned peat and contamination under part of the land could cause the complex could sink. Some of the nearby school's walls began cracking in the 1980s as the building sank.

   "It may not make sense to continue on this path," said Rudd, who chairs the city council committee on finance, taxation and assessment. "It's a bad investment."

Council members Khalid Bey and Bryn Lovejoy Grinnell also voiced concerns.

   The school district wants the council to approve a resolution that asks the city to borrow up to $20 million to pay for the project. Suzanne Slack, the district's chief financial officer, said the state has agreed to reimburse the city for all but about $400,000.

   Assault charge in Mass.: A longtime Boston-area coach has been charged with assaulting one of his varsity baseball players after he attempted to intervene in an argument between the athlete and an umpire.

   Westwood, Mass., Xaverian Brothers High coach Gerry Lambert was charged with assault in Wednesday's incident during a game against Shrewsbury St. John's High. Lambert was placed on leave from the school, where he has taught for 25 years and coached for 18.

   According to Westwood Police Chief Jeffrey Silva, witnesses saw the coach remove his player by grabbing him by the neck after he began to dispute a call.