Wednesday, June 5, 2019: Limoncelli drafted while undergoing surgery

   Leading off today: Tuesday is going to rate highly in the list of days that Mike Limoncelli is unlikely to forget.

   The Horseheads senior was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the sixth round of the MLB Draft on the same day that he underwent Tommy John surgery on his pitching arm, which the right-hander injured early in the 2019 baseball season.

   Limoncelli, 19, was still in the process of regaining his senses after the surgery performed by nationally known specialist Dr. James Andrews in Florida when his father, Horseheads coach Jeff Limoncelli, told Mike he had been chosen 186th overall.

   "I was in the recovery room, very loopy," he said. "I kind of remember him saying something like that. I kind of got myself gathered up and I was like, 'I wonder if I was just dreaming.'"

   Said Jeff Limoncelli: "Dr. Andrews said he's the first one ever drafted during surgery. It was quite a day."

   The Mariners made the decision to draft the 6-foot-2 senior, who was limited to DH work following the injury, after talking contract terms through Limoncelli's agent. Limoncelli will sign, passing up previous plans to attend Division I Coastal Carolina. He will take advantage of MLB's scholarship plan and expects to begin online classes in the near future.

   Limoncelli will fly to Arizona and sign his contract before starting rehab with the Mariners. Although it's possible he could do some light throwing next summer, his pro career will almost certainly start in 2021.

   "I'm just ready to crush this rehab, honestly," he said. "I'm ready to go, I'm ecstatic about it, and I'm excited to get this process started."

   Advancing easily: Canandaigua defeated Pittsford Sutherland 11-1 in Section 5's qualifier game for the NYSPHSAA Class A baseball tournament at Cooper Crunick tossed his second no-hitter of the season.

   "I don't think I pitched all that well in the first half of the game," said Crunick, who finished with 10 strikeouts. "I didn't have command of my fastball so I started with more curveballs and it just started clicking."

   Junior catcher Seth Vigneri contributed a two-run home run in the first inning to start the rout after Crunick opened the stanza with a walk.

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   More baseball: Connetquot plated 13 runs in a three-inning span to rout Ward Melville 14-1 in the deciding game of the Section 11 Class AA championship series.

   The Thunderbirds will face defending state champion Massapequa on Saturday in the NYSPHSAA quarterfinals.

   Connetquot pounded out 15 hits, including a home run by Alex Ungar. The shortstop was coming off a four-error performance in Monday's Game 2 victory.

    • Senior left-hander Izaiah Walker threw a three-hitter as

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Archbishop Stepinac beat Iona Prep 4-0 to move on to the CHSAA championship round for the first time since 2009.

   The Crusaders will play Fordham Prep, needing to win twice against the undefeated championship bracket opponent in the double-elimination tournament.

   Softball: Colonie used a three-run homer by Jaclyn Dyer in the second inning to take the lead and scored nine runs in the third to beat Bethlehem 17-4 for the Section 2 Class AA championship.

   Senior catcher Chloe Vanburen homered twice in the big inning.

   "This is the wildest," Vanburen said. "I have been dreaming that we would win a sectional title. It came true."

   Colonie was coming off one-run wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals to set up a bid for its first title since 2010.

   "There is no point in stopping now. We've got here, so let's keep going," Colonie senior center fielder Ciana Phillips said.

   Unexpected change: Queensbury boys basketball coach Doug Fraser has been informed he will not be brought back for a 12th season at the school.

   The Spartans are coming off a 12-12 season, and Superintendent Doug Huntley said the district is seeking a replacement for next season.

   Fraser said he was unsure why he was let go.

   "I've worked extremely hard to shape these kids to be successful way beyond high school, he said.

   College choice: Former Syracuse academy of Science star Symir Torrence will continue his basketball career at Marquette in the fall after reclassifying to the Class of 2019 at Vermont Academy.

   The senior point guard committed to Marquette in January with the intent of enrolling next year. That changed recently when he made a qualifying SAT score.

   "Me and my mom started talking about what was going to be better for me and whether I was going to be able to qualify or not," he said. "That was basically the reason."