Baseball | 5/14/2024 9:55:43 AM
Russell Sage College outfielder Brendan Espinal was named Player of the Year, while Houghton University senior Ethan Cetton earned Pitcher the Year honors as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2024 Baseball All-Conference awards on Tuesday, May 14. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
James Murphy of St. John Fisher University won the Empire 8’s Defensive Player of the Year, while Utica University catcher Jacob Scalise was named Rookie of the Year. Russell Sage head coach Nick Pontari and his staff were named Coaching Staff of the Year.
Espinal leads all Empire 8 student-athletes with a .441 batting average and .544 on-base percentage and is in the top-five in the league with 60 hits, 54 runs scored, 90 total bases, 15 times hit by pitch, four triples and a 1.206 OPS, to go along with 10 doubles, 10 stolen bases, four homers and 34 stolen bases in 37 games played. In 18 regular season E8 contests, Espinal hit .500 with 31 runs scored, 28 hits, eight stolen bases, a home run and 19 RBI. Espinal is the first Russell Sage student-athlete to earn Empire 8 Player of the Year honors.
Cetton, a two-time Empire 8 Pitcher of the Week, was a workhorse for the Highlanders in 2024, appearing in 12 games, all starts, finishing with five wins, six complete games, a 2.96 earned run average and 65 strikeouts in 67 innings, while opposing batters have hit just .237 against him. In league play, Cetton had 35 strikeouts in 36 innings with four complete games and a 3.00 earned run average. He is first Houghton student-athlete to earn Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year honors.
Murphy, a standout third baseman, has made just five errors in 142 chances at the hot corner, recording a .965 fielding percentage for the Cardinals in 2024. He also helped turn 12 double plays. He has also enjoyed an excellent season at the plate, batting .393 with four homers, 49 runs batted in, 13 doubles, 66 hits and league-best totals of 60 runs scored and 33 stolen bases. Murphy, the 2024 Empire 8 Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player, hit .547 and had a 1.452 OPS in 18 league games with 35 hits, 34 runs scored, 28 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 18 regular season league games.
Scalise enjoyed an excellent debut for the Pioneers in 2024, hitting .289 with 27 runs scored, seven doubles, one home run, 18 runs batted in and 18 walks in 30 games played. He also hit .333 in 14 Empire 8 contests and helped backstop a young Utica pitching staff in 2024. Scalise is the second straight Utica student-athlete to earn an Empire 8 Rookie of the Year honors, joining pitcher Kooper Knabe.
Russell Sage head coach Nick Pontari and his staff of assistant coaches Karl Steffen, Ryan Parker, Michael Branche, Justin Brock, Justin Pangburn, and Cameron Anderson were named the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year for the first time. In just their third season as a program, the Gators won the Empire 8 Regular Season Championship, finishing 16-2 in league play.
St. John Fisher led all institutions with six first team selections, while the Cardinals and Russell Sage both had a league-high 10 total selections. James Murphy of St. John Fisher earned All-Empire 8 first team selections for the third time while Brian Norsen garnered his fourth All-E8 accolade with his second team honor in 2024. Nick Lemire and Hunter Walsh of St. John Fisher, along with RJ Murphy of Keuka and Espinal earned All-E8 first team accolades for the second consecutive year.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2024 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.
