It’s almost time for some summer baseball! The 2023 Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League season will begin on June 1st. Opening day will consist of three East Division matchups: Utica will take on Mohawk Valley, Albany will battle Amsterdam, and Watertown will face Boonville.
With the season fast approaching, let’s preview the PGCBL East Division, starting with the defending champs.
The Amsterdam Mohawks will begin their PGCBL title defense at home on June 1 against the Albany Dutchmen. The Mohawks put together an impressive 39-6 record during the 2022 regular season and defeated the Batavia Muckdogs in three games to claim the club’s 6th PGCBL Championship. Second baseman Gage Miller (Bishop State CC) was named Player of the Year, manager Keith Griffin was named Coach of the Year and right-hander Santhosh Gottam earned the PGCBL Relief Pitcher of the Year Award.
Amsterdam’s title defense will be aided by the return of Miller to the lineup, along with an infusion of young talent. Miller slashed .400/.517/.667 in 42 regular-season contests last year with 46 runs scored, 15 doubles, seven home runs, 33 runs batted In, 17 walks, 19 hit by pitches, and 16 stolen bases. Miller also contributed two home runs during Amsterdam’s playoff run. Miller will be heading to Alabama in the fall to compete for the Crimson Tide.
Amsterdam was named the #1 summer collegiate team in the country in 2022 by Perfect Game USA and put six players on the 2022 All-PGCBL First Team following their 40+ win season, including the middle infield pairing of Miller and shortstop Brett Coker. For this upcoming summer, the Mohawks have added shortstop Marek Houston to the roster. Houston, currently a freshman at Wake Forest, has started 50 games so far this season for a Demon Deacon squad that is currently 47-10, and earned the no. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament. The Mohawks also added outfielders Jalen DeBose (Florida Atlantic), Jared Johnson (Brown), Carlos Martinez (Pittsburgh), Dakota Duffalo (Utah) and Luke Zeisloft (Maryland) for the 2023 campaign.
The Mohawks will also return right-handed pitcher Von Baker (Cornell), who recorded a 2-0 record for Amsterdam in 2022 with 13.1 innings pitched (12 relief appearances). Amsterdam’s 2023 pitching staff additions include right-hander Dylan Reid (Brown), UCONN commit Gio Conte, Ryan Taffe (Fairfield), the 2023 Northeast-10 Conference Rookie Pitcher of the Year Tyler Sausville (New Haven) and Brandon Peterson (NJIT). The Mohawks had seven alumni signed during the 2022 MLB Draft: Tyer Stuart (2019-Southern Miss – New York Mets, Round 6), Dale Stanavich (2018-20-Rutgers – Miami Marlins, Round 8), Michael Turconi (2019-Wake Forest – Toronto Blue Jays, Round 15), Connor Brandon (2021-Toledo – New York Mets, Round 17), Cole Patten (2021-Villanova/Seton Hall – Detroit Tigers, Round 17), Maxwell Costes (2019-Maryland – Baltimore Orioles, FA), and Chris Lanzilli (2018-Arkansas/Wake Forest – Chicago White Sox, FA).
The Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs went 28-18 during the 2022 regular season and earned the second seed in the East Division, but were eliminated from the postseason in the first round following a 6-4 loss to the Saugerties Stallions. Infielder Ethan Valdez (Spring Hill College) returns to the DiamondDawgs in 2023 following a solid campaign this Spring with the Spring Hill Badgers. Valdez started 44 games and slashed .304/.431/.365 with 52 runs, 28 RBI and 36 stolen bases (in 40 attempts) to help the Badgers earn a spot in the DII NCAA South Regional.
