Framingham Baseball Team Headed to Cooperstown in August

The Framingham Bay State A Team is heading to Cooperstown to play baseball.

The team will travel to New York to compete in a tournament from Aug. 10-16.

The Framingham Flyers will play three double headers on Sunday, Aug. 11, Monday Aug. 12 and Tuesday, Aug. 13. Then, the Flyers will be seeded with the other 100-plus teams in the tournament. The first playoff game is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 14.

Head Coach Jason Smith will be joined by Assistant Head Coach Peter Sleight, Assistant Coach Jack Zanco and Assistant Coach Dave Reilly on the Cooperstown trip.

Team members are Jaylen Bailey, Tommy Clark, Bobby Manion, Ben Mlavsky, Nathan Nichols, Jonathan Reilly, Benjamin Reyes, Brett Shapiro, Evan Sleight, Trevor Smith, Mark Steele and Brian Tosi.

"Coach Peter Sleight and I started coaching this group of boys when they were 9 and 10 years old and have watched them grow and become extraordinary baseball players and young men," said Smith.

Although the team has a strong mix of second and third year players, the majority of the players have been with Coach Smith for the last three years.

"I have watched these kids grow both on and off the field," said Smith. "I am truly blessed to coach such an amazing group of kids. My expectations with our Cooperstown tournament is that we play hard in every game and give a 110% effort on the field."

"However, it is also important that the kids continue to build friendships and to make new ones that I believe will last them a lifetime," said Smith. "I know from my experience coaching that this is an incredible group of kids that work hard and play the game the right way."

Smith said "while this will not be their final lasting baseball memory as all of these kids will play at the next level, my hope is that when the season comes to an end and I see all these kids again; we will have some great memories to share from this incredible experience."

The team consists of a very deep pitching staff, an extremely strong lineup with 12 players who can swing the bats and a defense that has really started to work well together and has gotten better and better all season long, said Smith.

"Not only do we have an amazing team of hard working players and coaches ready to head to Cooperstown, but we have amazing parents and fans who have been supporting these kids every step of the way," said Smith.

The cost for a dozen kids and four coaches to participate in the Cooperstown Tournament is $15,000, said Smith.

To help defray the Cooperstown trip, the team will hold a fundraiser at Gianni's Pizza in Nobscot on Thursday.

“Gianni’s always steps up to the plate to help the kids in Framingham whenever asked and we really appreciate it. They are a true asset to the business community in Framingham," said Smith.

Thursday is Pizza day at Gianni's. Between 4 and 9 p.m., Gianni's Pizza and Subs will donate 20 percent of its sales to the baseball team. Just mention Framingham Baseball when placing your order