RIT Picked to End Eight-Year Baseball Title Reign of Ithaca
February 24, 2009
ROCHESTER, NY – Rochester Institute of Technology was selected to capture the conference title in the Empire 8 Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll. The Tigers, who received two first-place votes, finished second in the conference last year with an 11-5 mark and won 22 games overall, including a stretch of 16 wins in 17 games.
Junior outfielder Geoff Dornes of the Tigers is the two-time reigning Empire 8 Player of the Year and set school single-season records in home runs, runs batted in, and runs scored. He is among the top-10 in career runs scored and batting average after two seasons. Dornes saw plenty of time on the mound as well, recording a 2.82 earned run average in 55 innings of work.
Senior shortstop Jeremy Tosh of RIT has earned back-to-back first-team all-conference honors and finished last season batting .369 with 28 runs scored and 30 RBI. Sophomore Raffaele Parisi was named to the all-conference second team in his rookie season.
The Bombers, who also received two first-place votes and are coming off their eighth consecutive Empire 8 title, finished 15-1 in conference play a year ago and 30-13 overall. Ithaca made their 32nd appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs, more than any other school, and 42nd NCAA playoff appearance overall in 2008.
Sophomore third baseman David Ahonen returns for the Bombers after being named 2008 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. He led the team with a .418 batting average and totaled 35 runs scored and 30 runs batted in. Senior outfielder Matt Samela hit .323 with 42 runs scored and earned second-team all-conference honors last season.
St. John Fisher, which finished 25-14-1 a year ago and handed Ithaca its only loss in conference play, is the coaches’ choice to finish third this season. The Cardinals return three first-team all-conference selections in juniors Kevin Wing, Marc Montesano, and Jon Gibbs. Wing, a second baseman, hit .320 with 23 runs scored last year and outfielder Montesano batted .333 with 28 runs scored and 24 RBI. Designated hitter Gibbs batted .304 with 30 runs scored.
Stevens Institute of Technology, chosen to finish fourth in the preseason poll, won three of its last four conference games a year ago and looks to continue that late-season surge this year. Junior closer Bill Jennings returns after a year off. He was named to the Skyline All-Conference First Team in 2007. Junior centerfielder Mark Rasulo led the team in hits and stolen bases last year and has opened this season 10-for-16 at the plate with five runs scored and six runs batted in.
Utica College, picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, returns junior right-handed pitcher Mike Gibbons, who earned honorable mention all-conference recognition in 2008.
The top two teams in the preseason poll will face each other four times when RIT hosts Ithaca on Saturday, Mar. 28 and Sunday, Mar. 29. The Bombers swept last year’s meetings between the teams, winning four games by a combined 25-1 score. The Tigers then won 16 of their next 18 games and advanced to the ECAC Upstate tournament.
Ten of last season’s 38 conference games were decided by one run and 16 games were decided by three runs or less.
2009 Empire 8 Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Rochester Institute of Technology (2) 14 points
2. Ithaca College (2) 13
3. St. John Fisher College 12
4. Stevens Institute of Technology 7
5. Utica College 4