Sports

Press release:

Nominees are sought for the Batavia Blue Devils Athletic Hall of Fame. Nomination deadline is May 16.

The purpose is to recognize players, coaches and administrators who have attained a high degree of success in Batavia High School Athletics.

To nominate an individual you should either fill out the nomination form located under Athletics/Hall of Fame at www.bataviacsd.org or contact the Batavia High School Athletic Office at (585) 343 - 2480, ext. 2003.

CRITERIA:

1.  The Hall of Fame will recognize outstanding athletes, coaches, administrators and significant contributors. These might include worthy booster club presidents, parent volunteers, team doctors and other individuals who have contributed significantly to our athletic program.

2.  Athletes will become eligible five years after graduation and coaches five years after retirement from coaching. The same time frame will be used for significant others.

3.  The nominee must have made an outstanding contribution to his or her sport. Typically this would be attaining All County or All State honors, all-time leading scorer, winning a state championship, etc.. The nominee must have exemplified character while representing Batavia Athletics and also in his/her lives following graduation. He/she must be a positive role model, worthy of being emulated by current and future students.

4.  A member must continue to be a positive role model or they may be removed.

Bad weather is delaying the start of field repairs at Dwyer Stadium according to Muckdogs General Manager Dave Chase while other preparations for the 2018 New York Penn League season, which opens June 18, remains a work-in-progress.

There is a new phone number for the Muckdogs: (585) 483-DOGS (3647).

Today, new computers should arrive. Wi-Fi, with broadband from Empire Access, is working.

Ticket sales should begin around May 1.

Chase said staff has been working with Wilson Sporting Goods on new uniform jerseys (one red and one black).

Currently, field work is scheduled to begin Monday, provided there is a solid break in the weather, and should be completed in five to seven working days.

Anthony "Butchie" Ray, who starred in football and track and field over the past four years at Batavia High School, has accepted a scholarship offer from University at Buffalo.

UB is a Division 1 school so it's a chance to compete at the highest level in collegiate athletics.

"Getting a scholarship from a Division I school is amazing," Ray said. "I never dreamt of going to a Division I school." 

During his athletic career at BHS, Ray was a member of seven teams that won sectional titles and he won 10 individual sectional titles in track and field.

Six times he was named to a Greater All Rochester team in either football or track.

The Bulls recruited Ray to be part of the track team where he'll throw discus and shot put.

While Brockport isn't Division I, Ray could have played football there, so it was a tough decision, said Ray, who was part of three Section V title teams in football with the Blue Devils.

UB, he decided, was where he felt comfortable.

"I liked the school and the facilities," he said. "I liked the atmosphere. When I thought about it a second I thought, 'like, wow, a Division I school. That's crazy. I'll get to go where some of the greats go.' "

Photo: Track Coach Nick Burk, Ray, his father Tony Ray, in the front row. Back row, football Coach Brennan Briggs, Coach Dan Geiger, and Athletic Director Mike Bromley.

While there may still be flurries in the air and icy sidewalks, the Alumni Affairs Office at Genesee Community College is thinking about golf!

Registration is now open for the third annual Cougar Classic Scholarship Scramble scheduled for Monday, July 23, at the Stafford Country Club, 8873 Morganville Road (Route 237) in Stafford.

The Cougar Classic Scholarship Scramble allows up to 36 foursomes for the 18-hole event at the esteemed Stafford Country Club. Sign-in starts 11:30 a.m. with lunch available, and golfers tee off in "shotgun" style at 12:30 p.m. 

Registration is $125 per golfer and includes 18 holes of golf, a golf cart, all beer and nonalcoholic beverages during play, lunch and dinner with a cash bar, and much more!

To join the event for dinner only is $25.

Most importantly, all proceeds go directly to GCC Student Scholarship Program, making higher education possible for deserving students in our community.

The golfer registration form is also available online here.

Additional opportunities to sponsor GCC scholarships are available at a number of levels ranging from $100 to $3,000.

Sponsorships for golf games, including a putting contest, longest drive, closest to the pin, and beat the pro and other in-kind support efforts are also being accepted.

A sponsorship sign-up form with all donation details is available here and should be sent to Jennifer Wakefield at jgwakefiled@genesee.edu to reserve a sponsorship level.

Press release:

The Batavia “Babes on Blades” women’s senior hockey team finished off a strong season this year by competing in and winning the local annual Scottsville women’s senior hockey tournament last weekend.

In the first game, the Babes were down 5 to 3 in the second period before rallying to win 7 to 6. The second game against the host Scottsville team was a defensive battle with the Babes scoring the first goal of the game with 3 minutes left in the third period. The Babes scored an open net goal at the end of the game for a 2 to 0 win. In the third game, the Babes team’s offense exploded for 9 goals in a 9 to 2 win over Brockport.

