There is a visible spirit of enthusiasm in the eyes of these players as they look to their coach. They come from places like Bristol, Tennessee and Archbold, Ohio. Some travel from Fuquay Varina, North Carolina and even the tiny Caribbean island of Curacao. They have come to Upstate New York. They come chasing a dream. Each brings their own spirit. A spirit that can be traced through generations of young baseball players.

Perlo saw the NYCBL as a chance to bring top college athletes into the area. His team would consist not only of players from all over the country, but also opposing teams would visit with their wide array of talent. Perlo and Kelly agreed to build the nucleus of their roster around local talent, and add to the lineup with the best possible talent they could find outside of Rochester. Rochester-area players got a chance to improve and showcase their talents. Local fans had the opportunity to see some great baseball. The fit seemed perfect.

Other coaches comment how relaxed we are as a team. We are so relaxed I wanna vomit! We don't play baseball. We don't talk in the field; we don't hit our cutoffs; we can't move the runner; for cris'sake we can't bunt. WE CAN'T BUNT! We need to play each game as if it's our last. You need to treat each at bat, each play in the field as if it is your last. The fact is many of you are playing or will soon be playing your last games. You need to treat it that way and play with passion..

Fourteen teams in two divisions comprise the 2007 NYCBL lineup. The Glens Falls Golden Eagles, Saratoga Phillies, Watertown Wizards, Little Falls Miners, Amsterdam Mohawks and Bennington Bombers make up the East Division while the Elmira Pioneers, Geneva Red Wings, Allegany County Nitros, Hornell Dodgers, Brockport Riverbats, Webster Yankees and Bolivar A's do battle in the West Division.

Offerman took the ball the following afternoon against Hornell. Gino held the Dodgers to three runs over seven innings. Bernath pitched a scoreless eighth. Gardner picked up the save, striking out one in the ninth. Once again, Webster bats strung together hits. "KB" and Johnson scored on Sullivan's one-out triple in the third. Sullivan scored when Bertolini's ground ball was booted in the infield. Lawler led the sixth with a bunt single. He stole second, advanced to third on Johnson's fly ball and scored the eventual winning run on a wild pitch.

The kid who knew little about air conditioning and heat in his car showed no signs of quitting. For all of his efforts and commitment, Mike was awarded the position of catcher...in the bullpen. He spent the entire season getting relief pitchers ready. He earned four at bats and managed two base hits.

Webster added an insurance run in the sixth when Sullivan ripped a two-out single scoring Stuckless from third. Sullivan's hit came after Hornell starter, Matt Davis, issued an intentional walk to McIntyre - whose hitting streak ended at eighteen games. The last time he went without a hit was June 15th. McIntyre entered the game batting .436.

Almost immediately, Marcus Nidiffer caught Brust's eye. At 6.2. and 180 pounds, the freshman possessed the makings of a ball player - a lean build with plenty of room to grow. Brust recognized the athlete in Nidiffer and saw that the youngster lacked confidence.
He hailed from Bristol, Tennessee and played at the University of Kentucky. Brust used the latter for his nickname: "KB" . short for Kentucky blue. The moniker brought a grin to the youngster's face and the nickname was born.

On this night, Gino continued a successful string that started with that Geneva game. Free from the possibility of an emotional letdown created by Webster's bleak playoff chances, Gino pitched from the heart. By the fifth, the sun descended, and its reflection cast a pink hue on the friendly cloud bank hanging over the outfield. Under this cotton candy sky, Gino wielded his way through the Hornell lineup.

The summer started slowly. He came out of the pen against Niagara and gave up two runs in two innings of work. Four days later, he started, went five and gave up three earned in his first loss of the campaign. A week later, Carmody held Bolivar to two earned runs on six hits while fanning seven over seven. Webster won in extra innings. Bernath got credit for the win. He took the loss on June 26th versus Geneva giving up two runs over six full. On July first, two unearned runs proved the difference and added to Carmody's growing list of losses.

Gardner maintained his focus on an objective but never lost sight of the process. He signed with Webster for the expressed purpose of establishing himself as a closer. He set a goal for himself at the beginning of the season to fan 40 batters. Rather than solely focusing on his goal and losing sight of everything around him, he took advantage of all the opportunities provided him. Today, he played in the field for the eighth time on the season. He made a heads-up play down the right field line backing up a throw. He bagged two hits, stole a base and showed his ability to hit behind the runner. When Geneva came to the plate in the ninth, Gardner retired the side in order with one strike out - his 37th of the year.

Finishing the season with a league-leading 65 hits, 16 doubles, 89 total bases and a batting average of .409, McIntyre grabbed first-team honors. Coupled with his with his 65 RBI for North Carolina A&T that spring McIntyre earned his way on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch list. The prestigious award is given annually to the nation's best college baseball player. The award honors the memory of former Texas Tech shortstop and coach who died at the age of twenty-seven after a long battle with cancer.