ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Empire 8 Athletic Conference (E8) released its end-of-the-year awards on Tuesday, with the Elmira College baseball program garnering four all-conference selections. The four representatives are the most for the Soaring Eagles since earning four selections during the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
 
Third Baseman Brett Warden '25 was voted to the Empire 8 Second Team, while Xander Canfield '26 was selected to the Empire 8 Second Team as a Utility Player. First Baseman Erik Charnetski '24 garnered Empire 8 Third Team honors, while first-year Relief Pitcher Erik Berkan '27 earned Empire 8 Third Team accolades.
 
Warden was named to his third straight Empire 8 All-Conference squad after starting all 32 contests this season for the Soaring Eagles and extending his streak of consecutive starts for the Purple & Gold to 104 games. The Yorktown Heights, New York native becomes the second player in program history to be named to three all-conference teams during his time at Elmira. He batted .311 this season with 32 hits, 28 walks, 21 runs batted in, 37 runs scored, 10 doubles, and a .500 on-base percentage.
 
Following his third season suiting up for the Purple & Gold, Warden established program single-season records in runs scored (37) and walks (28) while becoming the program's all-time leader in triples (9) and hit-by-pitch (32). Warden recorded 11 multi-hit games this season with seven multi-RBI contests and a 15-game on-base streak. He was also named as Elmira's representative on the Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year squad.
 
After transferring from Cazenovia, Canfield earned second-team accolades after being utilized as a two-way player for the Soaring Eagles in his first season. The Schenectady, New York native appeared in all 32 contests with nine appearances on the mound for Elmira as he batted .342 to go along with 27 hits, 17 RBIs, 16 runs scored, and 20 walks. On the mound, he notched 17 strikeouts through 24 innings of work including a season-high five against Keuka College.
 
He finished the season with eight multi-hit games for the Purple & Gold to go along with six two-hit outings. Canfield also recorded a pair of three-hit games against Wells College and in conference play against Utica.
 
Charnetski garnered third-team accolades after suiting up in 31 games at first base for the Soaring Eagles and paced the team with a .385 batting average, .511 OBP, and .712 slugging percentage. The Elmira, New York native set the program's single-season home run record after tallying seven while also establishing new single-season marks for slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
 
He paced the team with 13 multi-hit contests and eight multi-RBI outings including a pair of five-RBI performances against Alfred University and Russell Sage College. Charnetski also recorded an eight-game hitting streak during the season and reached base safely in 23 straight contests for the Purple & Gold.
 
First-year relief pitcher Erik Berkan garnered third-team accolades after appearing in 12 contests with one start on the mound for the Purple & Gold. The Tioga, Pennsylvania native posted a 4.79 earned run average through 20.2 innings pitched to go along with 13 strikeouts. He notched his first collegiate victory after tossing 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball on the road against Valley Forge.
 
Berkan becomes the third relief pitcher in program history to earn all-conference recognition following Andy Reed (2018) and David Kruis (2022). He worked scoreless appearances out of the bullpen against Alfred, Keuka, St. John Fisher, and SUNY Oneonta. Berkan registered a season-high four innings against Houghton, allowing one unearned run to go along with a pair of strikeouts for the Soaring Eagles.
 
Under the guidance of third-year head coach Anthony Goncalves, the Soaring Eagles set the single-season record for the fewest hits allowed (287) and fewest walks allowed (182). Elmira also set single-season records in slugging percentage (.406), on-base percentage (.404), home runs (23), and hit-by-pitches (75).
 
 
 
Below is a complete list of the 2024 Empire 8 Baseball All-Conference Selections.
 
Player of the Year: Brendan Espinal, Jr., OF, Russell Sage
Pitcher of the Year: Ethan Cetton, Sr., P, Houghton
Defensive Player of the Year: James Murphy, Sr., 3B, St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Jacob Scalise, Fr., C, Utica
Coaching Staff of the Year: Russell Sage, led by Head Coach Nick Pontari
 
