The diamond was cold and windy last Thursday when the Voorheesville Blackbirds played a non-league game against Mohonasen at home. The Birds kept it close for four innings, being tied 1 to 1, but the Warriors flexed their muscles and downed the young Birds, 9 to 1.

On Tuesday morning at the Appel Inn in Guilderland. The YMCA held a breakfast to honor the students of five school districts on their volunteerism along with a few educators as well.

Getting off on the right foot: Both the Guilderland girls and Voorheesville boys won lacrosse games this week. The Dutch faced Columbia at home on Tuesday afternoon and won a barn burner, 14-to-12, while the Blackbirds, also at home, on Monday easily beat Cambridge, 11 to 6.

Even when temperatures plummeted, the athletes from Guilderland, Berne-Knox-Westerlo, and Voorheesville made sure they brought the heat to their opponents in sectional and state competition this winter sports season.

Guilderland and Guilderville athletes took to the bright lights and the big stage of state competition this past weekend in gymnastics, swimming, and track.

The Voorheesville boys’ volleyball team, 11-2, look to take their fourth straight Class C/D sectional title on Wednesday evening at Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School against undefeated Germantown.

On Sunday morning, Guilderland’s top indoor track athletes looked to punch their tickets to the state competition on Staten Island this Saturday. Isabella Bruno, Jordon Kimbrough, and Nick Soldevere qualified.

The next step for each of the athletes on the Guilderland, Voorheesville, and Berne-Knox-Westerlo indoor track teams is to compete in this Sunday’s state qualifiers for a chance to head to the state competition on March 2 on Long Island.

The Guilderland-Voorheesville boys’ swim team, in the Section 2 championships at Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park on Friday and Saturday, looked to lock down more qualifications for the March 1 and 2 state competition.

The Voorheesville Blackbirds are in a good spot to defend their Section 2 title as the regular season winds down. On Friday evening at home, the Blackbirds did just that and a whole lot more. The Birds faced off against Watervliet — with a shortened bench — and won easily, 82 to 56.