By DYLAN O’LOUGHLIN
Four seniors capped off varsity careers with Player of the Year honors while two juniors clinched their first. Then after a successful sophomore season, another junior earned the title for a second season in a row. Caden Richards (Rush-Henrietta), Derrick Allen (Greece Athena), Cam Barbulean (Pittsford Mendon), Alex Spezzano (LeRoy), Evan Laird (Sodus), Henry Shutts (Gananda) and Micah Marvin (Arkport-Canaseraga) were all recognized by Section V Coaches for their regular-season efforts.
Richards (Rush-Henrietta) was honored out of Class AAA for Player of the Year. The senior finished 4-2 on the mound with a 1.54 ERA. At the plate, he hit .323 and scored 18 runs. On the mound at Webster Schroeder, Richards struck out five while allowing one run on five hits with three walks over seven innings along with an RBI-single. The senior right-hander struck out two over 6.1 scoreless innings of five-hit ball with two walks at Penfield and against Fairport, Richards went 3-for-3 with a run and drove in the game-winning run after a sacrifice bunt in the the bottom of the seventh to pull out the victory.
Joining Richards on the Class AAA Team of the Year include teammates Mason Davey and Oliver Wright. Thomas Bailey, Dominic Corona, Cole Englert and Jason Larsen were recognized out of McQuaid while Fairport’s Owen Andreatta, Alex Grejda and Pat Lindquist rounded out the Class AAA team.
Allen (Greece Athena) earned the honor for Class AA as the senior put up a .471 batting average and a .662 slugging with a .560 on-base percentage and 1.221 OPS. Allen notched 32 hits including five doubles and four triples with 19 runs batted in. Allen also stole 32 bases this season and crossed home plate 25 times.
Some of the senior’s best offensive games this season included a 4-for-4 outing with two doubles, two runs and four stolen bases against Pittsford Mendon on April 7th and a four-hit day against Eastridge on May 9th with a double, a triple, two RBI and three runs. On May 12th, the senior went 3-4 with two triples, a stolen base, a run and an RBI against Brockport and on April 23rd vs. Canandaigua, Allen collected three hits including a double, three RBI, a run and a stolen base.
On the mound, Allen went 5-1 with 60 strikeouts for a 2.28 ERA, .200 batting average against and a 1.15 WHIP through 46 innings pitched. A few of Allen’s best pitching games include a victory over Mendon on April 7th with no runs allowed on two hits with six strikeouts over five innings and a no-hitter shutout with four strikeouts through 5.1 innings against Penfield on May 6th. The senior struck out 11 through seven scoreless innings on May 12th against Brockport and posted five more strikeouts over six scoreless innings to take down Hilton on May 19th.
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Teammate Sammy Saucke joins Allen on the Class AA Team of the Year. Aaron Reina and Bobby Rule Jr. were honored out of Churchville-Chili while Nolan Bonnell and Wes Sturrup got the nod out of Brighton. Jack Kelly (Webster Schroeder), John Swartz (Victor) and Brayden Scaccia (Brockport) round out the squad. Bob Rule (Churchville-Chili) earned Coach of the Year for Class AA.
Barbulean (Pittsford Mendon) posted career highs with 32 hits, 25 RBI and eight doubles in his senior campaign to earn the Class A honor. Some of the senior’s best games offensively included a 3-for-3 outing with three RBI against Batavia on May 27th and a 3-4 day with a double, four RBI and two runs on April 14th against Wayne. On April 4th vs Aquinas, Barbulean collected three hits including a double, two RBI and two runs and ended 3-4 at the dish with one run batted in over Pittsford Sutherland on May 3rd. Against Eastridge on May 6th, the senior went 2-3 including a home run along with four RBI and two scores. In the Class A Far West Regional against Amherst (VI), Barbulean walked it off with a sacrifice bunt to drive in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Pittsford Mendon to the Class A state semifinals.
On the mound this season, Barbulean surpassed the career milestone of 130 strikeouts as the senior finished with 178 strikeouts, passing the 175 milestone as well. A few of Barbulean’s best games on the mound came in the playoffs as he struck out 16 while allowing one run on three hits over seven innings to earn the win in the Class A Sectional Final against Eastridge. In the regional, the senior struck out 16 over nine scoreless innings of one-hit ball and hurled six strikeouts through 5.2 innings in the state semifinal to help the Vikings advance to its first ever state final.
Then to put a storybook ending to the senior’s final season, Barbulean and the Vikings won the Class A State Championship, 2-0 against Maine-Endwell for the first title in Pittsford Mendon history.
Colden Forney joined his teammate on the Class A Team of the Year while Aidan Kress and Tyler Allen were recognized from Pittsford Sutherland. Mitchell Nieves and Kyle Markham earned their spots out of East High while Evan Bishop (Eastridge), Lucas Leone (Aquinas), Cameron Quick (Palmyra-Macedon) and Jack Farabell (Honeoye Falls-Lima) round out the team. Pittsford Mendon’s Shaun Caveny received the Class A Coach of the Year honor.
