Tryouts were held Sunday, November 13th and Friday, November 18th to determine the 2012 Southern Tier Brewers 11U team.  Players tried out from all around Chautauqua County.  The Brewers will compete in two different travel leagues this winter and spring.  The team will travel to Aberdeen, Maryland in July to compete in the Cal Ripken Experience tournament.  Your 2012 Southern Tier Brewers are....

I often get asked whether I believe in letting younger players play up. By “playing up” I mean allowing kids to play in an age group older than where they’re supposed to play. There really is no one answer to suit everybody. Kids develop mentally and physically at different rates, so each case must be looked at on an individual basis.

If kids possess the skill sets and are mentally capable of playing with older players, in most cases I would not have a problem with playing them up. When my son Ryan was moving up through the youth baseball ranks, he played up on several of his teams, which means he was usually the youngest on his team. He’s always been big for his age and back then his skill level fit in well with the older kids he was playing with, so the experience was a good one for him....

When no one's on base, the first baseman has the same responsibilities of any other infielder: He must be ready to field a ground ball if it's hit in his direction.

A misconception is that because a first baseman's glove is different, things are done differently at that position. Not true.

Catching a ground ball is catching a ground ball, and the same fundamentals apply to the first baseman that apply to any other infielder: have a wide base, get your butt down, keep your head up and your hands out in front.

The Southern Tier Brewers traveled to Holland on Father's Day to face the Holland All-Stars in the Southtown's Travel League.  The Brewers made quick work of Holland as they got off to a 10-0 lead after two complete innings.  The Brewers had 10 hits in those opening two innings while Drew Boggs handled the pitching duties facing 6 batters and recording 4 strikeouts.  From there it was smoothe sailing as Easton Tanner, Jayden Schultz and Zach Fischer finished out the pitching duties.  The Brewers pitching staff held Holland to 4 hits on the day.  Offensively, it was the Brewers bats that were hot as they chalked up 22 hits with Anthony Gullo leading the way going 4 for 4 with a triple and a double.  Andrew Pumford added 3 singles while Ben Lockwood, Fischer and Schultz each added a pair of hits.

The Brewers now qualified for the Championship Bracket of the Southtown's Travel League holding to a 5-1 record.  The playoffs are set to begin the weekend of July 2nd.  The Brewers take on Lakeview Blue this Sunday at 12 noon. 

The Southern Tier Brewers traveled to Orchard Park this afternoon to face the only other unbeaten team in the Southtowns Travel League, The Orchard Park Thunder.

The Brewers kept it tight with a great first and second inning by starting pitcher Easton Tanner.  Tanner then got things started offensively with a single to lead off second inning which was followed by Luke Heil getting hit by a pitch, a single by Bryce Jackson and the a ripped double by Zach Fischer that helped the Brewers jump out to a 5-0 lead after two complete.

Drew Boggs, Luke Heil and Cole Snyder finished the pitching duties for the Brewers.  The pitching staff held the powerful Thunder to only 4 hits on the afternoon.  Offensively, Tanner finished with a pair of hits to lead the offense.

The Brewers will be playing in the A-Turf Tournament next week at Batavia, NY.

The Southern Tier Brewers got out to a 5-0 lead after two innings and never looked back as the Brewers improved their record to 3-0 and a share of the top spot in the Southtowns Travel League.

Anthony Gullo, Cole Snyder and Drew Boggs led the way offensively each recording two hits on the afternoon.  Defensively, Easton Tanner made two spectacular outs behind the dish.

Handling the pitching duties for the Brewers were Easton Tanner, Cole Snyder, Luke Heil and Tyler Hind.

The Brewers travel to Orchard Park next week where they will take on Orchard Park Thunder, the "A" team for Orchard Park.  The Thunder is also undefeated so, it will be a battle of the unbeatens.

The Chautauqua County Scrappers won a pair of games vs the CP Rams at Bergman park taking the first game 11-4 and the second 7-3. The Scrappers ...