After a successful 2022 campaign within the Liberty League which saw the University of Rochester earn the best record for the fourth straight season, Rochester's baseball team took home a league-high 13 All-League awards announced by the conference on Tuesday.
Rochester had six 1st Team selections, four 2nd Team honorees and three players named Honorable Mention, all of which were most among the Liberty League on each team.
UR's first team recipients were starting pitchers Nolan Sparks and Trevor Van Allen, relief pitcher Thomas Karpishin, second baseman Joseph Rende, outfielder Aaron Whitley and designated hitter Jacob Matzat.
Representing the Yellowjackets on the second team were first baseman Harper Sy, shortstop Jackson Reed and Colby Cruser who earned starting pitcher and utility player accolades.
The honorable mention selections from the Rochester baseball team were catcher Luke Piontek and outfielders Josh Leadem and Brian McKinsey.
1st Team:
Nolan Sparks (SO, SP, Aurora, CO/Cherokee Trail): 1st All-League selection; Was Rochester's number one starting pitcher on the season, earning a 6-1 record with 3.20 ERA over 56.1 innings. Allowed 54 hits, 23 runs (20 earned) and struck out 59 batters while allowing just 18 walks. Finished 5-1 in conference play with 46 strikeouts. Ranked third in the conference in ERA and wins, fourth in strikeouts and sixth in innings pitched. Allowed batters to hit just .247 against him. Season-high nine strikeouts in Liberty League crossover win against RPI on May 7. Six innings of four-hit ball against St. John Fisher in mid-March.
Trevor Van Allen (SR, SP, Greenland, NH/Portsmouth): 1st All-League selection; Sits at a perfect 7-0 across 11 starts on the mound this season, currently having a 3.57 ERA across 53 innings for Rochester. Did not allow more than five hits in any of his 12 outings and tossed first two career complete games early in the season against Pitt.-Greensburg and Ursinus. Allowed just one hit across seven innings and struck out eight against St. Lawrence on April 16. Ranks first in the Liberty League in wins, is second in opposing average (.209) is seventh in ERA and ninth in innings pitched.
Thomas Karpishin (JR, RP, San Mateo, CA/Hillsdale): 2nd All-League selection (2021 1st Team); UR's most reliable arm out of the bullpen and was used in high-pressure situations throughout the season. Has a 4-1 record with five saves across 26.2 innings, compiling a 1.69 ERA. Has three wins and four saves in league play. Earned save and win in weekend sweep at RPI in late March, posting another win against the Engineers in the league crossover series. Ranks second in the league in saves and is fourth most in a single-season at UR.
Joseph Rende (SR, 2B, Babylon, NY/Babylon): 3rd All-League selection (2021 1st Team, 2019 H.M.); Currently hitting .293 on the season across 40 games played. The UR co-captain is 41-for-140 at the palte with 29 runs, 29 RBI, 9 doubles, 2 triples and 5 home runs. Added 22 walks and eight HBP for a .406 on base percentage. 6-for-8 in stolen base attempts and is second on the team in double plays turned defensively with 17. Second in the Liberty League in sacrifice flies with five, also ranks fourth in the conference in assists and eighth in double plays. Hit for the cycle against Rivier on Mar 12, going 4-for-4 with four RBI and two runs. Three hits and four RBI in win at RPI on March 27.
Aaron Whitley (JR, OF, Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna): 2nd All-League selection (2021 POY/1st Team); Once again was a force in all aspects of the game as a junior. Was the teams primary leadoff hitter and finished the regular season with a .331 average (46-for-139) with a team-high 43 runs scored. Added 21 RBI, 7 doubles, 3 triples and 5 home runs. Slugged .532 (74 total bases) and had an on-base percentage of .473 after adding 19 walks and a school-record tying 21 HBP. Was 23-for-28 in stolen base attempts. Leads the Liberty League in stolen bases and HBP and among five qualifying players who finished the season with a 1.000 fielding percentage (84 chances). Also, among the league top-10 in runs, hits, triples and at-bats. Hit for the cycle against St. Lawrence on April 15, going 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI. 17 multi-hit games and led UR with a 21-game reached base streak during the season.
Jacob Matzat (SR, DH, Sherwood, OR/Sherwood): 3rd All-League selection (2021 H.M., 2019 2nd Team); Currently batting at a .347 clip, going 26-for-75 at the plate. Added 18 runs across 26 games played (23 starts) while adding 24 RBI, 7 doubles, 4 triples and 5 home runs. Team-high .747 slugging percentage which ranks top-10 in school history. Also added a .422 on-base percentage for an OPS of 1.169. Was fantastic in Liberty League play, hitting .467 (14-30) with 11 of the hits going for extra bases. Tied the school record with nine RBI in hitting for the cycle against Clarkson on April 9, going 5-for-6 with four runs and two home runs. Fourth on the team with six multi-RBI contests.
