Displaying items by tag: Saratoga Stampede

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Stampede 13U summer team hit a 17-game winning streak for their season.

“We played a total of 29 games…and we finished the season with a record of 23-5-1,”   said Phonsey Lambert, coach of the 13U team as well as the athletic director and baseball coach at Saratoga Central Catholic High School. 

“What was interesting is, we beat 18-14U teams, and one 17U team along the way,” Lambert said.

Lambert’s team was elevated in a tournament called Last Man Standing where they advanced to the championship game.

“They moved us up to the 14U level. They advanced us up there and we lost the championship game on a walk off base hit 4-3,” Lambert said. 

That loss ended the Stampede’s 17 game winning streak, but Lambert said he was impressed with how the team played this summer. 

“We had a great year and an outstanding season. The kids followed guidelines and they were hard workers. They were great listeners and they have a lot of talent on this team,” Lambert said.  “The kids played very well together during the summer and during these difficult times. We are very respectful towards each other and they are very coachable. The players were respectful of the new rules and regulations in this ever-changing world in our pandemic.”

Published in Sports
Thursday, 15 August 2019 15:35

HOME RUN: Stampede's History of Success

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Stampede Baseball League is back for another fall program of training, developing and strengthening up and coming local players. 

Saratoga Stampede is recognized as the oldest travel baseball program in Saratoga, since it’s conception in 2001. This year, the league is expanding to have a U13 team, alongside it’s U 14, U16 and U19 teams.

"We started it with the intention of trying to almost become a preparatory program for when kids advance age wise into college,” said Paul Mound, founder and one of the league coaches.

Alongside Mound, the baseball coach for Union College, Coaches Alfonso Lambert and Dale Long, the head and assistant coach of Saratoga Central Catholic varsity baseball team are the main coaches of the Stampede program. Aside from the expansive years of experience between the three of them, they are also in the New York State Hall of Fame.

Expert coaches lead to valuable training and educational opportunities for those who make it into the league. 

"Ninety-five percent of the boys who had played Stampede baseball over these 19 years have gone on to play college baseball," said Mound. 

Many of those players are former students of Ballston Spa High School, Saratoga Springs High School and Spa Catholic, who have gone on to play baseball at various colleges such as Siena and U Albany. 

"This program is designed for the player that really wants to continue to develop and excel in the game of baseball," said Mound. 

Throughout the program, the athletes will focus on developing their instructional skills, hitting, defensive baseball, base running as well as playing in a handful of games throughout the northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. 

This past summer new coaches, and Stampede alumni joined back into the league as coaches including Schuylerville High School’s head and assistant varsity baseball coaches Darin Renner and Tyler Green.

For more information on the league, visit Saratoga Stampede Baseball on Facebook, or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for registration information. 

Tryouts for the U13 and U14 teams will be held at the Eastside Recreation field at 6 p.m. August 19 and 21. The following week, August 26 and 27 at 6 p.m. at the Eastside Recreation Field, will be the U16 and U19 team tryouts.

Published in Sports

[Photos provided]

SARATOGA COUNTY — On Thursday, Nov. 9 two local gentlemen were inducted in the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame. Paul Mound, Union College baseball coach and creator of Saratoga Stampede, and John DeGregory, Schuylerville, a wellknown baseball player during his high school and college years at Sienna College. With over 400 people in attendance, MC Rodger Wyland, Sports Director for NewsChannel 13, spoke of Mound and DeGregory’s achievements in baseball, along with the other 14 members of the 2017 inductee class: Buffalo Bisons, Minor League Blue Jays Affiliate; Andy Van Slyke, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates; Paul O’Neill, New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds; BJ Surhoff, Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles; Shawon Dunston, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants; Marty Appel, New York Yankees Media, author; John Sterling, YES Network Announcer; Carl Yastrzemski, Boston Red Sox, Cooperstown Hall of Fame; Sandy Koufax, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers; CB Bucknor, Major League Umpire; Phil Schoff, Syracuse, St. Johnsville; Walt Weiss, Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies; Omar Minaya, New York Mets, MLB Players Association; and Andy Yager, upstate umpire.

“When you’re getting inducted side by side with all those Major League Baseball guys, it’s very humbling. It was professional all around, a very special night,” Mound said of the evening.

Mound has been coaching Union College baseball since 2011 and has led the Dutchmen to their fifth consecutive 20-win season, the longest active streak in the Liberty League. He is the third coach in the program history to reach the 150-career win mark.

“As I’m sitting there looking at the names of the people that are up on the podium in front of me, I’m sitting there going ‘what am I doing here?’” Mound laughed.

“I never got into doing all of this stuff to get recognized. I got into it simply because I love the game and I always wanted to give kids an opportunity like I had as a kid. When you start reflecting back on it, you think, ‘holy cow, I guess I did do more than I even realized I did,’” Mound said.

Mound’s high school baseball coach is also in the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame, along with three other people from his baseball organization, Saratoga Stampede.

DeGregory had a self-described, “very long and very productive career as a baseball player at whatever level I played at. Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the opportunity to play at the pro level but I played in Sienna, I played in Connecticut in the Norwich City League for two years, and in the Albany Twilight League,” DeGregory said.

DeGregory is no longer active in baseball, he is currently working at Newport News and has done so for the last 30 years. In his early adulthood, he tried out for the Houston Astros and was offered a playing contract with them that he turned down.

