The Liberty League has announced its 2019 All-League awards for baseball as voted by league coaches. The major award winners and all-league teams are listed below.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Pat Geiger, Senior, Catcher, Skidmore College
Skidmore senior Pat Geiger was named the Liberty League Player of the Year. Geiger had a standout year at the plate for the Thoroughbreds with a league-best .402 batting average and nine home runs. He was also tops in the league in slugging percentage (.750) while ranking second in hits and doubles with 53 and 17 respectively. He made all 35 starts for Skidmore this season and had 15 multi-hit games, including five games where he produced three or more hits. Geiger also recorded 36 runs and 29 runs batted in. From behind the plate, he had 171 putouts and only three errors for a .984 fielding percentage.
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Stevie Branche, Junior, Rochester Institute of Technology
RIT junior Stevie Branche has been recognized as the Liberty League Pitcher of the Year. Branche put together a 5-2 record in 11 appearances for the Tigers this season. He paced all Liberty League pitchers with 71 innings and 66 strikeouts. Branche finished the year third among league leaders in earned run average (2.03) and second in opposing batting average (.198). The two-time Liberty League Pitcher of the Week had four complete games and recorded two shutouts. He also had at least eight strikeouts four times in 2019.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Cole Paquin, Designated Hitter/Outfielder, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
RPI first-year Cole Paquin was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Year. Paquin finished the season with a .331 batting average after starting and playing in 34 games for the Engineers. He led RPI in walks (18) and on-base percentage (.433). He was also among team leaders with 26 runs and 39 hits. He produced 18 runs batted in and 47 total bases. He also had a 16-game reached base streak this season. Paquin, a three time Liberty League Rookie of the Week pick, was even better against league opponents with a .358 batting average, 29 hits and 23 runs.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Clarkson University – Jim Kane, Head Coach; Assistant Coach Ben Moxley
Clarkson University head coach Jim Kane and assistant coach Ben Moxley earned Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors. They directed to an overall record of 23-7 and a mark of 15-7 in league play. They earned the second seed in the league tournament, a year after missing it. Selected to finish fifth in the league standings in the preseason coaches’ poll, Clarkson improved its 2018 overall record by seven wins. As a team, the Golden Knights were second among league leaders in batting average (.302) and earned run average (4.78). They produced league-highs in runs (280) and runs batted in (242) while ranking second in hits (398).
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM:
P- Stevie Branche, Jr., RIT
P- Garrett Renslow, Jr., Rochester
P- Evan Richardson, Sr., Bard
P- Ryan Riley, Sr., Clarkson
RP- Brendan Shamieh, Jr., Rochester
C- Pat Geiger, Sr., Skidmore
1B- Sean Cullen, Jr., Union
2B- Austin Lawrence, Sr., RPI
SS- Daniel Capra, Jr., RIT
3B- Will Potter, Sr., Skidmore
OF- Tommy Bianchi, So., Clarkson
OF- Joe Ganim, Sr., Union
OF- Elias Kuhns, So., Union
OF- Dan Zeglen, Sr., RIT
DH- Brad Pearson, Sr., Clarkson
UT- Bryan Rubin, Sr., Vassar
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM:
P- Jay Gamboa, Jr., Skidmore
P- Colin Nye, Jr., Union
P- Christopher Palmiero, Jr., RPI
P- Jon Turk, So., Rochester
RP- Nate Burns, Jr., Clarkson
C- David Rieth, Jr., Rochester
1B- Vincent Granuzzo, Sr., Clarkson
2B- Daniel Bonfiglio, Jr., Vassar
2B- Navada Waterman, Jr., RIT
SS- Taylor Digilio, Sr., St. Lawrence
3B- Matt Martino, Jr., Vassar
3B- Mike Tito, So., Clarkson
OF- Matt Chipkin, Jr., Skidmore
OF- Jake Defayette, So., RPI
OF- Taylor Smach, Sr., Vassar
DH- Jacob Matzat, Fr., Rochester
DH- Cole Paquin, Fr., RPI
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION:
P- Alex Black, Sr., St. Lawrence
P- Mike Bubniak, Sr., Clarkson
P- Jack Denzer, Sr., Rochester
P- Dominic Nardone, Jr., Union
P- Ryan Yerby, So., RPI
RP- Alex Bunnell, Sr., Bard
1B- Aiden Finch, Sr., Rochester
SS- Joseph Rende, Fr., Rochester
OF- Jordan Myers, So., Bard
OF- Patrick Mylott, Sr., RIT