For the third time in four years, the Auburn 11-year-old Little League All-Stars will compete in the New York State Tournament.

They play at noon Saturday against the Section III champion in Oswego. The tournament is broken up into two pools - A and B - with three teams in each. The pool winners and runners-up advance to the semifinals Aug. 11.

Last year's team advanced all the way to the finals, but experience means nothing because the team and coaching staff are completely new. In fact, only one player was on last year's state tournament squad - Nick Petrosino.

“This is really special,” head coach John Baranick said. “These kids all realize how lucky they are to have gotten this far too, which is a good thing.”

“A lot of these kids have participated in the (sectional) tournament but have never gotten to the state level,” assistant coach ZB LaDouce added. “As coaches, we haven't ever gotten this far either so we are just having a lot of fun right now.”

Auburn is one of only six teams that will be competing for the state title this weekend. The All-Stars qualified for states by claiming the Section I championship last weekend, beating Batavia 3-0 in the semis and Mel Ott 5-3 in the finals.

Against Batavia, pitcher Joey Dyson threw his first no-hitter and was just two batters shy of a perfect game.

In the title game, TJ Baranick recorded 10 strikeouts while Petrosino supplied a two-run home run. Auburn stepped up big time defensively in the game, with Dyson throwing out a runner at home from right field. And it's finally starting to sink in for the players, knowing they're only a few wins away from a state championship.

“This is really exciting,” Casey Komanecky said. “There are only six teams left in the state and we are one of them.”

Being able to travel to play is another part of the excitement. Prior to the sectional finals, team members took a ride on the “Maid of the Mist,” a boat that gave them an up-close look of Niagara Falls.

“We get to have a lot of fun together and we get really pumped up before the games,” Komanecky said. “It's a lot of fun to get to travel together and see all kinds of different things. We meet teams from all over the state, too.”

Like any good baseball player, Auburn has its share of superstitions, the most important being their new haircuts that nearly the entire team is sporting.

“Last year I got a mohawk before we played in Geneva and we won, so the whole team got mohawks,” Petrosino said. “Now we are doing it again so that we can win.”

Getting matching hairdos isn't the only thing that bonds this team - the coaches play their part as well.

“We really try to enforce the team aspect of the sport,” Baranick said. “It's important to always remind them that it's a team effort and to stress the importance of camaraderie with them. These kids all play really well together and they have a great attitude whether they win or lose. They all have a lot of fun and I am so glad that we get to help bring them this far and give them that experience.”

Auburn team members include Nick Adams, Baranick, Mike Biata, Paul Clark, Brian Cunningham, Terry Daniels, Dyson, Brian Franceschelli, Casey Komanecky, Pat LaDouce, Mike O'Hearn and Petrosino.