2024 Empire 8 Baseball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Brendan Espinal, Jr., OF, Russell Sage
Pitcher of the Year: Ethan Cetton, Sr., P, Houghton
Defensive Player of the Year: James Murphy, Sr., 3B, St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Jacob Scalise, Fr., C, Utica
Coaching Staff of the Year: Russell Sage, led by Head Coach Nick Pontari
Empire 8 First Team
Catcher – Chris VanCheri, Sr., C, Houghton (Silver Creek, NY/Silver Creek)
Catcher – RJ Murphy, Sr., C, Keuka (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee)
First Base – Jeff Stearnes, Jr., 1B, Russell Sage (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union)
Second Base – Jake Crantz, So., 2B, St. John Fisher (Kingston, NY/Kingston)
Shortstop – Nick Lemire, Sr., SS, St. John Fisher (Ballston Lake, NY/ Shenendehowa)
Third Base – James Murphy, Sr., 3B, St. John Fisher (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna)
Outfield – Brendan Espinal, Jr., OF, Russell Sage (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Outfield – Josh Duval, Jr., OF, Utica (Utica, NY/Proctor)
Outfield – Jason Story, Sr., OF, Utica (Hilton, NY/Hilton)
Utility – Evan Grimes, Sr., U, Russell Sage (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Designated Hitter – James Lubanski, Gr., DH, Russell Sage (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber)
Starting Pitcher – Ethan Cetton, Sr., SP, Houghton (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks)
Starting Pitcher – Ethan Fulton, So., SP, St. John Fisher (Trumansburg, NY/Trumansburg)
Relief Pitcher – Conner Walker, So., RP, St. John Fisher (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West)
Relief Pitcher – Hunter Walsh, Gr., RP, St. John Fisher (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit)
Empire 8 Second Team
First Base – Brian Norsen, Gr., 1B, St. John Fisher (Hamburg, NY/Frontier)
Second Base – Lance Berger, So., 2B, Utica (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony’s)
Shortstop – Vincent Lucyszyn, So., SS, Houghton (Rochester, NY/Gates-Chili)
Third Base – Brett Warden, Jr., 3B, Elmira (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown)
Outfield – Jeremey Wilcox, Sr., OF, Houghton (Silver Creek, NY/Silver Creek)
Outfield – Carlos Fantauzzi, Jr., OF, Keuka (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy)
Outfield – Evan Grimes, Jr., OF, Russell Sage (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Utility – Xander Canfield, So., U, Elmira (Schenectady, NY/Cazenovia)
Utility – Andrew Salbinski, So., U, Utica (Essex, CT/Valley Regional)
Designated Hitter – Dom Fasolo, Sr., DH, Utica (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro)
Starting Pitcher – Joe Degroot, Gr., SP, Russell Sage (Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse)
Starting Pitcher – Patrick McGuire, Sr., SP, St. John Fisher (Ballston Lake, NY/ Shenendehowa)
Relief Pitcher – Nate Tyler, So., RP, Houghton (Du Bois, PA/Du Bois)
Relief Pitcher – Lucas Gilbert, Fr., RP, Keuka (Lakewood, NY/Southwestern)
Relief Pitcher – Kody Czternastek, So., RP, Utica (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro)
Empire 8 Third Team
Catcher – Cole Paro, Jr., C, Russell Sage (Wolfeboro, NH/Kingswood Regional)
First Base – Erik Charnetski, Sr., 1B, Elmira (Elmira, NY/Elmira Notre Dame)
Second Base – Dom Caminitti, Jr., 2B, Russell Sage (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac)
Shortstop – Jack Scanlon, Jr., SS, Utica (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute)
Third Base – John Longeretta, Gr., 3B, Utica (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany)
Outfield – Ian Slate, Sr., OF, Houghton (Cambridge, NY/Grace Christian)
Outfield – Jared Russell, Jr., OF, Russell Sage (Colonie, NY/Colonie)
Outfield – Jackson Frey, Fr., OF, St. John Fisher (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island)
Outfield – Dominic Guccia, Jr., OF, St. John Fisher (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott)
Designated Hitter – Cameron Brought, Fr., DH, Alfred (Wellsboro, PA/Wellsboro Area)
Starting Pitcher – Matthew Denatale, Gr., SP, Russell Sage (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck)
Starting Pitcher – Austin Rhodes, Fr., SP, Utica (Wappingers, NY/Kennedy Catholic)
Relief Pitcher – Erik Berkan, Fr., RP, Elmira (Tioga, PA/Williamson)
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Quinton Jordan, Sr., OF, Alfred (Olean, NY/Olean)
Brett Warden, Jr., 3B, Elmira (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown)
Jeremiah Chow, Jr., OF, Houghton (West Chester, PA/Delaware County)
James Fino, Sr., P, Keuka (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon)
Zachary Figueras, Sr., INF, Russell Sage (Apopka, FL/Windermere)
Nathaniel Kilburn, Jr., P, St. John Fisher (Loudonville, NY/Christian Brothers Academy)
Nick DeLucia, Jr., C, Utica (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont)
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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