SUNY COBLESKILL BASEBALL TEAM MEMBERS NAMED TO 2022 AMERICAN BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION RAWLINGS ALL-REGION TEAM

Greensboro, N.C.: The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) announced this week that three members of the SUNY Cobleskill baseball team have been named to the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division III Region 1 All-Region Team. Senior shortstop Eddy Garcia, Bronx, N.Y., World View High School, was named to the Division III Region 1 All-Region First Team while senior outfielder/designated hitter Samuel Gutierrez, Bayside, N.Y., Martin Van Buren High School/Queensborough Community College, and junior pitcher Wyatt Palmer, Camden, N.Y., Camden High School/Cayuga Community College, were both named to the Division III Region 1 All-Region Third Team. 

The talented trio led the Fighting Tigers to their third consecutive winning season on the way to their second straight North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Western Division Championship after setting a new program record for most wins in a single season as Cobleskill posted a 21-20 overall record including an 11-4 mark versus NAC Western Division opponents.  

When informed of his players selection Cobleskill Head Coach Lance Ratchford had high praise for their accomplishments. 

“Eddy, Samuel and Wyatt played major roles in our success this season in terms of how they competed on game day, how hard they worked in practice and how they conducted themselves off the field. I am extremely proud of these young men’s accomplishments on and off the field and of the example they have set for all of our players on what we want Fighting Tiger Baseball to be about.”   

Eddy Garcia, who was recently named to the 2022 D3baseball.com All-Region 1 First Team, was honored as the 2022 NAC Player-of-the-Year while earning a spot on the league’s 2022 Western Division All-Conference Team, after earning All-NAC Team honors in 2021, leading the NAC in games played with 41, plate appearances with 177, at bats with 147, hits with 54, runs scored with 48, runs batted in with 45, doubles with 17, triples with six, total bases with 101 and assists with 101. 

The Bronx, N.Y. native was also ranked second in the league in slugging percentage at .687, third in stolen bases with 20, third in double plays generated defensively with 17, fifth in home runs with six, fifth in batting average .367, ninth in on-base percentage at .449 and tenth in total defensive chances with 110. 

Samuel Gutierrez was also named recently to the 2022 D3baseball.com All-Region 1 First Team after a season that saw him earn All-NAC Western Division Team honors as well as a spot on the 2022 NAC Baseball All-Tournament Team. During the season Gutierrez set a new program record for  

home runs with nine while going 44-for-127 at the plate in 38 games for a .346 batting average to go with a .475 on-base percentage along with a .701 slugging percentage.  

The Bayside, N.Y. native also drove in 42 runs and scored 37 runs on the season while belting four triples along with 10 doubles and 18 stolen bases.  

Wyatt Palmer was selected as the 2022 NAC Baseball Pitcher-of-the-Year as well as to the 2022 NAC Baseball All-Tournament Team as the right-handed starter earned All-NAC Western Division Team honors during the season while being named the league’s Pitcher-of-the-Week four times during the year.  

During the season Palmer emerged as the ace of the Fighting Tiger pitching staff as the transfer from Cayuga Community College posted a 7-2 record in nine starts to lead all NAC pitchers in victories with a 2.86 ERA in 50.1 innings of work. He also hurled a pair of complete games including a nine-inning shutout victory. The Camden, N.Y. native held opposing hitters to a .257 batting average on the year striking out 33 hitters on the season. 

 The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 13,000 members represent all 50 states and 25 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth.