Brockport, NY – The SUNY Brockport baseball team will open its season this weekend in New Jersey as they'll play against New Jersey City University on Saturday, February 26th at 1:30 PM at Caven Point Field, NJ and against Kean University on Sunday, February 27th in Union, NJ at 12pm.
 
2021 Recap:
The Golden Eagles are coming of a shortened season which saw the team finish 18-7 overall and 12-4 in the conference. In the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament, the Golden Eagles Fell to the then No. 22 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons that advanced and ended up losing in the semi-finals of the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament to the Salisbury Sea Gulls who would end up winning the Division III Baseball World Series.
 
The Golden Eagles were receiving votes in the D3baseball.com National Poll for the majority of the season, and they finished the year ranked fifth in the final public release of the NCAA Division III Baseball New York Region rankings. 15th year Head Coach Justin Beach was named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year for his efforts.
 
Skipper
Coach Beach guided Brockport to the SUNYAC Tournament for the ninth time in his career last Spring and he is now just four wins shy of 300 as the bench general for the Golden Eagles.  Beach also won the 2021 SUNYAC Coach of the Year which he has also earned in 2014 and 2011, in addition to 2021. Brockport won 12 conference games last season and they also went 12-1 at the friendly confines of the Clark V. Whited Baseball Complex.  2021 featured a 10-game winning streak for the Golden Eagles. They had key victories over NCAA Tournament-bound St. John Fisher, Oswego and Cortland.  As a team, the Golden Eagles ranked 12th nationally in team batting average (.347) and 28th nationally in scoring (9.3 runs per game)
 
While talking about the teams expectations and goals this season, Coach Beach said,
 
"We expect to compete at a high level, improve as the season goes on and play our best baseball at the end of the season. Our goals are to punch a ticket to NCAA's preferably by winning the SUNYAC tournament."
 
2021 Individual Awards
Tom Kretzler was the SUNYAC Player of the Year and he was a first team all-conference selection this past season.  He finished the year ranked 34th nationally and second in the conference with an average of .32 home runs per contest.  He led the SUNYAC with eight home runs and broke the program-record with 21 career home runs. His record-breaking home run was a grand slam in a win over nationally-ranked Cortland. He also picked up three wins on the mound and struck out 30. He batted .333 and ranked third on the team with 22 RBI's. His eight doubles were tied for the team lead.

Andrew Huffman was a SUNYAC All-Conference pick last year and was Brockport's ace all season long in 2021. He posted a 4-1 overall record and ranked second on the team with 34 K's.  He pitched in 32.1 innings and had an earned run average of 4.73.

Matt O'Dair made his first career appearance on a SUNYAC All-Conference team as a second team third baseman last year.  He led the team, ranked second in the league and 31st nationally with a .451 batting average.  He also finished second on the team with 23 RBI's and he posted a team-best 32 total hits.  He had a .556 on-base percentage and he also swiped five bags.
 
Ryan Mansell was a second team d3baseball.com all-region selection and named to the third team 2021 New York American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Region Team. A first team all-conference pick this year for Brockport. He batted .341 and started all 25 games for the Golden Eagles.  His 27 runs scored tied for second on the team and he also added 29 hits, 20 RBI's, six doubles, four triples and three home runs.  He also totaled seven stolen bases and had 15 walks to go along with a .446 on-base percentage.
 
With these four players also earning SUNYAC All-Conference team honors, returners Jake Sisto, Nicholas Pastore and Ryan Voight also managed to earn All-Conference Second team status
 
Jake Sisto made his first career all-conference appearance as a second team catcher.  He ranked third on the team with a .367 batting average this season.  He totaled 22 hits, four home runs, 17 RBI's, six doubles and 14 runs scored for the Golden Eagles. 
 
Nicholas Pastore was named all-conference second team as an outfielder. He batted .352 and started all 25 games in center field.  He had 31 hits, 18 runs scored, 18 RBI's and he also stole seven bases.  He posted six doubles, three triples and two home runs while not allowing a single error in center field. 
 
Ryan Voight earned his first career all-conference recognition as a designated hitter.  The junior, who also played first base, led the team with 24 RBI's.  He posted 29 hits and tied for the team lead with eight doubles.  He added one home run and scored 17 runs while stealing four bases. 
 
