By BILLY HEYEN UTICA, N.Y. — Jason Bocklage tossed his bat to the side, then his helmet. Colin Smith chucked his helmet behind him, as well. The Rockland Pirates, just 60 feet, six inches away, piled atop each other near the pitcher’s mound. Minutes later, Rayson Miller posed for pictures with a runner-up trophy, with […]
By BILLY HEYEN UTICA, N.Y. — Before Rayson Miller’s game at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Kevin Sheppard was warming up to start on the mound. That wouldn’t have normally been unusual, as he’d already started four games this season for Rayson Miller before Tuesday. It was unusual on Tuesday, though. That’s because Sheppard started Rayson Miller’s […]
By BILLY HEYEN UTICA, N.Y. — Rayson Miller’s Sam Cestra lifted his leg for the 1-2 pitch and fired. Fastball, right over the plate, and right past a swinging bat and into Jourdan Plaisted’s glove. Plaisted pumped his fist in sync with his battery-mate. Rayson Miller had looked in control for five innings. Then in […]
By BILLY HEYEN Mike Krzyzewski has been head coach at Duke since 1980. Jim Boeheim has been head coach at Syracuse since 1976. They’re two of the longest-tenured active coaches with one team in sports. Tom Sapienza, Rayson Miller’s head baseball coach, has them both beat. He began coaching Rayson Miller in 1974, making this […]
By BILLY HEYEN What: New York state American Legion baseball tournament When: Rayson Miller’s first game: Saturday, July 28 at 12 noon; double-elimination with one game each day for RM until two losses ends tournament; championship on Wednesday, August 1 Where: Murnane Field in Utica, New York Who: District 7 champions Rayson Miller v. District […]
By BILLY HEYEN EAST IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — Bases loaded. Two outs. Bottom of the seventh. Winning run on third. Rayson Miller couldn’t have asked for a better spot for the hottest hitter in District 7, Jason Bocklage, to come to the plate with a chance to send his team to the state tournament. “J Bock […]
By BILLY HEYEN EAST IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — Irondequoit Post’s Chad Gartland ripped the 2-2 pitch from Rayson Miller’s Kevin Sheppard back up the middle. He couldn’t have hit it much harder, right at the right hip of Sheppard. But Sheppard had his glove in the right place at the right time, snaring the ball backhanded […]
By BILLY HEYEN After two semifinal series, it’s the favorites that will meet in the championship. Rayson Miller and Irondequoit Post will play a best-of-three series to determine which team gets to move on to the American Legion state baseball tournament and which team heads home. Here’s a preview of the championship series. How they […]
By BILLY HEYEN EAST IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — Greece Post’s Michael Mule turned on a ball and sent it to deep right field. He’d been hitting line drives all postseason. But on Tuesday, the game wasn’t about Mule. It was about the guy in right field, Rayson Miller’s Jason Bocklage. Bocklage turned and took off as […]
By BILLY HEYEN Top-seeded Rayson Miller expected to win both games Sunday, said head coach Tom Sapienza. But Greece Post was able to pull out the first game of the doubleheader, 6-5. Rayson Miller controlled most of game two, eventually winning 11-7. That forced a decisive third game to decide whether the one or the four […]