A trolley transports members of the state champion Saratoga Springs baseball team from Congress Park to City Hall during a downtown parade in 2025. Photo by Aidan Cahill.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — In the majors, the New York Yankees have faced criticism for essentially running back their 2025 team, which fell in the American League Division Series to the Toronto Blue Jays. But for the Saratoga Springs Blue Streaks, who capped off last season with their first-ever Class AAA state title, running it back is a blessing.
15 of the 22 members of last year’s championship Saratoga squad will return in 2026.
On March 26, the Blue Streaks headed to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida for spring training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Baseball Complex. Regular season play begins on April 4 at Baldwinsville.
Before opening day, two starting roles will be decided: left field and first base. But the rest of the starters will return, and their morale, said Head Coach Andy Cuthbertson, is high.
“The team chemistry is kind of where it was when it left off last year,” Cuthbertson told Saratoga TODAY. “In terms of the cohesiveness of the team, what they went through last year, a lot of guys are bringing that same energy into the preseason right now. And the new guys that are joining the squad, although they might have been on JV last year, I think they understand what a monumental season that we had last year, and they understand what the culture is that’s already in place. They’ve jumped right in, and it feels natural.”
Last year’s historic season was notable not just for how it ended, but also for how it took shape. The Blue Streaks lost 6 of their first 12 games before then winning 15 straight. To reach the state championship, Saratoga battled Niagara Falls in an extra-innings contest decided by just one run. In the title game, they defeated Ketcham, a team appearing in its third-straight state championship.
The road to a state title is long, arduous, and unpredictable. In 2026, the Blue Streaks will take it one game at a time.
“We’re not coming right out and saying, ‘Hey, let’s be state champions again,’” Cuthbertson said. “There’s a mentality of one inning at a time, one game at a time. You’ve got to fall in love with the process, and the outcome will fall in place if that happens.”
A packed house at Bailey’s watches the Siena vs. Duke “March Madness” game on March 19. Photo by Jonathon Norcross.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Siena University was about to ruin the March Madness brackets of countless Americans, and Saratogians couldn’t have been happier.
It had been 16 years since the Saints made an appearance in the NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball tournament, and at Bailey’s on Phila Street last Thursday afternoon, a core group of diehard fans clad in green and gold rapidly expanded to a robust audience of hoop lovers as the No. 16 seed Siena took on No. 1 Duke.
Anticipation turned to delighted shock when the underdog Capital Region locals bested the Blue Devils in the first half. Bailey’s erupted in cheers when two consecutive triples put Siena ahead 22-16 in the opening half. From there, the Saints piled on: 6 of 7 successful field goal attempts, an 8-0 run, a lead that stretched to as many as 13 points. For more than 28 minutes, the Saints appeared to be on the brink of eliminating one of college basketball’s most storied programs. At halftime, the Saints held a 43-32 lead.
But the second half was a different story. Duke steadily closed the deficit, shutting down Siena’s offense and, at one point, going on a 13-3 run. An entire 6 minutes passed without the Saints scoring so much as a single point. They lost out on rebounds and couldn’t find the bottom of the bucket. In the end, the Blue Devils took the W, 71-65, and advanced to the next round of the tournament.
Despite the loss, Siena’s heroic effort did not go unnoticed. “5 Guys from Siena Playing 40 Minutes and Taking The #1 Duke Blue Devils Down to The Wire Should Go Down in History as an All-Time Tournament Performance,” proclaimed a Barstool Sports headline. Indeed, Siena’s starters played either the entire game or nearly the entire game. Gavin Doty led the squad with 21 points, Francis Folefac had 18 points and 7 rebounds, Brendan Coyle added a dozen to the scoreboard, and Justice Shoats dished out 7 assists. All of them were officially credited with 40 minutes of playing time (only Christian Jones came off the bench to tally a few seconds).
The consequences of the contest were immediate and perhaps not entirely in Siena’s favor. Their head coach Gerry McNamara, who joined the team just two years ago and led it to a MAAC tournament championship, was quickly scooped up by his alma mater Syracuse University, which recently finalized a deal to bring him aboard as their new head coach.
