Davis and Knesnik to lead the Ridgemen in 2013

By Paul Gotham

ROCHESTER, NY – There is an old saying which states: baseball is a game of inches. No team learned that lesson better than the 2012 Rochester Athletes in Action. Rochester, now known as the Ridgemen, finished the last season with 16 wins and 24 losses. Eleven of those setbacks came by one run. In games of the smallest of margins, Rochester finished 3-11.

Josh Davis (Whitworth) and Tim Knesnik (Stony Brook) will look to change the fortunes of the Ridgemen in 2013.

Davis played 32 games for Rochester in 2012. The catcher hit .306 in 98 plate appearances while leading the team with 25 base on balls (11^th in the NYCBL).  The Thousand Oaks, California native has started all 37 games this spring for Whitworth University, a D3 school in Spokane, Washington.

“He’s been swinging the bat well this year,” said Whitworth head coach Dan Ramsay. “We’ve definitely noticed an increase in power. His numbers haven’t reflected as much.”

Davis has shown the ability to hit all fields at .269 with 12 extra-base hits including 11 doubles and 24 RBI. He has thrown out nine baserunners on the season with a POP time consistently at 2.07-2.08.

“He’s really taken over a leadership role for us,” Ramsay added.

Knesnik is a freshman out of Milford, Pennsylvania. He has made 15 appearances on the mound (12 in relief) for the Seawolves. His 32-plus innings of work is fourth on the America East school which went to last year’s College World Series.

“He’s done a good job for us,” commented Stony Brook pitching coach, Mike Marron. “He’s been the first guy out of the pen on weekends.”

Knesnik has struck out 20 and walked 12 while holding opposing batters to .227 at the plate with a mid to upper 80s fastball that he commands well. He has a 12 to 6 curve ball along with a slider. He throws a split fast ball with a 10-12 mph difference from his hard stuff. His time to the plate has been measured at 1.3.

“His best attribute is that he is a competitive kid,” Marron noted. “He is mature. He handles himself well.”

Stony Brook and NYCBL alum, Jasvir Rakkar now hurls in the Chicago Cubs organization.  Rakkar was taken in the 26^th round (794 overall) by the Cubs in the 2012 draft.  Rakkar posted a 4-3 record for Dave Brust’s 2011 Webster Yankees which advanced to the league finals. He fanned 36, walked 22 and finished with an ERA of 3.68.

The Ridgemen open the 2013 campaign on the road against the Geneva Twins. A 7 p.m. first pitch is scheduled at McDonough Park. Rochester’s home opener is Sunday, June 9^th against the Niagara Power. First pitch at Basket Road Field is slated for seven bells.

The NYCBL is a summer wood-bat league which provides eligible student-athletes the opportunity to develop skills over the course of two months in Upstate New York. Current major league players Tim Hudson, Hunter Pence and Jason Motte all spent a summer playing in the NYCBL. Twenty-one former NYCBL players heard their names called during the 2012 MLB draft.