The Liberty League has announced its 2022 All-League awards for baseball as voted by league's head coaches. The major award winners and all-league teams are listed below.
LIBERTY LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jackson Hornung, Junior, Catcher, Skidmore College
For the second time since 2019, a Skidmore baseball player was named the Liberty League Player of the Year with junior catcher Jackson Hornung garnering the 2022 accolades. Hornung had a monster year at the plate and led the league in numerous offensive categories this season, including batting average (.460), slugging percentage (.760), on-base percentage (0.539), total bases (114), hits (69), runs (54) and runs batted in (51). He is also one of the top offensive threats in Division III; the three-time Liberty League Performer of the Week is among the top-10 in batting average (9th) and top-30 in hits (26th) nationally. Hornung got on base a team-record 29 straight games on the year and had an 18-game hitting streak this spring. He recorded hits in 34 of 37 games, which included 22 multi-hit games. In 10 games, he produced three-plus hits. Hornung also compiled 15 multi-RBI games and on eight occasions he plated three or more.
LIBERTY LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Kyle Lambert, Sr., Ithaca
Ithaca College senior Kyle Lambert earned Liberty League Pitcher of the Year honors. Lambert paced the conference in starts, innings pitched, and strikeouts. Through 13 starts for the Bombers, he tossed 79.0 innings for a 4-3 overall record from the mound. He struck out 80 and walked 35 while holding opponents to a .223 batting average. This season, Lambert compiled a 3.19 earned run average, good for second among league leaders.
LIBERTY LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Connor Pedersen, Fr., Ithaca
Ithaca College Connor Pedersen was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Year. Pedersen had a strong campaign in his first year with the Bombers starting and playing in all 42 games so far this season for Ithaca. He is second on the team and is seventh in the conference with a .383 batting average. Pedersen boasts a team and league-high 180 at-bats while producing a team and league-best 69 hits, 18 for extra bases (16 2B, 2 HR). The two-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week selection, recorded 31 hits and totaled 91 bases through 42 games to go along with a .523 slugging percentage.
LIBERTY LEAGUE CO-COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Ithaca College – David Valesente, Head Coach; Assistant Coaches Cooper Belyea & Justin Forster
Ithaca College head coach David Valesente and his staff were selected the Liberty League Co-Coaching Staff of the Year in a vote by the head coaches. They guided the Bombers to a 27-12 overall record in the regular season and a 15-5 mark in league play. In just Ithaca baseball's second year with the conference, the Bombers secured the top seed and hosting rights to the 2022 Liberty League Championship. Ithaca went 3-0 through the double-elimination tournament to capture its first Liberty League baseball title and thanks to the automatic qualifier the Bombers will be making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019 and the 49th overall appearance for the program. The Bombers were dominant at the plate this season with a league-best .325 batting average and .426 slugging percentage through 42 games. From the mound, the Bombers are second among league leaders in earned run average (4.97) while striking out a league-high 329 batters. The Bombers also have the most innings pitched among conference foes (357.0).
LIBERTY LEAGUE CO-COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Skidmore College – Ron Plourde, Head Coach; Assistant Coaches Pat Geiger, Jonathan Kaiser, J.T. Tellstone & John Barnes
Skidmore College head coach Ron Plourde and his staff were selected the Liberty League Co-Coaching Staff of the Year in a vote by the head coaches. The Thoroughbreds opened the year on a high note, reeling off 11 non-conference wins in 12 games (11-1) through the first three weeks of March, which included a 7-1 spring break trip to Florida. Plourde and his assistant coaches directed Skidmore to an overall record of 23-12-2 (11-8 Liberty League). In the conference's first season with divisions, the Thoroughbreds were the top team in the East Region with a 9-3 mark against divisional opponents. Among conference leaders, the team was second in batting average (.316) and third in runs batted in (261).
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
SP-Chris Grome, Gr., RPI
SP-Kyle Lambert, Sr., Ithaca
SP-Nolan Sparks, So., Rochester
SP-Trevor Van Allen, Sr., Rochester
RP-Thomas Karpishin, Jr., Rochester
C-Jackson Hornung, Jr., Skidmore
1B-Buzz Shirley, Sr., Ithaca
2B-Joseph Rende, Sr., Rochester
SS-Connor Pedersen, Fr., Ithaca
3B-Matt Fabian, Jr., Ithaca
3B-Brendan O'Neill, Jr., Skidmore
OF-Andrew Kanellis, Jr., Vassar
OF-Jordan Myers, Gr., Bard
OF-Aaron Whitley, Jr., Rochester
DH-Martin Marintchev, Jr., RPI
DH-Jacob Matzat, Sr., Rochester
UT-Trey Bourque, Fr., Skidmore
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
SP-John Arnold, So., RIT
SP-Colby Cruser, Fr., Rochester
SP-Kyle Locklear, Sr., Clarkson
SP-Chris Suter, Fr., Union
RP-Christian Giresi, So., Skidmore
C-Hudson Livesey, Sr., RPI
C-Gil Merod, Jr., Ithaca
C-Jared Toby, Jr., Bard
1B-Harper Sy, Sr., Rochester
2B-Alex Luscher, Sr., Bard
2B-Chris Watson, Sr., St. Lawrence
SS-Caleb Doyle, Sr., Clarkson
SS-Reed Jackson, So., Rochester
3B-Reid Lapekas, So., Vassar
OF-Nicholas Butler, Sr., St. Lawrence
OF-Caleb Clark, Fr., St. Lawrence
OF-Louis Fabbo, So., Ithaca
OF-Kobe Mentzer, So., Union
DH-Colby Brouillette, Jr., Clarkson
UT-Colby Cruser, Fr., Rochester
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION
SP-Jack Clark, Jr., Skidmore
SP-Ameer Hasan, So., Skidmore
SP-Colin Leyner, Fr., Ithaca
SP-Aidan Risse, So., Bard
SP-Nate Scott, So., Ithaca
RP-Frankie Murphy, Jr., Vassar
C-Luke Piontek, Sr., Rochester
1B-Ian Libby, Sr., RIT
3B-Patrick Blackall, Sr., RIT
OF-Jake Defayette, Gr., RPI
OF-Josh Leadem, So., Rochester
OF-Brian McKinsey, Sr., Rochester
OF-Chris Reilly, Sr., RIT
OF-Joey Saia, Jr., RPI
DH-Andrew Circelli, Sr., St. Lawrence
UT-Spencer Checkoway, Sr., Bard