LOCKPORT — As Summer comes to a close, so does the An-Jo Baseball games of Summer. Last week, An-Jo Baseball held its championship and consolation games for the American and National divisions, along with their annual picnic and Home Run Derby.

To kick off the festivities, two distinguished guests tossed out the first pitch.

In the American Division title game between the Hildreth Electric Shore Birds and the Briody Healthcare Grizzlies the special guest was Fran Kenneth. Fran coached an An-Jo team in 1956, going 10-0 in his debut season. Local artist and retired Lockport school teacher Jack DiMaggio was one of the talented players on that ’56 team.

In the National Division championship game between the Peter’s Dry Cleaning Red Wings and the Mullane Motors Clippers, the special guest was Larry Haseley. Larry started coaching An-Jo Baseball in 1965 and went on to join the An-Jo board. He served as both president and treasurer between 1970 and 1985.

In the National Division, the Red Wings finished 12-5 on the season and won the 2010 National Division Championship convincingly over the Mullane Motors Clippers.

After five errors in the top of the first inning, the home team Red Wings were down 7-0. Starting southpaw pitcher Zach Dlugosz settled down and retired nine out of the next 12 clippers, giving up one more run through the next three innings.

Reliever Tyler Ribbeck threw the final three innings giving up two runs on two hits to secure the win 19-10 for the Red Wings.

Offensively, Ribbeck led the way for the Red Wings, ending the day a homer shy of the cycle. Coach Walt Dlugosz credited Andy Tyler for starting the rally with a three-run double in the fourth.

Jamison (J-Rod) Rodriguez also had an amazing day at the plate, going 3-for-3 in only three innings of work.

“This was an amazing team win for us. We were down big early and had to battle back just to even it up. Then our bats and defense took over,” Dlugosz said.

Stephen Yaremo had two of the best plays defensively all year, in one game. He helped turn a 1-3-2 double play with help from Ribbeck and catcher Mike Daskavitz.

Later in the game, after a collision at the plate and the ball loose in play, Yaremo hustled home to pick it up and tag out the runner coming from third.

“Every single player on this team did something to help us this season and in this game,” coach Dlugosz said.

Mullane Motors Clippers also had a great playoff run knocking off higher seeded West Herr Honda Hammerheads, coached by Brett Mayers. The Clippers finished the season 7-11.

In the Consolation round, the Niagara First Impressions Timber Rattlers, coached by Frank Maynard and Greg Metz, came out playing like a team on a mission handing the Molinaro’s Lug Nuts one of their few losses on the year by a score of 30-7.

The T-Rats finished third place in the National Division with an overall record of 11-7. The TimberRattlers won their final playoff game 30-7 with a home run by Cole Gregson, a triple by Brian Chat, and doubles by Ben Maynard, Nate Fura, Aaron Metz and Zach Kolemeyer.   

In the American Division, the Shorebirds finished their season flying high by beating the Briody Healthcare Grizzlies with a story-book finish, 7-6.

The Shorebirds jumped to an early two-run lead after the first inning, but allowed the Grizzlies to strike offensively and take a 6-4 lead heading to the bottom of the final inning.

The Shorebirds final at-bat proved to be a game-winner. With two outs, Dylan Skalman and Rachel Krawczyk were able to get on base and Matthew Dickerson had two strikes against him at the plate. On Matthew’s third swing, he sailed a rocket to the fence, plating the winning runs.

For the Shorebirds, Brandon Bremmer and Dylan Skalman were on the hill while Thomas Wendt, Connor Doran, Michael Krawczyk, and Ethan Tatro played strong defense. Grizzlies pitchers Andrew Hamelink and Charles Demartz tossed strong games, along with catcher Phil Lange. Madison Brader had an RBI and scored a run.

The Pat Nye’s Painting Lumber Kings, coached by Billy Vona, finished in third place at 13-4, besting the Tony Nemi Foundation Mud Hens, coached by Kreg Hayes.

The Home Run Derby was won by Jared McFall in the Rookie Division and Tommy Vona in the American Division.

An-Jo president Todd Fragale said he’s pleased with the past season, the continued strength of the An-Jo partnership with New Era, the strength of the An-Jo board, the continued support of local politicians, the continued support of its many sponsors and the overall quality of the An-Jo program.

An-Jo Nationals vice president Mike McFall was pleased with the successful opening of three 70-foot diamonds at An-Jo Complex on Davison Road, behind the Niagara County Infirmary.

VP Matt Sterns said he was pleased how most coaches seem to get the most out of their players, progressing through the season, and that the draft format worked great to even the teams.

“The slogan at An-Jo Baseball is ‘Play Hard and Have Fun.’ Our coaches and players did a fine job living up to the slogan,” Fragale added.

For more information on An-Jo Baseball, go to lockportanjo.com.