EMPIRE 8 FIRST TEAM
Catcher – Chris VanCheri, Sr., C, Houghton (Silver Creek, NY/Silver Creek) ^
Catcher – RJ Murphy, Sr., C, Keuka (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) ^
First Base – Jeff Stearnes, Jr., 1B, Russell Sage (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union)
Second Base – Jake Crantz, So., 2B, St. John Fisher (Kingston, NY/Kingston)
Shortstop – Nick Lemire, Sr., SS, St. John Fisher (Ballston Lake, NY/ Shenendehowa)
Third Base – James Murphy, Sr., 3B, St. John Fisher (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna)
Outfield – Brendan Espinal, Jr., OF, Russell Sage (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Outfield – Josh Duval, Jr., OF, Utica (Utica, NY/Proctor)
Outfield – Jason Story, Sr., OF, Utica (Hilton, NY/Hilton)
Utility – Evan Grimes, Sr., U, Russell Sage (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Designated Hitter – James Lubanski, Gr., DH, Russell Sage (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber)
Starting Pitcher – Ethan Cetton, Sr., SP, Houghton (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks)
Starting Pitcher – Ethan Fulton, So., SP, St. John Fisher (Trumansburg, NY/Trumansburg)
Relief Pitcher – Conner Walker, So., RP, St. John Fisher (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West)
Relief Pitcher – Hunter Walsh, Gr., RP, St. John Fisher (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit)
^ Tie for first-team catcher. Because of that result, there will not be a second-team catcher.
 
EMPIRE 8 SECOND TEAM
First Base – Brian Norsen, Gr., 1B, St. John Fisher (Hamburg, NY/Frontier)
Second Base – Lance Berger, So., 2B, Utica (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony's)
Shortstop – Vincent Lucyszyn, So., SS, Houghton (Rochester, NY/Gates-Chili)
Third Base – Brett Warden, Jr., 3B, Elmira (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown)
Outfield – Jeremey Wilcox, Sr., OF, Houghton (Silver Creek, NY/Silver Creek)
Outfield – Carlos Fantauzzi, Jr., OF, Keuka (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy)
Outfield – Evan Grimes, Jr., OF, Russell Sage (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Utility – Xander Canfield, So., U, Elmira (Schenectady, NY/Cazenovia) ^
Utility – Andrew Salbinski, So., U, Utica (Essex, CT/Valley Regional) ^
Designated Hitter – Dom Fasolo, Sr., DH, Utica (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro)
Starting Pitcher – Joe Degroot, Gr., SP, Russell Sage (Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse)
Starting Pitcher – Patrick McGuire, Sr., SP, St. John Fisher (Ballston Lake, NY/ Shenendehowa)
Relief Pitcher – Nate Tyler, So., RP, Houghton (Du Bois, PA/Du Bois) ^
Relief Pitcher – Lucas Gilbert, Fr., RP, Keuka (Lakewood, NY/Southwestern)
Relief Pitcher – Kody Czternastek, So., RP, Utica (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) ^
^ Tie for the second team utility and second relief pitcher. Because of those results, there will not be a third-team utility player and there will be one third-team relief pitcher.
 
EMPIRE 8 THIRD TEAM
Catcher – Cole Paro, Jr., C, Russell Sage (Wolfeboro, NH/Kingswood Regional)
First Base – Erik Charnetski, Sr., 1B, Elmira (Elmira, NY/Elmira Notre Dame)
Second Base – Dom Caminitti, Jr., 2B, Russell Sage (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac)
Shortstop – Jack Scanlon, Jr., SS, Utica (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute)
Third Base – John Longeretta, Gr., 3B, Utica (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany)
Outfield – Ian Slate, Sr., OF, Houghton (Cambridge, NY/Grace Christian) ^
Outfield – Jared Russell, Jr., OF, Russell Sage (Colonie, NY/Colonie)
Outfield – Jackson Frey, Fr., OF, St. John Fisher (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island)
Outfield – Dominic Guccia, Jr., OF, St. John Fisher (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) ^
Designated Hitter – Cameron Brought, Fr., DH, Alfred (Wellsboro, PA/Wellsboro Area)
Starting Pitcher – Matthew Denatale, Gr., SP, Russell Sage (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck)
Starting Pitcher – Austin Rhodes, Fr., SP, Utica (Wappingers, NY/Kennedy Catholic)
Relief Pitcher – Erik Berkan, Fr., RP, Elmira (Tioga, PA/Williamson)
^ Tie for the final third-team outfield spot
 
EMPIRE 8 SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Quinton Jordan, Sr., OF, Alfred (Olean, NY/Olean)
Brett Warden, Jr., 3B, Elmira (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown)
Jeremiah Chow, Jr., OF, Houghton (West Chester, PA/Delaware County)
James Fino, Sr., P, Keuka (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon)
Zachary Figueras, Sr., INF, Russell Sage (Apopka, FL/Windermere)
Nathaniel Kilburn, Jr., P, St. John Fisher (Loudonville, NY/Christian Brothers Academy)
Nick DeLucia, Jr., C, Utica (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont)