BUFFALO, N.Y., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The Western Region continues
to lead the medal standings at the Empire State Games in Buffalo with
158 gold medals and 406 overall medals.  New York City has jumped into
second place in gold medal standings with 90, but is just fourth in the
overall medal standings.
    The following is a complete list of the medal standings heading into
the final day of competition:

    REGION               Gold       Silver      Bronze       Total
    Western Region        158         151         97          406
    Central Region         54          85         85          224
    Hudson Valley          57          77         80          214
    New York City          90          53         68          211
    Adirondack             61          62         76          199
    Long Island            66          50         71          187

    The New York City scholastic baseball team won its first gold medal
at the Empire State Games, as it busted the championship game open with
four runs in the bottom of the 6th inning and defeated the Hudson Valley
squad, 7-2, at North AmeriCare Park in downtown Buffalo.  Pitcher
Orlando Encarncion surrendered just four hits in going the entire seven
innings for New York, and helped his own cause at the plate with a two-
run single on a fast ball down the middle off Hudson Valley pitcher
Cormac Joyce in the critical sixth.
    "I've never experienced this in my life.  This is the first year
I've come to the Empire State Games," said Encarncion, a student of
Cardinal Hays High School in his native Bronx.  "I came out strong.
I felt very good today."
    Head coach Robert Pertsas also felt the monkey off his back after
coming out on top.  "It's unbelievable, I've been doing this for 10
years.  And I can't believe we finally did it, this is just incredible."
Pertsas also expressed praise for Encarncion, saying, "He's terrific.
Nobody knows about him and he's such a terrific player."
    Softball competition also came to a close at the 19th annual ESG as
the Central Region won its second straight gold medal and fourth overall
with a 1-0 win over Western in a rematch of last year's title game.
Pitcher Jen Markert of Binghamton, who had tossed no-hitters in her
other two starts this week, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning
before allowing a two-out hit to Amanda Galas of Tonawanda.  A wild
pitch in the fourth inning scored Ellen Spruce of Endicott with the only
run of the game.
    The winner in ice hockey has been determined, despite one more day
of competition remaining.  Long Island's 4-0 record snaps the Western
Region's six-year gold medal streak.  Hicksville's Martin Hughes' two
goals and Bethpage's Robert Scuderi's three assists helped Long Island
win its first game Saturday, 7-4, as it outshot the Central Region,
38-19.  The gold medal officially went to Long Island after it won its
second game of the day, defeating the Adirondack Region, 7-2.  Hughes
scored two more goals and added three assists.  Long Island pounded
Adirondack's goaltender Sean Coakley with 51 shots.
    Long Island and Western will battle for gold on Sunday in women's
field hockey.  Western improved to 4-0 after Nora Bender of East Amherst
scored the only goal in a 1-0 overtime victory against Central.  Long
Island is 3-1 after winning twice on Saturday, including a 1-0 overtime
decision against Hudson Valley.  Gina Carlo of Elmont scored 2:53 into
the sudden death overtime period.
    Ryan Blackwell of Rochester scored a game-high 22 points to help
clinch the bronze medal for the Western Region in open men's basketball
as the host school defeated Central, 109-93.  The gold medal game pits
Long Island against undefeated New York City.  The Central Region will
face New York City in the scholastic final.  On the women's side, Evija
Azace of Albany scored 18 points to lead Adirondack to a 76-73 victory
over Long Island that clinched the squad a spot in the women's open
final game against 3-0 Hudson Valley.  The Hudson Valley scholastic
women also went 3-0 in preliminary-round play and will face Central in
the final.
    The New York Lottery is the primary sponsor of the 1996 Empire State
Games.  The games are a natural extension of the Lottery's educational
sponsorship, which last year raised more than $1.5 billion in support of
primary and secondary public schools throughout New York.
    The schedule and updates of the events are available at the Empire
State Games World Wide Web Site (http://www.empiregames.org).