After Strong 2022, Spartans Look Forward to 2023

An impressive 2022 season in which they reached the postseason for the third time in four years has Cayuga Community College Baseball looking ahead to the 2023 campaign.

Behind a dominant attack at the plate, the Spartans captured the Mid-State Athletic Conference Championship and set a program record for wins and winning percentage with a 27-12 mark. Their divisional record of 17-7 landed them in second place in Region III's East Division, trailing only Herkimer College.

Cayuga wasn't short on individual accomplishments, either, with first baseman Hazel Martinez being named Conference and Region III Player of the Year, Greg Osterhout throwing two perfect games and four other Spartans earning conference or regional honors.

Coach John Rizzo applauded his team for their consistent play and determination, while noting the conference championship wasn't the final goal the team set for themselves before the season.

"Ultimately, we fell a little short of the goals we set. We had a lot of success this season, but we're looking at the bigger picture as a program. We want to get to the regional final four and make it to the (national championship) in Tennessee," said Rizzo. "But we can't ignore the success we had this season. A lot of wins, a lot of team and individual accomplishments, a conference title. They're a special group."

The Spartans began the season 8-5 before a 31-3 thrashing of Mohawk Valley Community College started them on a 13-game winning streak. Cayuga swept four-game series from Hudson Valley, Tompkins Cortland and Jefferson community colleges during the streak.

Ending the regular season 26-10, the Spartans hosted conference foe Finger Lakes Community College in the sub-regionals. Cayuga took the first game 7-3 behind starting pitcher Will Coleman, but lost the next two to end the season.

The Spartans ended 2022 as one of the top fielding and hitting teams in NJCAA Division III. Cayuga finished eighth in Division III with a .959 fielding percentage and second nationally with a .367 team batting average.

Leading Cayuga at the plate was Martinez, who led NJCAA Division III with a .543 batting average and a 1.000 slugging percentage. He led the team in most offensive categories, including on-base percentage, runs, RBI and home runs.

Other top hitters included third baseman Luke Ough (.419 average), shortstop Fernando Espinal (.385 average), catcher Phil Messina (.381 average) and right fielder Michael Norton (.371 average, 38 RBI).

The Spartans battled injuries on the mound for much of the season, but had several players step-in to contribute. Osterhout threw perfect games against SUNY Adirondack and Jefferson and led the team with four wins, while Austin Doyle-Miller and Keegan Ferris each had three wins.

Rizzo praised the Spartans' pitching staff for battling through the season, with some players taking on a bigger role than expected.

"Roy Glaum was an infielder who became one of our better relievers, and Connor McMahon had success and threw a lot of innings for us," said Rizzo. "The whole pitching staff got thrown into a situation we didn't expect, and they handled it well. For a deep playoff run, with postseason games being nine innings, you need a lot of good arms. Pitching wins in this game."

The Spartans will lose several leaders at the plate and in the field, said Rizzo, but should return much of the talent from this year's team.

"Hazel is going to be very difficult to replace. Anthony Driscoll-Sadusky and Tyler Ziemak were staples in our lineup, and other guys were too. With this team, we had guys who might not have been in the lineup each day, but when they got in they played well," said Rizzo. "We're bringing a lot of talent back and we're confident in our incoming players."

Along with the Player of the Year honors, Martinez was named Region III First Team and All-East Division. Messina and Norton were named Region III Second Team and All-East Division, Driscoll-Sadusky was named All-East Division and Espinal was named to the Region III All-Glove Team. Espinal, Martinez, Norton and Osterhout were named to the All-Conference Team.

Rizzo was also named Conference Coach of the Year in just his first season as head coach.