Liberty League announces 2014 baseball award recpients
2014 Liberty League Baseball Awards
Player of the Year: Brett Zaziski, Sr., Infield, Vassar College
Vassar senior Brett Zaziski led the Brewers to their second consecutive and second all-time Liberty League tournament appearance in 2014. The senior infielder finished the regular season with a league-leading five home runs. A two-time Liberty League performer of the week, Zaziski also finished first on his team in six additional statistical categories including hits (43), runs scored (35), total bases (74), slugging percentage (.661), on-base percentage (.503), while also registering a .384 batting average to lead the Brewers.
Pitcher of the Year: Adam Erkis, Fr., Pitcher, Vassar College
Freshman Adam Erkis headlined a young Brewer pitching staff in 2014. Erkis finished second in the Liberty League, earning seven wins in his rookie campaign. Erkis posted a 7-1 record, along with a 1.96 earned run average, tossing five complete games, and two shutouts, allowing just 13 earned runs on 46 hits in 59.2 innings pitched. The freshman ace struck out 25, while walking only 13 and limiting opposing batters to a .207 average.
Rookie of the Year: Jake Fishman, Fr., First Base/Pitcher, Union College
Freshman Jake Fishman helped lead Union to the 2014 Liberty League championship. Having gone 7-0 in eight starts for the Dutchmen, Fishman posted an earned run average of 2.13 to lead Union, after allowing just 13 earned runs on 41 hits in 55 innings of work. The freshman struck out 46 batters to lead his team, while walking just 15 and holding opponents to a .205 batting average. A versatile player, at the plate Fishman also finished second on his team in batting average (.386), second in slugging percentage (.455), third in hits (39), and third in runs batted in (24).
Coaching Staff of the Year: Jim Kane - Head Coach, Clarkson University
Jim Kane and his staff led Clarkson to third-place finish and the no. 3 seed in the Liberty League baseball tournament in 2014. The Golden Knights reached the league tournament without playing a single game at their home field in Potsdam, N.Y. Clarkson played all but one of its games more then 150 miles away from home and despite a grueling schedule the Golden Knights still boasted one of the league's top pitching staffs as they entered the tournament with a league-leading team earned run average of 2.71 allowing less than a hit per inning.
First Team All-Liberty League
P- Trent Berg, Vassar, Fr.
P- Sean Conroy, RPI, Sr.
P- Adam Erkis, Vassar, Fr.
P- Joe Riley, St. Lawrence, Sr.
RP- Evan Janifer, Rochester, So. *
C- Nolan Schultz, Rochester, So.
1B/P- Jake Fishman, Union, Fr.
2B- Bryan Palermo, St. Lawrence, Sr.
SS- John Coleman, Clarkson, Jr.*
3B- Brett Zaziski, Vassar, Sr.
OF- Sam Caruso, Union, Sr.*
OF- Nick Johnson, Vassar, So.
OF- David Wixted, Clarkson, Sr.
DH- Brooks English, Vassar, So.
UTL- Greg Jasek, Clarkson, So.
*denotes unanimous selection
Second Team All-Liberty League
P- Tim Gallagher, RPI, Sr.
P- Dane O’Neil, Union, Sr.
P- Pete Roma, Clarkson, Sr.
P- Dan Warren, Rochester, So.
RP- Connor Cucalon, Vassar, So.
C- David Peretti, Union, Sr.
1B- Skip Flanagan, RIT, Jr.
2B- Ethan Sander, Rochester, Sr.
SS- Jason Garfinkel, Vassar, Jr.
3B- Tim LeSuer, RPI, Jr.
OF- Nick Annunziata, RPI, So.
OF- Ronnie Canestro, RIT, Sr.
OF- Kent Curran, Union, Fr.
OF- Lance Hamilton, Rochester, So.
DH- Tyler DeClerck, Rochester, Jr.
DH- Alex Pavelock, Skidmore, Sr.
UTL- JP Fisher, Bard, Fr.
Honorable Mention
Kyle Casey (Vassar) Jr., 2B; Brandon Cohall (RIT) So., P; Will Gorman (RIT) Fr., OF; Jared Jensen (RPI) Jr., OF; Tyler Leichtenberger (RIT) Sr., RP; Jarrod Mattingly (Clarkson) Sr., P; Al Mersman (RPI) Sr., DH; Alec Montecalvo (Bard) So., C; Walt Roman (RIT) Sr., 3B; Cory Wuenschell (Vassar) So., C