When the Niagara County Community College baseball team first got together in January, Head Coach Matt Clingersmith had a simple message.
"We didn't come here to play this season, we came here to conquer."
And conquer they have, setting a new school record for wins with 43, at one point winning a program best 28 straight en route to earning a berth to their fourth Junior College World Series.
The Thunderwolves rank 11th in the nation in hitting. But the strength of this team?
"We've had staffs that have been very, very good, but never a staff that's been this special."
Cameron Voss, Matt Matre and Christian Young have combined to go 22-1 this season, tossed a combined three no-hitters and, along with the rest of the staff rank first in earned run average (2.56).
"We're really just out there to do one job, and that's work and get ourselves a win," Young said.
"When we throw our game, nobody can touch us," Matre added.
"It's fun," Voss said. "I'm just trying to go out there and compete for the team and give them a good outing every time."
As they prepare to open tournament action on Saturday, the T-Wolves are primed to survive, advance and conquer their way to the their first World Series title.
"It's a big stage for a lot of 18, 19 year old kids and I think college baseball is all about momentum," Clingersmith said. "If we get the right momentum and right chemistry going again, we could hopefully bring this home for Western New York."