The championship game ended up with a rematch against the host Scottsville team again. the Babes team scored early in the game and were able to maintain the lead throughout the hard-fought game for a 4 to 2 win.

Press release:

The Class-A Short-Season New York-Penn League and its member clubs are proud to announce that the league's philanthropic arm, the NYPL Charitable Foundation, will once again award more than $10,000 in scholarships this summer to deserving high school graduates from the league's 14 markets.

Now in its 10th year, the 2018 NYPL Scholarship Contest is open to any graduating senior from a public or private high school within the league's footprint. Any student who has been accepted at a two- or four-year college or university, vocational school, or technical education institution is eligible.

Applicants will be judged based on academic performance, volunteer and extracurricular activities, and the impact their local NYPL club and Minor League Baseball have had on their lives.

The scholarship contest will consist of two stages -- a local round and a league round. In the local stage, students will apply directly to their local NYPL team, with one applicant chosen by each of the 14 teams to advance to the league/final round. The 14 finalists will then be judged by league representatives.

Three applicants will be selected to receive the top prize of a $2,500 scholarship. All other finalists will receive a $250 book award.

“The New York-Penn League Charitable Foundation and our 14 member clubs are pleased to have the opportunity to assist outstanding high school seniors within our league’s footprint for the tenth consecutive season,” said Ben J. Hayes, president of the New York-Penn League.

“This program will again recognize those seniors who not only meet and exceed traditional scholarship criteria, but demonstrate the positive community impact and lifelong memories fostered by their local NYPL clubs throughout the year.”

High school seniors interested in entering the 2018 Scholarship Contest can obtain the official application from their local NYPL club, or by visiting the league's official website, NewYork-PennLeague.com.

The deadline to submit applications to the nearest NYPL team is June 4. Each club's winner, including the three $2,500 scholarship recipients, will be selected in mid-July.

By Tim Bojarski for Batavia Downs

Batavia -- James E. Boyd, age 83, of Batavia, New York, died peacefully Thursday April 5, 2018 at the Northgate Health Care Facility in North Tonawanda.

Widely known as "Gentleman Jim," Boyd took over the Batavia Downs track announcing duties from the legendary Max Robinson in 1984 and continued to call races there until it closed in 1996. He was also the announcer at Buffalo Raceway and called races at Finger Lakes racetrack.

Boyd called the richest race ever held at Batavia Downs, the $268,756 Breeders Crown aged-mare trot in 1988 won by Armbro Flori and also Getting Personal’s 1:53.3 track record in 1993.

“Jim was known for a very steady voice and very accurate calls,” Todd Haight, director/GM of Racing at Batavia Downs said. “Even though it’s been over 20 years since his retirement, our old-timers still ask about him.”

Besides calling the races, Jim was also a salesman in the Buffalo area for many years.

Boyd was born in Batavia, the son of the late Harry S. and Marjorie (Price) Boyd and was also preceded in death by his wife Josephine (Nevin) Boyd and siblings, Raymond, Robert, Ronald "Don" and Harry "Jack" Boyd.

He was a graduate of Batavia High School and Alfred State College and served honorably in the Army during the Korean conflict. Upon returning home he became a member of the Glenn S. Loomis Post #332 of the American Legion in Batavia and rose to the position of Post Commander.

Boyd is survived by his beloved daughter, Deborah (William) Evans, of Nevada, dear friends, Paula (Frederick) Leigh, of Batavia, along with many nieces and nephews.

The family will be present from 10 - 11 a.m. Thursday, April 12, 2018 at the Michael S. Tomaszewski Funeral & Cremation Chapel LLC located at 4120 W. Main Street Road, Batavia, New York 14020 where his Funeral Services will be celebrated at 11 a.m. by Jim's nephew, Rev. David Boyd.

He will be lain to rest alongside his beloved wife in Grand View Cemetery with military honors. In lieu of flowers, memorials in his memory are suggested to Volunteers for Animals of Genesee County.

The Batavia High School Varsity Softball Team is pictured above donating a check of $1,000 to board members of Genesee Cancer Assistance.

The team raised $3,000 during a Bat-a-thon fundraising event called "Strike Out Cancer" on March 24th at Batavia High School. It was a priority this season as a way to contribute to a local charity.

"This was something our team and program wanted to do to make a difference in our community," said first-year Coach Jim Fazio. "Our girls went above and beyond in all of our fundraising efforts and this seemed like a perfect place to show our support."

Head Coach Jim Fazio presents the check to Board Member Nickie Fazio, who coordinates the Simply Beautiful program, and office manager Teresa Potrzebowski​ of Genesee Cancer Assistance.

Press release:

Chapin International will be hosting its 11^th Annual Chapin Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 11, at Terry Hills Golf Course in Batavia.

Chapin has proudly selected Justice for Children as its charity to support this year. As in the past all funds collected will go directly to the charity.

