All-Liberty League Baseball Teams Released, Six from UR Honored
5/14/2024 12:05:00 PM
By: Scott Sabocheck, Director of Athletic Communications
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Six individuals from the University of Rochester baseball team earned All-Liberty League recognition, in a release announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Senior Nolan Sparks led the honorees, being named 2024 Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season, also being one of four First Team starting pitchers. First-year Sammy Besztery joined him on the All-League First Team. Three individuals, outfielders Josh Leadem and Dylan Stezzi, along with designated player Colby Cruser. Senior infielder Alec Ellison was an Honorable Mention All-League selection.
Sparks’ Pitcher of the Year honor makes him the first Yellowjacket and first pitcher in conference history to earn the award in multiple seasons. The only other UR conference Pitcher of the Year was John Menke in 2012.
Rochester’s season ended with the Yellowjackets compiling a 21-19 record and 12-6 mark in Liberty League play. UR qualified for the conference tournament as the fourth-seed and made the tournament finals this past weekend, going 2-2 overall, falling to league champion Ithaca twice by just one run.
Pitcher of the Year/1st Team:
Nolan Sparks (SR, SP, Aurora, CO/Cherokee Trail) – 5th All-LL honor (2023 Pitcher of the Year/1st Team, 2022 1st Team); Sparks again was Rochester’s ace on the mound, being the Yellowjackets #1 starter throughout the season finishing the year 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA across 10 starts. The senior tossed 60 innings while piling up 80 strikeouts to just 19 walks. He was a 2-time Liberty League Pitcher of the Week and 1-time D3baseball.com Team of the Week honoree. Sparks ranked 32nd in Division III in strikeouts per 9 innings (12.00), was 42nd in ERA and 44th in total strikeouts. The senior finished the season top-3 in the Liberty League in strikeouts, ERA, opponents average, innings pitched and fewest earned runs allowed.
1st Team:
Sammy Besztery (FY, IF, Chicago, IL/Saint Ignatius) – 1st All-LL honor; Besztery was the only Rookie on the Liberty League First Team in 2024. He finished the season third on the team with a .336 average (46-for-137) with 23 runs, 20 RBI and 3 HR. Added 10 walks and team-high 15 HBP for a .436 OBP. 8-for-14 on steal attempts and overall started 39 of a possible 40 games as a rookie. Peaked late in the season, recording hits in 26 of UR’s last 28 games, including a team-best 14-game hitting streak from March 26 through April 23. Notched 12 multi-hit games, including five times during Liberty League Crossover Series or Liberty League Tournament. Tied for the team lead with 92 fielding assists and was in on 20 total double plays from his middle infield position. 2-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week during the year.
2nd Team:
Dylan Stezzi (GR, OF, Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) – 1st All-LL honor; Was UR’s starting center fielder for most of the season and had a breakout campaign, recording career highs in games, hits, runs, doubles, home runs, RBI, walks, OBP and steals. Finished at .308 batting (41-for-133) with 24 runs, 31 RBI and 14 extra-base hits, including a team-high 4 HR’s. Stezzi added 20 walks and 2 hit-by-pitches for a .394 on-base percentage. His 63 total bases led to a .474 slugging mark and the graduate student also tied for the conference lead with five sacrifice flies. He was Liberty League Player of the Week on March 25 after hitting .700 (7-for-10) with 4 doubles, 1 home run and 7 RBI during UR’s series win over St. Lawrence. Stezzi tied for the UR lead with seven multi-RBI games and had a two home run effort in the regular season finale against RIT on April 28.
Josh Leadem (SR, OF, Barrington, RI/Barrington) – 4th All-LL honor (2023 2nd Team), 2022 H.M., 2021 2nd Team); Was nationally ranked in Division III in stolen bases with 27 steals (38th) and steals per game at 0.82 (23rd) while also playing terrific defense in right field accumulating 59 putouts and five outfield assists during the season. Was named Liberty League Player of the Week on May 6 after keying UR’s Crossover Series victory against Skidmore. Leadem ended his senior season with a .264 average (32-for-121) while scoring 30 runs, adding 18 RBI and recording 14 XBH, including 10 doubles. The speedster was 27-for-32 in steals, leading the Liberty League, and added 18 BB and 8 HBP for a .392 on-base percentage total. Leadem also saw his first career action on the mound this season, pitching in six games, tallying a 1.50 ERA and two saves over 7.1 innings.
Colby Cruser (JR, UTIL, Littleton, CO/Chatfield) – 4th All-LL honor (2023 H.M. Utility, 2022 2nd Team SP/2nd Team Utility); The junior was a menace at the plate in 2024, finishing as the team’s leading hitter. He had 14 multi-hit contests, including 10 of the last 14 games. Cruser ended the season slashing .443 (39-for-88) with 22 runs, 23 RBI and 7 extra-base hits in 27 games (26 starts). He compiled an on-base plus slugging mark of 1.085, leading the Yellowjackets. Had phenomenal Liberty League Tournament, hitting .556 (10-18) with 3 runs, 4 RBI as UR fell in the finals to Ithaca, also pitching 4.2 shutout innings on the mound with eight strikeouts vs the league-champion Bombers. Cruser ended with the second highest batting average in the Liberty League and also ranked within the top-6 in the conference in slugging, on-base percentage and OPS. On the mound, the left-hander had a 2-1 record in seven appearances, adding in a 5.31 ERA and 30-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Honorable Mention:
Alec Ellison (SR, IF, Arlington, VA/Yorktown) – 1st All-LL honor; Spent much of the season as UR’s leading hitter and was a regular in the middle of the ‘Jacket batting order. The senior appeared in 35 games (33 starts) and hit .353, second on the team, going 48-for-136 at the plate. He recorded 22 runs scored, 8 doubles, 3 triples and 3 home runs to go with a team-high 32 RBI. Ellison accumulated 71 total bases and slugged .522 for the season, while also going 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts in 2024. He ranked eighth in the Liberty League in triples and was tenth in total hits and was named Performer of the Week in the conference on April 8. The senior compiled 13 games with multiple hits, including gaining five hits against St. Lawrence on March 25, matching the UR single-game record.