SUMMER BOOK SALE – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Browse through used books of many genres, including nonfiction, arts and crafts, children’s books, cookbooks and much more to support your local library. Cost, $1-$2 for most books. Thru July 4. Cooperstown Village Library. 607-547-8344 or visit www.facebook.com/VillageLibraryOfCooperstown/
CONCERT – 7:30 p.m. Kimberley Hawkey to perform mix of songs from Jazz, Broadway, and folk. She will be joined by pianist/vocalist Loren Daniels, bassist Evan Jagels, and drummer Graeme Francis. Music charge, $15. Origins Cafe, 558 Beaver Meadow Rd., Cooperstown. 607-437-2862 or visit www.celebrateorigins.com
HISTORICAL SOCIETY RETURNS – 7 p.m. The Fly Creek Area Historical Society returns for its first meeting in about a year. They haven’t been idle though. Come see how they’ve updated the exhibits, what they’ve done to their building, and there’s more to talk about. Refreshments available, doors open for circulation. Social distancing observed, masks optional. Free, open to public. The Old Grange Building, Cemetery Rd., Fly Creek.
HOME GAME – 7 p.m. Local baseball team Oneonta Outlaws Vs. Albany Dutchman. Damaschke Field, Oneonta. 607-432-6326 or visit www.facebook.com/oneontaoutlawsbaseball/
Run to support the Susquehanna SPCA. This year the shelter is partnering with three local breweries to raise funds for animals in need. The 0.5K Fun Run is a kid-friendly event beginning at 8:30 a.m., the 5K at 9:15, and the 10K at 9. There will also be a pet parade with prizes. Cost is $10 for ages 13+ in the 0.5K, $30 for adults in the 5K and 10K. Age-appropriate drinks will be provided to the runners. Winners will have an adoption sponsored in their names. Starts at Brewery Ommegang, 656 Co. Hwy. 33, near Cooperstown, on Saturday, June 19. Call 607-547-8111 or visit sqspca.org/fetching-brews-run-walk/.
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Celebrate the liberation of the last enslaved people in the U.S. this Juneteenth. Live music, free food, art from local artists, speeches, and more. 3 p.m. Neahwa park, Oneonta. Saturday, June 19. Visit stayhappening.com/e/juneteenth-E2ISTOP8XG7.
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Hang out at Fire Pit Friday with friends and enjoy The Beadle Brothers live performance of modern country music, from 7 to 10 p.m., at Brewery Ommegang, 656 county Route 33, near Cooperstown. Friday, June 18. Call 607-544-1800 or visit www.ommegang.com/concerts-events/.
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Get the teens out of the house for fun game of Fizzball with the Teen Center and Otsego Pride Alliance. Bring a garbage-bag smock, goggles and get ready to have some fun. New players are welcome. At 7 p.m., Friday, June 18. Meet at The Skatehouse, Neahwa Park in Oneonta. Call 607-441-3999 or visit www.facebook.com/oneonta.teencenter.
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The Oneonta Outlaws will host the Amsterdam Mohawks. Children 18 and under get free admission, sponsored by SFCU. 7 p.m., Thursday, June 17. Damaschke Field in Oneonta.
WRITERS SALON – 7:30 p.m. Open mic followed by presentation by Marly Youmans, author of eight novels, 2 Southern fantasies, an adventure in blank verse, and 4 collections of poetry. Free, open to public. Presented through Zoom by the Community Arts Network of Oneonta. 607-432-2070 or visit www.canoneonta.org/event/writers-salon-marly-youmans/?instance_id=1203
ONEONTA TOUR – 7 p.m. Join Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig on walking tour with Bob Bob Brzozowski and learn about the results and plans of the Down Town Revitalization Initiative. Admission by donation. Presented by Greater Oneonta Historical Society. Oneonta History Center, 183 Main St., Oneonta. 607-432-0960 or visit www.oneontahistory.org/index.htm
HOME GAME – 7 p.m. Local PGCBL baseball team, the Oneonta Outlaws will host the Albany Dutchman for the team’s home opener at Damaschke Field in Oneonta. 607-432-6326 or visit www.facebook.com/oneontaoutlawsbaseball/.
HOME GAME – 7 p.m. Local baseball team Oneonta Outlaws Vs. Mohawk Valley Diamon Dawgs. Damaschke Field, Oneonta. 607-432-6326 or visit www.facebook.com/oneontaoutlawsbaseball/
Decorate your car for pride and join the Otsego Pride Alliance to parade down Main Street Oneonta. Will be followed by socially distanced remembrance ceremony for the LGBTQ+ community in Neahwa Park. Begins at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 5. Call 607-386-1508 or visit www.facebook.com/otsegopride/.
By GREG KLEIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
After a one-year hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Oneonta Outlaws will return for a 2021 summer baseball season.
The team will again be part of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, competing in the Eastern Division.
The Outlaws will open the season Thursday, June 3, with a 7 p.m. game at Saugerties. The home opener will be at 7 p.m., Friday June 4, when Oneonta hosts Mohawk Valley at Damaschke Field in Oneonta’s Neahwa Park.