Please join us this year supporting Justice for Children by a donation, sponsorship or participation. The tournament provides everyone an opportunity to contribute to this truly amazing charity.

Justice for Children was selected out of several other local charities by Chapin's Golf Committee. Many of you may not even know or have heard of Justice for Children. That is a good thing that you never have had a reason to need the services provided. The services are every discreet, provided to protect the privacy of the children in need. All services are free.

The golf tournament is modestly priced at $75 and includes 18 holes of golf with cart, lunch, and dinner. Shotgun start is at 1 p.m.

Every person will receive a prize. Opportunities will be available for chances to win a car in the Hole-in-One contest.

Three local car dealerships -- Ken Barrett, Castilone, and Toyota of Batavia -- offer cars for the contest. All participants will have two opportunities during the tournament to win.

Max Pies Furniture in Batavia will be again offering a lounge chair to the winner of the putting contest held during registration hours before the tournament starts.

Longest drive, closest to pin, and closest to the line will also be available for all during the event. Everyone at all skill levels will have a chance to win. Mulligans and Skins will be offered as well.

Please go to www.chapincharitygolf.com for registration or sponsorship opportunities.

Early registration is advised to avoid missing out, our event fills to capacity quickly.

For any questions or information contact Norm Hubbard, tournament director at nhubbard@chapincharitygolf.com or call/text 409-7575.

About Justice for Children

The Justice for Children GLOW Foundation is honored to be the beneficiary of the 11^th annual Chapin Charity Golf Tournament. The mission of the Justice for Children GLOW Foundation Inc. is to provide philanthropic support to enhance the work of the Justice for Children Advocacy Center and multidisciplinary team throughout Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming (GLOW) counties.

The support provided by Chapin will assist us in meeting our goal of ensuring that every child who comes to the Justice for Children Advocacy Center receives the care and support necessary to begin their journey toward healing.

Since opening in 1998, the Justice for Children Advocacy Center has served more than 2,500 children and their families who have been impacted by physical or sexual abuse. In 2018 alone, 287 children and their families benefitted from the services available at the Justice for Children Advocacy Center. These services include victim advocacy, forensic interviewing, mental health counseling, medical exams, and multidisciplinary case review.

The proceeds from the Charity Golf Tournament will be used to replace existing, outdated medical equipment with a state-of-the-art imaging system to be used on site at the Justice for Children Advocacy Center’s Batavia office. This equipment will improve our highly skilled medical providers’ ability to identify, diagnose, and document injuries that have been inflicted upon children who have been physically or sexually abused.

Additionally, this system will create opportunities for continuing education and peer review for our medical providers, allowing them to keep their skills sharp and up to date with current best practices. The welcome addition of this equipment will aid us in our goal of ensuring that all the children we help receive the highest quality care possible.

Batavia left-hander Mike Johnson, coming off his All-Events title in the Genesee Region USBC Association Tournament, rolled a 300 game in The North Pole League last Thursday at Mancuso Bowling Center.

Johnson finished with a 686 series, second to another Batavia lefty, Rich Wagner, who posted a 277 game and 755 series.

For more high rollers across the Genesee Region last week, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

Genesee Region USBC Association Tournament produces numerous high scores. Click on Pin Points at the top of the page for Mike Pettinella's latest column.

-----------------------

Unity is a good thing, especially when it brings together students with development disabilities with same-aged, non-disabled students for competition on the bowling lanes.

For the first time, Medina Central School took part in the North Division of the Unified Bowling League – a Section 6 program that took place throughout the month of February.

The Medina team squared off against four schools – Newfane, Clarence, Sweet Home and Akron – winning all four matches, before taking first place in a season-ending tournament at Brad Angelo Lanes in Lockport against those schools plus Starpoint and Niagara Falls.

Each team had eight bowlers – four special education and four regular bowlers – who took part in two-man Baker style (where bowlers alternate frames) matches.

“It was a positive experience for everyone involved, including the coach,” said Rob Dennis, director of transportation for Medina schools who served as the team’s director and coach.

Dennis said the team had five special education students along with many student partners. Team members were Ian Wagner, Jessica Granchelli, Lydia Bataglia, Ian Joseph, Elissa Blount, Morgan Allis, William Brazwell, Alex Allis, Morgan Crossett, Brandie Carson, Jackson Touhey, Enzo Gulliani, Joe and Tom Biacelli, Gracie Cogovan and Steven Secore.

“We couldn’t have been successful without the support of Eric Greenlief, Jim Foss and Tom Allis from the bowling center along with proprietors Gerry Allen, Dr. David Stahl and Chris Bacon,” Dennis said. “My team practiced well over 80 games in this short season, and the lanes supported all our students in this new program.”

