Empire 8 Announces 2023 Baseball All-Conference Teams and Awards - St. John Fisher University Athletics (2024)

Baseball | 5/16/2023 12:25:00 PM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2023 Baseball All-Conference team selections and individual awards on Tuesday. The St. John Fisher University baseball program is well represented, earning player and pitcher of the year honors, coaching staff of the year honors, six first-team selections, two second-team selections and two third-team selections.

Noah Campanelli is Player of the Year for the second straight season, in addition to being named to the All-Conference First-Team. Campanelli leads all Empire 8 student-athletes with 79 hits, 57 runs scored, 50 stolen bases, 19 doubles, seven triples, 130 total bases, a .457 batting average, .522 on-base percentage, .751 slugging percentage and a 1.273 OPS in 41 games played. In addition, he is fourth in the Empire 8 with six home runs and 41 RBI. In 18 regular season E8 contests, Campanelli hit .507 with 34 hits, 28 runs scored, 11 doubles and 20 RBI. He also maintained a 1.399 OPS. Campanelli's 50 stolen bases are an Empire 8 single-season record, while he is second nationally in that category. In addition, he is fifth nationally and ninth in total bases. Campanelli is the fifth student-athlete to be named a two-time Empire 8 Player of the Year.

Patrick McGuire earns Pitcher of the Year, in addition to being named to the All-Conference First-Team. McGuire, a four-time Empire 8 Pitcher of the Week, is enjoying a tremendous 2023 season. He has appeared in 12 games, having started nine contests and is 8-0 on this season with a sparkling 1.61 earned run and 0.93 WHIP in 56.0 innings, while opposing batters have hit just .155 against him. McGuire has one complete game, while striking out 46 batters. In league play, McGuire went 6-0 with a 0.75 ERA and 0.69 WHIP in 36 innings, allowing just three runs, while opponents hit just .117 against him. He is the sixth different St. John Fisher student-athlete to earn Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year honors and third in the last three seasons.

St. John Fisher College's Brandon Potter and his staff of assistant coaches Matt Toohey, Keith Prestano, Dave Roth and Mike Cerame were named the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year for the second straight season. The Cardinals won the Empire 8 Regular Season Championship, becoming the first team in league history to record a perfect 18-0 record in league play, while picking up their third straight E8 Championship and fifth conference title in program history. St. John Fisher enters the NCAA Tournament riding a 16-game winning streak and 30-12 record. It is the fifth time that Potter and his staff earned E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors and sixth honor for St. John Fisher overall.

Empire 8 First-Team

Brian Norsen started in all 42 games at first-base for the Cardinals and was an impact pat in the middle of the lineup. He hit .335 (53-for-158), with 17 doubles, three triples and nine home runs. He scored 34 runs, tallied 48 RBI and worked 27 walks. He has a OPS of 1.084 thanks to a slugging % of .652 and on base % of .432. In the Empire 8 he is no. 4 in slugging, no. 5 in OPS, no. 2 in hits and RBI, no. 3 in doubles and home runs and no. 1 in walks.

James Murphy started in all 42 games at third-base and was an expert in driving in runs. He was no. 3 in runs scored with 42 and hits with 52. He was no. 1 in RBI with 64, and home runs, no. 5 in doubles with 12 and no. 4 in triples with four. Murphy was second on the team in OPS with 1.113 with a 7.13 slugging % and .400 on base %.

Ben Lavery started in 40 games for the Cardinals, playing in right-field. He hit .324 (45-for-139) with 11 doubles and 12 home runs, recording 33 RBI and 36 runs scored. He drew 21 walks and had 11 hit by pitch, which helped his .448 on base %. In the Empire 8, Lavery was no.3 in slugging %, top-10 in runs scored, hits, on base %, RBI and no. 2 in home runs.

Russell Dunlap appeared in 13 games, starting three of them for a record of 4-1 and tossing 42.1 innings. He recorded a 4.04 ERA allowing 44 hits and 19 earned runs, while walking just nine and striking out 31.

Empire 8 Second-Team

Dominic Guccia appeared in 35 games this season and hit .358 (48-for-134) with 11 doubles, one triple and four home runs. He drove in 27 RBI, scored 35 runs and had a slugging percentage of .545 and on base percentage of .403.

Benjamin Huckans appeared in 12 games, starting in nine of them. In his 36.1 innings of work he had a 4-1 record with an ERA of 2.97 and WHIP of 1.24. He allowed 25 hits, 12 earned runs, 20 walks and struck out 37.

Empire 8 Third-Team

Nick Lemire was the starting short stop for the Cardinals in 38 games. He hit .319 (45-for-141) with six doubles, one triple and drew 20 walks. He tallied 36 runs scored and 31 RBI. He was six-for-six in stolen bases and had an OPS of .552.

Jake Crantz enjoyed a good first year as a Cardinal, appearing in 23 games, starting in 17 team of them playing a middle infield position or designated hitter. He hit .368 with an OPS of .901, recorded five doubles, 17 runs scored and 12 RBI

Sportsman of the Year

One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2023 Empire 8 Baseball Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen. Representing St. John Fisher is Senior, Pitcher, Ryan O'Mara.

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