Baseball | 4/17/2023 1:03:40 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on April 17, 2023, for games played from April 10-April 16. It is the 32nd Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2022-23 season. Sports featured include baseball, softball, men’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brian Norsen, St. John Fisher, Jr., 1B, Hamburg, NY/Frontier
Norsen batted .571 with 12 hits in 21 at-bats against non-league foes Ithaca and SUNY Oswego. Seven of his 12 hits went for extra bases with six doubles and a home run, while also driving in six runs and scoring six times. He went 5-for-7, coming up a triple shy of a cycle with three RBI and two runs scored in Saturday’s 20-8 win over Oswego. Norsen has put together seen straight multi-hit games and has seen his batting average rise over 100 points during that span. It is Norsen’s second E8 weekly accolade of 2023.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Hunter Kendall, Houghton, Sr., P, Gillett, PA/Troy
Kendall pitched 12 innings over two starts during the week, while not allowing an earned run, five hits, and four walks with 15 strikeouts. He allowed just one hit and struck out 11 batters on Monday against Penn State Du Bois. Kendall also picked up the win against Keuka Saturday, scattering three hits, while striking out four batters. He has now won four of his last five decisions. It is Kendall’s second E8 weekly honor of 2023.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Alex Beaird, Medaille, Fr., P, Oswego, IL/Oswego
Beaird fired a complete-game four-hitter against Russell Sage on Friday, scattering just four hits and a pair of unearned runs, while striking out eight batters to earn the win. He fired 108 pitches in the nine-inning effort.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Kooper Knabe, Utica, Fr., P, Cortland, NY/Cortland
Knabe added to his impressive first collegiate season with another complete game win over Elmira on Saturday. Over his eight innings of work, Knabe allowed just one run on five hits while striking out three and walking none. The win improved his record to 6-0 on the year and lowered his earned run average to 1.58. It is Knabe’s fourth E8 weekly honor of 2023.
SOFTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Maddie Zulager, Utica, Fr., OF, Moorpark, CA./Moorpark
Zulager put together an impressive week at the plate for Utica as she recorded at least one hit in seven of eight games played. Overall, Zulager went 13-for-25, hitting .560 with two doubles, a home run and nine RBI. In the team's game two win over Skidmore, she went 2-for-3 with a home run and five RBI while also coming across to score twice. This performance followed-up another 2-for-3 game as well. Later in the week, Zulager had back-to-back three-hit outings which came in game two against Rensselaer on Wednesday and game one against Nazareth on Saturday.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Jess Patterson, St. John Fisher, Sr., P, Rensselaer, NY/Columbia
Patterson went 2-0 against E8 foes during the week, allowing just one earned run in 12 innings, while scattering nine hits and striking out 20 batters. She fired a three-hit shutout in St. John Fisher’s win at Russell Sage on Saturday, striking out seven batters. Less than 24 hours later, Patterson struck out a career-high 13 batters, in a complete-game 5-2 win over Utica.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nick Tellone, St. John Fisher, Jr., Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna
Tellone led all Empire 8 student-athletes by shooting a two-over 144 during the Spring portion of the 2022-23 Empire 8 Championship, held at Hershey Country Club on April 15-16. On Saturday, Tellone shot an incredible 4-under par 67 to take the overall individual lead and shot a 77 on Sunday to maintain a 10-shot cushion as individual medalist over the four rounds spanning the fall and spring portions of the tournament and lead St. John Fisher to its 18th Empire 8 Championship in program history.
MEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Quinn McKercher, Nazareth, Jr., A, Lake Mary, FL/Lake Mary
McKercher led Nazareth to a pair of Empire 8 wins at Medaille and at home against Sage as he notched a combined five goals and nine assists for 14 points in the two games. His first goal against Medaille was his 100th career tally and he became the fifth fastest player in school history to reach the milestone. It is his second E8 weekly accolade of the season.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Ben Hammond, St. John Fisher, Jr., G, Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius
Hammond made 17 saves in a 2-0 week for St. John Fisher with both wins coming against E8 foes. On Wednesday, he stopped seven shots in a road win at Alfred. Three days later, he made 10 saves in a victory over Hartwick. Hammond also recorded eight ground balls in the two games.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Grace Stuhlman, Utica, So., M/A, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro
Stuhlman totaled 15 points on eight goals and seven assists in a 2-0 week for Utica. In Utica’s 18-12 win at Hartwick on Wednesday, Stuhlman set a career high with six goals on eight shots while assisting on three others. She went on to record four ground balls and win eight draw controls in the win as well. Stuhlman added two goals while setting a career high with four assists in the win over Medaille Saturday. Overall, she also controlled 16 draws and collected seven ground balls in the two wins.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Breese Burlingame, Utica, Fr., G, Binghamton, NY/Northfield Mount Herman
Burlingame went 2-0 in goal this week for Utica in a pair of crucial conference games. Burlingame began her week with an 18-12 winning decision over Hartwick where she made nine saves, recorded four ground balls and caused a turnover. In the Pioneers' 14-8 win over Medaille on Saturday, Burlingame recorded 10 saves and recorded three ground balls. It is her second E8 weekly accolade of the season.
MEN’S TENNIS
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Micah Schilke, Houghton, Sr., Houghton, NY/Fillmore Central
Schilke went unbeaten in singles and doubles play this week, helping the Highlanders remain undefeated in conference play and move closer to clinching the regular season crown. Schilke won both of his second singles matches (7-5, 6-1 over Nazareth and 6-1, 6-0 over Utica) while also winning two doubles matches (defeating both Nazareth and Utica 8-3). He has now won his last seven doubles matches and is 12-3 on the season in doubles.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Nathan Bowers, Nazareth, Sr., Distance, Endicott, NY/Owego Free Academy
Bowers had an impressive run at the Bucknell Invitational Saturday as he broke the school record in the 5,000-meters with a time of 14:51.19. He shaved 17 seconds off the record and is the first in school history to break the 15-minute barrier. He has the fastest time in the event among all E8 runners by nearly 30 seconds.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Malachi Yeager, Houghton, Gr., Multi-Events, Tennyson, IN/Heritage Hills
Yeager scored 5,792 points in the Decathlon at Bucknell University’s Bison Outdoor Classic over the weekend to record the best score among Division III student-athletes. In doing so, Yeager now holds the top mark in the E8 conference for this season and is qualified for the AARTFC meet. His score is also the 23rd best in Division III to date this season. He was second in both the shot put and discus and third in the pole vault.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Samantha Shea, St. John Fisher, Gr., Sprints, North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint
Shea exceled at Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic over the weekend. Shea began by helping St. John Fisher’s 4 x 100-meter relay team crush a program record with a time of 48.01 seconds which is 21st nationally to date. Shea also broke her own school record in the 400-meters, crossing the finish line in a time of 56.69 seconds, which is now the ninth best time in Division III this season. It is her second straight E8 weekly accolade.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Anne Spila, Alfred, So., Multi-Events, Mechanicsburg, PA/Trinity
Spila broke Alfred’s program record by scoring 3,766 points in the heptathlon, while competing in her hometown of Mechanicsburg, PA on Thursday and Friday during the multis portion of the Messiah University Invitational. Her top two events were the 200-meter dash, scoring 684 points with her time of 27.34 and the 100-meter hurdles, scoring 619 points with her time of 16.80. Her score ranks 37th in Division III to date this season. It is Spila’s second straight Empire 8 weekly accolade.
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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