Baseball | 6/17/2015 3:08:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY - The 2015 RIT baseball team enjoyed one of their finest seasons in program history, finishing the season with a 23-15 record, while advancing to the Liberty League Championship game for the first time. The Tigers set countless school records, including most runs scored (289), runs batted in (250), and walks (186). A school record eight players earned All-Liberty League honors, while a trio of Tigers earned ABCA/Rawlings All-New York Region accolades.
 
RIT started the season by winning 15 of its first 20 games, en route to a 14-7 mark in Liberty League play, making the postseason tournament for the first time since joining the league in 2012. The Tigers would knock off eventual league champion Rensselaer and Clarkson before dropping a pair of contests to Rensselaer on championship day. RIT was one win shy of advancing to its first NCAA Tournament, while the 23 wins were also one away from the tying the school record for victories in a season.
 
On April 15, head coach Rob Grow won his 400th game at RIT in a victory over Clarkson. Having recently completed his 23rd season with the Tigers, Grow has a 410-401-1 career record.
 
RIT's offense shined in 2015, averaging 7.6 runs per game. Nine players batted at least .300, while seven had at least a .400 on-base percentage. Six different RIT batters drove in at least 20 runs.
 
Sophomore outfielder Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia), an ABCA/Rawlings All-New York Region, D3Baseball.com All-New York Region, and All-Liberty League first team pick, enjoyed one of the finest offensive seasons in program history in 2015. He smashed a team record with 46 runs batted in, while slugging seven home runs, one shy of the school mark, set 35 years ago. In addition, Gorman led the Tigers with a .363 batting average, .476 on-base percentage, .637 slugging percentage, 49 hits, eight doubles, four triples, and 86 total bases (third most in one season all-time at RIT), while drawing 27 walks, tied for third most at RIT. Gorman was named to the 2015 Liberty League Championship All-Tournament Team.
 
Senior first baseman Skip Flanagan (Framingham, MA/Bishop Feehan), a 2015 ABCA/Rawlings All-New York region and D3Baseball.com All-New York Region third team pick, capped off a tremendous RIT career in 2015, finishing second on the team with a .355 batting average, .486 slugging percentage, and .463 on-base percentage, hitting his first three collegiate home runs to go along with 38 RBIs, fourth most in one season at the university. His 41 runs scored tied for second most in one year at RIT, while his 29 walks were one shy of a school mark. In addition, Flanagan had a sparkling .990 fielding percentage in 381 chances, while earning All-Liberty League first team accolades.
 
A member of RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Flanagan ended his excellent career second all-time at the university with 72 walks, third with 106 RBIs, fifth with 478 at-bats, tied for fifth with 151 hits, and tied for eighth with 27 doubles. He is RIT's all-time leader with 1,097 career putouts.
 
Behind the plate, Brian Battaglia (Sliver Spring, MD/James Hubert Blake) was an All-Liberty League second team selection, finishing fourth on the team in batting with a .328 average, hitting a home run and driving in 20 runs in just 67 at-bats over 26 games this season. Defensively, Battaglia did not commit an error in 89 chances. He led all RIT hitters with a .375 batting average and .535 on-base percentage in Liberty League play. In addition, Mike Myers (Hamlin, NY/Brockport) made 20 starts behind the dish, chipping in with a pair of homers and 13 RBIs.
 
RIT's double play combination of junior second baseman Zach Zabel (Clarence, NY/Clarence) and classmate Taylor Hogan (Rochester, NY/Brighton), a shortstop, excelled both offensively and defensively in 2015. Zabel, who was named to the Liberty League Championship All-Tournament Team, hit .330 while playing in all 38 games with 26 runs scored, while getting on-base at a .451 clip, stealing 12 bases and recording a strong .949 fielding percentage. Hogan, RIT's single-season leader in assists, just missed his own mark with 118, while enjoying a tremendous offensive campaign, hitting .321 with 45 hits, third most on the squad.
 
At third base, sophomore Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) hit .314 with 13 extra-base hits, including four homers, while driving in 26 runs. Freshman Ben Terzini (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) batted .315, while seeing some time at third base during the season. Sophomore Jim Schmidt (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) and freshman Gage Blasi (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) also made contributions in the infield.
 
