Softball Game Preview: Albany Falcons vs. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Spartans

Albany is 0-3 against Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake since April of 2022 but things could change on Monday. The Falcons will venture away from home to challenge the Spartans at 4:15 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Albany is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Schenectady get on the board and left with a 15-0 win on Friday. The Falcons not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since May 1, 2024 (when they won 20-0).

Meanwhile, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it seven on Saturday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against the Bombers. Two seems to be a good number for the Spartans as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Ava Yahoudy spent all nine innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on seven hits and racked up 18 Ks. She has been consistent: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Bailey Dinon was incredible, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run.

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake pushed their record up to 11-2 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Albany, their win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-10.

Albany suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can the Falcons avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.