NYCBL NOTEBOOK

NYCBL NOTEBOOK
MAY 11, 2006
By John McGraw, NYCBL Publicity

One month from now, the NYCBL season will be underway. ItÕs certainly an exciting time of year with the college baseball season moving into itÕs final stretch and the NCAA tournament just around the corner. The Little Falls Diamond Miners preview will go up this coming weekend. Batting next in the NYCBL preview order, we will stay in the East Division. The Amsterdam Mohawks will be previewed next weekend. DonÕt forget, all notes can be sent to me at SaltCitySports@aol.com <mailto:SaltCitySports@aol.com> .

FORMER GOLDEN EAGLES TOPS IN THE SUNYAC: Tuesday, a pair of former Glens Falls Golden Eagles were given awards. Jimmy Dougher and Will Groff played for Glens Falls last season. Dougher, for the second year in a row, was honored as the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Pitcher of the Year. His Cortland State teammate Will Groff was named the SUNYAC Player of the Year. The Red Dragons wrapped up their ninth SUNYAC title in ten years this past Sunday and will play next week in the NCAA Division III tournament. Dougher is 8-0 with a 1.90 earned run average and one save through 11 appearances. He has struck out 57 batters in 61.2 innings pitched and allowed only 49 hits and 14 walks. Groff is hitting a Cortland State best .465. That batting average ranks him 12th nationally in Division III. WillÕs 29 stolen bases and 51 runs scored are also team highs. The Queensbury, New York native has reached base safely via hit or walk in 40 straight games.

NYCBL ALUMS GARNER LIBERTY LEAGUE AWARDS: Along with Cortland State, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a Division III power in the East Region. The Red Hawks have won the regular season title in the Liberty League and will host the conference tournament this weekend. Thursday, senior RPI outfielder Michael Passante was tabbed the Liberty League Player of the Year. Passante leads the conference in batting average (.453), on-base percentage (.565), runs (52), walks (43) and stolen bases (27). The Highland, New York native patrolled the outfield last summer for the Plattsburgh Thunder. Junior Jason Pollard was selected to the All-Liberty League first team as a catcher. The Hudson, New York native is batting.441 with a .607 slugging percentage, 24 stolen bases and a team high 64 hits. Jason will play for the Amsterdam Mohawks this summer. Genesee Valley and Rochester will have Liberty League all-stars in their line-up. 2006 Riverbat Pete McEneaney (Rochester) was selected to the leagueÕs second-team all-stars. University of Rochester teammate Dave Kloc also made it to the Liberty League second team. Dave will be a member of the Rochester Royals.

THE IVY LEAGUE INVADES ELMIRA: Take one look at the Elmira Pioneers roster, and you will notice an Ivy-like trend. Three of the Ivy LeagueÕs eight schools are represented among the Pioneers players. According to the Ivy League web site, the Ivy League combines Division I national athletics with rigorous academic standards and no athletic scholarships. Cornell University will be represented by three members of the Big Red. Traveling from the East Hill in Ithaca to the twin tiers of Elmira will be pitchers Chris Carls and Tom Laughlin and outfielder Dominic DiRicco. Infielder Dan Shapiro joins the Pios from Brown University. Two of ShapiroÕs Bear teammates (Bryan Tews and Ethan Silverstein) are slated to play for Glens Falls. Even Harvard is getting in on the act. Crimson catcher Justin Roth will be one of ElmiraÕs two back stops.

WIZARDS DUO GRABS HEARTLAND CONFERENCE HONORS: ItÕs a long way from San Antonio, Texas to Watertown, New York. This summer, pitcher Caleb Staudt and catcher Cody Pyle from St. MaryÕs University in San Antonio will be playing for the Watertown Wizards. On May 1, the battery mates were named Pitcher and Hitter of the Week respectively in the Heartland Conference. Staudt tossed his second complete-game shutout of the season against MSU-Billings allowing only two hits and striking out three. The junior from Leander, Texas finished the regular season 9-1 with a 3.16 earned run average. He pitched 91 innings and struck out 82 batters. CalebÕs nine wins accounted for 25% of the Rattlers victories. And earlier today, Staudt was named the Heartland Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year and a first-team conference all-star. Cody Pyle batted .444 in four games with seven runs scored, 15 RBI and a grand slam to become the Heartland Conference Hitter of the Week. Against MSU-Billings, Pyle drove in a Heartland Conference record six runs during one inning. The junior from Spring Branch, Texas batted .298 with six home runs and 47 RBI for St. MaryÕs.