by TYLER HATHAWAY
More than 125 Section V Baseball alums played at the collegiate level this past Spring. Two dozen of those student-athletes earned conference and national honors.
DIVISION I
Gage Ziehl (Penfield), a junior at the University of Miami, was named to the All-ACC First Team as a starting pitcher. Ziehl posted a 5-3 record with two complete games, including a 15-strikeout performance against nationally-ranked Clemson. The right-hander pitched 100 innings over 15 starts, posted an ERA of 3.87, and tallied 89 strikeouts. This is Ziehl’s second straight season earning All-ACC honors after being named to the All-ACC second team in 2023.
With Penfield, Ziehl had an ERA of 0.88 and racked up 202 strikeouts over the course of 120 innings. At the plate, he batted .427 with 61 RBI and seven homers over his three year career. He led the Patriots to a sectional title in 2021 when he hurled a one-hit shutout against Hilton in the championship game, winning 6-0. Ziehl had an ERA of 0.17 and allowed one run over 42 innings. Section V named him the 2021 Class AA Player of the Year.
Casey Saucke II (Greece Athena) earned All-ACC honors as a member of the Second Team as well as a Third Team All-American selection. Saucke, a junior outfielder for the University of Virginia, finished with a batting average of .344 while placing 32 extra-base hits and 14 home runs. Saucke also produced 65 RBI and scored 56 times and helped the Cavaliers to their seventh appearance in the College World Series. In 2022, Saucke was named to the All-ACC Freshman team.
The 2021 Gatorade New York State and Section V Class A Player of the Year finished with a .483 batting average in his senior season at Athena. He collected eight home runs, 24 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 36 runs scored while leading the Trojans to the 2021 Section V Class A championship game.
Noah Campanelli (McQuaid/St. JohnFisher) earned All-Big South Second Team recognition as a member of Longwood University baseball. Campanelli started 45 games for the Lancers as a graduate student, and compiled a team-best batting average of .343 as well as a team-best 42 runs scored. He finished ninth in the country in stolen bases with 33, had nine extra base hits including three home runs, and finished with 30 RBI.
Campanelli spent four seasons at St. John Fisher prior to playing for Longwood and helped the Cardinals win three Empire 8 championships. In high school, Campanelli was a member of the 2019 state championship team for McQuaid, and was named to First-team All-Greater Rochester as a senior.
Trey Brown, an Aquinas and Monroe Community College alum, was named to the 2024 America East All-Tournament Team as a player for UMass-Lowell. The infielder compiled five hits, five RBI, and two runs scored over the course of three postseason games. Throughout the season, Brown finished with a .281 batting average, 25 RBI and two home runs alongside a fielding percentage of .980. Brown finished second in the nation (NJCAA DII) at MCC with a .496 batting average.
Preston Prince (Hilton) and Gavin Schrader (Notre Dame Batavia) were both named to the MAAC All-Academic team as members of Niagara. Both sophomores, Prince made 11 starts over 12 appearances as a pitcher and struck out 33 batters over 38 innings, while Schrader made 51 starts in 54 appearances as a right fielder and designated hitter and turned in nine home runs and 47 RBI off of a .312 batting average.
Prince was named to the 2022 Monroe County Division I second team as a member of a Cadets team that finished first in Class AA. As a senior he had a 1.48 ERA while going 4-1, struck out 48 batters in 28.1 innings, and held opposing hitters to a .193 batting average.
Schrader was named the 2022 Section V Class C2 Player of the Year. The left-hander led Notre Dame Batavia to a Genesee Region title and a 20-2 record during his senior campaign, finishing batting .500 with three home runs, seven triples, and 34 RBI.
Prince and Schrader led Niagara to its first MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.
Ben Beauchamp (McQuaid/Monroe CC) helped St. John’s to its 10th Big East title and 38th appearance in the College World Series. Hitting out of the two-hole, Beauchamp made 55 starts for the Johnnies and finished with 23 extra-base hits including six home runs and 16 doubles. Ben Sousa (Honeoye Falls-Lima) earned the James Kevin Beatty Memorial Award for his service to the St. John’s baseball program as team manager. Sousa served as bullpen catcher for the Johnnies.