Dennis, who is a certified coach through the United States Bowling Congress and coordinator of Medina’s youth bowling program (with his wife, Tina), also thanked Athletic Director Eric Valley, Superintendent Mark Kruzynski and the Medina School Board for their support.

On Saturday March 24th the Batavia girls softball program held a Bat-a-thon called "Strike Out Cancer." The event raised more than $3,000 by all three teams in the program, from Modified-JV-Varsity.

The players did a tremendous job getting sponsors and each player was given the opportunity to hit 20 pitches in the batting cage.

For each ball hit, the girls raised money for the softball program and Genesee Cancer Assistance (GCA). GCA Board Member Nickie Fazio was on hand for the event.

"The girls did a great job with this wonderful event and I couldn't be more proud of them," Nickie Fazio said. "It is so nice to be able to contribute to our community."

"Thank you to everyone for their generous support," said Coach Jim Fazio.

Photos and story submitted by BHS softball team.

Press release:

The Batavia/Genesee County Police and Fire Ice Hockey Team is playing in the third Annual Police and Fire Hockey Tournament in Buffalo this April.

The Batavia/Genesee County Police and Fire team is comprised of members of the City of Batavia Police Department, City of Batavia Fire Department, Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, and Town of Batavia Fire Department.

The tournament is played at Harbor Center in Downtown Buffalo, and has participants from law enforcement and fire departments from all over the Northeast and Canada. This year’s tourney is April 20th and 21st.

The team is greatly appreciative of its sponsor, Kenny Mistler, owner of Ken’s Charcoal Pits and Bar-B-Q, located at 59 Main St., Batavia. Kenny has continued to support first responders in the community, and this is the second year of helping the team participate in this tournament.

For those wishing to watch some exciting, fast-paced hockey at no cost, and cheer their local first responders on, head to Buffalo this April!

Submitted photo: This year's team with sponsor Kenny Mistler and mascots Sammy and Diesel.

The Batavia Ramparts 18U Empire team won the Rock and Roll Tournament championship this past Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio.

The team won all three preliminary games leading up to Sunday's final where they won by a score of 6-1.

Photo and information provided by Michael Freeman.

From the Zonta Club at Batavia High School:

Let Us Learn Madagascar 5K Run/Walk, sponsored by Batavia High School’s Zonta Club, will be held on Sunday, April 29.

Z-Club members are excited to invite you to participate in this charity run/walk that benefits educating girls in Madagascar.

Registration at 1 p.m., race begins at 2. The race starts and ends on Denio Street, near the Muckdogs' baseball field.

Race Entry: $15 for individuals (prior to April 29); $20 race day registration; $50 for a team registration of five runners/walkers. *Teams need to combine and submit registration forms.

If you have any questions feel free to contact:

• mlholsopple@bataviacsd.org
• jcorbelli@bataviacsd.org
• ldisanto@bataviacsd.org

Teams representing Mancuso Bowling Center and Mount Morris Lanes are in first place in the Open and Women's Team divisions, respectively, after the first of two weekends of the 12th annual Genesee Region USBC Association Tournament at Mount Morris Lanes (Team event) and Livingston Lanes in Geneseo (Doubles & Singles events).

Go to www.bowlgr.com for for unofficial standings through Sunday, March 18.

Competition resumes on Friday and there are plenty of openings for both Team and Doubles/Singles events. To enter, contact Mike Pettinella, GRUSBC association manager, at 585-861-0404 or at mikep@bowlgr.com.

In the Open Team event, Barber's Five (Mancuso's) leads the way with 3,336, followed by Medina Lanes at 3,204. Gerry Barber paced his team with 673 scratch while Aaron Verheyn posted 731 and Ray Neuman 712 for the Medina squad.

In the Women's Team event, King & Her Court is in first place with 2,444 (four person team) and Hawks (Medina Lanes) are in second at 2,408. Karen Henry's 548 series led the King & Her Court team, captained by Jan King.

Other event leaders:

Open Doubles -- Mike Cunningham and Chris Huntz (Perry Bowling Center), 1,343; John Wolff and Ron Lawrence (Mancuso's), 1,335.
Women's Doubles -- Cathi Fournier and Karen Henry (Mount Morris Lanes), 1,251.
Open Singles - John Wolff, 744; Chuck Bobo (Mancuso's), 678.
Women's Singles -- Cathi Fournier, 628.
Open All-Events -- Gregg Wolff (Mancuso's), 1,943; Casey Palmer Sr., 1,935.
Women's All-Events -- Cathi Fournier, 1,996.

Competition will take place in three divisions -- Open (men and women), Women and Scratch (men and women). In the Open and Scratch divisions, teams are comprised of five players; in the Women's division, teams consist of four players.

Handicap is set at 90 percent of 215 in the Open and 90 percent of 200 in the Women's.

Entry fees are $25 per person per event and $10 for optional All-Events.