WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Austin, Texas, high school sophomore Daniel Martinez carded a 2-under round of 69 on Tuesday to take the lead at the PGA Junior series event at Taconic Golf Club.

 

Martinez recorded five birdies -- on the par-5 first and 10th holes and on the par-4 second, 13th and 15th -- on his way to a five-stroke lead after the first day of the three-day event.

 

The winner of the 15-18 age group this week will earn an exemption to the Junior PGA Championship.

 

Christopher Gay of Bronxville, N.Y., is second going into Wednesday's action at 3-over.

 

In third is rising senior Christopher Thompson of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., who is tied with Illinois' Samuel Reategui at 4-over.

 

The top Bay State competitor going into the second round is Belmont's Michael Pergamo, who is tied for fifth at 5-over, seven strokes behind Martinez.

 

A pair of Williamstown residents in the field, Matthew Wiseman and Kyle Alvarez, are 46th and 51st, respectively.

 

In the girls competition, another Austin, Texas, resident, Maya Walton, leads the way at 2-over 73. Virginia's Alex Wright is second at 5-over.

 

Two girls from New York's Capital District are fourth and sixth: Loudonville's Jenny Buchanan at 9-over and Madison Braman at 12-over.

 

The top girl this week at Taconic also will earn a berth in the national tournament.

 

No Austin residents in the boys 12-14 division, but a New Yorker named Austin Fox leads after the first round with a 4-over 75. The Delmar resident is being chased by a pair of golfers tied at 10-over: Binghamton, N.Y.'s, Thomas Davis and Manlius, N.Y.'s, Kyle Gilroy.

NORTH ADAMS -- Courtney McLaughlin hit a late lay-in to stem a comeback bid and lead Tony's Electric/Flynn & Dagnoli to a 51-44 win over Mount Anthony Union High School in the John Giorgi Summer Basketball League on Tuesday night.

 

McLaughlin scored 13 points with six boards for Tony's, which got a game-high 17 from Courtney Kegresse.

 

Mount Anthony rallied back from a double-digit deficit to get within five points with less than a minute to go before McLaughlin scored in the post to provide the final margin.

 

Taylor Paquin scored 10 for the Patriots, who got nine points, five boards and two blocks from Carly Rogers.

 

In the opener of Tuesday's double-header in the Women's Division, Alia Curry scored 18 points, and Megan Vaughn had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead Williamstown Physical Therapy to a 60-40 win over Teddy's Pizza.

 

Holly Steinman had a double-double for Teddy's with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Meredith Sullivan scored nine points.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Eddie Pomales scored 22 points scored 22 points to lead Berkshires Finest to a 78-43 win over BFAIR/North Adams Law in the John Giorgi Summer Basketball League Open Division on Monday evening.

 

Joe Wiggins backed up Pomales with 17 points, and Brandon Cassella added 13.

 

For BFAIR, Brian Dowling scored 11 points, and Brett Denning scored nine to go along with eight rebounds.

 

In High School Division play on Monday night, Mount Anthony of Bennington, Vt., defeated McCann Tech, 64-44.

 

Devin Babson scored 13 points, Ty Champagne had 12, and Matthew Anderson scored 10 for the Patriots.

 

McCann's Shane Fuller scored 12.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Junior golfers from throughout the Northeast will be at Taconic Golf Club this week to compete for a berth in the 39th Junior PGA Championship.

 

Taconic is one of eight sites nationwide in the PGA Junior series. The local tournament -- the sixth of the series -- will be played July 8-10.

 

The boy who wins in the 15-18 division and the girls overall winner this week will earn an exemption into the national championship, scheduled for July 29 to Aug. 1 at Miramont Country Club in Bryan, Texas.

 

This week's 80-player field includes golfers from 11 states and four countries. The boys 15-18 division includes Williamstown's Kyle Alvarez and Matthew Wiseman. 

 

The nearest location to Williamstown for the series this year was State College, Pa., where the event was held June 24-26. That event drew competitors from Florida, Texas, Canada and China.

The Babe Ruth Baseball 15-year-old state tournament gets under way on Tuesday with pool play at five locations across the commonwealth.

 

North Adams will hit the road to face Worcester County's Holden at the Holden Senior Center at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday before coming home to face Joe Schwartz at Alcombright Field on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

 

North Adams wraps up play in Pool C of the tournament on Saturday at Worcester's West Side at noon.

 

In Pool A, Pittsfield opens its tournament play on Tuesday at Worcester's East Side. Pittsfield is then home for two games: Thursday against South Side at 5 and Saturday against Northbridge at 2 p.m. at Deming Park.

 

The top two teams from each pool will advance to a single-elimination tournament.

 

In the 14-year-old Babe Ruth division, the state semifinals are set for Saturday in Worcester's North End. Pittsfield is scheduled to play at 5 p.m. against an opponent to be determined. Westfield faces Worcester's East Side at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

 

The 13-year-old Western Mass Babe Ruth tournament will be contested Thursday-through-Sunday with four teams in a double-elimination format. Pittsfield opens play at 5 p.m. against Holden. All games will be played at Westfield's Bullens Field.