Batavia Rotary

It was a long day of baseball at Dwyer Stadium Saturday as offense dominated in all four games leading up to a 19-1 tournament championship win for the Batavia Blue Devils over the pitch-weary Oakfield-Alabama Hornets.

This was the 15th year for tournament, sponsored by the Batavia Rotary Club.

To reach the finals, Batavia beat Attica 8-6 and O-A beat Notre Dame 10-9, erasing a 7-0 deficit for the comeback victory.

In the consolation game, Attica downed the Irish 14-10 in a game punctuated by numerous complaints about the ball-strike calling of the home plate umpire.

Zach Hale was named tournament MVP after fanning 15 in the nightcap.

And nightcap it was. The game was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., but with the high-scoring games prior to the championship game, the Blue Devils and Hornets didn't take the field until 8:15 p.m.

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Press release:

Batavia and Le Roy Rotary Clubs are collecting relief items for the areas of New York and New Jersey devastated by Superstorm Sandy.

The Batavia club is subsidizing transportation of items to the hard-hit areas on Saturday. A team of Le Roy Rotarians led by President Samantha Vagg will take the items to an area established by Rotary clubs in the devastated area.

Donations are being coordinated through the Rotary districts in that region.

In addition, the Batavia club is donating $1,500 for relief efforts. If others wish to donate, they can -- either needed items or money. The check will be given to Samantha to take with her when the relief items are delivered on Saturday, Nov. 17.

Checks may be made out to the following:

The Walter D. Head Foundation of Rotary District 7490

c/o Calisto Bertin

Bertin Engineering

66 Glen Ave., Glen Rock, NJ 07452

This is a 501(c)3 foundation and is coordinating the cash donations to the devastated districts. Our donation will be divided among the six Rotary districts that were hardest hit in New York and New Jersey.

Tonight, I stopped by Batavia High School to get some shots of the backstage scene for the opening of "Guys and Dolls" -- one of the greatest Broadway shows ever -- the last Batavia Rotary show ever.

Tickets are $10 and there are shows at 7 p.m., Saturday and at 2 p.m, Sunday.

Although tonight is the opening night for the Batavia Rotary's 62nd annual musical production, Director Patrick Burk is no stranger to this year's beloved selection.

"I was in 'Oliver' when I was very young, and I've directed it before," Burk says. "It's great for families and it's a classic story by Charles Dickens. A lot of people with young families will be able to connect to it, and that's the audience that we want to appeal to."

Burk, who lives in Batavia, is also accustomed to working with children, as he annually directs the GoArt! Summer Youth Theater productions, which have had as many as 80-plus children in their casts. However, this show is unique in its mix of young and old actors alike.

"Working with a combination of young kids and older adults is amazing," he says. "The way that the older people pick things up from the younger people, and vice versa, is very interesting to me."

One of the younger people is Jordan McNees, who has the title role of Oliver Twist. The 11-year-old from Brockport, who has previously appeared as Ralphie in Geva Theatre's production of "A Christmas Story," says that he has enjoyed working with the other kids.

"It's a lot of fun. They're all really nice, and they're all great influences on me," he says. "They give me tips and advice."

One thing that he needed no advice on was his British accent, which he picked up with little difficulty.

"I watched a lot of British movies, so it was actually pretty easy to get it," he says.

Burk says that vocal director Deanna Spiotta played a large role in helping the cast master their accents.

"Deanna is very good with accents and vocals," he says. "A lot of people ended up learning relatively quickly. The accents were especially important because the show has a lot of strong characters that call for strong vocalization."

Paul Spiotta, who has the role of Fagan, agrees that his daughter has done an impressive job.

"If I'm going to be completely honest, with all due respect to all the past vocal directors for Rotary shows I've been in, she's the best so far," he says. "She's really done a thorough job in preparing everyone."

The elder Spiotta says he has enjoyed getting into his villainous role.

"There are a couple of scenes where I have to be really mean, and I try to get better at those every night," he said.

The combination of young and old does not end on stage; there is a wide range of ages working behind the scenes as well. Jonathan Adams, who is around the age of many of the children in the show, is working as a stagehand while his brother and sister portray orphans.

"I basically help out and get props ready and make sure the actors aren't missing anything, and lift boxes and stuff," he explains. "I like helping so the actors won't have to do as much work, since they're already working a lot on stage. And so that Mr. Burk won't have to do as much."

No matter what age, everyone interviewed agrees that they are ready for opening night.

"I think it's going to be great," says McNees. "The cast has put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into the show, and there's so many fun and exciting parts. It'll make you laugh and cry."

Performances are tonight, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Batavia High School auditorium. Tickets are $16 and can be purchased in advance at www.bataviarotary.com or at the door.

The Batavia Rotary Club honored its Father Day's tradition by sponsoring its annual Fly-In Breakfast at the Genesee County Airport.

Once again, hundreds of people turned out, including a number of pilots with their planes.

More photos after the jump: