ROCHESTER, NY – Senior utility player Geoff Dornes of Rochester Institute of Technology was selected as Empire 8 Player of the Year for the third time in his career and senior Dan Jurik of conference champion St. John Fisher College was chosen as Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year.
Ben Bostick of the Cardinals was named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, and first-year coach Brandon Potter earned Coach of the Year honors for leading the Cardinals to their first Empire 8 title and breaking the nine-year championship run of Ithaca College.
Dornes, the Empire 8 Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008, completed his collegiate career as the program’s all-time leader in hits (199), runs scored (138), at-bats (518), triples (14), runs batted in (111), and walks (75), while in the top-10 in batting average (.384), slugging percentage (.539), on-base percentage (.469), and doubles (31). He hit .333 this season with 30 runs scored and 32 RBI, while also posting a 2.48 earned run average with five complete games and a 4-4 mark.
Jurik finished the most successful season in St. John Fisher history with a 7-3 record and 1.99 earned run average. He threw five complete games and struck out 85 hitters in 77 innings, while limiting opposing batters to a .223 average.
Three senior teammates joined Jurik on the all-conference first team for the Cardinals, all of whom earned first-team honors in the 2008 season. First baseman Jon Gibbs hit .340 with team-highs of seven home runs and 51 RBI, shortstop Kevin Wing batted .342 with a team-best 44 runs scored, and outfielder Marc Montesano paced the team with a .385 batting average. Ben Bostick earned the top rookie honor after hitting .369 with 37 runs scored and 32 RBI.
Five players from conference runner-up Ithaca were selected to the all-conference first team, including David Ahonen, who received the honor for the third time in as many seasons. Ahonen led the Bombers with a .371 average and 32 RBI, adding 31 runs scored.
Senior staring pitcher Tom Fishback and sophomore reliever Tucker Healy of the Bombers repeated as first-team selections. Fishback finished 8-3 with a 2.72 earned run average, while Healy posted a 2-1 record, 1.17 earned run average, and three saves. Senior outfielder T.J. Abone and junior first baseman Trevor Wolf also garnered first-team recognition. Abone batted .336 with 30 runs scored and 32 RBI, and Wolf hit .364 with 31 RBI and a team-best 34 runs scored. Senior outfielder Ryan Campbell and junior second baseman Justin Smith of RIT were named to the all-conference first team. Campbell hit .383 with 28 runs scored, while Smith hit .331 with 41 runs scored and 16 stolen bases.
Junior catcher Denis Ackerman of Stevens Institute of Technology earned first-team accolades after hitting .328 with 27 runs scored and 24 RBI.
Senior designated hitter Russ Haentges of Utica College received first-team recognition. He led the Pioneers with a .375 average, adding 19 runs scored, four home runs, and 19 RBI.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2010 Baseball Sportsman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
2010 Empire 8 Baseball Awards
Player of the Year: Geoff Dornes, Rochester Institute of Technology
Pitcher of the Year: Dan Jurik, St. John Fisher College
Rookie of the Year: Ben Bostick, St. John Fisher College
Coach of the Year: Brandon Potter, St. John Fisher College
2010 Baseball All-Conference Release