Ferranti named ICBL Player of the Year; Gartland earns top pitcher while Bigham, Holmes and Trotta garner honors

Phil Ferranti hit .522 over his final 14 games of the 2020 ICBL season. (Photo: SUE KANE)

By JOHN LIKANJE

Phil Ferranti (Mercyhurst University) was part of an Orioles squad which rebounded from a 1-9 start to win the 2020 Interstate Collegiate Baseball League (ICBL) championship. Patrick Bigham (SUNY Fredonia) paced the Blue Jays offense. A.J Gartland (Alfred State College) ended the season on an extensive scoreless innings streak. Tyler Holmes (University of Hartford) anchored the Blue Jays defense from behind the dish. Mark Trotta (College of William & Mary) led the ICBL in two major offensive categories.

The five earned 2020 ICBL post-season awards as announced by the league this week.

Ferranti was named the 2020 Player of the Year. At the dish, the 6-foot-1 catcher compiled 24 base knocks in 57 at-bats (.421 batting average), including four doubles and four home runs.

Ferranti was second in the league in homers and third in hits. He led the ICBL in RBI (22) as well. He scored 17 runs, drew eight walks and swiped five bags. His best game was on July 13th when he went 4-of-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in a 5-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Defensively, Ferranti split time between catcher and first base and produced 81 putouts to go with 10 assists in 76 innings. He was named Player of the Week for Week Four.

In 35 innings of work this summer, AJ Gartland struck out 48 batters while allowing two runs (one earned) on 13 hits and six walks. He finished with a WHIP (walks + hits per inning) of 0.54 and opposing batters hit .110 against him. (Photo: CAITLIN McCLARE)

Gartland was named the 2020 Pitcher of the Year. The 6-foot-1 southpaw posted a 5-0 record with a 0.20 earned run average in 35 innings.

Gartland led the ICBL in earned run average and innings. He tied Alec Teska (Blue Jays) with a league-high five victories as well. Gartland fanned 48 (second in the ICBL) of the 127 batters he faced across seven appearances. The 6-foot-1 left-hander held opponents to a .110 batting average (second in the ICBL) and a 0.54 WHIP (third in the ICBL).

Gartland’s best outing of the season was on July 14th when he compiled 13 strikeouts in six scoreless innings of one-hit ball in a 4-0 win over the Flyin’ Fish. The 6-foot-1 southpaw ended his summer on a 15-innings scoreless streak and 30 consecutive frames without an earned run allowed. Gartland was named Pitcher of the Week for Week Two.

Tyler Holmes logged 58 behind the plate without committing an error nor passed ball. (Photo: SUE KANE)

Holmes was named the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year. The 5-foot-11 catcher didn’t commit an error nor allow a passed ball in 58 innings across 19 games played. He procured 77 put outs and had three assists. Holmes anchored a Blue Jays squad which was second in the ICBL in runs allowed (109) and finished with a run differential of plus-41.

Holmes caught a pitching staff which led the league in innings pitched (170) and was third in strikeouts (209). The 5-foot-1 catcher paced the rotation to a 3.58 earned run average as well. Blue Jays pitching held opponents to three runs or less in 11 of Holmes’s 19 games played, including a shutout in their season opener.

Trotta earned the 2020 Silver Slugger award. The 6-foot-1 infielder led the East Division Champion Snow Cats in both batting average (.429) and base knocks (27). Six of his 27 hits resulted in extra bases: four doubles, a triple and a home run.

Mark Trotta (crossing home plate) led the West Division Champion Snow Cats in both batting average (.429) and base knocks (27). Six of his 27 hits resulted in extra bases: four doubles, a triple and a home run. (Photo: SUE KANE)

Overall, Trotta finished second in the league in runs scored (21), third in walks (17), tied for seventh in stolen bases (eight) and tied for eighth in RBI (12). His best game of the season was on July 12th when he doubled twice, drove in four runs and crossed the plate once in a 12-5 win over the Orioles.

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Bigham earned the 2020 Hard-90 award. The award is given to the player who best displays consistent effort throughout the season. The 6-foot-1 first baseman collected 16 hits in 63 at-bats (.254 batting average), including three doubles.

Pat Bigham led the league in innings played (111) and put outs (98). (Photo: SUE KANE)

Bigham was second on the Blue Jays in base hits and tied for third in doubles. He was seventh in the ICBL in RBI (14) as well. Bigham added eight runs, six walks and two stolen bases. His best game of the season was on July 22nd when he went 2-of-3, drove in a pair of runs and swiped a bag against Diamond Pro Orange.

Defensively, Bigham led the league in innings played (111) and put outs (98). The 6-foot-1 first baseman had two assists as well.

EAST DIVISION ALL-LEAGUE TEAM

Pitcher: Alec Teska (Blue Jays/St. John Fisher College); Pitcher: Braden Consaul (Diamond Pro Orange); Pitcher: Tyler Smith (Blue Jays/Monroe Community College); Catcher: Tyler Holmes (Blue Jays/University of Hartford); First base: Phil Ferranti (Orioles/Mercyhurst University); Second base: Aiden Stewart (Diamond Pro Orange); Third base: Ray Specht (Monarchs/Niagara County Community College); Shortstop: Noah Campanelli (Blue Jays/St. John Fisher College); Outfield: Justin LoTemple (Monarchs/Alfred State College); Outfield: Jason Story (Blue Jays/Utica College); Outfield: Jeff Wilson (Blue Jays/Le Moyne College); Designated hitter: Nicholas Serce (Monarchs/Alfred State College).

WEST DIVISION ALL-LEAGUE TEAM

Pitcher: A.J. Gartland (Snow Cats/Alfred State College); Pitcher: Rojo Prarie (Snow Cats/College of William & Mary); Pitcher: Jackson DeJohn (Cardinals/St. Bonaventure University); Catcher: Cam Vozel (Snow Cats/Gannon University); First base: Zach Harter (Flyin’ Fish/Finger Lakes Community College); Second base: Tyler Griggs (Flyin’ Fish/Central Arizona College); Third base: Santino Rosso (Cardinals/Hofstra University); Shortstop: Mark Trotta (Snow Cats/College of William & Mary); Outfield: David Bermudez (Snow Cats/Rider University); Outfield: Michael Jamele (Flyin’ Fish/Merimack College); Outfield: Lachlan Charles (Snow Cats/Cornell University); Designated hitter: Dylan Mackenzie (Flyin’ Fish/SUNY Cortland)

2020 FINAL ICBL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
	Rochester East Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Last 10	Strk
	Monarchs	16	7	.696	0	8-2	W2
	Blue Jays	14	9	.609	2	5-5	L1
	DP Orange	10	13	.435	6	3-7	W1
	Orioles	8	14	.364	6.5	5-5	L2

	Rochester West Division
	Snow Cats*	19	4	.826	0	9-1	W1
	Cardinals	13	10	.565	6	5-5	W2
	Flyin’ Fish	9	13	.409	9.5	4-6	W1
	DP Green	1	20	.048	16	0-10	L18
	*did not participate in post-season

	2020 ICBL Playoffs
	West Division
	Flyin’ Fish 7 DP Green 3
	Cardinals 4 Flyin’ Fish 3
	East Division
	Orioles 4 Monarchs 1
	Blue Jays 6 DP Orange 5
	Orioles 5 Blue Jays 3
	Championship
	Orioles 7 Cardinals 2