May 9, 2023

2023 SUNYAC Baseball Awards Announced

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The SUNYAC is honored to recognize the 2023 baseball top award winners including the Bob Wallace Co-Player of the Year, Don Axtell Pitcher of the Year, Clark V. Whited Co-Rookie of the Year, Walter Nitardy Coach of the Year and the All-Conference teams as voted on by the conference coaches.

Bob Wallace Co-Player of the Year - Zach Eldred, Brockport
Eldred is ranked No. 1 in the conference with 68 hits, 18 doubles and five triples overall. The junior from East Greenbush, NY is second in the conference with a .401 overall batting average and 48 runs. He is also third in the league with 44 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases for the Golden Eagles. Brockport was the No. 2 seed going into the SUNYAC championship tournament and went on to win the program's first conference title since 2010 and sixth overall. The team will advance to the NCAA tournament and play Rowan at Arcadia University on Friday.

Bob Wallace Co-Player of the Year - Adam Mieczkowski, Cortland
Mieczkowski, a sophomore from Vestal, NY, leads the league in home runs (12), on base percentage (.507) and slugging percentage (.786). He holds a .366 batting average so far this season tallying 41 hits and 43 RBI in 144 appearances at the plate. Mieczkowski has been solid in the field this season with 56 put outs posting a .983 fielding percentage. The Red Dragons were the top seed after regular season play, but fell to Brockport in the championship game, 12-9. The team received an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III tournament.

Bob "Sparky" Wallace Player of the Year - Bob "Sparky" Wallace graduated from Cortland in 1953 and began coaching the Red Dragons in 1958. In his 24 seasons as head coach, his team compiled a 366-207-3 record, winning 10 SUNYAC titles and making an NCAA appearance in 1981. Wallace was inducted into Cortland's C-Club Hall of Fame in 1979, and Cortland's baseball field is named in his honor.

Don Axtell Pitcher of the Year - Kieran Finnegan, Oswego
Finnegan, a graduate student from West Nyack, NY, pitched 70.1 innings for the Lakers this season. He made 12 appearances on the mound and led the league with 72 strikouts while posting a 3.07 ERA (5th in the league). Oswego finished the regular season No. 4 and went 1-2 in the SUNYAC championship tournament. Finnegan was 6-4 overall and the team finished the season 20-21.

Don Axtell Pitcher of the Year - Don Axtell was the baseball coach at Oneonta for 30 years, leading the Red Dragons to many successful seasons. His teams won or shared 10 SUNYAC titles, made the school's only visit to the ECAC Championships (1974 and 1975), and was selected as the SUNYAC Coach of the Year four times. His last Coach of the Year Award came in 1989. He also was inducted into the SUNY Oneonta Hall Of Fame in 2001 and the Waverly High School Hall of Fame.

Clark V. Whited Co-Rookie of the Year - Shane Van Dam, Cortland
Van Dam made 14 appearances on the mound for the Red Dragons so far this season. The freshman pitched 26 innings and only allowed nine earned runs, struck out 41 batters and posted a 3.12 ERA for his rookie season.

Clark V. Whited Co-Rookie of the Year - Christopher Sais, New Paltz
Sais appeared in 35 games making 31 starts for the Hawks this season. In 127 at bats, Sais tallied 47 hits (10th in the league) including three homeruns, four doubles and 26 runs batted in. The freshman catcher was perfect behind the plate with no errors and six put outs.

Clark V. Whited Rookie of the Year - Clark Whited coached the Brockport Golden Eagles for 22 years (1947-68), amassing a 128-93-1 overall record during his tenure. His 128 wins were the most of any baseball coach at the school until 2003. Whited was inducted into the inaugural class of the SUNY Brockport Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, and the current baseball/softball complex at Brockport is named in his honor. Whited passed away on October 29, 2005.

Walter Nitardy Coach of the Year - Joe Brown, Cortland
In his 23rd season as the head coach of the Cortland Red Dragons, Brown led his team to the No. 1 seed after regular season conference play. Cortland hosted the SUNYAC double-elimination tournament, but fell short to Brockport in the championship game, 12-9, after 10 innings. The team earned an at-large bid to make its 30th NCAA tournament apperance and will host the regional. Cortland will take on St. Joseph's (Long Island) in the first game on Friday.

Walt "Doc" Nitardy Coach of the Year - Walter Nitardy coached the Oswego baseball team to 503 career wins in his 29 seasons. Along with being named SUNYAC Coach of the Year seven times, Nitardy compiled nine conference titles and was named the 1966 NCAA College Division East Coast Coach of the Year.

2023 Baseball All-Conference Teams (PDF)

First Team
Name	Position	School	Year	Hometown/High School
Matthew Colucci	P	Brockport	Gr.	Amherst, NY / St. Joseph's
Dylan Beers	P	Cortland	So.	Woodbury, NY / Monroe-Woodbury
Kieran Finnegan	P	Oswego	Gr.	West Nyack, NY / Clarkstown South
Zachary Kringdon	C	Cortland	So.	Larchmont, NY / Mamaroneck
Matthew Krafft	1B	Cortland	Jr.	Cornwall, NY / Cornwall
James Houlahan	2B	Brockport	Gr.	Yorktown Heights, NY / Lakeland
Tommy Kreider	2B	New Paltz	So.	New City, NY / Clarkstown South
Jake Barrett	3B	Oneonta	Sr.	Hauppauge, NY / St. Anthony's
Jelani Hamer	SS	Oswego	Jr.	Bronx, NY / Avon Old Farms (CT)
Zach Eldred	OF	Brockport	Jr.	East Greenbush, NY / Columbia
Chris Bonacci	OF	Cortland	So.	Syracuse, NY / West Genesee
Adam Mieczkowski	OF	Cortland	So.	Vestal, NY / Vestal
Anthony Lapine	RP	Brockport	So.	Liverpool, NY / Liverpool
Nick Chemotti	DH	Cortland	So.	Warners, NY / West Genesee
Owen Parliament	DH	Oswego	Jr.	Lafargeville, Ny / Lafargeville
Sean Liquori	U	Oneonta	Sr.	Thiells, NY / North Rockland
Second Team
Name	Position	School	Year	Hometown/High School
Adam Douglas	P	Brockport	Gr.	Syracuse, NY / Inst. of Technology at Syracuse Central
Devin Rooney	P	Oneonta	Jr.	Port Jefferson Station, NY / Comsewogue
Chris Santic	P	Plattsburgh	Jr.	Stony Point, NY / Northrockland
Jake Wentland	C	Fredonia	Sr.	Depew, NY / Depew
Kyle Cremin	1B	Plattsburgh	So.	Yorktown Heights, NY / Kennedy Catholic
Garrett Stuckey	3B	Fredonia	Jr.	Swain, NY / Arkport Central
Justin Pangburn	SS	Brockport	Gr.	East Greenbush, NY / Columbia
Nicholas Pastore	OF	Brockport	Gr.	Wynantskill, NY / Troy
Mat Bruno	OF	Cortland	Gr.	Rye, NY / Rye
CJ McCarthy	OF	Oswego	Gr.	Pawling, NY / Trinity Pawling
Tommy Lynch	RP	Cortland	Fr.	West Seneca, NY / Canisius
Tishawn Featherstone	U	Oswego	So.	Port Jervis, NY / Port Jervis