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Fredonia Bandits win 12U Gold Division title

Pictured front row, from left: Ryan Kelly, Brady Helmer, Aiden Czekanski, Luca Gullo, AJ Kinney and Matt Cowan. Middle row, from left: Charlie Parker, Nathan Sercu, Andrew Cowan, Owen Rush, Colin Crowell, Charlie Domenico and Ashton Putney. Back row, from left: Coach Sean Helmer, Coach Tim Cowan and Coach Jim Rush.

Special to The OBSERVER

The Fredonia Bandits 12U travel baseball team hosted the Western New York Premier League’s Gold Division playoffs on Saturday at Russell Joy Park in Fredonia. In the end, the Bandits came away as champions.

The afternoon began with a rematch of regular season opponents, as the Clarence Red Hawks squared off against the Bandits. Starting pitcher Owen Rush set the tone early for the Bandits, as he recorded a scoreless top of the first — striking out one and stranding a runner in scoring position. The Bandits loaded the bases with one out in their half of the first, behind three consecutive singles from Rush, Ashton Putney and Andrew Cowan, but Fredonia was denied a run after a strikeout and pop up to end the frame.

In the second inning, Clarence put the first two runners on base, but could not score. After a fielder’s choice and a strike out, Rush’s attempted pickoff wound up in the hands of first baseman Matt Cowan, who reacted quickly and threw the lead runner out attempting to advance. After a double play left the Bandits with two outs and the bases empty in the next half-inning, Colin Crowell, Ryan Kelly and Charlie Parker all walked to load the bases. Aiden Czekanski delivered the biggest hit of the game, as he crushed the first pitch into right-center field, clearing the bases and staking Fredonia to a 3-0 lead.

The Bandits struck again for three runs in both the third and fifth innings, extending the Fredonia lead to 9-1. Each time, leadoff hitter Nathan Sercu and Rush reached base and were both driven in by Putney (triple, single) who was then driven in by Andrew Cowan (groundout, ground-rule double).

Clarence would not go quietly, as the visitors scored three times of their own to start the sixth inning. The Fredonia defense stood tall, as the Bandits converted three consecutive ground balls into outs to get out of trouble. Brady Helmer led off the bottom of the sixth with a line-drive single, stole second base and scored on a single by Crowell — adding an important insurance run.

The Red Hawks looked to stage an epic comeback as they led off the seventh with a home run, which cut the Fredonia lead to 10-5. However, that’s all they could muster, as Putney induced a groundball out to AJ Kinney, a fly ball out to Charlie Domenico, and finally, a strikeout to send the Bandits to the Championship game.

The title game pitted the North Tonawanda Americans (who had defeated the Buffalo Junior Bisons 4-2 in the other semifinal) against the Bandits. Owen Rush took the ball to start the game and pitched brilliantly, throwing three scoreless innings and striking out five.

Three remained the Bandits’ magic number as they took command in the bottom of the first with three runs. Nathan Sercu and Andrew Cowan each drew walks and stole a base, putting two runners in scoring position with one out. Ashton Putney drove in Sercu with a ground out and Brady Helmer drove in Cowan with a single. Helmer then stole second and third base, then scored when the catcher’s throw made its way into left field.

In the fourth inning, North Tonawanda led off with a home run to cut the lead to 3-1. The visitors put two more runners on base with two outs.

The play of the game came on the very next pitch, as the Americans’ hitter lifted a towering fly ball to right center field. It appeared to tie the game and easily put the go-ahead run in scoring position, but Colin Crowell had a different plan. Crowell broke as soon as the ball was hit and took a perfect path to make a running, ‘snow cone’ catch. It was a crushing blow to the Americans and a huge lift to the Bandits.

Wasting no time, in the bottom of the fourth, Sercu, Rush and Andrew Cowan each singled to load the bases. Putney (two RBI) and AJ Kinney (RBI) followed with singles of their own, extending the lead to 6-1. Tonawanda added a run in the fifth, but was denied any more, as Charlie Parker, Ryan Kelly and Matt Cowan each made strong defensive plays to stymie another rally.

Fredonia put the game away in the sixth as Sercu, Rush and Andrew Cowan again loaded the bases to start the frame. Putney, Helmer and Kinney (two-run double) followed with RBI hits, getting the Bandits to double figures and a 10-2 lead. Putney again threw the seventh inning and record the final out via strikeout.

The Bandits finished their inaugural season in the highest level of the WNY Premier League with a 10-4-1 record against some of the best 12U competition this side of the State has to offer.

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