Two runs.
Or more accurately, two one-run games.
In the end, that was difference for the St. Joe’s Baseball Team as it was swept by arch-rival Canisius in the best-of-three Georgetown Cup for the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association playoff title.
After sharing the MMHSAA regular season title with those same Crusaders – both teams went 9-1 in league play – Canisius manufactured victories of 5-4 and 14-13 to claim the crown.
Even though they came up short in the playoffs, the Marauders went 17-5 overall and veteran coach Paul Nasca '86 was pleased with the campaign.
“Certainly, the year was terrific all season even though we did not complete the final stages with a championship,” Nasca said. “We started the season under the cover of regulations that still remained in place for the COVID pandemic and our first goal was to make sure we could get a season in. As things went along, the season started to pick up steam.”
St. Joe’s outscored its opponents 181-87 and established itself early as a contender by winning its first seven games.
The non-league schedule was challenging, and the Marauders responded by sweeping all three games against talented Pennsylvania teams McDowell (twice) and Cathedral Prep for the first time ever, Nasca said.
The Marauders dropped a pair of non-leaguers against Rochester powerhouse McQuaid – and their only other losses were to Canisius, including two in the playoffs.
Among the individual achievements for the team, University of Albany-bound senior Joe Tobia led the league in wins with a 4-0 record. He also had a league-low Earned-Run Average of 1.12 and also led the league in strikeouts with 42.
Senior Griffin Snyder, headed next to Russell Sage, went 3-0 on the hill with an ERA of 1.78, and senior Owen McKendry went 2-0 with a 1.58 ERA.
Offensively, sophomore Anthony Greco was near the top of the league in most categories with a .600 batting average, two home runs, and 14 RBIs. Sophomore Brendan Bucello was also near the top with two home runs, 15 RBIs, and a .353 average.
Other offensive standouts included junior Joey Haynes (.500, 13 RBIs), sophomore Jeremy Connor (.478), junior Chris Casarsa (.441), and junior catcher Tom Zwirecki (.438) and also threw out 50 percent of base stealers on the season.
Nasca is optimistic about his team’s chances next season as the Marauders graduate just five players from this year’s team.
The pitching will take a bit of a hit, although the coach feels that others will step up and rise to the occasion. In any case, the team should certainly be able to score plenty of runs with a dynamic offense.
“The sudden end to a great season will be the fuel that drives this young team into next season with big goals of again competing for a championship,” Nasca said. “And with a state tournament berth at stake, the Marauders should be driving as hard as they can to reach the summit.”
Cover photo by Andrew Miller '85