Baseball | 2/18/2022 1:28:03 PM
St. John Fisher will look to defend its league title, as six teams will vie for the 2022 Empire 8 Championship, as the upcoming season gets underway with Elmira kicking off non-conference play on February 19. Empire 8 regular season league play is set to begin on April 1. The top four teams will advance to the Empire 8 Championship Tournament, which will take place from May 6-15. The Empire 8 Champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
Fans can watch the action all season long, free of charge on the
Empire 8 Network.
2022 Empire 8 Players to Watch
Angus Adams, Elmira, Sr., U, Ottawa, Ontario/Longfields-Davidson Heights – Adams will be counted on to help lead the Elmira pitching staff and provide offense, while playing several positions on the diamond in 2022.
Joe Battista, Utica, Gr., DH/1B, South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls – Battista earned 2021 All-Empire 8 first team accolades after batting .442 with 14 doubles and 36 RBI, while recording a .552 on-base percentage and .600 slugging percentage.
Noah Campanelli, St. John Fisher, Jr., INF, Pittsford, NY/McQuaid Jesuit – Campanelli earned First-Team All-Region by D3baseball.com and Second-Team All-Region by the ABCA and was an All-Empire 8 first team pick after hitting .385 with 67 runs scored, 18 doubles, three homers and 27 RBI.
Leandro Guzman, Russell Sage, Fr., OF, New Britain, CT/New Britain – Guzman is expected to step right in and help patrol the outfield for the first-year Russell Sage program.
Ryan Newtown, Houghton, Sr., P, Winthrop, NY/St. Lawrence – Newtown earned All-Empire 8 second team accolades in 2021 after going 7-1 with four complete games and one save.
Josh Tryon, Keuka, Jr., 3B, Elmira, NY/Thomas Edison – Tryon emerged as a breakout performer for the Wolves in 2021 and tied an Empire 8 single-game record with three triples in the Empire 8 Tournament first round game versus Elmira.
Team Capsules (Sorted by Spring 2021 Standings)
St. John Fisher
The Cardinals will look to repeat as Empire 8 Champions after finishing with 17-1 record in league play last season en route to the program’s third conference tournament championship and first NCAA tournament berth since 2017. The Cardinals outscored conference opponents by an average of 13-3 before racking up 77 runs in four Empire 8 playoff contests. The Cardinals will look to replace ABCA/Rawlings and D3baseball.com Player of the Year Adam Zebrowski (20 HR, 70 RBI) and all-time hits leader, All-American Justin Graham. In addition, Fisher will look to replace All-Empire 8 hurlers Anthony Brophy (8-0, 1.84 ERA, 74 K) and RJ Kuruts (11-2, 3.33 ERA, 100 K). St. John Fisher’s offense was among the Division III leaders batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.478), slugging percentage (.571) and scoring offense (12.2) last season with 53 home runs. The Cardinals return five starters that hit at least .300, including All-Empire 8 first team selections Noah Campanelli (.385, 27 RBI, 67 R), Brian Norsen (.375, 6 HR, 52 RBI), Luke Duffy (.386, 39 RBI, 29 BB) and Rookie of the Year James Ward, Jr (.359, 6 HR, 42 RBI). D3baseball.com New York Rookie of the Year James Murphy (.311, 38 RBI, 6 TRP) will also be back. All-region pitcher Alec Teska (3-2, 3.04 ERA, 47 K) should help lead the starting rotation, along with All-Empire 8 selections Hunter Walsh and Michael Poirier.
Houghton
The Highlanders will have plenty of experience back from last season’s 20-win team that finished second in the Empire 8 standings. Senior pitcher Ryan Newtown (7-1, 4.16 ERA, 30 K), second baseman Dylan Boprey (.270, 24 RBI) and outfielder Jason Kauffeldt (.256, 30 RBI, 32 R, 18 SB) return as All-Conference selections. In addition, Zach Parr is back after hitting .339 with three homers and 29 RBI, while catcher Chris VanCheri will look to cement his role as one of the top catchers in the league. Houghton will have to replace Wayne Rode, who hit seven home runs last season and David Wessells (.361, 40 R, 20 SB), a four-time All-Empire 8 selection and the Highlanders’ all-time hit king.
Utica
Utica returns a strong nucleus from last season’s team that won 18 games and made the program’s first-ever appearance in the Empire 8 Championship Series. Utica returns five All-Empire 8 selections from last season, include first baseman/designated hitter Joe Battista (.442, 36 RBI, 30 BB), Jon Son (.398, 4 HR, 37 RBI) and Zac Cronk (.305, 24 RBI, 30 R). All-conference reliever Brian Dineen (1-1, 1 SV, 18.2 IP, 12 K) will lead the bullpen and top returning starter James Roeschlaub (3-3, 6.63 ERA, 54 K) will look to fill the shoes of the multi-year ace Griffin Baur (5-2, 5.37 ERA, 75 K) who has graduated. In addition, sophomore outfielder Jason Story and catchers Noah Barber and Matthew Fitzgerald will look to make a major impact in 2022.
Keuka
The Wolves played a conference-only slate in 2021 and advanced to the Empire 8 Semifinals in their first season as a league member. A full non-league schedule and a spring trip to Florida highlight a team with eight returning starters. Keuka’s returns three All-Empire 8 selections in returning seniors Ryan Seales (.346, 17 RBI) and Nick Brown (.313, 13 RBI, 3 TRP) along with sophomore R.J. Murphy (.333, 8 RBI). Josh Tyron emerged as a strong offensive force down the stretch as well for Keuka, who batted .274 as a team in 2021. Jared Beckley (1-1, 4.57 ERA, 21.1 IP) is the top returning pitcher on what will be a young mound staff.
Elmira
A veteran group of 18 returning players return for first-year Elmira head coach Anthony Goncalves in 2022 campaign. Elmira advanced to the Empire 8 All-Empire 8 second team selections Colin McLaughlin (.319, 17 SB, 13 RBI) and Myles Littlejohn (.360, 19 RBI), along with Joe Morrone (.345, 19 RBI, 10 DBL) and Jourdan Plaisted, who are set to lead the offense. Ray Mineo is Elmira’s top returning pitcher. He will be counted on, along with Angus Adams and Kyle Tubbs to solidify the pitching staff.
Russell Sage
Russell Sage College makes its NCAA debut in 2022 under first-year head coach Nick Pontari. The Gators have 32 players on the roster for first-year head coach Nick Pontari, including 26 freshmen. Sage opens its maiden voyage on Feb. 26 against Mount St. Mary in Newburgh and play several home games at Joe Bruno Stadium, home of the Tri-City Valley Cats. The Gators should get a boost from assistant coach Karl Steffen who spent 34 seasons as the head coach at nearby RPI. The Among those to watch will be outfielder Leandro Guzman, second baseman Joe Salerno, pitchers Griffin Snyder and Adonis Cherry and junior shortstop Sean Berry and graduate student catcher Dillon Maxon.
Final 2021 Empire 8 Baseball Standings
St. John Fisher (31-7, 17-1 E8) – League Champions
Houghton (20-14, 11-9 E8)
Utica (18-17, 9-8 E8)
Keuka (6-16-1, 5-14-1 E8)
Elmira (6-27-1, 4-14-1 E8)
^ Russell Sage is set to play its inaugural season in 2022
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 and
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