Three Bombers Earn Summer League Honors
August 13, 2007
From Ithaca Sports Information Release
ITHACA, N.Y. – Three members of the Ithaca College baseball team have earned post-season honors from the New York Collegiate Baseball League. Shane Wolf (Lansing/Freeville) was named the league’s Player of the Year and first baseman Eric Ferguson (Columbia/East Greenbush) and pitcher Bryan Gardner (Fairport/Fairport) were both second-team selections to the NYCBL all-star team. All three will be seniors this season.
The New York Collegiate Baseball League, founded in 1978, is a summer wood-bat league sanctioned by the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB) and partially funded by Major League Baseball. The league gives college players who have not yet signed a professional contract the opportunity to develop their skills at a high level of play, gain experience with wood bats and be evaluated by professional scouts.
No other school had more of its players earn post-season honors; the 38-player all-star team also included players from Miami (Fla.), Louisiana State and Oklahoma State.
Wolf played with Elmira during the NYCBL season, leading the Pioneers to the league championship. He ranked among the league leaders in batting average (.367) and earned-run average (1.31). As a designated hitter, he drove in 13 runs, scored 11 and collected seven extra-base hits (six doubles and a home run). On the mound he fanned 42 batters in 48 innings while walking only five and held opponents to a batting average of .205.
He was named the MVP of the NYCBL Championship Series after batting .471 with two RBI and a pitching mark of 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Wolf threw five-hit shutouts against both Hornell (in the playoff opener) and Glens Falls (in the first game of the NYCBL Championship Series). He struck out 14 batters in the two games.
In his first season with the Bombers, Wolf earned third-team all-region honors as a utility player. He was a first-team Empire 8 all-star as a pitcher and as a designated hitter. He went 7-1 with a 3.22 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 76.1 innings. At the plate, he batted .330 with 10 doubles and 13 RBI’s.
Ferguson hit a team-best .338 for the Brockport Riverbats, driving in 24 runs and scoring 26. He hit eight doubles and two home runs while compiling a slugging percentage of .432 and an on-base percentage of .391.
Last spring, Ferguson was a first-team pick as a utility player on the all-region team after earning first-team Empire 8 recognition as an outfielder. He hit a team-high .400 and added team-best totals of 66 hits (Ithaca’s sixth-highest single-season total), 12 doubles, 44 runs and 38 RBI’s. He collected 14 extra-base hits while stealing 12 bases.
Gardner posted a 1.38 ERA for the Webster Yankees. He went 0-1 with four saves in 22 appearances. Gardner struck out 37 batters in 26 innings, walking just 13 and limiting the opposition to a .108 batting average (surrendering just nine hits).
As a Bomber he earned Empire 8 all-star honors after making 12 relief appearances, posting a 2-2 mark with a save and an ERA of 4.05. He fanned 29 batters in 20 innings.
The Bombers won their eighth straight Empire 8 title last year and made their 41st NCAA playoff appearance; their 30 trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs are the most of any school.