CAZENOVIA — On Tuesday, July 11, the Cazenovia Majors All-Star Baseball team earned the New York State District 9 Little League Championship title with an exciting 7-6 win against Lee Little League.

Majors Baseball is a program of the Cazenovia Baseball Softball Association (CBSA).

From the four Cazenovia Majors teams that played a regular season, a total of 12 players were selected to compete on the All-Stars tournament team.

The All-Stars — who are all either 11 or 12 years old — are Owen O’Malley, Avery Johnson, Nate Johnson, Max Nichiporuk, Hayden Way, Nolan Way, William Pugh, Joel Bush, Joey DiFulvio, Benny Stevens, Julian Springer, and Evan Fraser.

The District 9 Little League Tournament is an eight-team double-elimination tournament that featured Cazenovia, Camden, Canastota, Chittenango, Lee, Vernon Verona Sherrill, Northern Community, and Oneida.

Led by head coach Mike Nichiporuk and assistant coaches Pete Way and Joe Way, Cazenovia went undefeated in the tournament, beating Lee 3-2, Chittenango 12-10, Camden 8-6, and Lee 7-6 in the final.

“The CBSA strives to provide a culture of developing the qualities of citizenship, discipline, teamwork, and physical well-being,” said CBSA President Kyle Choquette. “Playing in the district tournament allows Cazenovia to showcase those qualities while achieving our goal of winning the District 9 Championship. [Having] a winning culture within the CBSA [promotes] the program to continue to grow the number of participants that we serve.”

Cazenovia secured the championship title on July 11 with a “walk-off win” that occurred when Nolan Way delivered a single that put the home team in the lead in the bottom of the sixth and final inning. Because Lee, the visiting team, did not get another turn at bat, the game ended immediately with the home team victorious.

According to the CBSA’s game recap, Cazenovia was falling behind Lee in the early stages of the game, but the team made a comeback and tied the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning. Nate Johnson contributed a run batted in (RBI) single and Hayden Way had a run-scoring double.

“As Lee took a 6-3 lead in the top of the sixth inning, Cazenovia showcased their resilience,” the recap states. “Avery Johnson and Max Nichiporuk started a rally with base hits, followed by Nate Johnson’s run-scoring single and a crucial two-RBI base hit by Hayden Way. With Williams Pugh drawing a walk and the bases loaded, Joel Bush singled to set the stage for Nolan Way’s heroics. Way’s single up the middle sealed the victory and crowned Cazenovia as the 2023 District 9 Little League Champions.”

The CBSA reported that O’Malley delivered a solid performance on the pitching mound, allowing five hits and two earned runs over three and one-third innings, striking out four batters. Hayden Way contributed one inning of no-run ball, striking out two. Max Nichiporuk and Nate Johnson combined for four strikeouts in the final one and two-third innings to secure the win.

On offense, Cazenovia had a total of 11 hits in the game. Max Nichiporuk went 3-for-3 at the plate, Hayden Way finished 2-for-3 with three RBI, and Nate Johnson and Bush collected multiple hits.

“This team has a lot of positive energy in the dugout and when we get down, we know it’s not over; we have to keep fighting and lifting each other up,” said Max Nichiporuk.

Cazenovia Little League last won a district title in 2017.

“This victory marks a significant milestone for our league,” said CBSA Vice President Ray Schofield. “. . . It was a nail-biter that kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the very end.”

With its district championship win, the Cazenovia Majors All-Star team advanced to the New York State Section 2 “Sectional Tournament,” ultimately losing to Saratoga Springs and Utica.

Throughout the All-Star district tournament and state sectional games, Cazenovia’s batting leaders were Nate Johnson with a .643 batting average, 1 home run, 7 RBI, and 9 runs scored; Max Nichiporuk with a .615 batting average and 7 RBI; and Hayden Way with a .438 batting average, 1 home run, and 7 RBI.

“Max and Nate had crazy offensive numbers throughout the tournament, [and] Hayden constantly came up in clutch spots to help us win a bunch of games,” said Mike Nichiporuk.

The pitching leaders were Nate Johnson with a 2.40 earned run average, 11.2 innings pitched, and 20 strikeouts; O’Malley with a 4.50 earned run average, 9.1 innings pitched, and 13 strikeouts; and Fraser with a 3.00 earned run average, 4.2 innings pitched, and 10 strikeouts.

According to Mike Nichiporuk, this year’s All-Star team exhibited an impressive work ethic, dedication, and desire to improve.

He pointed out that from May 15 to June 26, most of the kids playing for the Cazenovia Majors All-Stars were also participating on travel ball teams and in regular season little league at the same time.

“We were running practices around [those other teams],” he said. “A lot of our practices were in the evenings on Fridays and Sundays, so the commitment from these guys was incredible. On top of that, this team never got down. We often found ourselves trailing or tied in the late innings, and we found a way to win. It’s an amazing group and [I’m] excited to watch them continue to grow at the next level.”

To learn more about the CBSA and its programs, visit cazbaseballsoftball.org.