Baseball | 5/9/2017 2:46:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT baseball team is the top-seed and will host the 2017 Liberty League Baseball Championship Tournament from Tiger Stadium. The double elimination tournament will begin on Thursday, May 11 with a champion to be crowned on Saturday, May 13. Union College is the No. 2 seed, while Clarkson is the No. 3 seed, and Vassar is the fourth seed.
RIT will begin the quest for its first Liberty League Championship on Thursday, hosting Vassar at 1 p.m. Union and Clarkson open the tournament at 10 a.m. Follow the Liberty League Baseball Championship Tournament all weekend long, as
video,
live scoring, and a
tournament webpage is available. The winner of the Liberty League Tournament receives an automatic berth into the 2017 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament.
RIT enters the tournament in the midst of an historic season, setting a program record with 30 wins. The Tigers have won nine games in a row and 23 of its last 24 contests. RIT set Liberty League records with 22 Liberty League wins (22-1) and a .957 winning percentage in league play. RIT has won 19 straight games against Liberty League foes heading into the tournament.
In addition, the Tigers have set team records for longest winning streak (14), most doubles (93), total bases (559), runs batted in (255), shutouts (4), and most strikeouts by a pitching staff (274). There are also several other team records within reach.
Eight different players are hitting at least .300, while six have driven in at least 20 runs. As a whole, RIT is hitting .308 and has a .401 on-base percentage, and .457 slugging percentage. Defensively, RIT is fourth nationally with a .974 fielding percentage and its pitching staff is one of the best in Division III. RIT's pitchers are tenth nationally with a 3.16 earned run average, ninth with a 3.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and seventh with a 1.19 WHIP.
The Tigers are ranked No. 25 in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Week 11 poll, which was released on May 9. It is RIT's first national ranking in its 65-year history.
Senior
Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia), who was named the RIT co-Senior Male Athlete of the Year on May 8, is enjoying another tremendous season, leading the team and Liberty League with eight home runs, 36 RBIs, 88 total bases, 44 runs scored, and 28 walks. Classmate
Brett Kajganich (North Royalton, OH/Holy Name) is tied for the team lead with a .352 batting average and also has 36 RBIs to lead the league. He is second in the league with 15 doubles.
Dom Scialabba (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) and
Daniel Zeglen (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) are also hitting .352 to pace RIT.
RIT's pitching staff leads the league in several categories and is among the stingiest in all of Division III. In league play, the Tigers recorded a sparkling 2.38 ERA. RIT Junior
Brian Reed (Rochester, NY/Penfield) leads the staff with a 7-1 record, to go along with a 1.89 ERA and four complete games in 52 1/3 innings.
Jameson Moran (Geneseo, NY/Geneseo) is 5-0 overall, including a 0.33 ERA in league play. Zeglen is 6-0, while
Stevie Branche (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz) has a team-best 57 strikeouts in 37 innings, as opponents are hitting just .185 off him. Reliever
Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport) is 5-1 with five saves, a team-best 1.32 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and just one walk allowed in 41 innings pitched.
No. 2 seed Union enters the tournament with a 20-13 overall mark, having finished 14-7 in 21 league games. Union, the 2016 Liberty League Champions, ended the 2017 regular season by winning two of three games against Rensselaer last weekend. Jake Vesling leads the team and Liberty League with a .416 batting average, while Kent Curran is hitting .411 with 16 doubles, three home runs, and 31 RBIs, while slugging a league-best .723. Ryan Kuchar is 4-3 with a 2.80 ERA in 45 innings, while Vesling is 5-2 with a 3.78 ERA and four complete games in 50 innings of work. The Dutchmen are hitting .319 as a team and have a 4.51 ERA.
Clarkson, the third seed, finished 12-8 in Liberty League play and is 16-16 overall. The Golden Knights have not played since April 29, when they split a pair of one-run home games against No. 2 seed Union. Dom Pirro leads Clarkson offensively with a .376 batting average, .521 slugging percentage, three home runs and 22 RBIs in 32 games. On the mound, Ted Wilson is 6-0 with a 2.94 ERA, and three complete games in 52 innings, spanning 10 appearances. Mike Bubniak has four wins in seven appearances. The Golden Knights are hitting .287 as a team and have a 4.82 ERA.
Vassar enters the tournament with a 19-17 overall record, while finishing 11-9 in Liberty League play. The Brewers clinched the fourth seed after winning two of three games at St. Lawrence last weekend. Evan Trausch leads the Brewers with a .378 batting average and .510 slugging percentage in 31 games to go along with a home run and 19 RBIs. Matt Martino, Denis Shanagher, and Bobby Kinne have two homers apiece to lead the squad. On the mound, Bryan Rubin is 3-1 with two saves, and a 2.29 ERA in 13 appearances. Adam Erkis has thrown 50 2/3 innings and is 4-2 with a 4.26 ERA. The Brewers are hitting .281 as a team and have a 5.48 ERA.
RIT did not play Union or Clarkson during the regular season. The Tigers won all three meetings against Vassar at Tiger Stadium on April 8-9 by a combined score of 30-10. Union and Clarkson split a pair of one-run games on April 29. Vassar won all four meetings against Union on April 14-15 by a combined score of 34-18. Vassar and Clarkson did not meet this season.
The Tigers last qualified for the Liberty League Tournament in 2015, finishing as the runner-up to Rensselaer.
Schedule of Games
Thursday, May 11:
Game 1 - 10 a.m. - No. 2 Union vs. No. 3 Clarkson
Game 2 - 1 p.m. - No. 1 RIT vs. No. 4 Vassar
Game 3 - 4 p.m. - Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
Friday, May 12:
Game 4 - 10 a.m. - Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
Game 5 - 1 p.m. - Game 4 Loser vs. Game 3 Winner
Game 6 - 4 p.m. - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
Saturday, May 13:
Game 7 - 11 a.m. - Same Teams (in necessary)
**As always, schedule is subject to change due to weather or other circumstamces.**
