Former Hoosic Valley standout John Rooney since his trade to Houston two weeks ago has thrown well for the Astros triple A affiliate the Sugarland Space Cowboys.

In five relief appearances Rooney has a 1-0 record with one hold while pitching to a 3.18 ERA. The big left-hander in 5.2 innings of work has allowed three hits, two earned runs and has issued just one free pass while striking out ten batters.

With the fall high school sports season upon us we need some additional sponsorship to fill out our fall lineup at Wasaren Sportsnet.

In addition to our weekly podcasts highlighted by our “Top Ten” and Player of the Week, I’d like to add a Coaches Corner series, interviewing Wasaren coaches weekly, and a Where Are They Now series tracking former league players now competing collegiately in football, or men’s or women’s soccer.

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If you are a business owner interested in joining the Wasaren Sportsnet team or know of one that may be interested, please contact me at rjlzeke59@gmail.com

We have ten school districts that will field teams this fall and if we could minimally secure one sponsoring business from each school district we would be in a good position to expand our coverage of the players, coaches and teams of the Wasaren.

Former Greenwich standout Cole Burgess was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad last season and this year has his sights set on a making the Bengals 53-man roster.

Burgess was a dominant three-sport star at Greenwich including a two-time all-state selection in football, while earning all-state statues three times in baseball.

After graduation in 2018 Cole spent four seasons at SUNY Cortland playing in 43 games catching 178 passes for 3133 yards and 35 touchdowns. In 2023 he led the conference in receptions (87), receiving yards (1375) and receiving touchdowns (16) helping to lead Cortland to the Division III national title, a game in which Cole caught a 21-yard TD pass giving Cortland the lead with under two minutes to play.

Burgess was named First Team All-Empire 8 Conference in all four seasons he played and earned first team honors as a return specialist in 2018 and 19.

Cole signed with Cincinnati in May of 2024 and spent the entire season on the Bengals practice squad after appearing in two preseason games with two receptions for 20 yards.

The Bengals have a premier wide receiving corps highlighted by Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Andrei Iosivas with a total of 12 wide outs presently working in camp with Cincinnati. Typically, NFL teams will keep six wide receivers on their opening day roster.

Burgess’ experience as a return specialist combined with his athleticism may work in his favor as he competes for a roster spot possibly filing a role on special teams.

Cincinnati will play its first preseason game Thursday night when it travels to Philadelphia to face the reigning Super Champion Eagles in a 7:30 kick.

Perserverance, resiliency, tenacity, determination, resolve.

Look up the definitions for any of those words and you just might find a photo of former Hoosic Valley standout John Rooney who’s seven-year journey through the minor leagues ended this weekend, when the big left-hander donned a major league uniform for the Houston Astros in a Sunday matinee at Fenway Park in Boston.

Rooney, a third-round selection by the Los Angelas Dodgers in the 2018 draft, spent six seasons with the organization working his way to the Triple A level in 2023 the same season he converted to becoming a full-time reliever.

This past off-season Rooney opted for free agency and was signed by the Florida Marlins where he spent this year with their triple A affiliate, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp pitching to a 2.45 ERA in 38 appearances with a 32.5% strikeout rate.

On Saturday evening Rooney was traded to the Houston Astros, who immediately put the Valley grad on their 40-man roster and a 7 a.m. flight to Boston on Sunday where John, wearing number 67, warmed up in the eighth inning at Fenway but did not enter the game.

Rooney led Hoosic Valley to back-to-back Class C state baseball titles in 2014 and 15, as well as a 2014 state championship in basketball where he was the Class C player of the year in the state.

John played collegiately for Hofstra from 2016-18, earning first team All -American status in 2018 a season where he set single season records in ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched. He finished his career with 15 wins, a 3.69 ERA and a .239 batting average against.

Rooney’s minor league stats include a 27-19 record in 204 appearances, (51 starts), pitching to a 3.85 ERA with 436 strikeouts in 414 innings.

The Astros play tonight in Miami against the Marlins for Rooney’s next opportunity to toe the rubber for the first time in a major league regular season game, and if that doesn’t happen in Miami, Houston comes into Yankee Stadium for a three-game set over the weekend.

When and where that first pitch happens, it completes a seven-year trek through countless minor league towns playing on fields far removed from The Show. Through it all Rooney has persevered. Well done John and know that most of upstate New York will be watching and pulling for the southpaw wearing number 67, with Houston on the front and Rooney on the back.