Spartans Look to Return to Postseason in 2020

Building off a solid first season, the Cayuga Community College Men's Baseball Team is hoping a strong pitching staff and defense can carry them back to the playoffs.

The Spartans reached the Region III playoffs as the Eastern Division's fourth seed in 2019, where they took regional power Niagara County Community College to a third game in their best-of-three series before falling to the Thunderwolves. 

Cayuga is looking to build on the success of that first season, which saw them finish 20-16 overall and 14-12 against Region III opponents.

"I have high expectations in some categories, and we have some unknowns in other areas. If we stay mature on the mental side of the game, we can do some good things," said Coach TJ Gamba. "My standards are high. If we play the way we're supposed to and we've discussed in practice, I think this group will be good."

The Spartans' challenging schedule — frequently playing three doubleheaders per week — demands a deep pitching staff, and Gamba expects Cayuga's talented throwers to lead this year's team. Several strong freshmen hurlers, including Brendan Williams and Austin Doyle-Miller, will join returning pitchers like James Roeschlaub, Wyatt Palmer and Dave Wilson on the mound for the Spartans. 

At the plate, the Spartans return several top hitters from the 2019 squad. Matt Spicer, who led Cayuga with a .442 average last season, is back in the lineup, along with Zac Legarretta (.347 average, 12 stolen bases in 2019), Roeschlaub (.356 average) and Anthony Micucci (.316, 27 runs scored).

But Gamba knows the Spartans will need to put all parts of the game together for a strong season and a return to the playoffs.

"With the schedule we play, you have to have a deep rotation and a complete team to finish at the high end of the conference," said Gamba. "We'll need our returning players to have good seasons and have our new guys step up, and we have to play solid defense. I think people know about us now and our style of baseball."

Cayuga starts the season with two home doubleheaders: this Sunday, March 8, against Columbia-Greene Community College (first pitch is noon and 2:30 p.m.), and Wednesday, March 11, against Corning Community College (2, 4:30 p.m. start times).