Baseball | 5/18/2021 9:58:31 AM
St. John Fisher College junior catcher Adam Zebrowski was named Player of the Year, teammate R.J. Kuruts earned Pitcher the Year honors and first-year outfielder James Ward, Jr. was named Rookie Staff of the Year, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2021 Baseball All-Conference awards on Tuesday, May 18. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Zebrowski is enjoying arguably the greatest single-season in Empire 8 history, batting .520 (66-for-127) with a 1.008 slugging percentage and an incredible 1.626 OPS to go along with a league-record 17 home runs, 59 runs batted in, 11 doubles, 56 runs scored, 128 total bases and 25 walks. He has reached base 102 times in 165 plate appearances. Zebrowski leads Division III in on-base percentage, is tied for second nationally in home runs, is second in batting average, fourth in total bases, fifth in RBI, tied for sixth in runs scored and tied for tenth in hits.
Zebrowski is a three-time Empire 8 Player of the Week and two-time NCBWA National Player of the Week in 2021. He is just the fifth Division III student-athlete to be named NCBWA Player of the Week twice in a season over the last 20 years. Overall, Zebrowski is the eighth different St. John Fisher student-athlete to be named Empire 8 Player of the Year.
Kuruts, a two-time Empire 8 Pitcher of the Week, is enjoying a tremendous 2021 season. Kuruts, a senior, is tied for the Division III lead with 10 wins and is tied for sixth nationally with 90 strikeouts in 61.2 innings, while opposing batters are hitting just .224 against him. He has started 11 games on the mound and has three complete games and three shutouts. Kuruts has struck out at least 10 batters in a game four times this season, including a career-high 16 on April 24 against Elmira. He is the fourth different St. John Fisher student-athlete to earn Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year honors.
Ward, Jr. is batting .364 in 31 games played with 13 extra base hits, including five home runs and 39 runs batted in. He has a tremendous 1.100 OPS on the strength of a .484 on-base percentage and .616 slugging percentage. Ward. Jr. has drawn 15 walks and is tied for the team lead, being hit by pitch 11 time this season. In addition, he is 6-for-6 in stolen bases. A two-time E8 Rookie of the Week, Ward, Jr. is the 12th different St. John Fisher student-athlete to earn Empire 8 Rookie of the Year accolades.
Houghton College’s Brian Reitnour and his staff of assistant coaches Brandon Gettig, Tom Kenney and Dr. Michael Ritter were named the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. The Highlanders finished the regular season with an 11-9 record in league play and won 20 games overall for the first time in program history. It is the first time that Reitnour and his staff earned E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Empire 8 Regular Season Champion St. John Fisher led all institutions with 11 first team selections, while Utica College and Houghton both had a pair of first team honorees. Graduate students Justin Graham of St. John Fisher and David Wessells of Houghton both earned All-Empire 8 first team selections for the fourth consecutive year. Anthony Brophy of St. John Fisher earned his third All-E8 accolade. Brophy was also the 2017 Empire 8 Rookie and Pitcher of the Year.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021 Empire 8 Baseball Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference 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.
2021 Empire 8 Baseball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Adam Zebrowski, Jr., C, St. John Fisher
Pitcher of the Year: R.J. Kuruts, Sr., P, St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: James Ward, Jr., Fr., OF, St. John Fisher
Coaching Staff of the Year: Houghton, led by Head Coach Brian Reitnour
Empire 8 First Team
Adam Zebrowski, Sr., C, St. John Fisher
Brian Norsen, So., 1B, St. John Fisher
Noah Campanelli, So., 2B, St. John Fisher
Justin Graham, Gr., SS, St. John Fisher
James Murphy, Fr., 3B, St. John Fisher
David Wessells, Gr., OF, Houghton
Luke Duffy, Jr., OF, St. John Fisher
James Ward, Jr., Fr., OF, St. John Fisher
Wayne Rode, Sr., OF, Houghton
Joe Battista, Sr., DH, Utica
Anthony Brophy, Gr., P, St. John Fisher
RJ Kuruts, Sr., P, St. John Fisher
Hunter Walsh, So., RP, St. John Fisher
Michael Poirier, So., RP, St. John Fisher
Brian Dineen, Sr., RP, Utica
Empire 8 Second Team
RJ Murphy, Fr., C, Keuka
Jon Son, So., 1B, Utica
Dylan Boprey, Fr., 2B, Houghton
Zac Cronk, Sr., 2B, Utica
Michael Muentener, Sr., SS, Utica
Myles Littlejohn, Fr., 3B, Elmira
Colin McLaughlin, Jr., OF, Elmira
Jason Kauffeldt, So., OF, Houghton
Nick Brown, Sr., OF, Keuka
Ryan Seales, Jr., U, Keuka
Michael Beimel, Sr., DH, St. John Fisher
Ryan Newtown, Jr., SP, Houghton
Griffin Baur, Gr., SP, Utica
Adam Pankowski, Sr., RP, Keuka
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Ray Mineo, Jr., P, Elmira
Jason Kauffeldt, So., Houghton
Dave Verrett, Gr., 1B/P, Keuka
Mitchell Rosati, Sr., OF/P, St. John Fisher
Matt Leviton, Gr., Utica
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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