Brockport, NY – The SUNY Brockport Baseball team travels to face Cortland this weekend for the start of the SUNYAC Tournament. Game one of this best-of-three series begins at 12 pm on Saturday.
Follow Along: Live stats and live video options will be available for this weekend's matchup. Check the following links on gameday to keep up with the action.
Live Stats:
https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Live Video:
https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sports/2019/8/15/BlueFramePage.aspx
Last Time Out: The Golden Eagles swept their doubleheader against Oneonta last weekend, winning 15-2 in game one and 6-3 in the second. Two wins makes it four consecutive victories for Brockport as the team has won five of its last six.
Trevor McCarthy (3-1) got the win on the mound in game two and also hit a two-run homer in his only at-bat in game one.
Ryan Mansell also went yard against Oneonta, hitting a two-run shot in game two.
Back to the Postseason: The Green and Gold finished the regular season hot, gathering momentum for the start of the SUNYAC Tournament. Winning the five of the last six games, the team ended the season with an 18-5 record overall and a 12-4 mark in the conference. Brockport returns to postseason play for the first time since 2018, after a win against Cortland clinched a spot in the tournament. The team now has to go back to Cortland for the first round of the postseason.
Home Run King: Tom Kretzler became the Brockport Baseball Home Run King against Cortland on May 3
rd. In the fifth inning of a game one victory, Kretzler connected for a grand slam to give him 21 career homers to break the all-time record. He has eight homers on the season and needs just three more to etch is name into the record books once again as Craig Brown (1999) and Glenn Dow (1991) currently hold the record with 10 home runs in one season.
Can't Stop O'Dair: Matt O'Dair remains on course to break the Brockport batting average record for a single season. Currently ranked 15
th in the nation, O'Dair leads the SUNYAC with a .478 batting average. He began the season on a 12-game hitting streak and has remained consistent all year, owning an on base percentage of .566 which ranks 21
st in the country. The current batting average record is held by Glenn Dow, who finished the 1987 season with a .449 average.
Mansell's Record Chase: Ryan Mansell is still close to putting his name in the record books, as he remains just one triple away from tying the single season triples record. Mansell has rattled off four triples in 2021 and with one more he can match Dan Hurlimann's mark of five triples from the 2013 season. In the upcoming best-of-three series for the postseason, Ryan will only have two guaranteed games left to chase history.
Soaring High: The Golden Eagles have played great this season and have the numbers to back it up. Currently receiving votes in D3Baseball.com's most recent national poll, they are currently ranked third in the NCAA DIII New York Baseball Region. Brockport ranks 13
th in the country with a .353 team batting average. The team's on base percentage of .447 is also 11
th in the nation. With a slugging percentage of .547, Brockport ranks 10
th in the country.
Hot Bats: Ryan Voight has been productive at the dish all year, leading the Green and Gold with 24 RBIs. Voight bats .338 on the season and has eight doubles to lead the squad.
Daniel DelGaizo is one of two players on the team with 30 hits this season, as he owns a .423 batting average.
Nicholas Pastore,
James Houlahan, and
Jake Sisto have all registered at least 20 hits in 2021 for Brockport.
On the Hill: Trevor McCarthy (3-1) leads the Brockport pitching staff with 37 strikeouts this season.
Andrew Huffman (4-0) is close behind with 33 strikeouts and has yet to receive a loss on the mound.
Kyle Canavally (4-2) owns the best ERA of the four main pitchers in the rotation, with a 2.54 mark to go with his 28 strikeouts.
Tom Kretzler (3-1) is the other key starter in the mix and is fourth on the staff with 26 strikeouts.
Kobie Punchard (3-0) is still unbeaten in his three starts on the hill and has 14 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched.
Rematch with Cortland: With one previous meeting between Brockport and Cortland resulting in a 1-1 split, both teams are looking forward to the rematch in the postseason. The Green and Gold took game one of the regular season doubleheader, 9-4. A Kretzler grand slam in the fifth pushed the Golden Eagles ahead to secure the first game of the set.
Andrew Huffman (4-0) struck out six on his way to the win as a starter on the hill. Brockport took an early 1-0 lead in game two, but the Red Dragons bats got hot as they ran away with a 9-1 win to complete the split. There will be no split this weekend with two games on Saturday and a third on Sunday if needed to determine the winner of the series.
Win or Go Home: This Saturday is the beginning of the SUNYAC Tournament and that means it is win or go home for every team. Brockport's best-of-three series with Cortland begins with games one and two on Saturday, starting at 12 pm, and if necessary game three will be on Sunday at 12 pm. The winner of the weekend will move on to face the winner between Oswego and Oneonta in the SUNYAC Finals.