Saturday, August 20, 2005
'Dogs, Mallers clash of titans
August 20, 2005
By Keith Goldberg
Times Herald-Record
kgoldberg@th-record.com
Terrell Baity was ready to start his second season with the Orange County Bulldogs.
But on May 25, a softball changed those plans. Specifically, a softball to the New Windsor resident's face, breaking his jaw. Baity didn't return to the football field until last weekend, when the Bulldogs blanked the Scranton Eagles 36-0 – their third shutout of the Empire Football League season. It took a few plays for the 28-year-old linebacker and 1996 James I. O'Neill graduate to feel comfortable again. "It was nerve-wracking the first three or four hits," Baity said.
By Keith Goldberg
Times Herald-Record
kgoldberg@th-record.com
Terrell Baity was ready to start his second season with the Orange County Bulldogs.
But on May 25, a softball changed those plans. Specifically, a softball to the New Windsor resident's face, breaking his jaw. Baity didn't return to the football field until last weekend, when the Bulldogs blanked the Scranton Eagles 36-0 – their third shutout of the Empire Football League season. It took a few plays for the 28-year-old linebacker and 1996 James I. O'Neill graduate to feel comfortable again. "It was nerve-wracking the first three or four hits," Baity said.
He's comfortable now. And just as obsessed with perfection as the rest of his teammates on a defense that's allowed just 17 points this season. "We know, unless we kill ourselves with mistakes, we believe no one can score on us," Baity said. "We plan on going in (games) and getting a shutout."
That won't be an easy task tonight at Monroe's Smith Clove Park, when the Bulldogs (6-0) face the Albany Metro Mallers (6-0) at 7:30 p.m.
The two teams couldn't be any more alike. The Bulldogs are ranked fifth in the American Football Association national rankings, and the Metro Mallers are ranked sixth. The Metro Mallers have been even stingier than the Bulldogs, allowing just 14 points and pitching four shutouts.
So, first one to a field goal wins? "This game means a lot," Baity said. "It's all that stands between us and an undefeated season and a championship."
Record Online is brought to you by the Times Herald-Record, serving New York's Hudson Valley and the Catskills.
