AREA BASEBALL: Locals to play for Leib's in regional tourney

Sports

August 5, 2009

By Nate Beutel The Niagara Gazette Wed Aug 05, 2009, 10:20 PM EDT

Some of the Northeast’s top amateur baseball players will be on display in Western New York this weekend.

The Buffalo Muny AAA league is hosting one of 10 NABF regional Muny AAA round-robin tournaments throughout the country. Action in the age-unlimited tournament begins today and runs through Sunday with games slated all around the area, including a quadrupleheader at Coca-Cola Field Friday.

“This is a unique opportunity to showcase amateur baseball in the area,” Buffalo Muny AAA president Paul Wolf said.

There are eight teams slated to participate in the regional, including four local squads — Leib’s, West Herr, Murray’s Diesel and the Orchard Park Sox.

Leib’s boasts the most Niagara-area talent, with Niagara County Community College coach Matt Clingersmith, two-time Niagara Gazette Player of the Year Jon Smith (Niagara-Wheatfield), 2007 Niagara Gazette Co-Player of the Year Kyle Smith (Niagara-Wheatfield), Lewiston-Porter graduates Jared Flock and Jeremy Willard, Starpoint graduate Kevin Hughes and former Niagara University hurler and current Starpoint JV softball coach Joe Hill on its roster.

Wolf added that recent Orchard Park High School graduate and Baltimore Orioles draft pick Kyle Hoppy plays for the Sox, and that many of the teams have multiple Division I players on their roster.

Friday’s quadrupleheader at the downtown ballpark begins at 10:30 a.m. The next game is at 2:15 p.m. with a 5 p.m. tilt scheduled between Leib’s and West Herr and a 7 p.m. matchup of Murray’s Diesel vs. the Orchard Park Sox. Admission to all games is free.

“Getting the games at the stadium was big for us,” Wolf said. “I believe it will be the first time amateur baseball has been played under the lights at the ballpark. We’re hoping for a really nice crowd.”

The semifinals are slated for 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday at Erie Community College’s North campus in Williamsville. The finals will be played at the same site at 2 p.m. Sunday. The champions will advance to the National tournament in Louisville next week, Wolf said.

Contact reporter Nate Beutel at 282-2311, ext. 2262.

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