Published: August 01, 2008 08:39 am      

NYCBL: Power looks back on season, Kirby unsure if he'll return

GRAND ISLAND — Though they’d have preferred to be on the diamond, coaches and members of the Niagara Power gathered Thursday night to pay homage to the 2008 New York Collegiate Baseball League season.

For the second straight season, the Power failed to reach the postseason — this year’s 14 wins was a slight slip from last year’s 17 — and although he’s been happy with the support he’s received in his time, coach Sam Kirby said he wasn’t sure if he’d be back for a third season.

“The invitation has been given,” Kirby said during the team’s wrap-up banquet on Grand Island. “I’ve got to feel confident that I’m coming into the right situation. And I’d want to be involved in the recruiting.”

The Power, who had just one player on the NYCBL’s two all-star teams last year, didn’t fare much better this season. Niagara finished with the worst offense in the league, tying Allegany County with a .243 team batting average. The Power hit just one home run the entire season, one of a half-dozen teams with less than 10. Amsterdam led the circuit with 31. Also, Niagara had the league’s fewest doubles.

“I know what we need to recruit for next season,” said Cal Kern, the team’s general manager and president. “We need to get some more size. We need more offense.”

While offense was a concern, the team’s pitching and defense weren’t exactly stellar. Niagara finished second from the bottom in team earned run average with a 4.83 mark and was dead last in defense with a .942 team fielding percentage.

The Power did have a good stretch just after the all-star break when five wins in six starts got them back into the race for a playoff spot, and Kirby said the team’s base running made the difference during that stretch.

“We started to cut down on the errors and the walks and we started winning,” Kirby said. “That had been our Achilles heel through the first part of the season.”

One player who performed better than advertised was Harrison Helms, a seldom-used pitcher while at Niagara University. Helms finished with the most wins on the roster (4) and posted a team-leading ERA (2.98), and eluded to returning next season.

“This was a big challenge,” Helms said. “To go from throwing one or two innings of college ball to throwing six or seven innings each time out, this was really a challenge. But it was a blessing too. This was a great experience.

“It helped me realize I can pitch at the next level.”

While the team struggled on the field, it held its own at the box office. Niagara finished the season with 3,596 fans, with its largest crowd over 400. That wasn’t close to the league leaders (Watertown averaged 1,377 and Amsterdam averaged 1,205), but wasn’t near the league’s basement either (Webster had just 1,589 fans on the year.)

“With the rainouts, it never let us get into a rhythm,” Kern said. “We’re still learning, but we think it was another good year.”

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