Spezzano (LeRoy) was recognized out of Class B as the senior posted a .467 batting average with 35 hits and 15 RBI. Spezzano was also a threat on the bases as the senior stole 16 on the season and crossed home plate 35 times. On the mound, Spezzano had a 7-2 record with, 74 strikeouts and a 0.77 ERA.
Joining Spezzano on the Class B Team of the Year include Aiden Cowburn and Tyler Vogel out of Wellsville along with Ethan Loop and Matt Clark from Wayland-Cohocton. Alan Plummer (Mynderse), Andrew Jones (Addison), Augustine Valentini (Bishop Kearney), Brady O’Keefe (Livonia) and Alexander Rogers (Waterloo) rounded out the squad while Scott Gilman (Livonia) was named Coach of the Year.
Laird (Sodus) got the nod out of Class C1 for his first Player of the Year. The junior ended the season with a .700 batting average, which places Laird third all-time in the Section V record book. Laird also posted a 1.269 slugging percentage, a .764 on-base percentage and a OPS of 2.033. At the dish this season, the junior collected 28 hits including five home runs, four triples and eight doubles for a total of 18 RBI. To go along with that, Laird also stole 32 bases while racking up 33 runs scored throughout the season.
Some of Laird’s best offensive games include a four at-bat cycle against Lyons on May 15th with a triple in the first, a double in the third, a homer in the fourth and a single in the sixth for a total of five RBI and three runs. The junior contributed to eight of the 10 runs scored in a 10-0 shutout victory. On May 12th vs East Rochester, Laird went 2-3 with a double, an RBI and three runs en route to an 11-1 victory.
On the mound, Laird was just as dominant. The junior went undefeated (4-0) with 40 strikeouts and a 0.95 ERA through 54 innings. The junior’s best game this season also came on May 12th against East Rochester where Laird pitched a complete game with eight strikeouts. Laird just finished up his fourth year on varsity after making his debut in eighth grade. So far, the junior has a career batting average of .451 with 58 RBI and 77 stolen bases over 244 at-bats through 83 games.
Teammate Austin Cincinello joined Laird on the Class C1 Team of the Year. Geneseo’s Cooper Warner and Luke Davis got the nod while Tyler Leisten and Noah Wollschleger were nominated out of East Rochester. Evan Fitzpatrick (Notre Dame Batavia), Landon Stoddard (Pavilion/York), Kyle Dredger (Bloomfield) and Anthony Abbatiello (Pembroke) round out the team while Gene Hoskins (Sodus) was named Coach of the Year.
After a sophomore season that got recognition for Player of the Year, Shutts (Gananda) followed that up with another Player of the Year honor for his junior season. The junior posted a .615 batting average and 32 hits at the dish along with 32 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. Shutts best game offensively came against Greece Olympia/Odyssey as the junior went 3-4 with two triples, a double, an RBI, a stolen base and a run.
On the mound, Shutts had a 3-2 record with 56 strikeouts and a 1.32 ERA. The junior’s best game happened in the Class C2 sectional quarterfinals vs Cuba-Rushford as Shutts struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball with two walks en route to a 8-0 shutout victory. Shutts has struck out 356 batters in his career.
Teammate Owen Switzer joined Shutts on the Class C2 Team of the Year. Colby Hughes and Gavin Braun were recognized out of Kendall while Ryan Daciw and Ethan Davenport were honored from Genesee Valley-Belfast. Finn Ricketts (Cuba-Rushford), Max Siewert (Perry), Landon Barkley (Bolivar-Richburg) and Max Waldron (Clyde-Savannah) rounded out the squad while Tige Noni (Kendall) got the nod for Coach of the Year.
Marvin (Arkport-Canaseraga) picked up the honor for Class D. On the season the junior did not allow one run as he posted an ERA of a 0.00 with 90 strikeouts in less than 10 appearances for the program record. A few of the junior’s best games came against Watkins Glen as Marvin struck out 13 with no runs allowed and hit two home runs on the offensive side for a 10-1 victory. Marvin also struck out 14 over five scoreless innings while notching a triple, a walk and crossed home plate en route to a 10-0 victory over Canisteo-Greenwood and the junior hurled a seven-inning no-hitter with 14 strikeouts for a 7-0 shutout against Avoca-Prattsburgh as well.
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Joining Marvin on the Class D Team of the Year include Devin Stamets and Taylor Pragle out of Avoca-Prattsburgh and Northstar Christian Academy’s DaVonn Stevens and Matt Allen. Damon Potter (Fillmore), Aiden Upright (Keshequa), Leo Methe (Charles G. Finney), Colton Calladine (Andover-Whitesville) and Nicholas Scott (Elba) round out the squad while Arkport Canaseraga’s Ethan Lewis received Coach of the Year honors.
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