DIVISION III
Mitchell Kelly (Webster Thomas) was named to the All-SUNYAC First Team from Cortland. Kelly finished his junior season batting .310 with 24 RBI and 25 runs scored. He contributed 142 put-outs in the field while being responsible for no errors. Two of his teammates, juniors Devin Georgetti (Gates-Chili/Finger Lakes CC) and Dylan Mackenzie (Canandaigua) were named to the All-SUNYAC Second Team, with Mackenzie also being named as an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division III All-Region III third team selection. Georgetti pitched in 14 games for the Red Dragons, finishing with a record of 4-4 and tallying a save. The right hander threw 55 innings, struck out 57 batters, and registered an ERA of 5.89.
Kelly was a member of the 2021 Section V Class A title-winning Webster Thomas team, and was named to both All-Monroe County and All-Greater Rochester teams over the course of his three years at the varsity level. Georgetti was an All-Monroe County selection twice over his varsity career with Gates-Chili. He spent two seasons with FLCC before coming to Cortland and was named the 2023 Mid-State Athletic Conference player of the year. Mackenzie was part of a key core of a Canandaigua squad which won 18 games and earned a spot in the Class A state semifinals in 2019. He collected 28 hits for a .368 batting average in his junior season, including three doubles, three triples and two home runs.
Jason Story (Hilton) was named to the All-Empire 8 First Team and the ABCA Division III All-Region III Second Team after his senior season with Utica. Story finished with a batting average of .355, 38 RBI, a program-record 11 home runs, and 42 runs scored. His teammate, Jack Scanlon (Aquinas/Onondaga Community College) was named to the All-Empire 8 Third Team after a junior season that saw shortstop finish hitting .320 with 23 RBI and 33 runs scored.
Story hit .318 in his senior season with Hilton in 2019 and led the Cadets to the No. 4 seed in Class AA. Scanlon graduated from Aquinas in 2020 and then played for Onondaga Community College, where he captured the NJCAA Golden Glove in 2023.
Hunter Walsh (McQuaid) was selected as a member of the All-Empire 8 First Team as a graduate student for St. John Fisher. Walsh appeared in 14 games for the Cardinals (one of which being a start) and finished with a 2-1 record and a conference-leading five saves. The right-hander pitched 38 innings and racked up 33 strikeouts, turning in an ERA of 5.21.
Walsh was a member of the 2019 Class AA state title winning McQuaid team, pitching in the state championship and throwing a no-hitter. He was also on the mound for both the sectional final and Far West Regional for the Knights and turned in complete game victories. He finished his senior season with a perfect 12-0 win-loss record and an ERA below 0.60.
Two Section V alums made the All-Empire 8 Second Team, being Keuka’s Carlos Fantauzzi (Canandaigua/Onondaga Community College) and Houghton’s Vincent Lucyszyn (Gates-Chili). Fantuzzi hit .348 with 34 RBI and 26 runs scored. The junior had 18 extra-base hits including three home runs. Lucyszyn, a sophomore, hit. 310 with 19 RBI and 31 runs scored. He got on base 20 times via walk and stole 19 bases.
Fantuzzi previously spent two seasons at Onondaga Community College and started 62 games over that time. Fantuzzi was a member of the 2019 Canandaigua team that made it to the NYS Class A semifinals and was named to an All-Monroe County team. Lucyzszyn’s senior season at Gates Chili saw him led the Spartans with a .391 batting average, 19 runs batted in, 18 runs scored, 15 swiped bags and five doubles. He was named to the All-Monroe County Division II first team.
Ethan Hurwitz (Pittsford Sutherland) earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selection for Oberlin College. Hurwitz also received honors for his commitment both on and off the field to the Oberlin program. Hurwitz hit .292 with six home runs and 39 RBI.