Senior center fielder CJ Bolorin (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta) ended his career with an excellent final season, tying the RIT single-season record with 23 stolen bases, while hitting .307 and getting on base at a .405 clip with 22 RBIs. Classmate Chris Barr (North Wales, PA/North Penn ), RIT's right fielder, was second to Bolorin with 16 stolen bases and was second on the squad with 37 runs scored, hitting .281 with his first collegiate home run and 21 RBIs. Junior designated hitter Brett Kajganich (North Royalton, OH/Holy Name) battled injuries during the season, but hit .309 with 21 walks and a .438 on-base percentage in 28 games. He scored 23 times and drove in 15 runs, while being named to the Liberty League Championship All-Tournament Team.
 
On the mound, Rory Little (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), an All-Liberty League first team selection and ABCA New York Region second team pick, emerged as the ace of the RIT pitching staff in 2015, tying for the team lead with a 5-1 record, 2.15 earned run average and 43 strikeouts, while holding opposing batters to a .225 batting average in 54 1/3 innings. In league play, Little was 4-1 with a tremendous 1.59 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 34 innings pitched. He led the team with five starts of at least seven innings on the season.
 
Little led a strong staff, as three more hurlers earned All-Liberty League accolades.
 
Junior Brandon Cohall (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas), an All-Liberty League second team pick in 2015, served in a valuable swingman role, mostly as a starter, but helped the team out of the bullpen, appearing in 12 contests. Cohall finished with three victories, two saves, and a 3.64 ERA in 42 innings pitched, striking out 36 batters, while walking just 10. On April 26, Cohall needed just 77 pitches for his third career shut out; scattering just two hits in a 5-0 win over Union. He helped the Tigers reach the Liberty League Championship game, earning the win in relief against Rensselaer on May 7, while recording a save against Clarkson the next day.
 
Seniors Conor Herlihy (Geneseo, NY/Geneseo) and Ethan Humbert (Rose, NY/North Rose-Wolcott) earned All-Liberty League honorable mention accolades in 2015. Herlihy went 5-1 with a 4.12 earned run average, walking just seven batters in 43 2/3 innings. On April 19, Herlihy needed just 89 pitches to record his first collegiate shut out; scattering four hits in a 5-0 win at Skidmore. He also earned wins against league foes Vassar, Union, and Rensselaer this season.
 
Humbert, a linchpin of RIT's pitching staff since 2012, enjoyed an excellent year, going 5-2 with a 3.00 earned run average with two complete games in 42 innings pitched. He allowed three earned runs or less in all eight of his starts this season and pitched RIT into the Liberty League Championship game by defeating Clarkson on May 8. Humbert also threw a complete-game five-hitter in a 4-2 victory over Vassar on April 11.
 
RIT received plenty of big pitching performances out of the bullpen as well this season. Freshman Brian Reed (Rochester, NY/Penfield) hurled 28 1/3 innings, while sophomore David Nitsch (Penfield, NY/Penfield) chipped in with a pair of wins over 26 2/3 innings. Sophomore Tom Dillon (Oswego, NY/Oswego) led the squad with 15 appearances while picking up his first collegiate save, while Brian Sheridan (Trumansburg, NY/Trumansburg) served in a valuable left-handed role, holding opposing batters to a .231 batting average, while picking up a save. Senior Rich Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield), junior Tyler Ramotar (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), along with freshmen Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport), and Kyle Povlock (Fairport, NY/Fairport) all made excellent contributions as well.
 
RIT served as ambassadors to the community off the playing field as well, introducing "Tigers K Cancer", a tremendous fundraising initiative during the 2015 season that generated over $5,000 for the American Brain Tumor Association
 
In the classroom, a dozen Tigers, including Barr, Bolorin, Gorman, Humbert, Little, Nitsch, Tyler Ramotar (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield), Rich Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield), Jim Schmidt (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker), Sheridan, and Zabel were named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team. Humbert earned CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District honors as well.
 
RIT loses a strong senior class of Barr, Bolorin, Flanagan, Herlihy, Humbert, and Rich Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) to graduation, but will return a strong group that should once again compete for a Liberty League title in 2016.