Despite losing their skipper, Siena will nonetheless enter next season with high hopes after an historic 2025-26. No doubt, Saratogians will tune in.
Ari Berliner (blue uniform) attacks an opponent in a bronze medal match. Photo provided.
WARSAW, POLAND — Ari Berliner (27) from the Jason Morris Judo Center in Glenville went 4-1 at 66kg to take a bronze medal at the Polish Open on March 14, earning valuable ranking points toward qualifying for the LA Olympics. This was Berliner’s second career European medal. Berliner moved up 5 spots on the 66kg world ranking list with this result and now sits at #51.
Skidmore pitcher Quinn Hocom broke his school’s career strikeout record with his 183rd career punch out in a home opener against Bard last Friday. Photo via DSWain Photography/Skidmore Athletics.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College’s baseball team made its first appearance at the new Ferrari Field in Saratoga last Friday by not only vanquishing Bard 16-5, but also etching a pitcher’s name in the record books.
Senior Quinn Hocom struck out 10 batters, breaking the program’s career record in the process with his 183rd career K. He passed Nick Laracuente for the most strikeouts in program history. Thus far this season, he’s tallied 32 punch outs in just three starts.
Also, in the home opener against Bard, Jack Riva drove in six runs as one of three players to hit homers. Quinn McDonald and Mac Cady also homered for Skidmore as it defeated the visiting Raptors in seven innings by run rule. Cady’s two-run dinger to left-center with two outs in the seventh ended the contest.
The next day, Skidmore split a road double header with Bard. In game one, which the Thoroughbreds won 12-3, Skidmore ran all over the Raptors with nine stolen bases, including a pair of home base steals. Nate Vandersea had three swipes, while Eddie Galvao added two. Four other players also registered steals. McDonald had three hits and two RBI in six trips to the plate. Starter Jack Collins allowed one run on five hits over six innings, walking just one and striking out five. Grayden Harris tossed the final three innings for the save.
In game two, which Skidmore lost 7-6, starter Chase Siegel allowed four runs before retiring the next nine hitters in a row.
After the three games last weekend, Skidmore improved to a 10-3 season record. They’ll play a doubleheader at home on Saturday, March 28 against RPI.
Photo via the Saratoga Springs City School District.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Elliot Lester and Adam Wolcz, juniors at Saratoga Springs High School, have been selected to represent Special Olympics New York at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minneapolis.
Lester and Wolcz will participate as part of the Youth Leadership Experience delegation and will be joined by Colleen Belanger, a Saratoga Springs High School Physical Education teacher and Unified coach.
The Special Olympics USA Games bring together thousands of athletes from all 50 states for a week of competition and celebration. The Youth Leadership Experience provides students of all abilities with the opportunity to play a role in their state’s delegation while gaining firsthand experience in organizing and supporting a large-scale event.
Participants gain insight into the many important roles carried out by volunteers and staff and take part in daily service-learning opportunities. In addition, participants will take part in all ceremonial events alongside their state delegation, Team New York.
At Saratoga Springs High School, Lester and Wolcz are members of the Unified basketball team. Wolcz also participates in Unified Bocce and Unified Bowling.
Saratoga Springs High School offers three Unified sports, and it earned National Banner Unified Champion School status in both 2020 and 2024.
Saratoga Catholic baseball players Kihl Kelly, Jason Pescetti, and Martin Elie at a signing day ceremony held at the Saratoga Central Catholic School on March 16. Photo by Jonathon Norcross.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Three members of the 2025 state champion Saratoga Catholic baseball team participated in a signing day ceremony on Monday. Kihl Kelly (SUNY Brockport), Jason Pescetti (Alfred State University), and Martin Elie (SUNY Adirondack) will all continue their playing careers at the collegiate level.
Head Coach Alphonse Lambert said Kelly would likely end up in the top five of various school career records, such as hits and games played, before he graduates later this year. He also said that Kelly, typically an outfielder, would spend some innings on the mound this season.