“There were some circumstances that I decided not to pursue the contract, I thought I would be given more opportunities and it just never happened that way but I was able to adjust and I have a great career in the naval nuclear program that I’ve been a part of for almost 35 years. I am really happy that although it didn’t work out for me in a baseball sense, I do have a very successful career outside of baseball,” DeGregory said.

“I was very honored to be a part of that ceremony and I am proud to be a part of that group of inductees and all of the other inductees over the years,” DeGregory stated.

“I would relive the night 100 times if I could,” Mound laughed.

“The event was fantastic, we were sold out. John DeGregory and Paul Mound were all well deserved, all gentlemen. They are well-respected within the local community. Paul is a tremendous success with Stampede and has done a remarkable job building Union baseball into a powerhouse. Degregory is the best hitter I ever saw, played with, or played against,” said Rene LeRoux, Executive Director of New York State Baseball Hall of Fame.

Published in Sports
Thursday, 21 September 2017 12:37

Saratogian Inducted Into NYS Baseball Hall of Fame

[Photos provided by Union College Athletics]

SARATOGA SPRINGS –  Union College baseball coach Paul Mound is being inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame on Nov. 12.

“There is a local organization that runs the only baseball hall of fame organization that is not affiliated with Cooperstown in the country, only New York State offers it. They recognize people that have had an impact on baseball and it doesn’t matter if that impact was professional, umpiring, or if it was sponsoring a little league baseball team. So if you’ve had a longstanding effect on kids in the game of baseball, that’s what gets recognized. In addition, there are some pretty impressive Major League Baseball (MLB) players who also get recognized,” Mound explained.

Coach Mound has been the head coach at Union College for the last seven years. His impact on the baseball program is unprecedented. When he took over the position, he knew that he had to start from the ground up and was very honest with his coaching staff and players.

“We broke every record in Union baseball history. We went 26 and 13 in 2013; I had the conference player of the year, Tyler Heck, in 2013. He was actually offered three MLB contracts as a free agent. In 2014 we won the conference title and the Liberty League Championship and advanced on to the NCAA and that was the first time Union had ever gone to NCAA. In 2016 we won the conference title and NCAA again. We’ve also won the Liberty League Championship three times in the last five years. It has been quite a run for us,” Mound remarked.

Baseball started at Union College in 1860 and was the first sport to ever be played on that campus. In 1860 and 2000, Union’s team won 20 games in a season. When Mound took over the program, the average win-loss record was eight and 28.

“We were abysmal,” Mound laughed, “and two years into my coaching there, we won the Liberty League Championship for the first time in the school’s history.”

“I would say that the program has been building under Coach Mound, I have lived it and I have seen it,” said David Peretti, former captain of the Union baseball team.

Originally from Amsterdam, Mound’s love of baseball started in high school. He played for a program in the 1970’s that held the Guinness Book of World Records title for the most consecutive wins in the history of the game. This record was only recently broken eight years ago. The team he played on in high school won 77 consecutive games.

“I had some pretty great teammates. My high school catcher was a guy named Gary Tuck. He was the Yankees catching instructor during the Joe Torre era and he was the guy responsible for converting Jorge Posada from a second baseman into a catcher,” Mound said nostalgically.

Mound also created the Saratoga Stampede Baseball Club in 2001. This is a travel baseball program that joined the American Legion Baseball League in 2005. Creating this league is also part of the reason he is being inducted. He also coached Saratoga Thunder, a softball team, for a number of years. They held an excellent record of 200 wins and 20 losses, approximately.

Mound was also inducted into the Amsterdam Baseball Hall of Fame in January.

Mound received the call in July that he was to be inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame.

“They called me in July. They said, ‘congrats you’ve made the cut and you’re going to be inducted on November 12 and here is a list of guys you’re going in with.’ To be honest with you, I said to the guy who runs the committee, ‘what am I even doing on that list?’ Just kind of crazy,” he explained in awe.

Three other Saratogians have been inducted over the years. Fonzie Lambert from Spa Catholic and Dale Wong, also from Spa Catholic, both inducted five years ago, and Pat Pepino who was inducted two years ago.

“To think that there are four of us in that short of a span inducted is extremely humbling,” Mound said.

Mound is assisted at Union College by his son Jeff Mound who is in his eighth year of coaching, Andy Brown, who is also in his eighth year of coaching, associate head coach Art McDonald, who has been coaching alongside Mound for 18 years, and pitching coach Ryan White who is in his second year coaching.

“My entire Union coaching staff, aside from Art, are all prior Saratoga Stampede players,” Mound explained.

He credits his success to the support of his players, community, and the city of Saratoga Springs.

His previous players have nothing but kind things to say about him.

“Coach Mound is really an amazing coach and guy. I’ve never done better than when I played under his wing. He’s the sort of guy who would do anything for you. He’s a great coach and a great guy. He really turned the program around and I don’t have enough positive things to say about him,” said Tyler Heck, former Union College baseball player, who played for three years under Coach Mound.

“What I appreciate from Coach is that he will match your investment and then some. If you showed him the passion and hard work, he would double that back for you. Whether this is in baseball, a job hunt, or whatever life is throwing at you, Coach was happy and proactive to help you get to where you wanted to go,” said Peretti.

“I don’t intend to stop,” Mound said, “I’m about 70 wins away from setting the all-time winnings coach record at Union College in their history. I intend to keep that rolling because that’s the goal I’ve had since the day I started there.”

Published in Sports

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