Aiden Merrill

DAWGS PUT UP 16 🚨🚨 @aiden2merrill 4.0 IP w/ 3ks @tommydriver5_ 3.0 IP w/ 4ks Dylan Lofink 3-4 scoring 3 runs @kaigraybeal3 3-4 2rbis + 2b Doug Chamberlain 2-4 w/ 2 2b DAWGS ARE ROLLING‼️‼️

nepridebaseball 🚨 Scout Day Wrap ⬆️ ’27 RHP Aiden Merrill is going to be an arm to follow! 6’1” 205 FB 86–6 T87 CH 76–77 SL 73 Plenty more in the tank! @NEPridebaseball

. @NEPridebaseball Follow 🆙 ‘27 RHP Aiden Merrill (Ballston Spa) BUILD: 6-0, 183 
 FB: 84-86 T86.5
 SL: 70-73
 CH: 74 Long arm swing that generates speed at release. ASR on the FB up to 17.8 inches of HM💥 @aiden2merrill | @PrepBaseballNY

2nd Bullpen of the winter. Worked on 2 seam, changeup, slider. @chambers_sports

1st bullpen of the winter. Fastball: Sitting 86 T87 Changeup: 78 @chambers_sports

Varsity day 1 of bullpens

Reverse lunge PR: 365x1

Bench PR: 210x1

Squat PR: 405x1

Getting ready for lifting PR week over Christmas break. Reverse lunge: 315x4

Last bullpen for the fall. Working again on off-speed pitches.

2nd bullpen session. Focusing on off-speed and a new split changeup. Split Changeup: 73-75 Slider: 76-78 @chambers_sports

First time back on mound after 4 months of recovery from patella dislocation. Fastball sitting: 85-86 Changeup: 74-76 @chambers_sports

June 19, 2025 Upstate Academy Blue against nationally ranked All-stars Academy 5 IP, 6 SO, 1 ER, 2 BB

Bullpen 2/13/25 With Scott Chambers and Will Kindl Full intent Bullpen fastball topping 86mph sitting (83-85) with changeup ~73mph

First bullpen session 1/18/25 with Scott Chambers

DAWG 📰 Ballston Spa wins two in a row to take Class AA title news10.com/sports/ballsto…

