2025 Buffalo Nine Captures Sixth Championship in Seven Seasons in MUNY-AA-MSBL Buffalo League
MUNY-AA-MSBL Buffalo League, 45+ Division
Buffalo Nine 14, Buffalo Anvil 0
Submitted by James Lacki, Co-Manager
August 21, 2025-Buffalo, NY – The Buffalo Nine 45+ captured their sixth championship in seven seasons by avenging their only loss of the season. It is the team’s seventh championship in the league’s 10-year existence.
The Buffalo Nine had their 21-game winning streak snapped midway through the 2025 season. Buffalo Anvil was the team that ended the streak and The Nine would not forget. The Nine started a new winning streak with five wins after that loss to capture another title.
The Buffalo Nine finished the regular season with nine wins and one loss, securing the #1 seed. In the semi-finals, they faced the #4 seed Phillies. Despite not having played in two weeks, all facets of The Nine’s game were sharp. The team pounded out 12 hits on their way to a 10-4 victory.
John Catanzaro led the way, going to 2-4, with a run scored and two RBI. Fred Falkowski, Joe Ferrando, and Dan Potwora each had two hits with an RBI. Timothy Kirst earned the victory, scattering seven hits over 4 2/3 innings pitched and striking out five. Craig Leone did not allow a hit over the final 2 1/3 innings while striking out three batters.
A week later, The Nine returned to the field determined to avenge the loss from earlier in the season. They wasted no time plating seven runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Nine plated another seven runs in the third inning on their way to a 14-0 victory in five innings. 
Good base running, flawless fielding, great hitting, and lights-out pitching were in order for this game. The offense hammered out 15 hits over four innings. The attack was led by Jeremy Ross, who went 3-3 with two runs scored, two RBI, and two stolen bases. Ferrando had two hits, two runs scored, an RBI, and two stolen bases.
Jim Poulos was 2-2 with two runs scored and two RBI. Mike Webster was 2-3, including a double and three RBI. Pitching was sharp with Mike LaRosa throwing four strong innings, allowing four hits with six strikeouts. Kirst secured the final three outs of the season, allowing no hits and recording a strikeout.
The Nine finished the season 11-1, scoring 114 runs and allowing only 39. The team batted .399, with 10 players batting over .333. Ross (.625), LaRosa (.591), and Falkowski (.563) were the team’s top hitters.
The pitching staff finished the season with an ERA of 3.33. Both Kirst (3.13 ERA) and LaRosa (2.55 ERA) had five pitching victories. Kirst recorded 46 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched.
Other team members who contributed to this year’s stellar season are: Dave Dukoff, Tom Hoffman, James Lacki (co-manager), Scott Lauck, Ralph Proulx, Dan Wierczbicki (co-manager), and Paul Yemma.