JUNIOR COLLEGE
Sophomores Connor Sackett (Fairport) and Joe Wintermute (Irondequoit) along with Tobey Wright (Rush-Henrietta) each made First Team All-WNYAC from MCC. Sackett finished with a team-best .416 batting average, 35 RBI, 31 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases. His 19 extra-base hits led the team. Wintermute hit .408 with 37 RBI, 36 runs scored, and 16 stolen bases. His 53 hits were the most on the Tribunes. Wright finished with a batting average of .392, 39 RBI, 40 runs scored, and 17 stolen bases. Wright finished first in RBI, walks drawn, and runs scored.
Sackett and Wright were both Monroe County Division I First Team selections after their senior seasons in 2022. Sackett led a Fairport team that reached the Section V Class AA semifinals with a batting average of .381, 12 RBI, 11 runs scored, six stolen bases and five doubles. Behind the plate, the catcher finished with an .982 fielding percentage and threw out nine baserunners. Wright’s Rush-Henrietta team also reached the Class AA semifinals that year, as he was 4-3 on the mound with 60 strikeouts over 50-plus innings. He scored 21 times and brought home 11. He was additionally named to the Section V Class AA first team. In his senior season in 2021, Wintermute was named the Monroe County Division III Player of the Year after batting .406 with seven extra-base hits, 13 RBI, and 15 runs scored. On the rubber, he ended the season with a 4-2 record and an ERA of 2.15 in just under 46 innings.
Pitchers Zach Allen (McQuaid) and Jack Keagle (Pittsford Mendon) both represented MCC on All-WNYAC Second Team. Allen turned in a 5-2 record on the mound in nine appearances over his sophomore season and struck out 31 batters over a team-leading 45 innings, finishing with an ERA of 5.20. Keagle ended with a record of 3-1 after pitching in eight games. The southpaw freshman pitched 32.2 innings, registered an ERA of 4.96, and finished with 35 strikeouts, good for second out of all Tribunes.
Allen came back from injury to be the centerfielder for the 2022 Class AA NYS championship-winning McQuaid team that finished the season 19-5. Keagle’s Pittsford Mendon team in 2019 reached the Class A1 semifinals.
Erie Community College’s Garrett Wilson (Webster Thomas) was named to the All-WNYAC First Team and his teammate Shane Pray (Churchville-Chili) was named to the All-WNYAC Second Team. Wilson ended the year second on Erie in batting average (.374) tied for the lead in extra base hits (21), and first in home runs (eight). He scored 49 times and had 35 RBI. Pray turned in a .333 batting average and supplied 35 RBI, 42 runs scored, and three stolen bases.
Wilson tallied a .383 batting average, 27 RBI, 15 runs scored, five doubles, two triples and a pair of homers during his senior season in 2022 in which Webster Thomas reached the NYS Class A Far West Regional. He was named to the Monroe County Division II first team in consecutive seasons before graduating. Pray’s 2021 senior campaign with Churchville-Chili saw him named to the Monroe County Division II second team.
FLCC saw sophomores Paulie Goodness (Palmyra-Macedon) and Collin Clark (Pittsford Mendon) named to All-NJCAA Region III teams, with Goodness being named to the Second Team and Clark the Third Team. Goodness was named to the All-NJCAA West Division team as well, and finished hitting .493 with 21 RBI, 20 runs scored, 17 stolen bases, and five extra-base hits in 23 games. As the catcher for the Lakers, Clark hit .359 with 32 RBI, four home runs, and 24 runs scored. In the field, Clark had only one error in 84 opportunities, good for a fielding percentage of 98.8 percent.
Goodness’s five-year career with Palmyra-Macedon saw him be a two-time All-Finger Lakes selection as well as a two-time sectional champion. In 2022, the centerfielder was named as the Finger Lakes East Player of the Year, the Section V Class B1 Player of the Year, and an All-Greater Rochester selection after leading the Red Raiders to the NYS semifinals. In 2022, Clark was named to the Monroe County Division III Second Team. The catcher was apart of a Pittsford Mendon squad that finished the regular season second in Class A2 and reached the sectional semifinals.
Steven Merkel (Northstar Christian) was named to All-NJCAA Region III Division III First Team as the catcher for Niagara County Community College. The sophomore compiled a batting average of .410 with 59 RBI, 43 runs scored, and three home runs. While a member of Northstar Christian, Merkel played in back-to-back sectional championships in 2021 and 2022.
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