Congratulations to Ballston Spa, our Class AA Baseball CHAMPS! ⚾️🏆⭐️

🏆 THEY ARE THE CHAMPIONS — SCOTTIES HANG ON FOR THE CLASS AA TITLE, 4-3!!!🏆 There’s a lot to be said here, but I’ll cut to the chase — our BSpa Baseball Team (@bspadiamonddawg) won the Section 2 Class AA Championship Series, 2 games to 1, as they beat Niskayuna 4-3 on Tuesday night in Troy! The game started off awkwardly for Nisky and strong for the Scotties, as BSpa was the beneficiary of 3 Nisky errors in the Top of the 1st. That added to the issues experienced by starting pitcher Zach Mravlja, who was pulled after just 21 pitches and no outs registered. Down 2-0, Nisky turned to Chris Bixler — normally a reliever who hadn’t pitched more than 4 2/3 innings in recent memory. Bixler got his team out of the Top of the 1st down 3-0. From there, Scotties pitching bent at times but never really broke. Aiden Merrill (@aiden2merrill) pitched 3 innings, giving up 5 hits but just 1 run. In that time, Nisky looked to be on their way to a 2nd run in the Bottom of the 2nd, as Bixler popper out to a hard-charging Nate Hill (@Nathan__Hill18) in right field, but Nisky Coach Chris Bianchi held his runner at 3rd base despite a likely scoring opportunity. The run never scored as Merrill got out of the inning. In the Top of the 3rd, Luigi Fiorini (@Fiorini_Luigi13) hit a single that scored Doug Chamberlain with 2 outs on the board to make it 4-1 Scotties. Thomas Driver had a nearly spotless 3 innings in relief, giving up just one hit and no runs until the 7th Inning. Then, things got intense. Driver came back out after Bixler retired the Scotties in the Top of the 7th — huge credit to Bixler who went the distance on 110 pitches and accounted for only 1 run given up in that time by Nisky. Driver forced a ground out, but then he gave up two walks on full counts before giving way to Michael Pritchard (@mikey_pritch24) to close out the Championship. After the Scotties gave up a fielding error to load the bases, Nisky scored on a fielder’s choice and on a wild pitch on Ball 4, making it just a 4-3 Scotties lead. Finally, in the video shown earlier, Pritchard gathered himself and struck out the final batter in a gutsy performance, securing the 4-3 win and the Championship! Offensively, Kai Graybeal (@kaigraybeal3) had 2 hits, 1 RBI, and 1 run. MJ Lofink (@mjlofink) also had 2 hits, and Doug Chamberlain, who walked twice, had 1 RBI and 1 run. The Scotties advance to the NYSPHSAA Class AA Baseball Championship — the Regional Round is scheduled for Saturday, as the Scotties will face Section 3’s West Genesee at Joe Bruno Stadium at 7pm (weather permitting). The winner of that game will travel to Binghamton the following weekend for the Semifinals and Final of the State Tournament. Before closing this recap out, I’d like to share a few personal thoughts about this team — as I stated earlier today, this team is so fortunate to have Coach Curtis Nobles as their Head Coach — and a phenomenal group of Assistant Coaches backing him up. Coach Nobles is someone that exudes awesome baseball knowledge, but more importantly, he motivates growth, maturity, and leadership for his team in ways that I absolutely applaud. He always thanks me for my support of the team, but we all should be thanking him for his passion to make this team a success on and off the field. Additionally, I’ll admit, I was emotional after the final out. Michael Pritchard is a guy who has given his all year after year for Ballston Spa sports, and seeing him persevere in one of the most intense moments in local sports was something I’ll never forget. I told him how awesome the moment was on the field after the game, and the bear hug that followed reflected the relief and joy that came from that ending. This team has been a pure pleasure to support and highlight these last couple months — because they won, I have to bleach my hair to join what they did as a team this year. Honestly, knowing what they were able to achieve, I’m honored to join them no matter how ridiculous I’ll look!

The BSpa Baseball Team (@bspadiamonddawg) had a message for Niskayuna Baseball today at Joe Bruno Stadium: SEE YOU TOMORROW!! In another thrilling game, the Scotties fought back from a 3-2 deficit in the 4th Inning to surge to a sensational 7-3 victory in Game 2 of the Section 2 Class AA Championship Series. That means tomorrow’s Game 3 will decide the champion. Scotties pitchers were definitely the stars throughout this game. Jameson Hotaling (@HotalingJameson) gave up only 1 earned run and just 5 hits despite giving up 3 runs overall, as he registered 4 strikeouts in the 5 innings he pitched. Thomas Driver followed up in the 6th Inning with two quick outs before runners ended up on 1st and 2nd. Driver slammed the door shut, though, on a full-count strikeout to protect the 5-3 lead at that point. Aiden Merrill (@aiden2merrill) ended the game with the save facing just 5 batters in the Top of the 7th. Offensively, James Haughton (@James__haughton) rebounded from a tough Game 1 to collect 2 hits, a walk, and 2 runs, with Nick Commisso (@NickCommisso_2) amassing 3 RBIs on the day. Each team struggled at times fielding, with 4 errors being recorded by both teams, but a costly 2-out balk in the 5th Inning by Nisky’s pitcher appeared to change the entire mood of the game by giving the Scotties a 5-3 lead that they were able to protect. The third game is likely to be another thrilling event — so please plan on coming out. Currently, the game is scheduled for Tuesday at 4pm at Joe Bruno Stadium, but the time remains subject to change. Please plan to come to Troy to root on the Scotties to a Section 2 Championship… LET’S GO SCOTTIES!!!