Mohawk Valley’s pitching staff will be bolstered by returning arms Troy Butler (Herkimer College), Bo Buckley (Fairfield), Chris Palmer (Saint Rose), and left-hander Ethan Patch (Carson Newman). Butler started eight games for the DiamondDawgs in 2022 and put together a 3.21 ERA with two complete games and 57 strikeouts in 42.0 innings pitched. The DiamondDawgs will welcome a brand-new group of outfielders in Mark Darakjy (St. Bonaventure), Jaden Ross (Hudson Valley College), Nick Sturino (Fairfield University) and Sebastian Mueller (Quinnipiac).
The Saugerties Stallions went 27-19 during the 2022 regular season to finish third in the East Division. They bested Mohawk Valley in the first round of the playoffs before falling to Amsterdam in the semifinals by a score of 5-3. Saugerties will return pitchers Bryce Reimer (Bucknell), Ga’van Wray (Georgia Southern) and Sean Duke (SUNY Sullivan) to the 2023 roster, along with infielder Alex Rodriguez (Mt. San Antonio). Reimer pitched 31.1 innings for the Stallions in 2023 and put together a 3-1 record with a save in seven relief appearances and three starts. The Stallions have brought in five new outfielders for the 2023 campaign, including Delaware’s Andrew Amato. As a sophomore for the Blue Hens this season, Amato has started 51 games with tallies of 35 runs scored, 15 extra-base hits, 36 RBI and 29 walks drawn. Among the Stallions’ group of catchers in 2023 will be Ty Gallagher (Hobart). Gallagher led the Statesman in batting average (.359), hits (33), doubles (9), home runs (5), runs batted in (31), on-base percentage (.520), slugging percentage (.641), walks (23) in 30 games played in 2023. The Stallions will play their season opener on June 2 at Mohawk Valley’s Veterans Memorial Park.
The Oneonta Outlaws went 23-23 in the 2022 PGCBL regular season to earn the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division. The Outlaws fell to the eventual champions Amsterdam in the first round. The squad will benefit from the return of a handful of pitchers from the 2022 roster: Matthew DuBois (Saint Peter’s), Joey Hayner (Herkimer CC), Logan Kaufman (Herkimer CC), Kyle Mahady (Saint Peter’s), Ryan Myles (Wagner) and Albert Vargas (Hudson Valley CC). Infielder Jelani Hamer (Oswego State) will also be a returning player for the Outlaws this summer. Hamer played in 27 games for Oneonta last season and produced 20 runs, 10 extra-base hits, 21 RBI and 14 stolen bases. Vargas threw 10.1 innings in 10 relief appearances last season during which he allowed just seven hits and two earned runs with 13 strikeouts. DuBois made six starts and tossed 39.0 innings for the Outlaws last season, compiling a 3-3 record. The Outlaws will open the 2023 campaign on June 2 at home against Boonville.
The Albany Dutchmen narrowly missed out of the PGCBL postseason in 2022 with a 22-24 regular season record. The Dutchmen will return three pitchers from their 2022 roster: Devin Campbell (SUNY Oswego), Andrew Cubberly (Quinnipiac), and Grant Smeltzer (Fairfield) along with catcher Brody Keneston (Le Moyne) and infielder Nick Plue (Manhattan College). Cubberly made seven relief appearances and one start for the Dutchman in 2022, tallying 23 strikeouts in 21.0 innings of work. Keneston just wrapped up an outstanding freshman campaign for Le Moyne. He tallied 54 hits, 41 runs, 10 home runs and 50 RBI in 51 starts, and he launched three home runs during an NCAA tournament win over Goldey-Beacom. The Dutchmen have added Anderson Moreno (Southern New Hampshire) to their group of outfielders for the 2023 campaign. Moreno is slashing .350/.462/.569 with 44 runs and 32 RBI through 36 starts this spring for the Penmen. Moreno and the SNHU Penmen defeated Keneston and the Le Moyne Dolphins in the NCAA DII East Super Regional on May 26 and 27. Moreno will look to win a Division II National Championship with Southern New Hampshire from June 3-10 at the USA National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina before he joins the Dutchmen to chase a PGCBL title. Five Dutchmen alumni were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft: ’19 Luke Gold (Boston College – Detroit Tigers, Round 5), ’19 Ben Metzinger (Louisville – Milwaukee Brewers, Round 7), ’17 Roel Garcia (Rice – Tampa Bay Rays, Round 14), ’19 Justin Bench (Ole Miss – San Francisco Giants, Round 17) and ’19 Luke Franzoni (Xavier – Los Angeles Angels, Round 19). Three Dutchmen signed free agent contracts with MLB organizations in 2022: ’22 Dan Keaney (Guilderland HS – Texas Rangera), ’18 Cam Masterman (Lousville – Oakland Athletics) and ’18 Jerry Huntzinger (Seton Hall – Toronto Blue Jays).
