General | 4/11/2022 12:52:36 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on April 11, 2022, for games played from April 4-April 10. It is the 30th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2021-22 season. Sports featured include baseball, softball, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field and men’s volleyball.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joe Crossley, Utica, Jr., OF, Marcy, NY/Whitesboro
Crossley hit .500 (11-for-22) with three runs driven in over five games last week for the Pioneers. Crossley started the week with a 5-for-5 performance in the team’s 6-3 win over Sage where he also scored twice and drove in one run. Crossley also had multi-hit games in Utica’s win over Cazenovia where he went 2-for-4 with a run scored as well as going 2-for-5 with a run scored in the team’s 11-4 win over Fisher. Crossley now owns an eight-game hitting streak after recording at least one hit in each game last week.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Alec Teska, St. John Fisher, Sr., P, Cato, NY/Cato-Meridian
Teska earned his second straight E8 weekly honor after firing another gem on Saturday, a complete-game shutout against Utica. Teska went seven innings and allowed just five hits while finishing with four strikeouts. The Pioneers batted just .192 against the right-hander who did not yield a walk in the contest.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Brett Warden, Elmira, Fr., 3B, Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown
Warden started all six games at third base for the Soaring Eagles and hit .529 (9-for-17) to go along with four doubles, one triple, five runs batted in, and five runs scored. He helped to spark a rally for Elmira in game two of a twin bill on Friday with a three-run triple that would be the eventual game-winning hit. He also had a .652 on-base percentage and was 3-for-3 in stolen bases.
SOFTBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Hannah Haskell, Houghton, Sr., SS, Binghamton, NY/Susquehanna Valley
Haskell batted .483 (14-for-29) at the plate in Houghton's 3-5 week in Empire 8 play. The senior shortstop tallied a double, triple, two homeruns, five stolen bases, seven RBI and posted a 1.324 OPS. She started the week with a 4-for-5, two RBI performance in a win over Utica. She posted her first career home run in a win over Elmira and followed with her second dinger in the next game against Nazareth.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Allie Klonowski, St. John Fisher, Jr., OF, Buffalo, NY/Clarence
Klonowski finished last week with nearly as many RBI as she had hits as the Cardinals went 6-4 on the week with five wins coming against Empire 8 opposition. Over 10 games, Klonowski batted .419 after going 13-for-31 from the plate. The Buffalo native had two doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI and scored eight runs of her own. She finished the week slugging .774 and drew three walks for a .486 on-base percentage for a 1.260 OPS. She also had two steals on the base paths.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Megan Bennett, Alfred, So., P, Athens, PA/Athens Area
Bennett won four games last week including victories over Division II D’Youville University and Empire 8 foes, St. John Fisher and Nazareth College while also picking up a five-inning win over Fredonia. Bennett recorded a 1.96 earned run average and 1.04 WHIP with 36 strikeouts in 25 innings over the week including 10 punchouts against D’Youville and 10 against St. John Fisher in the nightcap of that double-header. She only gave up seven earned runs on the week as AU went 6-2 overall on the week and 3-1 in E8 action.
MEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jon Roth, Nazareth, Sr., M, Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima
Roth led Nazareth with six goals and four assists for 10 points in two games last week as the Golden Flyers dropped a 17-9 decision at Cortland and downed Hartwick 18-12 in Empire 8 play. He also had four groundballs. Roth tallied five goals and three assists in the win over Hartwick.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Jon Goodspeed, Utica, So., G, Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks
Goodspeed totaled 26 saves in a pair of conference wins last week. On Wednesday, he turned aside 14 shots to help the Pioneers come away with an 11-10 win at Russell Sage. He followed that up with 12 saves as Utica downed Keuka 10-4 on Saturday.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Grace Hines, Russell Sage, So., A, Schenectady, NY/Guilderland
Hines established a career-best with seven goals in Friday's Empire 8 victory versus Keuka. The sophomore accomplished the feat on just nine shots for her second E8 weeklky honor of the season.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lexi Scaccia, Utica, Sr., M, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro
Scaccia tallied a game-high six points on three goals and three assists as Utica defeated Hartwick on Wednesday afternoon. Scaccia also totaled four draw controls to move her career total to 203, becoming just the third player in program history to record over 200 draw controls.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Madeline Butta, Russell Sage, Jr., G, Millbrook, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes
Butta stopped 17 of the 20 shots that she faced in Friday's win vs. Keuka. The 17 saves marked a career-high for the junior goalkeeper. She made 12 of her 17 saves in the opening half of play.
MEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Micah Schilke, Houghton, Jr., Houghton, NY/Fillmore
Schilke led Houghton to a pair of wins in league play, 6-3 at St. John Fisher on Friday and 8-1 over Utica Saturday. On Friday, Schilke picked up a 6-4, 6-4 win at first singles. On Saturday, Schilke earned a 6-2, 6-1 win at first singles and partnered with Matthew Cicero for an 8-1 victory at third doubles.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – David Adadjo, Russell Sage, Fr., Sprints/Jumps, Nassau, NY/Columbia
Adadjo helped Sage to a sixth place finish at the Utica Invitational, earning points in a number of events on Saturday. He finished in third place in the 400-meter run in 53.53 seconds, while finishing in fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 12.51 meters. He also had a time of 11.92 seconds in the 100-meter run to take eighth place and picked up a sixth-place finish in the 200-meter run in 24.15. It is Adadjo’s second E8 weekly honor of the outdoor season.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Hunter Logan, Utica, So., Throws, Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer
Logan was a dual winner in Saturday's Utica Spring Invitational. The indoor shot put All-American continued his dominant form outdoors with a winning toss in that event of 15.58 meters and continued with a 40.10 meter discus mark to also win that event.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Laura Meade, Utica, Sr., Jumps, Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville
Meade placed first or second in three different events to lead Utica in its first-ever home outdoor meet on Saturday. A 5.05 meter performance collected second place in the long jump, while she was on the winning 4x400-meter relay team. In addition, Meade placed second in the 100-meter hurdles finals at 16.58 seconds in her collegiate debut in that event.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Brenna Johnson, Nazareth, Sr., Jumps, Cortland, NY/Homer
Johnson, a 2022 NCAA Indoor All-American, recorded a jump of 5.66 meters (18' 7") on her final attempt to win the long jump by one inch at the Rochester Invitational Friday. The leap puts her in first place in the Empire 8, All-Atlantic Region and fourth overall in Division III to date. It is Johnson's second E8 weekly honor of the outdoor season.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Josh Bigford, St. John Fisher, Sr., OH, Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse
Bigford led the Cardinals to their first NCAA Championship appearance after the Cardinals claimed the 2022 United Volleyball Conference league crown over the weekend with wins over No. 9 Vassar and No. 6 New Paltz. On Saturday, Bigford had 13 kills, five digs and three blocks in a four-set victory over Vassar in the UVC Semifinal match. Less than 24 hours later, Bigford had a match-high 18 kills, while hitting .340 with season-high totals of 12 digs and four blocks, as the Cardinals made history by winning the UVC Championship over New Paltz in five sets.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Evan Ingerick, St. John Fisher, Fr., S, Penfield, NY/Penfield
Ingerick helped lead the Cardinals to their first UVC Championship in program history, dishing out 59 assists to go along with 16 digs and four blocks in a pair of wins over top-10 opponents, Vassar and New Paltz. On Saturday, Ingerick dished out 17 assists and added 10 digs as Fisher knocked off Vassar in four sets in the UVC Semifinal. On Sunday, Ingerick had 42 assists and three blocks as Fisher rallied to defeat top-seed New Paltz in a five-set thriller in the league championship match.
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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