A summer to remember for Burnt Hills 12U All-Star baseball team

GLENVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- This year's Burnt Hills 12U All-Star baseball team was special in so many ways.

"We were all great friends," said the team's seventh grade pitcher, Luca Kelly. "If one of us was down, we picked each other up. We were all great hitters, pitchers. We [had] just…great sportsmanship with each other. We were a brotherhood."

"These guys, for the most part, have been together since they were five years old," said head coach Gregg Kelly - Luca's dad. "They've grown year after year. And to finish the way that we finished has been so special, and we couldn't have scripted it any better."

The script started with a District II title in early July, as the Spartans took down local teams that sometimes towered over this just 10-player squad.

"They were very big kids, and they were throwing really hard," said eighth grade third baseman Parker Newlove. "It was really a challenge to try and beat them. But we just tried our best. If they were a fast pitcher, we'd time them up, and…yeah, just get a jump on them."

From there, Burnt Hills took that same approach to the state level, and just kept on winning games, until they had captured the 2024 Eastern New York Cal Ripken State Championship, defeating Saratoga in the championship game, 9-6.

"It meant so much to us, 'cause every year, we tried our best, and we...came up a little bit short," said seventh grade catcher Gavin West. "But this year we got it, and we were so excited."

But the team had to play the championship game without their head coach, who was in Wilmington, Delaware, for his daughter Madeline's spinal surgery. She has long suffered from Scoliosis.

The surgery, fortunately, was successful, as was Burnt Hills' pursuit of a state title. The team was guided to victory against the Blue Streaks by their starting pitcher, Luca, who took the mound that day with some extra motivation.

"In my mind, I was like, "I'm just trying to do it for my sister, and just try to do as much as I can for her." It was pretty tough. I mean, I knew that they were a great hitting team. And my dad wasn't there, so I needed to call my own pitches. And I just went up there, and I pitched as much as I could until I just didn't have much more."

"I was very impressed because…that was, like, his best game ever," said West. "He pitched really great, and…just had very good composure."

Madeline said she's been feeling better every day since the surgery.

"I just felt like everything happened for a reason," said Gregg Kelly. "You know, it lined up that my son was pitching in that championship game. I knew that I had to be there for my daughter. And [I] just knew, you know, it was pretty much in God's hands at that point."

But the journey didn't stop there. Burnt Hills traveled to the baseball mecca: Cooperstown, New York, where they reached the semifinals of the Cooperstown All-Star Village Week 9 National Tournament, which included over 70 teams.

"Our expectations…were just to compete and have fun; it [was] our finale," said Gregg Kelly. "But what we did, you know, against the teams...from all over the country - for instance, the team that we played rostered 25 kids in the semifinals - competing and doing what we did to make it to the final four, out of 73 teams, is…out of control."

The strides this team has made over the years goes well beyond their accomplishments on the diamond.

"Outside of baseball, I'm proud of the boys…turning into young men," said Kelly. "And I think that…that's what we talk about and what we preach to these kids. "This is like an opportunity for you to just be a better person." And I think we've done a great job with that."

And the players are left with memories that will last a lifetime.

"Forever I'll look back to this summer," said West. "It's been a really great summer."