Pescetti, despite being towards the bottom of the Saints’ lineup last year, finished with a batting average above .400 and racked up 38 hits and dozens of RBI. Lambert said Pescetti would move up in the order this season. “His production last year was key to our success,” the coach said. Pescetti is a first baseman who has been playing the sport since he was only 3.
Elie was a defensive specialist in 2025 but is expected to have more opportunities to thrive at the plate in 2026. “Baseball has been my sport since I was 5 years old,” Elie told Saratoga TODAY. “I fell in love with it when I was 12, but my uncle passed away during that season, so I keep playing baseball to keep him close, and I’ve found love for the sport again at the same time.”
“All three guys, they’re just excellent people,” Lambert said. “Good student-athletes, good examples of Spa Catholic.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Jockey Club’s 2026 Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing will be held on Thursday, Aug. 6 at the Saratoga Springs City Center. Last year’s iteration of the annual event featured NBC News Correspondent Steve Kornacki as its keynote speaker. The 2025 conference was livestreamed on The Jockey Club’s website at jockeyclub.com.
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is seeking a full-time museum curator. The position is immediately available. The museum curator is responsible for exhibition development, installation, and maintenance of temporary and semi-permanent exhibitions; working in collaboration with the collections manager with collection, acquisitions, and conservation; responding to media and public inquiries about the exhibitions and permanent collections; maintaining communication between the curatorial department and the Collections and Exhibits Committee and Board of Trustees.
The position requires a B.A. in Museum Studies, History, or Art History with three to five years of experience in curatorial work. An M.A. in Museum Studies or related field and museum work experience is preferred. The position also requires knowledge of collections management and exhibition development procedures, in addition to the ability to prioritize, delegate, and work collaboratively on major projects. A strong attention to detail and superior organizational skills are essential. Knowledge of the thoroughbred racing industry and history preferred. Interested candidates should send resume, cover letter, and references to Jennifer Rickman at jrickman@racingmuseum.net.
The Racing Museum also recently unveiled its schedule for a series of three handicapping seminars leading up to the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2. Hosted by handicapper Tom Amello, the series will take place at the museum on the following dates:
• Saturday, March 28, 11 a.m. — featuring analysis of the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park and the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
• Saturday, April 4, 11 a.m. — featuring analysis of the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Race Course, Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park, and Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack.
• Saturday, April 25, 11 a.m. — Kentucky Derby handicapping seminar with Tom Amello and Michael Veitch. Analysis of key Kentucky Derby preps and predictions for the upcoming 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
Seminars are included with paid museum admission and are free for museum members. There will also be racing trivia during each seminar for a chance to win prizes.
Photo of Philip Matthews via Paul Smith’s College Athletics.
LAKE PLACID — Halfmoon native Philip Matthews, currently a junior at Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondacks, was crowned Overall Individual National Champion at the 2026 U.S. Collegiate Ski & Snowboard National Championships in Lake Placid last week.
Matthews’ title is awarded to the athlete with the best combined results across all championship races. He became the third Bobcat in program history to win the overall individual title, joining two-time champion Aidan Ripp and 2024 champion Dolcie Tanguay.
“This past week was a huge challenge for us as a team, but I think we handled it amazingly,” Matthews said. “For the first race, I told the boys we needed to come out of the gate swinging and we carried that energy throughout the week… Winning the overall individual championship was something that I wanted to do since I was a freshman and [I] really focused on that all year.”
Matthews is a graduate of Shenendehowa High School.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Lucille Murphy, the treasurer for the Saratoga Springs City School District, won the “Arnold” Weightlifting Classic competition in a clean sweep of her age/weight class earlier this month in Ohio.
It was the first leg of the Triple Crown to determine the 2026 champion.
Murphy was successful in lifting 77 kilos in the snatch class and 97 kilos in the clean and jerk class. She also won the total weight lifted category.
Murphy is a Saratoga Springs graduate who lives in Niskayuna. Her next competition will be held in April in Salt Lake City.
Last year, Murphy was crowned a women’s weightlifting champion at the 2025 Masters National Championships in Atlanta, Georgia.
