Coach Accuses Buffalo-Area Baseball Team of Throwing a Game

The coach alleged that the team tanked the game for better playoff seeding

SBLive Sports

A high school baseball coach is accusing a Buffalo-area team of recently tanking a game.

The Buffalo News reported that Derek Hill, head coach of the Hamburg varsity baseball team, said in a letter that its opponent Williamsville East threw a game against the Bulldogs for a better position in the Section VI Class AA playoffs.

Hill sent the letter, which was obtained by The Buffalo News, to Section VI baseball chairman Robert Parry.

“While we understand that strategy plays a role in competitive sports, deliberately manipulating the outcome of a game raises significant ethical and procedural concerns that affect the integrity of the sectional tournament as a whole,” Hill noted.

The matchup between Williamsville East and Hamburg occurred earlier this week. 

The Flames had a 7-0 lead heading into the sixth inning. The Bulldogs scored a few runs to cut the deficit to 7-3.

In the seventh inning, Williamsville East walked two batters on nine pitches. The Flames proceeded to call a timeout, which brought all nine position players together for a mound visit.

Hill noted in the letter that the meeting was “beyond normal” and “lengthy.”

From there, Hill said that Williamsville East had its catcher opposite the batter’s box to ensure that Hamburg batters would walk. Hill also mentioned that the Flames first baseman was fielding a ground ball but refrained from stepping on first base for the out.

Williamsville East then walked five batters in a row until Hamburg took an 8-7 lead, Hill added.

According to Hill’s letter, the Flames infielders in the seventh were “making a mockery of the situation and openly broadcasting verbally their intentions to lose the game to the Hamburg baserunners.”

When the Bulldogs went up 14-7, the Flames brought in a new pitcher to record the last two outs and end the inning. 

Hill wrote that in the bottom of the seventh, Williamsville East hitters swung but seemed reluctant on running to first base. A Flames player safely reached third base, but stepped off the bag to get tagged out on purpose.

Hill stated the following in his letter:

“At the core of high school athletics lies a commitment to sportsmanship, integrity, and fair play. These are not abstract ideals – they are foundational values meant to guide student-athletes as they develop both as competitors and as young adults. When a team chooses to underperform for strategic advantage, it sends a troubling message: that the ends justify the means, and that success is worth more than honesty or effort.

“While this may not be a violation of an explicit rule, it certainly violates the spirit in which high school athletics are intended to be played. If left unaddressed, it risks normalizing behavior that prioritizes manipulation over merit, and strategic avoidance over genuine competition.”

Hill said that with Williamsville East’s efforts in throwing the game, they will face ninth-seeded Olmsted/Culinary/Emerson in the Class AA opening round. A victory for the Flames would then position them to take on top-seeded Hutch Tech in the quarterfinal round.

In the letter, Hill mentioned that Buffalo Public Schools historically “do not fare well” against teams from outside the district. Hill continued by saying that going up against two-straight BPS squads would allow Williamsville East to rest its top pitcher until the semifinal round.

Representatives from Section VI and the Williamsville East and Hamburg school districts, who were also addressed in Hill’s letter, are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter.

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