NCCC, D’Youville move baseball programs to Sal Maglie Stadium as part of plan to turn ballpark into year-round destination

From his time as a bat boy to pitching for Canisius on the road against rival Niagara, the experiences Matt Clingersmith had at Sal Maglie Stadium are part of what fueled his passion for baseball.

Now, after years of leading Niagara County Community College from its home diamond in Sanborn, Clingersmith is looking forward to giving his nationally-ranked JUCO program a stadium setting for its game-day atmosphere.

By officially signing contracts with the city of Niagara Falls in July, both NCCC and Division II D’Youville are now new tenants at the stadium, which will include holding nine-week fall ball sessions for the next two seasons and home games this upcoming spring.

In addition, its current tenant, the Niagara Power of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, will return to the stadium next summer with local house and travel teams competing on the field as well.

Now one of many present-day teams aiming to turn the ballpark into a year-round destination for baseball in Niagara County, Clingersmith is excited for the infinite experiences both college programs will provide to the region, starting with the opening fall ball session Aug. 28.

“It’s gonna be exciting that baseball is back in the city,” said Clingersmith, who listed having kids serve as bat boys or walk out with the Thunderwolves during the national anthem as ways of community engagement. “... I’m going to do as much as I can to help the local kids … I want kids to have that same stadium feeling that I had in watching elite baseball and maybe learn from watching good teams and I think D’Youville, 100%, would agree on that as well.”

The discussions to bring the Thunderwolves and Saints to the Cataract City began in Summer 2022 and finished this spring with the hopes of bringing both teams to the venue named after Niagara Falls native turned MLB pitcher, the late Sal Maglie.

And even before the Power began playing its home games in 2007, the stadium has had a history of hosting teams, like the Niagara Falls Pirates and later Sox, Tigers and Rapids of the New York-Penn League from the 1970s to 1990s as well as events such as the Section VI Class AA, A1 and A2 championships during Memorial Day weekend.

A major contributor in helping bring his fellow tenants in for this partnership, Niagara Power owner John DiCarlo said, was the city’s mayor, Robert Restaino. A big supporter of baseball in the city, Restaino commissioned the stadium’s improvement project, which was completed in April. The project included $1.67 million devoted to install an artificial turf playing field after years of using natural grass. The project also included new bullpens and a batting cage, among other upgrades, all of which contribute to a professional atmosphere.

The results of the renovation have started to pay off as the Power bolstered a lineup with plenty of local talent, including Andrew Stillinger (NCCC) and Thomas Peltier (Canisius), both Niagara Wheatfield graduates. DiCarlo hopes with the addition of two college programs sharing the site with the Power that more local players will want to further their careers in Western New York instead of out of the area.

“It’s all possible,” DiCarlo said. “You play your high school ball here, you grow up here to play your college ball here. You play your summer ball here. Major League Baseball scouts come to our games, you get scouted, you get drafted. … We’re looking to build this program at Sal Maglie.”