The Outlaws are scheduled to play 46 games in June and July, with half at home. The PGCBL has said some games may not be played if COVID protocols are required.
However, the team officials said they are optimistic about the season and the team’s ability to host fans for games.
Joe Hughes, Oneonta High School’s longtime baseball coach, returns to coach the Outlaws in 2021, with Eric Downey as his assistant coach.
“Any return to normalcy is good for the community and good for people in general,” Hughes said. “It’s like everything is moving in the right direction, so we look forward to having some baseball.”
The team features two Oneonta players, Tanner Beang and Keaton Mark, as well as former Gilboa pitcher Cole Fancher.
“It is good to have some local players,” Hughes said. “My former players at Oneonta are now playing well in college. Tanner Beang had a good year at Binghamton. Keaton Mark had a good year at the plate. Keaton could always hit well and he is still doing it in college.”
Beang, a 2018 OHS graduate, played at Binghamton University in 2021, after a year at College of Saint Rose. He was the Bearcats closer, pitching 10 times during the season, with a 4-0 record, one save and a 3.78 ERA.
Mark, a 2017 OHS graduate, finished his senior season this month at Heidelberg University in Tiffen, Ohio. He was named first team all-Ohio Athletic Conference in right field, where he started all 41 games this season for the Student Princes. Mark hit .396 with 15 doubles, 12 stolen bases, 40 RBI and a slugging percentage of .610.
Fancher, a 2018 Gilboa Central School graduate, has appeared in 19 games as a pitcher for Dominican College in Orangeburg. He was 1-1 in 2021, and is 7-1 with three saves in three seasons.
Other local players are Marcus Cashman from Norwich, who is playing at Niagara University and Anthony VanFossen from Endwell, who is playing at SUNY Oswego.
The Outlaws roster is filled with players who play at New York colleges, including Binghamton, Iona, Marist, Herkimer Community College and SUNY schools in Cobleskill and Oswego.
However, not all the players are local. Yuzuki Okamura, who started at catcher for Herkimer CC this season, is from Shiga, Japan.
“We’re excited to have him, especially because he is a catcher,” Hughes said.
“We have a good sampling of players from local colleges and various places around the country,” Hughes said. “We have some (NCAA) Division I players. We have a player from Yale. We have a player from Wofford, which is a good Division I program. And Binghamton is Division I, also.”
The early season will be hectic from Hughes, as OHS is still playing. The Section IV Class B baseball tournament is scheduled to take place June 8, 10 and 12, Hughes said, with seedings to be determined Saturday, June 5. Oneonta is 6-2 against Class B schools, Hughes said and should be guaranteed a playoff spot.
“For those 10 days or so, I’ll be trying to pull a rabbit out of my hat, trying to coach the Outlaws and the high school team at the same time,” Hughes said. “I’ll find a way to make it work.”
Go to www.oneontaoutlaws.com for more information.
By CHAD G. WELCH • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
At the beginning of the 2021 baseball season, Coker University senior outfielder Riley Hall had five career collegiate home runs. He matched that total Saturday, April 3, during a doubleheader at the University of Virginia-Wise.
Hall, a 2017 graduate of Cooperstown Central School and former Oneonta Outlaw, hit two home runs in the first game and three more in the second game to pace the Cobras, who combined for ten homers in the sweep, an 18-1 victory that was shortened to five innings by run rule and an 11-5 win, respectively.
Hall also hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh of an 8-4 loss in the seven-inning opening game of the series Friday, April 2. Coker beat the Cavaliers, 10-4, in the nine-inning second game.
With the series win, the Cobras improved their overall record to 13-16 and 12-11 in conference play and moved into seventh place in the 13 team South Atlantic Conference.
Coker University is an NCAA Division II school in Hartsville, South Carolina.
JOB FAIR – 9 a.m. – Noon. Job seekers meet up to 25 local employers without leaving the car. Just follow the signs, keep your mask on, and get flyers/applications for employers in many different sectors that are currently hiring. Parking Lot, Oneonta Outlaws, Damaschke Field, Neahwa Park, Oneonta. 607-432-4500 or visit members.otsegocc.com/events/details/drive-thru-job-fair-in-damaschke-field-parking-lot-neahwa-park-oneonta-388
ONEONTA – Here’s a chance to get a job without getting out of your car.
The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce and CDO Workforce are planning a “Drive Thru Job Fair!” 9 a.m.-noon this Thursday, Aug. 13, in the parking lot of Damaschke Field for a Drive Thru Job Fair.
Job seekers have access to 25 local employers, according to Alan Sessions, CDO Workforce coordinator.
ONEONTA – The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, which includes the Oneonta Outlaws, has cancelled its 2020 season, PGCBL President Robert Julian announced today.
“We recognize this is a great disappointment to our collegiate players, to our fans, our host communities, and the dedicated staff and owners who have spent so much of their lives making the league a vibrant part of collegiate baseball and the American baseball fabric,” said Julian. “The dynamic of this crisis requires cancellation.”
Jerry Ford, founder & president of Perfect Game USA, parent of the regional PGCBL, said concerns about health and safety drove the decision.