Ithaca Favored to Regain Empire 8 Baseball Title
ROCHESTER, NY – Ithaca College, which had its nine-year reign as conference champion ended last season by St. John Fisher College, is favored to regain the title according to the Empire 8 Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll. The Bombers were the unanimous choice to win their 10th conference title.
Junior relief pitcher Tucker Healy of the Bombers earned first-team all-conference honors in each of his first two seasons and has been to Baseball America’s preseason All-America team. The publication also named him the third-best Division III prospect for the 2011 draft after he was named the top relief pitcher in the New England Collegiate Baseball League over the summer.
Other returning first-team players for Ithaca are graduate student David Ahonen, a three-time first-team all-conference third baseman who led the team with a .371 batting average and 32 runs batted in last season. Senior first baseman Trevor Wolf hit .364 with 31 RBI and a team-best 34 runs scored.
St. John Fisher is the coaches’ choice to finish second and opens the 2011 campaign ranked 23rd in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason poll. The Cardinals are coming off a 31-14 season that included not only their first Empire 8 title, but also a regional runner-up finish in their second appearance in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
The Cardinals return 2010 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Ben Bostick and 2009 Empire 8 Player of the Year Leo Fusilli, both of whom earned second-team all-conference recognition a year ago. Bostick hit .369 with 37 runs scored and 32 RBI, while Fusilli batted .339 with 36 runs scored.
Stevens Institute of Technology was the coaches’ selection to place third this season after finishing one game out of that spot a year ago and finishing 21-19 overall. Senior catcher Dennis Ackerman earned first-team accolades in 2010 after hitting .328 with 27 runs scored and 24 RBI. Senior outfielder Russ Grimes was named to the all-conference and all-region second-team honors.
Rochester Institute of Technology, the coaches’ pick to finish fourth this year, will take the field without Geoff Dornes, who graduated as the only three-time Empire 8 Player of the Year in conference history. Senior second baseman Justin Smith was selected to the all-conference first team after hitting .331 with 41 runs scored and 16 RBI.
Utica College, picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, is led by senior third baseman Anthony DiSalvo, a second-team all-conference choice a year ago. He hit .367 with 20 runs scored.
17 of last season’s 40 conference games were decided by one or two runs, including 10 one-run contests.
2011 Empire 8 Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Ithaca College 16 points
2. St. John Fisher College 13
3. Stevens Institute of Technology 9
4. Rochester Institute of Technology 8
5. Utica College 4