Saratoga Softball Falls in Class AA Semifinals Annual Father’s Day Kids’

Fishing Derby to be held June 18

SARATOGA SPRINGS —

The annual Father’s Day Kids’ Fishing Derby returns to Lake Lonely this year, offering a chance for fathers and their children to bond while competing for prizes.

Held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Father’s Day, June 18, the derby is free to attend, and is for children aged 14 and under, to be accompanied by an adult guardian. Free hot dogs, chips, and beverages will be served, and prizes will be awarded.

The derby is sponsored by a variety of local organizations and businesses, including the Saratoga Basspointers Club, the Fraternal Order of Eagles No. 2586, Saratoga Springs Professional Firefighters Union No. 343, Saratoga Springs Recreation Department, SaratogaWilton Elks Lodge No. 161, D&D Marine Services, Saratoga Tackle, Wiggly Worm, and more.

It takes place rain or shine.”

The derby offers prizes for several categories: pike, sunfish, bass, and pickerel. Mintzer said prizes are given out by age group, with the three largest catches in each age group receiving a prize.

“It’s all catch and release, and we give prizes out for age groups for the first, second, and third-biggest fish,” Mintzer said. “We try to make sure as many kids walk away with something (as possible).”

Fathers and guardians are not allowed to fish, instead assisting their children. Mintzer said a majority of children who participate are between the ages of five and ten, saying, “They just get a thrill out of it.”

COLONIE — The Saratoga Springs varsity softball team saw its season come to an end on Tuesday, falling 4-2 to top-seeded Colonie in the Section 2 Class AA semifinals.

The Blue Streaks, who were the defending Section 2 Class AA champions, earned the #5-seed in the sectional tournament after finishing 13-7 overall and 8-5 in the Suburban Council. Saratoga beat #4-seed Ballston Spa 1-0 in the Class AA quarterfinals on May 18, setting up a matchup with #1-seed Colonie.

The Raiders struck quickly on Tuesday, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. An RBI single by Gabby Baumann scored Jenny Shafer, with a sacrifice fly from Adrianna Laraway extending the lead to two runs.

Colonie added another run in the third, with Taylor Quinn leading off the inning with a double before stealing third and scoring on an error, making it 3-0.

The Blue Streaks wouldn’t go down easily, however. With two outs in the fourth, back-toback singles by Sarah Decker and Natalie Conroy put two runners on, and Nia Law drove home both with a double to left field, cutting Colonie’s lead to 3-2.

Saratoga was unable to scratch another run across, however, and the Raiders responded with an RBI single by Katie Parisi in the sixth, scoring Shafer to extend the lead to 4-2.

In the top of the seventh, the Blue Streaks put the first two runners on base via an error and a walk, but Laraway, Colonie’s pitcher, retired the next three batters to seal a 4-2 victory for the Raiders.

Laraway threw a complete game, earning the win while allowing two earned runs on six hits. She struck out six batters and walked two. Offensively, Quinn was 1-3 with a double, while Parisi and Baumann had RBI singles. Shafer and Kora Juliano each added base hits, while Laraway also had an RBI.

For Saratoga, Jackie Cutting threw six innings, allowing four runs, all unearned. Cutting allowed five hits, striking out two batters with no walks allowed. At the plate, Law was 1-3 with a tworun double, while Decker, Conroy, Cutting, Olivia Tetreault, and Ava Goodman all recorded singles.

Stuart Mintzer, a co-founder of the Saratoga Basspointers Club, said the club began assisting the Fraternal Order of Eagles with running the derby, and currently helps with marketing, advertising, promotion, and running the event. Bruce Jones and John Huppuch are also co-founders of the Basspointers Club.

Mintzer said the derby seems to get “bigger and bigger” each year.

“I think the last year, we had over 100 people between parents and kids in attendance,” said Mintzer. “Maybe more (this year), but certainly close to that for sure.

Members of the Basspointers Club volunteer to help run the derby on Father’s Day. The derby also features appearances from the Saratoga Springs Fire Department, who bring a firetruck, and the Saratoga Springs Police Department, who bring their horseback team for photos and interaction with the children.

Mintzer also mentioned that the New York State Office of Environmental Conservation has been involved in recent years, promoting the philosophy of “fishing as a sport with conservation in mind.”

“Which is why we want to do catch and release and promote catch and release. Artificial bait rather than live bait,” Mintzer said. “We just love spreading the word about fishing and conservation, and just how nice our local waters are.”

The derby offers a chance for a unique experience on Father’s Day, with Mintzer saying, “People are really looking for something different to do.”

“I mean, what better thing for a father to do than to take his kid fishing?” said Mintzer. “It kind of panned out that there’s more people than we thought that are looking for something like this. More and more came as we helped promote the event. It’s just become this event that we’re really proud to be a part of.”

The Father’s Day Kids’ Fishing Derby will be held June 18 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Lake Lonely, at 373 Crescent Ave in Saratoga Springs. For more information, call 518-587-3421.