Herkimer players, coach receive 2022 NJCAA baseball awards, honors
Having won a national championship for the first time in program history this spring, the postseason baseball honors have followed for the Herkimer College Generals.
Greg Farone, one of two first-team NJCAA All-Americans on the Generals' pitching staff, has been named Division III Pitcher of the Year, second baseman Kyle Caccamise is the Defensive Player of the Year, and Jason Rathbun has received the American Baseball Coaches Association's Coach of the Year Award.
Right-hander Ryan Packard joins the left-handed Farone on the Division III All-America team while Dakota Britt, a third baseman and outfielder, was picked for the third team as an infielder.
First baseman Sal Carricato joined Farone, Packard and Britt as first-team all-stars in Region III with freshman outfielder Mike Gunning on the second team.
Farone, who has signed to continue his education and baseball career at the University of Louisville in the fall, was unbeaten (7-0) with one save in nine starts and three relief appearances as a sophomore, finishing fourth in the nation with a 1.65 ERA while leading in strikeouts (139) and strikeouts per nine innings (20.85).
Packard, a freshman in eligibility in his third year on campus following the COVID-19 pandemic and Tommy John surgery, finished second in the nation with a 1.32 ERA to go with a 10-2 won-loss record and two saves. Packard's 90 strikeouts tied him for 10th in the nation and his 13.21 strikeouts per nine innings ranked 12th.
Farone and Packard each pitched a perfect game early in the season. They teamed up for the team's most important win to that point of the season with Farone getting the final three outs in relief of Packard in 2-1 elimination game victory over Erie Community College at the Region III Tournament.
Farone pitched a seven-inning shutout in Herkimer's first game at the national tournament in North Carolina and Packard went seven innings and handed an 8-5 lead to the bullpen in the second game to help the Generals sweep to the championship as the tournament's lone at-large entry.
Farone struck out all 15 opposing batters, a first for the program, in his five-inning perfect game against SUNY-Adirondack.
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"Greg's impact on our program will be remembered forever," Rathbun said in a release. "A two-time All-American and World Series MVP are accomplishments that players dream of. He deserves everything that he has accomplished because his work ethic and personality are even better than his on-the-field performance."
Packard is also departing for the new school year and will attend the University of Dayton.
Caccamise committed two errors as Herkimer's second-year starting second baseman and leadoff hitter this spring.
"Kyle was like having another coach on the field," Rathbun said. "His knowledge of the game and performance were a pleasure to watch over his two years here. I was never worried when the ball was hit his way, and we wanted the ball in his hands when a big throw had to be made."
Caccamise supplemented his defense with a .410 batting average, .53 on base percentage, 54 runs scored and 40 runs batted in.
Britt, the leadoff hitter as a freshman, hit third for most of his sophomore season and batted .406 with 14 home runs, 56 RBI and 54 runs scored. He was fourth in the nation in home runs and ninth with a .787 slugging percentage.
Rathbun had previously won Diamond ABCA Regional Coach of the Year awards in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2015. He surpassed 500 wins at his alma mater in 2021 where he guided the Generals to their first 20-win season during his 2005 debut and surpassed 30 in nine of the last 10 years and 13 times overall, topping 40 for the third time this spring when the Generals finished 41-7 with an eighth trip to the JuCo World Series.
Region III honors
Hazel Martinez, the nation's leading hitter at Cayuga Community College, was selected as the Region III Player of the Year while Coach of the Year went to Joe Bauth who led Erie Community College to a 43-12-1 record and a third-place finish at the regional tournament.
Martinez batted .543 as a sophomore with 10 home runs and 60 RBI in 38 games. He also led the nation with a 1.000 slugging percentage and ranked second with his .589 on base percentage and fifth with seven triples. He and Erie sophomores Adam Rankie and Greg Hare joined the two Herkimer pitchers as Region III's first-team All-Americans.
The rest of the first team included catcher Matthew Ferris, infielder Zach Evans, outfielder Alex Minnehan, and pitcher Kyle, a second-team All-American Finn from regional champion Niagara County Community College; outfielder Luis Reyes, a third-team All-American from Mohawk Valley Community College, Rankie, Hare, Martinez and the four Generals.
The second team included three players from Hudson Valley Community College, two each from Cayuga, Erie and Finger Lakes community colleges, and one each from Niagara County and Onondaga community colleges.Britt, Farone and Hare were repeat selections for the first team. Martinez and Reyes were second-team selections in 2021.
Carricato, Herkimer's first baseman, hit .365 as a sophomore with nine home runs, 50 runs batted in and 35 runs scored. His seven sacrifice flies led the nation.
Gunning came in as a two-way recruit but saw limited mound action while hitting .360 with 10 home runs, 40 RBI and 46 runs in 39 games.
Reyes stole 61 bases in 35 games, breaking Mohawk Valley's school record while batting .450 with 36 runs scored and 16 RBI.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Herkimer baseball players, coach receive 2022 NJCAA awards