Academic Achievements
On top of their athletic achievements last season, the Golden Eagles baseball team also managed to earn the 2020-2021 American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence Award for maintaining a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. This was the second year in a row the team has earned this honor and will look to make it a third this upcoming season.
 
2022 Watch List:
The SUNY Brockport baseball team is receiving votes in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division III Preseason National Poll released on December 21st, 2021.  Returners Tom Kretzler, Andrew Huffman and Matt O'Dair were also named among the top NCAA Division III Players to Watch in 2022 as chosen by the D-III coaches across the country and compiled by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.  The preseason poll also includes four of Brockport's opponents this Spring, including No. 2 Cortland, No. 27 Oswego, No. 36 St. John Fisher and No. 37 University of Rochester. 
 
When asked about who some improved players are from last season to keep an eye out for this season, here's what Coach Beach had to say
 
"I would anticipate a few from our pitching staff to take some big strides this year. For us to be as good as we want to be we will need some of these guys to step up. Justin Delvecchio, Matt McGowan, Colin Pytlak, Nick Lawlor, Cooper Meldrim, Adam Douglas, and Matt Colucci.
 
The SUNYAC released its 2022 baseball preseason poll with Brockport voted to finish third in the conference. Ahead of Brockport in the polls are #2 Cortland at No.1 and Oswego at No. 2. Listed below is the official 2022 SUNYAC Baseball Preseason poll.
 
Spring Excitement
Having not played a full regular season in over two years, Coach Beach commented when asked what her was most excited for this year saying,
 
"We are super excited to have a full season for the first time in two years! We are excited for our players to get to enjoy their experience and for some to get to finish their careers out on the field. We are excited to continue the rich tradition of success this program has had over the past two decades including post season appearances 17-20 years. Finally, we are most excited for all the hard work from this group to pay off!"
 
Home Highlights
The Golden Eagles will play a total of 13 games at home this season consisting of three SUNYAC Series. The teams home opener will take place against conference opponent Fredonia State on Friday and Saturday March 25th and 26th. like all SUNYAC Series, the weekend will consist of one nine-inning game being played on Friday and a double header on Saturday with the first game being nine-innings followed by a seven-inning game. Brockport will then host Oneonta April 1st and 2nd and New Paltz on April 29th and 30th for the last home games of the year.  Notable non-conference home games will happen on Wednesday, March 30th against St. John Fisher College and Tuesday, April 14th against the University of Rochester.
 
Key Road Games
Kicking the season off away from Brockport, the Golden Eagles season opener will take place on Saturday, February 26th at 1:30 PM at Caven Point Field in Jersey City, New Jersey against New Jersey City University followed by a game against Kean university in Union, NJ on Sunday, February 27th. One of the Golden Eagles biggest matchups this season will happen on the road in Cortland, NY against the #2 Cortland Red Dragons on Friday and Saturday April 8th and 9th for a three game SUNYAC Series. On April 22nd and 23rd Brockport will then travel to Oswego State for another three game SUNYAC Series. The Golden Eagles will then end the regular season facing Plattsburgh State in Plattsburgh, NY on Friday and Saturday May 6th and 7th. Other notable away games will take place against The University of Rochester on Wednesday, March 23rd and St. John Fisher College on Tuesday, April 26th

Notable Neutral Sites
On Saturday and Sunday March 5th and 6th, Brockport will head over to Syracuse, NY and play three games that weekend at Onondaga Community College. on Saturday, The Golden Eagles will play in a double header against Clarkson University with the first game scheduled for 12 PM. The next day, Sunday, March 6th. Brockport will battle Elmira at 11 AM. These games will be a tune-up before Brockport heads to Carry, North Carolina on March 11th for a double header against William Peace University at the USA Baseball Complex. This detour is a quick stop on the way to the team's spring break trip to compete in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in Auburndale, Florida. While there from Sunday, March 13th to Saturday, March 19th the Golden Eagles will play against teams such as Stevenson University, University of Maine Presque Isle, University of Wisconsin Superior (DH), Stockton University, SUNY Canton and Simpson College.