By BILLY HEYEN Rochester Institute of Technology pitcher Stevie Branche signed an undrafted free agent contact with the Cincinnati Reds on Monday morning, according to the RIT baseball Twitter account. The right-handed pitcher from New Paltz, N.Y. becomes the first Rochester-area player acquired by an MLB team during 2020’s altered draft cycle. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, … [Read more...] about RIT’s Stevie Branche signs undrafted deal with Cincinnati Reds
Inside Hunter Walsh’s week of pain that led to a state final no-hitter
By BILLY HEYEN Tony Fuller turned to Hunter Walsh late in the 2019 state semifinal and asked his McQuaid ace if he could give him an inning. Never in four years had Walsh answered that question in anything but the affirmative. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to rush anything,’” Walsh said. “Ryan (O’Mara’s) in his groove, I was like, ‘You know what? No. I’m not doing … [Read more...] about Inside Hunter Walsh’s week of pain that led to a state final no-hitter
MLB Draft 2020: Primer for upstate NY baseball fans
By BILLY HEYEN The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft takes place on Wednesday and Thursday. In a standard year, the draft might’ve taken on a heavy upstate New York flavor. Much more is uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though, as the draft has been reduced from 40 rounds to five that will total 160 selections. There is still a chance one or two upstate … [Read more...] about MLB Draft 2020: Primer for upstate NY baseball fans
Rochester-native George Mogridge shone in MLB on June 9th
By BILLY HEYEN Before Ruth and Gehrig, one of the New York Yankees' first standouts was left-handed pitcher George Mogridge, a native of Rochester, N.Y. who attended (and played baseball at) the University of Rochester. Mogridge had many shining moments in his MLB career, including a no-hitter, but it was on June 9th that he had some of his biggest … [Read more...] about Rochester-native George Mogridge shone in MLB on June 9th
Rochester-born Bernie Boland shut down the Yankees on June 5, 1917
By BILLY HEYEN Bernie Boland's timing may have been fortunate. A few years later and he would've had to contend with Ruth and Gehrig in the heart of the New York Yankees order. But on June 5, 1917, the Rochester-born Boland only had to put up with Wally Pipp in the cleanup spot. That day, Boland threw a complete game to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-4 victory in the second … [Read more...] about Rochester-born Bernie Boland shut down the Yankees on June 5, 1917