2nd Team:
Colby Cruser (FY, SP/UTIL, Littleton, CO/Chatfield): 1st All-League selection; Solid season both on the mound and at the plate as UR's lone two-way player. Has a 2-2 record on the hill across nine appearances, compiling a 2.65 ERA in 37.1 innings. Opponents hit just .198 against the lefty who added 59 strikeouts and just 18 walks. At the plate, hit .309 (17-for-55) with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 14 runs and 11 RBI. Sparkling 22/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in league play, allowing only 12 hits in 20 innings. Took no-hitter into the seventh inning against St. Lawrence on April 15, striking out eight. Struck out 11 across six innings against Rivier on March 12. Clubbed game-winning home run in extra innings against RPI on March 27. Started the season with four straight multi-hit games, including going 3-for-5 against Ursinus on March 9.
Harper Sy (SR, 1B, Manilla, Philippines/International School): 2nd All-League selection (2021 H.M.); Was a steady presence at the plate and in the field for the Yellowjackets. Currently hitting .377 (49-for-130), second on the team, with 31 runs, 4 doubles, 4 triples and a team-high 6 home runs. Added a UR-leading 37 RBI, a .608 slugging percentage and .447 on-base mark after recording 7 walks and 11 HBP. Recorded a .993 fielding percentage with just two errors in 288 chances. Ranks top-10 in the conference in triples (4th), RBI (5th), hits (7th), average (9th), slugging (9th) and home runs (9th). Strong start to the season, going 3-for-4 with 4 runs and 4 RBI in the season-opening win against Pitt.-Greensburg. Added a career-best six RBI against Ursinus, clubbing two home runs in the game. 4-for-4 with 3 RBI against Clarkson on April 10, 3-for-3 with 3 RBI against St. Lawrence a week later. Eight multi-RBI games tied for the team lead. Walk-off single in Liberty League tournament win against Clarkson.
Jackson Reed (SO, SS, Corte Madera, CA/Redwood): 1st All-League selection; Appeared in 33 games (32 starts) along the middle infield for Rochester. Recorded a .333 average overall, going 37-for-111 at the plate. Scored 27 runs and drove in 25 RBI, adding 7 doubles, 3 triples and 1 home run. Was 5-for-7 in stolen base attempts and reached base at a .400 percentage after drawing eight walks and seven HBP. Hit .389 in conference play which was third best on UR. Had terrific game against St. Lawrence on April 16, going 5-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs. Walk-off 2-run single against SLU the night before, driving in all three runs in a 3-2 Rochester victory. Eight total multi-hit games on the year. Ranks third in the conference in sacrifice flies (4) and was eighth in triples.
Honorable Mention:
Luke Piontek (SR, C, Royersford, PA/Devon Prep): 1st All-League selection; One of UR's co-captains, the senior is currently Rochester's leading hitter at .398 (37-for-93) on the season. Has 26 runs, 8 doubles and 3 triples to go along with 17 RBI in 33 total games. Has drawn 22 walks to rank second on the team and has reached base a .509 clip. Strong arm behind the plate has thrown out nine would be base stealers, allowing only 60% to steal successfully. Just one error in 150 chances for a .993 fielding percentage. Has 13 multi-hit games, which ranks second on the team. Was 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBI in Liberty League crossover win against RPI on May 7. Had a hit in all four of UR's Liberty League tournament games, including multiple base hits in three of them. Ranks fourth in the conference in average, fifth in on-base percentage, eighth in triples and tenth in OPS (1.057).
Josh Leadem (SO, OF, Barrington, RI/Barrington): 2nd All-League selection (2021 2nd Team); Sophomore outfielder continued strong start to UR career with a .342 batting average across 36 games. He hit 39-for-114 with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs and 24 runs. Drove in 18 RBI, had a .509 slugging percentage and was 18-for-22 in stolen base attempts. Ranks fifth in the league in steals and was second on the team with 13 multi-hit games. Multiple hits in three Liberty League tournament games and slugged walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth in the tournament opening game against RIT on May 12. Hit an additional home run in elimination game win over Clarkson the next day.
Brian McKinsey (SR, OF, Concord, NC/Cannon School): 1st All-League selection; The senior outfielder has been having a terrific season for the Yellowjackets, ranking fourth on the team with a .312 average (39-for-125). He scored 30 runs, third on the team and chipped in 8 doubles, 1 triple and 23 RBI. On-base percentage of .429 after 19 walks and 8 HBP and was 7-for-9 in stolen base attempts. Perfect fielding percentage across 79 chances, tying for the league lead. Ended with a .375 average in Liberty League play, starting all 19 conference games. Moved to the heart of the Yellowjacket order towards the end of the season. Two hits and three RBI in Liberty League Tournament game against Clarkson, including tying the game in the bottom of the ninth with a 3-run double and scored the game-winning run a batter later. Ten multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI affairs on the season.