Following its 17-13 season, the Fredonia baseball team landed a trio of players on the All Conference Team. Senior Steve Zaprowski (Williamsville/Williamsville South) earned the honor for the second year in a row. Zaprowski was a First Team utility player after earning Second Team a year ago.
Luke Kuczewski (Orchard Park/Orchard Park) joined Zaprowski on the First Team as a pitcher, and Patrick Sheehan (West Seneca/Orchard Park) was named Second Team catcher. Senior J.T. Angora (Rochester, N.Y./Rush Henrietta) was the conference batting champion this season.
Zaprowski tied for the SUNYAC lead in saves with teammate Bailey Gauthier (Camillus/West Genesee) with four, and was 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA on the mound. He was also the team's right fielder and leadoff hitter. He batted .358 with 39 hits and 15 RBI. He also had 15 walks for a .434 on-base percentage.
Kuczewski, who on Wednesday was named the Fredonia Male Athlete of the Year, went 6-1 on the mound, and led the SUNYAC in conference-only innings. The Devils were 8-1 in games in which he appeared. He tossed a pair of nine-inning complete games, including a four-hit win over conference champion Oswego, and a seven-hit victory over Brockport.
He was one win shy of the season win record set by Ricky Carlson in 2009. Kuczewski nearly tied Carlson, having left his final start against Plattsburgh with a lead before settling for a no decision. He had 40 strikeouts and 15 walks to go with a 3.50 ERA in 54 innings.
"Luke was a horse for us this season," said Palisin. "He started the year earning SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week for some shutout baseball, and gave us a great effort every time out. Due to rainouts, a lot was asked of him in a short span, and he came up big for us. He worked hard to improve upon last season and we're excited to have him back next season."
Sheehan batted .370 and had eight extra-base hits. He also led the Devils with 11 stolen bases. In 2013, Sheehan's brother Brian was also an All Conference catcher. Brian led the league in on-base percentage before going on to play a summer of professional baseball.
Angora posted a .438 average playing catcher, first base, and designated hitter. He ranked fourth in hits (46), seventh in walks (19) and tenth in RBI (25) despite the Devils only getting in 30 games due to the frigid spring weather. He is the first Blue Devil to lead the league since Dan Greco batted .407 in 2012.
"Steve, Pat, and J.T. were our one-two-three hitters and really made our offense tick," said Head Coach Matt Palisin. "When Steve got on base, we scored runs. Pat was our top hitter in SUNYAC games with a .375 average, and was protected batting in front of Angora. J.T. was often pitched around which accounts for his 19 walks." Angora also led the conference with a .524 on-base percentage.