The Watertown Rapids missed the 2022 PGCBL postseason with a 21-24 resume, and they will look to get into the 2023 playoff picture with the help of returning pitchers Mike Flyzik (St. Lawrence), Ryan Peters (SUNY Brockport), Derrike Goutremont (Wheeling) along with retuning fielders Colin Hageman (UW-Stout), Brett Myers (SUNY Oswego) and Mike Norton (Cayuga CC). Myers and Hageman both took over 100 at bats for the Rapids in 2022 and produced a combined 40 runs scored and 41 runs batted in. Goutremont registered a 4-0 record for the Rapids last season in nine appearances, including three starts. Among Watertown’s additions to the 2023 roster are Virginia Tech commits Nick Locurto (outfielder) and David McCann (catcher). Nick Mazzotta (Farleigh Dickinson) will bring some versatility to the Watertown roster as a shortstop/pitcher. During his freshman campaign with the Knights this spring, Mazzotta has made eight appearances on the mound, including three starts, and he is hitting .303 in 33 at bats so far this season.
The Boonville Lumberjacks will return right-handed pitcher Bryce Collis (St. John Fisher) to the 2023 roster. Collis made nine relief appearances for Boonville last season and tallied 14 strikeouts in 19.2 innings of work. Boonville added infielder/outfielder Samuel Fleming (Stillman) to their group for this upcoming season. Fleming slashed .345/.452/.431 for the Stillman Tigers in 19 starts this spring. Previously known as the Boonville Ball Club, the team will now go by the Boonville Lumberjacks under the leadership of new owner, and industry veteran Butch Russo. Russo previously owned and operated the Utica Brewers (now the Utica Blue Sox) in the PGCBL for over a decade and was one of the PGCBL’s founding members, as he brought the team into the league when it was formed in 2009.
The Glens Falls Dragons will return four right-handed pitchers from their 2022 staff: Andrew Kramer (Lock Haven), Joey Lauer (Siena), Riley Orr (Castleton) and Dan Shala, along with catcher Kyle McNeff. Orr made seven starts last season for the Dragons and tallied 38 strikeouts in 34.0 innings of work. The Dragons will open the 2023 campaign with a home matchup against the defending champions Amsterdam on June 2.
Among the Dragons’ roster additions in 2023 will be infielder Ryan Grace (Colby), who is coming off a strong sophomore campaign with the Colby College Mules. Grace started all 37 games for the Mules and slashed .350/.408/.531 with 33 runs, 50 hits (including 14 doubles and four home runs) and 33 runs batted in to help the team to a 25-12 record.
The Utica Blue Sox earned the no. 2 seed in the West Division for the 2022 PGCBL Playoffs, but in 2023 the squad will compete in the East Division. Utica went 27-19 last regular season with the help of All-PGCBL selections Dewey Roden (Le Moyne), Alex Canino (Limestone University), Ryan Enos (East Tennessee State) and Will King (Eastern Kentucky). Utica took down third-seeded Auburn in the first round of the 2022 playoffs before dropping their semifinal matchup against the Batavia Muckdogs. The Blue Sox will hit the road to take on Mohawk Valley in their season opener on June 1.