Baseball | 2/14/2020 10:54:09 AM
Four teams will vie for the 2020 Empire 8 Championship, as the upcoming season gets underway with Elmira starting in Florida on Feb. 17. St. John Fisher and Utica are scheduled to start Feb. 22, while Houghton gets its season going on Feb. 28. All four teams will advance to the double-elimination Empire 8 Championship Tournament, which will take place at the home of the regular season champion and top-seed on May 7-9. The Empire 8 Champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. There will be a new Empire 8 champion, as eight-time defending champion Ithaca will compete in the Liberty League.
Fans can watch the action all season long, free of charge on
Empire 8 TV.
Players to Watch (Sorted Alphabetically by Player)
Taber Carter, Elmira, Jr., P, Hannibal, NY/Hannibal – Carter was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division III Players to Watch List. He evolved into a reliable starter last season, recording a 3.96 earned-run average over 38 2/3 innings of work.
Matthew Leviton, Utica, Sr., OF, South River, NJ/South River – Leviton is coming off a strong 2019 season in which he slammed 12 extra bases and reached base at a .434 clip. Defensively, Leviton ahad seven outfield assists last season and has not made an error in his first three years at Utica.
David Wessells, Houghton, Sr., OF, Oneonta, NY/Oneonta – Wessells enjoyed a tremendous 2019 season, hitting .378 while drawing a team-best 20 walks and getting on base at a .471 clip. He also was among the E8 stolen base leaders with 16 in 18 attempts. Wessells earned 2019 All-Empire 8 first team accolades.
Allen Murphy, St. John Fisher, Sr., OF, Richburg/Bolivar-Richburg – Murphy, the reigning Empire 8 Player of the Year, was also Named Third-Team All-American by both the ABCA and D3baseball.com and was a Google Cloud Academic All-America selection by CoSIDA. Murphy was named the New York Region Player of the Year by both the ABCA and D3baseball.com after hitting .394 with nine home runs and 42 RBI. He is a 2020 D3baseball.com Preseason All-American.
Team Capsules (Sorted by 2019 Standings)
St. John Fisher
The Cardinals return nearly everyone and 11 All-Empire 8 selections from a team that posted 29 wins last season. Allen Murphy, Justin Graham and Antony Mantova were all named preseason All-Americans by D3baseball.com. Murphy is rated as the fifth best prospect in Division III by perfect game. The Cardinals are ranked or receiving votes in three preseason polls. Head coach Brandon Potter enters season sitting on 299 career wins and will look to lift St. John Fisher to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017. Seven different returners hit at least .300 last season. All-Empire 8 returners include first teamers Tim Geissel, Graham, Mantova, Murphy and Thomas Pasquale in addition to second team selections Michael Beimel, Ryan Brown, Brandon Roberts, Ryan Simmons and Kenneth Westbrook and honorable mention pick Stephen Edgett.
Utica
Utica is set to return 30 players from last season’s squad that advanced to the Empire 8 Tournament. The senior duo of outfielder Matthew Leviton and catcher Matthew Fitzgerald will look to lead the Pioneers offense in 2020. Senior Griffin Baur and junior Jonathan Hardy are set lead the Utica rotation. Baur struck out 47 batters in 50 innings last season, while Hardy was right behind with 39, while walking just seven batters. The Pioneers will have plenty of new faces looking to step up and earn key roles.
Houghton
Houghton looks to make strides after winning 11 contests last season. The Highlanders return eight returning position players and five starting pitchers, including senior outfielder David Wessells, an All-Empire 8 first team selection. Wessells hit .378 in 2019 and reached base at a .471 clip. He also was among the league’s stolen base leaders with 16 in 18 attempts. The duo of senior hurlers Brandon Joslin and Griffin Tubbs will form a strong 1-2 punch on the mound. Joslin led Houghton with a 2.50 earned run average in 54 innings in 2019, while Tubbs had a 3.44 ERA in 65 1/3 innings. Both student-athletes had three complete games. Joslin was also an All-Empire 8 honorable mention selection.
Elmira
The Soaring Eagles return nearly their entire starting infield and a pair of outfielders from last season’s squad. Overall, 24 players are back for Elmira, including junior pitcher Taber Carter, senior outfielder Jansen Crossley and senior first baseman Tommy Fogarty, who were all named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division III Players to Watch list. Crossley was a 2019 All-Empire 8 honorable mention selection. In addition, sophomore shortstop Mason Ryan returns after starting all 36 games last season. In addition, sophomore transfer Robert Gruber and senior Garinder Singh Sarana will look to solidify a solid starting rotation.
Final 2019 Empire 8 Baseball Standings
Ithaca (31-9, 16-2 Empire 8) – League Champions ^
St. John Fisher (29-14, 13-5 E8)
Stevens (18-21, 13-5 E8) *
Utica (15-24, 9-9 E8)
Houghton (11-22, 6-12 E8)
Elmira (8-28, 4-14 E8)
Canton (6-31, 2-16 E8) %
^ Ithaca moved to the Liberty League effective for the 2020 season
*Stevens moved to the MAC Freedom Conference effective for the 2020 season
% SUNY Canton moved to the North Atlantic Conference effective for the 2020 season
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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