Published: May 07, 2007 10:04 pm      

COLLEGE BASEBALL: New team to play at Sal Maglie, home opener set for June 8.

Looking for fireworks this summer?

Cal Kern, general manager of the newly formed Niagara Power of the New York Collegiate Baseball League, thinks his team will provide plenty during its inaugural season, both in and above Sal Maglie Stadium.

The team, which opens its regular-season schedule May 8 against the Webster Yankees, will follow the contest with a fireworks display, but with an unproven pitching staff and some big bats in the lineup, Kern hopes the team can put up big numbers.

“I think we’re going to see a lot of things rolling out to the fences at Sal Maglie,” said Kern, a Grand Island resident. “We’re probably going to be pretty strong offensively.”

Kern thinks his team has a horse in Drew Hollinghead, a 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher from Mississippi State, but the pitching could be suspect. Hollinghead has a batterymate in Mississippi State’s Brooks Lewis, who will be in the mix for the starting catcher’s duties. Other potential stars include Clayton Snodgrass, a redshirt freshman catcher and infielder from Texas Tech University.

The league, which features college players referred by pro scouts, has hosted a number of major leaguers in its 18 years. Tim Hudson and Brad Lidge are among the big names that have come through since the league’s inception.

The Power will play a 44-game schedule, including 21 games at Sal Maglie. Other teams in the league include former New York-Penn League cities Elmira, Geneva, Little Falls and Watertown.

Although Niagara is the newest team in the circuit, Kern thinks it has perhaps the nicest venue in Sal Maglie. The stadium has been renovated since the Niagara Falls Rapids left the NY-P and Kern thinks opponents will be impressed when they come to play in the Cataract City.

“Out of all the venues I’ve checked out so far, we have the best by far,” he said. “It’s a really nice place.”

Kern said the stadium will host a number of different food vendors and hopes to have at least three nights with fireworks this season.

Niagara opens a four-game exhibition schedule with the Albany Athletics of the American Amateur Baseball Congress on May 3, followed by a matchup with Meridian on May 4 and a doubleheader against the Canadian Thunderbirds on June 5.

Kern said he’s not sure what to expect in the team’s first season in terms of attendance, although he’s excited by what he’s heard throughout the community.

“There’s definitely been a buzz,” Kern said. “People are talking about it, but I don’t know what we’ll see out there.”

•••

Niagara Power

• WHAT: New York Collegiate League Baseball

• WHEN: Regular season opens June 8

• WHERE: Sal Maglie Stadium

• WHO: College players from across the country, the league is considered an equal to the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Contact group sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.