Team New Era 10U goes undefeated at Hinsdale tourney

Team New Era 10U went 4-0 by defeating teams from four different states to become tournament champions at the Dan Duquette Sports Academy in Hinsdale, Massachusetts from Aug. 3 to 5. Members of the team, pictured from left, are: first row - Randy Cooper, Brandon Nicholson (Cheektowaga), Ryan Dils, Matt Schneider, Brian McGonagle (Amherst); second row - Colin Dougherty, Brett Helmbrecht (Cheektowaga), Danny Farrell (Clarence), Cameron Ringo, Brett Guay, Eric Duran (Getzville); third row - coaches Rich Wozniak, Joe Duran, Jeff Helmbrecht; missing from photo - Evan Rarick (Amherst) and Nathan Rarick (Amherst).

Team New Era 10U traveled to the Dan Duquette Sports Academy in Hinsdale, Mass. and went 4-0, beating teams from New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine from August 3 to 5 to become tournament champions.

Offensively, Team New Era scored 44 runs and had an impressive team on-base percentage of .660. Defensively, with some great pitching and plays in the field, they allowed only nine runs to cross the plate over the four games played.

Team New Era 10U is made up of players from all over the Buffalo area. They are Randy Cooper (Dunkirk), Ryan Dils (Hamburg), Colin Dougherty (Lockport), Eric Duran (Getzville), Danny Farrell (Clarence), Brett Guay (North Tonawanda), Brett Helmbrecht (Cheektowaga), Brian McGonagle (Amherst), Brandon Nicholson (Cheektowaga), Evan Rarick (Amherst), Nathan Rarick (Amherst), Cameron Ringo (Hamburg), and Matt Schneider (Buffalo).

Team New Era 10,

Frozen Ropes

(West Chester, N.Y.) 1

Team New Era jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with base hits from Brandon Nicholson, Brett Helmbrecht, and Randy Cooper.

The Frozen Ropes sent only seven batters combined to the plate in the first two innings and came up empty.

Team New Era struck again in the bottom of the second with six more runs. Matt Schneider highlighted the inning with a two-out double to right center field, driving in two of the six runs.

The Frozen Ropes jumped on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth with a double and single. In the inning, Ryan Dils made a nice catch in right field on a line drive from a Frozen Ropes bat that was tailing away from him to prevent any further damage by the opponent.

In the fifth, Brett Guay scored an insurance run for Team New Era by drawing a walk, stealing second, and later scoring on a Frozen Ropes error. The Frozen Ropes went down one-two-three in the fifth and sixth innings.

Eric Duran and Nicholson turned in nice performances, splitting their time on the mound. Together, they struck out seven batters, allowed just one run on four hits while facing only 21 batters. Strong performances were also turned in by Cameron Ringo, Brian McGonagle, Colin Dougherty, and Danny Farrell. Helmbrecht caught a nice game behind the plate and gunned down two base runners trying to steal.

Team New Era 5, East

Greenwich Cougars

(Rhode Island) 2

The Cougars drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff double and a two-out base hit brought the run across the plate.

Team New Era answered with three runs of their own in the top of the second as the Cougars pitcher had a tough time finding the strike zone.

With two outs, Matt Schneider, Ryan Dils, Brian McGonagle, and Brandon Nicholson all had consecutive walks. Colin Dougherty then stroked a double to right center field and drove in Dils and McGonagle. This made the score 3-1 and Team New Era would not relinquish their lead from here.

In the bottom of the third with two outs, the Cougars reached base on a Team New Era error. The Cougars scored on a double from the next batter, making it 3-2 after three innings.

In the top of the fifth, Danny Farrell led the inning off with a walk and would eventually come around to score to make it 4-2.

In the top of the sixth, Cameron Ringo reached base on a single, moved to second on a walk by Farrell, and Duran laced a single to left field driving Ringo home to make the game 5-2.

Brett Helmbrecht and Dougherty split the time on the mound, combining for 10 strikeouts and two runs allowed on six hits. Brett Guay and Randy Cooper also had solid performances to help win the game.

Team New Era 19,

Uxbridge Green Monsters

(Massachusetts) 5

All 11 Team New Era players crossed home plate at least once.

Team New Era started the game by jumping on the Green Monsters, 5-0, by sending nine players to the plate. Highlights in the inning were a towering opposite field double to left field by Colin Dougherty that hit the fence on the fly and a beautifully executed bunt by Cameron Ringo that walked the first base line to squeeze Danny Farrell home.

In the bottom of the first, the Green Monsters first batter reached base on a Team New Era error. Their second hitter struck out and their third batter hit in to a 4-6-3 double play that was executed nicely by Brian McGonagle, Dougherty, and Farrell.

In the top of the second, Team New Era picked up where they left off by bringing up the top of the order, 13 players to the plate overall, and picking up eight more runs. Highlights in the inning were a double by Brandon Nicholson, a text book bunt that Farrell laid down that came to rest between third base and the mound, Eric Duran's towering ball to center field that hit the fence on the fly, a bases clearing triple by McGonagle down the left field line, and a great bunt by Brett Helmbrecht down the third base line that squeezed Nicholson home.

After 1.5 innings, Team New Era was on top, 13-0. The Green Monsters picked up a run in the bottom of the second. Team New Era picked up another run in top of the third.

The Green Monsters made a surge in the bottom of the third by scoring four runs on several hits and walks, making it a 14-5 ball game. The top of the fourth saw Team New Era score five more runs to add to their lead.

The Green Monsters tried to get something going in the top of the fourth after their leadoff hitter grounded out. The next batter reached first on a hit. Their third batter came to the plate and hit into a 1-4-3 double play - Ringo to Ryan Dils to Duran - to end the game and give Team New Era their third victory of the weekend.

Nicholson, Brett Guay, and Ringo all took the mound, striking out four and allowing five runs on eight hits. The hot stick of the day was McGonagle, who was a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate with a triple and three singles. Solid performances were also given by Matt Schneider, Randy Cooper, and Guay.

Team New Era 10,

York Wildcats (Maine) 1

This was a must win game for Team New Era in order to be crowned 10U champs in the tournament. This game was no different than their other games as the boys put the ball in play.

The defensive effort was solid in making plays in the field as this was coupled with strong pitching from Eric Duran and Colin Dougherty.

In the first inning, both teams went down one-two-three. In the top of the second, the Wildcats came up empty with five batters coming to the plate.

In the bottom of the second, Danny Farrell led off and reached base on an error by the third baseman. Cameron Ringo cracked a line drive single into center field. Randy Cooper then drew a walk. Matt Schneider and Brandon Nicholson each put the ball in play to drive home three runs as Team New Era got on the scoreboard first.

For the third inning in a row, the Wildcats could not mount any offense. In the bottom of the inning, Brett Helmbrecht led off with a walk followed by three consecutive singles by Farrell, Duran and Ringo. A few batters later, Schneider singled and Team New Era found themselves on top of the Wildcats, 6-0 after three completed innings.

The Wildcats came up empty in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, a Dougherty walk followed by a single by Helmbrecht and a double by Farrell enabled Team New Era to score two more runs.

In the top of the fifth, the Wildcats finally got on the scoreboard with a run of their own. After the first two batters struck out, the next two batters walked and a Wildcat hitter lined a double to bring in one run.

In the bottom of the fifth, Ryan Dils and Brett Guay each scored for Team New Era, bringing the run total to ten. The Wildcats could not mount any offense in the top of the sixth with the game ending 10-1.

Duran took the mound for four innings and struck out five batters, giving up just one hit and not allowing any runs. Dougherty closed out the game for the final two innings and struck out four batters and giving up just one run and one hit.