General | 3/11/2024 12:42:45 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on March 11, 2024, for games played from March 4 – March 10, 2024. It is the 27th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2023-24 season. Sports featured include baseball, softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis and men’s volleyball.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brendan Espinal, Russell Sage, Jr., OF, Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa
Espinal hit .619 (13-for-21) with a homer, triple, six doubles, eight runs scored, and five RBI across six games last week as the Gators went 3-3 in Florida. Espinal had three different games with at least three hits during the week, including a 4-for-5 performance with three doubles, a triple and two runs scored against Gordon College and a 4-for-4 effort with a home run, double and four runs scored in an 18-4 win over Waynesburg. Overall, Espinal had 24 total bases for a 1.143 slugging percentage and 1.780 OPS.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Ethan Cetton, Houghton, Sr., P, Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks
Cetton threw a complete game two-hit shutout and struck out six batters in his only outing of the week, leading the Highlanders to their first win of the spring, a 6-0 home victory over Pitt-Bradford on Tuesday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Gabe Cheddie, Alfred, Fr., OF/P, Toronto, Ontario/Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute
Cheddie led the Alfred University baseball team over Spring Break, who competed in six games over the course of four days. At the plate, Cheddie was 8-for-21 for a .381 batting average and finished with six RBI, including the program’s first-ever home run against Martin Luther College. In the same game, Cheddie was responsible for a double for Alfred University. On the mound, Cheddie threw three scoreless innings against Wentworth Institute of Technology, striking out two batters.
SOFTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Abigail Gatza, Alfred, Jr., 3B/C, Burlington, Ontario/Assumption Catholic
Gatza led Alfred University on the week with nine RBI from nine hits with three of them being doubles and one home run, making her Spring Break total being 11 RBI on 12 hits with four doubles and two homers. From Monday on, she went 9-for-21 and scored three of her four runs during that time as well while defensively staying perfect with five putouts, seven assists on 12 chances. Gatza saved her best for last, closing out the trip by going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI in an 11-3 win over Wittenberg.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Cassidy Ormond, St. John Fisher, Jr., P, Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse
Cassidy went 3-0 in the first full week of the season for the Cardinals, allowing just one run in 15.1 innings pitched in Arizona. She struck out 27 batters, allowed only 12 hits, and finished the week with a 0.43 ERA. Ormond struck out 11 batters in five innings in a victory over St. Catherine and struck out eight batters and scattered four hits in the win over Franklin & Marshall.
MEN’S LACROSSE
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Matthew Kemmis, St. John Fisher, Sr., A, Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt
Kemmis had nine points on five goals and four assists, as the Cardinals combined for 41 goals in two wins over Albion and Rhodes in Tennessee over spring break. In the 21-11 win over Albion on Tuesday, he had five points on four goals and one assist. In the 20-4 victory over Rhodes College on Friday, Kemmis showed his passing ability leading the team with three assists and added one goal for four points.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kevin Matson, Alfred, Sr., A, Chenango Bridge, NY/Chenango Forks
Matson led Alfred to wins over Concordia University and Nichols College, tallying 13 points on seven goals and six assists. Against Concordia, Matson finished with nine points on four goals and five assists to go along with six ground balls and one caused turnover. Against Nichols, Matson totaled three goals to go with an assist in the 6-5 win. He finished the game with a game-high six shots on goal for the Saxons.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – McLean Ralston, Nazareth, So., G, Fairport, NY/Fairport
Ralston recorded a .639 save percentage and 6.29 goals against average in a pair of games against Liberty League foes Ithaca College and St. Lawrence University. On Wednesday, Ralston made 13 saves in the 13-4 win at Ithaca and added 10 saves in the loss to nationally ranked St. Lawrence over the weekend. He currently leads the Empire 8 in saves and save percentage. It is his second E8 weekly honor of the season.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Samantha DeCondo, Utica, Gr., A, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro
DeCondo led Utica to a pair of convincing wins over Buffalo State College and Bryn Mawr College as she combined for 12 points on six goals and six assists. She had three goals and an assist in the win over Buffalo State on Wednesday. Five of DeCondo’s eight points in the win over Bryn Mawr Saturday came in the first quarter where she scored two goals and dished out three assists.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alexandra Queeney, Russell Sage, Sr., A, Johnstown, NY/Johnstown
Queeney became just the fourth Gator to surpass 100 career points in Tuesday's 18-11 win at SUNY Poly and set the program record for career draw controls in Saturday's 12-6 victory over Vermont State-Castleton. Queeney totaled five goals, six assists, 14 draw controls, four groundballs, and three caused turnovers across the pair of triumphs. She had six points (three goals and three assists) and nine draw controls in the win over SUNY Poly and added two goals and three assists against Castleton.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Allie Klestinec, Nazareth, So., G, Geneva, NY/Geneva
Klestinec finished the week with 26 saves and a .578 save percentage as she led Nazareth to a pair of non-conference wins with road victories over SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Brockport. Klestinec had a season-high 15 saves in the 13-6 win over Fredonia on Wednesday and stopped 11 shots with a season-high 39 shots faced in the 16-13 victory over against Brockport on Saturday. She leads the Empire 8 in saves and save percentage.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Edwin Sosa, Elmira, Jr., MB, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Centro de Excelencia Profesional
Sosa slammed 36 kills and hit .324 with 10 digs and six blocks in a pair of matches against UVC foes over the weekend. He averaged 5.14 kills and 5.93 points per set, as Elmira defeated No. 13 NYU in three sets and fell to SUNY New Paltz in four sets. Sosa had 15 kills and five blocks in the win over NYU and added 21 kills, while hitting .441 to go along with eight digs against New Paltz. It is Sosa’s second E8 weekly accolade of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Sonepith Keoviengsamay, St. John Fisher, Fr., OH, Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy
Keoviengsamay competed in two matches for the Cardinals in California. In his first match against Cal Lutheran, Keoviengsamay recorded five kills in two sets of action and added two digs. Against Aurora, he recorded eight kills to go with three assists, one service ace, one block and five digs.
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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