By BILLY HEYEN All season long, Hayden Smith has delivered when called upon for Rayson Miller. With a loss Monday representing the end of RM's season, Smith ensured that wouldn't happen. Rayson Miller stayed alive at the state tournament with a 7-1 win over Maine-Endwell. Smith threw a complete game on the mound, allowing five hits and striking out six. The lefty-hitting … [Read more...] about Hayden Smith keeps Rayson Miller alive at state tournament
Hayden Smith
Rayson Miller’s pitching plan gets put to final test as RM falls to losers’ bracket
By BILLY HEYEN Rayson Miller's 2018 season ended in the state championship series, two wins shy of a title. The shortcoming was due in part to the pitching demands placed on a team coming out of the losers' bracket. This year, RM head coach Tom Sapienza didn't want to face that issue again, so he loaded up with even more talented arms than a year ago. Of course, Rayson … [Read more...] about Rayson Miller’s pitching plan gets put to final test as RM falls to losers’ bracket
Heyen: 9 lessons I’ve learned from two seasons of covering Rayson Miller
By BILLY HEYEN Rayson Miller Post 899 heads to the American Legion baseball state tournament in Utica this weekend. It’s the second-straight year at states for RM. As the prominence of Legion ball in Rochester has declined, Rayson Miller has remained a beacon of what it’s all about. Last year, I was able to go and cover states, and I followed RM for much of the last two … [Read more...] about Heyen: 9 lessons I’ve learned from two seasons of covering Rayson Miller
‘Locked in’: Hayden Smith remains nearly unhittable in Rayson Miller win
By BILLY HEYEN EAST IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — With the way Hayden Smith is going, all his teammates could do after Wednesday night’s game was joke. When Rayson Miller head coach Tom Sapienza went to offer Smith an ice cream coupon for another great performance, a couple of his teammates mocked incredulity. “But he gave up two hits,” Rayson Miller reliever Joey Kench … [Read more...] about ‘Locked in’: Hayden Smith remains nearly unhittable in Rayson Miller win
Owen VanNewkirk’s return to wood bat paying dividends as playoffs approach
By BILLY HEYEN EAST IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — Owen VanNewkirk went 5-for-7 during the first weekend of the American Legion season swinging a wood bat. But this year in District 7, players are allowed to swing metal for the first time. So as he saw his teammates make the switch, VanNewkirk went for it, too. After five games and a 2-for-14 skid, VanNewkirk reverted — back to the … [Read more...] about Owen VanNewkirk’s return to wood bat paying dividends as playoffs approach