Sports

Staff report
Perhaps it was the spirit of playing baseball in a stadium where so many of professional baseball’s greats once played. Perhaps it was the traditions, the dignity, and the somber grace of a visit to a 73-year-old baseball cathedral.

By John Bernhardt
For the third consecutive season, the Delaware League regular season tennis race has ended in a tie. Margaretville and Windham finished deadlocked at the top of the standings with identical 10-2 records. The championship draw was Margaretville’s second shared crown in the last three campaigns.

By John Bernhardt
The Roxbury and Margaretville girls’ softball teams will meet for a third time Thursday when they square off at 4:30 p.m. at Neahwa Park in Oneonta. This time the Delaware League Championship is on the line.

The Rockets were winners the first two times, toppling the Blue Devils 9-5 in the non-league opener for both teams and then blanking Margaretville, 8-0, in a Delaware League contest a week later.

Staff report
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Margaretville bats finally came alive. The Blue Devils scored runs in each of the final frames to edge Gilboa, 5-4, in a Delaware League softball contest played Monday night in Margaretville.

Rachel Matheisen blasted a home run in the sixth to awaken the Blue Devil’s slumbering bats. Crafty base running helped Margaretville tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. Amy Filupeit singled, stole second, advanced to third tagging up on an outfield fly ball, and raced home on Tess Svoboda’s infield ground out.

Staff report
In the midst of a hitting streak, major league baseball players often claim they see the ball so well that it looks more like softball than a baseball. If that’s the case, for Roxbury junior Eric Shultis the baseball must have seemed like a beach ball last week.

Shultis went on a torrid hitting streak going 6-11 with a double, triple and homerun to lead his Rockets team to three straight victories and thrust Roxbury back in the hunt for a post-season playoff berth.

Late rally

Staff report
Command of the strike zone is a softball difference maker. Monday in Margaretville, Danielle Hull had it. The pitchers from Davenport did not.

Hull threw strikes the entire night, striking out seven Wildcats and walking only two. Davenport handed out 14 free passes with nine of the Blue Devil recipients eventually reaching home base as the Blue Devils downed their guests 17-6.

Staff report
Move over New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers aren’t the only team in town who can piece together a colossal come-from-behind victory. Over the weekend, trailing 9-0 against hated rival Boston, the Yanks scored 15 runs over three innings in an historic comeback victory.

Margaretville — Two exciting bowling tournaments took place at Margaretville Bowl last week.
On Wednesday, October 11 the 700 Club had another large field of bowlers in the annual event. Open to any bowler who has ever rolled a 700 series of three games in league play at Margaretville Bowl, the scratch tournament had eight local sponsors. This year, for only the third time in its history, a 700 series was rolled during the competition when Ken Cartwright rolled a 711 series.

Staff report
Every day’s a busy day for local high school softball and baseball teams as they return from spring vacation. In the next month local teams will play the lion’s share of the spring schedules with most teams playing 10 or more games over that time span.

Staff report
With the score tied and the game on the line in the bottom of the seventh inning, Kyle Short spoke with his bat. Runners danced from the corners with two outs when the Margaretville pitcher/shortstop stepped to the plate. Short sliced a fastball over the shortstop’s head into left field, and the Margaretville baseball team had its first win of the season, a 9-8, walk-off victory over Roxbury.