ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College baseball team will look to claim its third consecutive Liberty League championship this weekend at RPI as the Bombers are the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 3 Union College in the first round on Thursday at 4 p.m. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.
ABOUT THE LIBERTY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP:
Ithaca advanced to the Liberty League Tournament by sweeping Vassar in the Liberty League Crossover Series last weekend, 11-1 and 9-5. RPI also swept Hobart, while Rochester and Union needed three games to defeat Skidmore and RIT.
The Bombers have won the past two championships and have gone a combined 6-0. IC hosted the 2022 tournament, while Skidmore served as the host last spring.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
Thursday, May 9
GAME ONE: No. 1 RPI (20-12) vs. No. 4 Rochester (19-17) – 1 p.m.
GAME TWO: No. 2 Ithaca (28-9) vs. No. 3 Union (28-10) – 4 p.m.
Friday, May 10
GAME THREE: Loser of Game One vs. Loser of Game Two – 10 a.m.
GAME FOUR: Winner of Game One vs. Winner of Game Two – 1 p.m.
GAME FIVE: Winner of Game Three vs. Loser of Game Four – 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 11
GAME SIX: Winner of Game Four vs. Winner of Game Five – 12 p.m.
GAME SEVEN: If necessary – 3 p.m.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
LIBERTY LEAGUE STATS
SCOUTING THE BOMBERS:
The Bombers bring a nine-game winning streak and an overall record of 28-9 into the weekend. IC was also just ranked No. 30 by the ABCA on Monday. IC ranks second offensively – all behind Union – in the Liberty League in average (.301), runs (317), hits (393), doubles (80) and home runs (25). On the mound, the Bombers are first in innings pitched (323.0) and walks (127), second in strikeouts (287) and ERA (4.51).
The only team Ithaca has seen this season that qualified for the Liberty League Tournament is Rochester. The Bombers took two-of-three from the Yellowjackets.
Collin Feeney leads the IC offense in average (.355), runs (37), walks (28), stolen bases (17) and on-base percentage (.490).
Louis Fabbo paces the Bombers with 46 hits, is second on the team with 31 RBI, and just became the program's all-time hits leader in the Crossover Series.
Matt Curtis has driven in a team-high 41 runs this year, to go along with 16 doubles, while
Camden Laney (.365),
Ethan McDonough (.357),
Tyler Pugliese (.319),
Ethan Rothstein (.311) and
Colin Shashaty (.302) are all hitting over .300 on the year.
Riley Brawdy is second on the team with four home runs.
On the mound,
Colin Leyner is the Bombers' No. 1 starter with a 7-2 record, 3.57 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 70.2 innings pitched.
Jack Picozzi (4.32 ERA, 4-1, 50 K, 41.2 IP) and
Danny Drotos (3.45 ERA, 2-0, 31.1 IP, 25 K) as probable starters in the tournament.
The Bombers will look to
Conor Burns (3.90 ERA, 17 APP, 5 SV, 30.0 IP, 28 K),
John Griffin (4.45 ERA, 14 APP, 28.1 IP, 29 K),
Dan Kellachan (4.86 ERA, 10 APP, 16.2 IP, 14 K) and
Sean Kelly (4.88 ERA, 15 APP, 24.0 IP, 15 K) will likely see action out of the bullpen this weekend.
SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS:
RPI is 20-12 on the season and 11-7 on its home field. This is the first appearance for the Engineers in the Liberty League Tournament since the Crossover Series was implemented.
RPI is batting .288 as a squad with 228 runs scored, 309 hits, 18 home runs and 159 walks. The pitching staff has a 5.08 ERA and 203 strikeouts in 273.0 innings pitched.
Matt Chotiner leads the team with a .362 average, 42 hits and 29 runs scored, while Julian Scarpa ranks first with six homers and 27 RBI. Jon Primerano has 12 doubles on the year with a .316 average and eight stolen bases. Martin Marintchev has 10 doubles, 20 walks and 20 RBI on the season, while Aidan Hicks has also drive in 20 runs and has scored 27 times.
Rylan Wade and Julian Fong-McAdams are the top two starters for the Engineers. Wade is 4-1 with a 3.02 ERA over 44.2 innings of work with 34 strikeouts. Fong-McAdams has only allowed 22 hits in 33.1 innings, to go along with 43 strikeouts and a 3.24 ERA. Alex Vallee could also start a game for RPI as he has thrown 38.0 innings in seven starts with a 3.79 ERA.
Sam Stone is a tough arm out of the bullpen with a 1.17 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15.1 innings, while Dutch Hamilton is another option for the Engineers with 12 appearances and a 3.45 ERA. Cameron Heuer has three saves on the season in 32.0 innings pitched and a 3.66 ERA.
SCOUTING THE GARNET CHARGERS:
Union has matched Ithaca with the most wins at 28 and are an offensive juggernaut this season. The Garnet Chargers have eight players in their starting lineup batting over .300 and Union leads the Liberty League in average (.348), hits (470), runs (398), doubles (86), triples (19), home runs (38), RBI (356) walks (233), slugging (.524) and on-base (.455).
Sam Strazza is hitting .438 on the year with 34 runs and 30 RBI. Caleb Miller is close to the .400-mark with a .397 average with 42 runs scored, while Thomas Parisi leads the team with 59 hits, 48 runs and 11 stolen bases, to go along with a .393 average. Kobe Mentzer has driven in 45 runs and has walked 28 times with a .381 average. Kyle Zaslaw is also hitting .381 with 13 doubles and 45 RBI, while Liam McIlroy has blasted 11 home runs with 48 RBI and 56 runs scored.
Jack Collins is 6-1 on the season in eight starts with 26 strikeouts over 50.0 innings and a 4.14 ERA. Chris Suter has tossed a team-high 64.2 innings and his 5-3 on the season with a 4.59 ERA. Alex Oppenheimer has made nine starts on the season over 38.2 innings of work with 34 strikeouts.
Aidan McGee, Kyle Patlove, Alex Erickson, Bryce Fournier and Jack Klein have all made 12 or more appearances out of the bullpen this season.
SCOUTING THE YELLOWJACKETS:
Rochester is 19-17 on the season and squeaked into the Liberty League Championship with a pair of one-run wins against Skidmore in the Crossover Series. The Yellowjackets trailed by two runs midway through the first game but scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh. UR then walked-off in game three with a three-run inning, which included back-to-back home runs.
The Yellowjackets rank second offensively in home runs (25), third in average (.289) and doubles (74) and first in stolen bases (78). Their pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts (310) and opponent batting average (.248).
Alec Ellison leads the UR offense with a .369 average and 31 RBI, while Dylan Stezzi is hitting .342 with 30 RBI, 23 runs and 10 doubles. Sammy Besztery swings at a .311 clip with 15 hit by pitches and 20 RBI. Jackson Reed is tops on the team with 36 runs scored and Josh Leadem has stolen 26 bases.
Nolan Spark is a dominant starter with 67 strikeouts and a .204 average in 51.0 innings pitched with a 2.47 ERA. Mark Aaronson (3.92 ERA, 39.0 IP) and Dillon Bevan (5.12 ERA, 38.2 IP) will likely start later in the week.
Leadem also sees time on the mound and owns a 1.50 ERA with two saves in 6.0 innings pitched, while Jack Subramanian holds opponents to a .170 average in 16.1 innings and a 1.65 ERA. Sammy Rosenfield and Thomas Blaydes will also see time out of the pen for the Yellowjackets.
