Matt Clingersmith heard the whispers that his Niagara County Community College baseball program couldn’t hang with the region’s best Division III teams. He watched all season as his Trailblazers followed highly regarded Herkimer Community College in a coaches poll.

But when Tonawanda product Brian Kwiatkowski homered to open Sunday’s Division III Region 3 tournament final at Veterans Memorial Park, a new tone was set. And Clingersmith’s team followed with a convincing 10-2 victory, earning the school’s first-ever berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association College World Series.

“These teams still saw Niagara County as a joke,” Clingersmith said after the victory over Herkimer, which was ranked No. 4 in the national NJCAA poll. NCCC is No. 8. “We’re starting to get great kids in here. Nobody believed in our program. Now they know we’re going to be here to stay.”

Newfane’s Brett Backes had a pair of hits in the win for NCCC (34-7) while Sean Jamieson was named the tournament’s most valuable player, adding three hits in the title win.

“This has been a Cinderella story this year,” Clingersmith said. “It’s been an unbelievable ride for the 16 local kids we’ve got on this roster. They get to go to the World Series.”

Backes, Kwiatkowski and pitcher Matt Whidden were all named to the all-tournament team with Whidden being name the tourney’s top pitcher. All the 6-foot-4 freshman from Hamilton, Ont., did on Sunday was hurl a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts.

Tyler Windisch added four hits and knocked in a pair of runs for the Trailblazers, who expect to learn their upcoming opponent in the NJCAA World Series today. The tournament kicks is held in Tyler, Texas, starting on May 16. NCCC will enter the tournament on a hot streak, winning five straight games and 11 of their last 12.

And Clingersmith, the Niagara Falls native, believes his team has the roster to make some nice at the eight-team double-elimination national tournament. NCCC is scheduled to leave for the event on Thursday.

“We have a very strong pitching staff,” Clingersmith said. “I like our chances.”