Murphy was previously district treasurer for the Galway Central School District. For 11 years, she was also a youth rowing coach for the Saratoga Rowing Association.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A wonderful tonic effect, following a long and frigid winter, is provided when sunshine unlocks the soils and we once again hear a bat and ball, along with the slap of a glove. Hearing of pitchers and catchers reporting to camp buoys the spirit of eventual survival, and ignites that hope which springs eternal, as our season accelerates toward baseball.
During the dark days of the Second World War, due to restrictions for preserving all resources for the war effort, ballplayers were not allowed to travel south for spring training. Teams were restricted to northern climes, close to their home fields. These same strictures prevented thoroughbred racing in Saratoga in 1943-45.
The teams hurriedly developed facilities which included a large indoor structure for inclement days. The Red Sox drilled in Tufts University’s Cousens Gym, and when conditions allowed, nearby Fenway Park. The Phillies held training at the hockey arena at Hershey Park. The New York Giants and Yankees utilized large recreation facilities in New Jersey, and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Bear Mountain in the Hudson Highlands, with easy access to the vast field house of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Following the end of hostilities, the spring of 1946 saw nearly all teams returning to their pre-war southern locations, yet one operation considered the merits of remaining north. The Albany Senators had invited 50 players to their camp, nearly all of whom were returning servicemen, who had been away from their homes for extended periods.
For the reason of not demanding long-distance travel, the management of the team looked toward Saratoga Springs, and liked the juxtaposition of Recreation Field, the Armory on Lake Avenue and Convention Hall, the many operational restaurants and recreations, excellent rail connections and the dormant summer hotels awaiting track season.
The Albany Senators, defending champions of the Eastern League, were affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates and played their home games at Hawkins Stadium in Menands, which was a very large minor league facility. The grandstand was so extensive that it obstructed morning sunshine, where the overnight dew was slow to evaporate, preventing workouts until late in the day.
The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce—which since 1918 has played a key role in advocating for local businesses, fostering economic growth, and highlighting the region’s unique assets—was fully in favor of the Senators establishing camp at the Spa. Mayor Addison Mallery led team owner Tom McCaffrey on a tour of the local facilities, and the club president chose to domicile at the Normandie Hotel, a three-structure complex at that time on North Broadway.
Jim Collins, manager of the Senators, had been a first basemen on the Cardinals “Gashouse Gang” championship teams of the 1930s and during the manpower shortage of the war-years needed to insert himself into the lineup, where he was twice voted Eastern League MVP. A former Pennsylvania coal miner, Collins’ nickname was “Ripper,” as in “tear the cover off the ball.” The skipper, entering his fifth year in that position, was very enthusiastic over the new arrangement, citing many advantages over the team’s pre-war camp at Barnwell, South Carolina.
The Senators would be at their Saratoga camp for the entire month of April, beginning first getting their legs and wind into shape with drills, running, calisthenics, and pepper games that sharpened agility and built stamina. The latter part of the month involved exhibition games at Hawkins Stadium against teams returning north, with series scheduled against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Binghamton Triplets. The Eastern League season would begin in early May.
White cardboard signs with red lettering extending a welcome to the Albany Senators were placed on store fronts and in restaurant and tavern windows. The weather was far from perfect, yet the welcome was warm and sincere from Spa City residents.
Manager Ripper Collins had his pitchers try out a rubberized, electrically-heated jacket for the first time at Recreation Field, which he had developed to keep his hurlers warmed up when a game was delayed. The enterprising manager was also known for his clowning antics, both on and off the field, and proved to be a popular motivational speaker at many of the city’s civic functions.
Just prior to the Senators’ arrival, Saratoga Springs had voted to build a public library, and the team played an intersquad game at Recreation Field to help raise funds for the valuable facility that we enjoy in our time.
The Albany Senators finished the 1946 season as Eastern League runner-up, losing to the Hartford Chiefs in the playoffs. The entire year proved to be one of transition back to peacetime, with thoroughbred competition returning to Saratoga Springs, and yielding a single season as a spring training camp.
