Brocton’s Brown wins Player of the Year, Fetterick named top coach
Top Dogs in Division 2 West
After never making it to the State Final Four prior to the 2018 season, the Brocton Bulldogs baseball team made the trip to States in back-to-back seasons this year. It should come as no surprise that many of the Bulldogs earned high honors on this season’s CCAA Division 2 West All-Star teams, revealed last week.
The ace of the Bulldogs, Ronald “Bubba” Brown, was selected as the CCAA Division 2 West Player of the Year in 2019. A dominant force on the mound for Brocton leading the Bulldogs to Binghamton as a State finalist in each of the last two years, Brown repeats as the Division’s Player of the Year after earning the honor in 2018. At times, Brown was absolutely unhittable, especially in the postseason. Brown had two postseason shutouts this year, along with an 18 strikeout performance in the Far West Regional game against Honeoye, in Batavia. The 18 strikeouts were one shy of the school record. Brown followed up the next weekend with a shutout in the State semifinal matchup against Lisbon to earn Brocton’s first ever appearance in the NY State Class D baseball title game.
Making his return to the dugout after a year away from the team, Brocton head coach Rob Fetterick coached the Bulldogs to the school’s first ever appearance in a NY State championship baseball game this year. Fetterick was honored as the CCAA Division 2 West Coach of the Year in 2019. He led the Bulldogs to a record of 8-2 in the league, with the only two losses to Division 2 West newcomer Maple Grove, who won the league title. Like the Player of the Year award, the Coach of the Year title stays in Brocton, after Co-Coaches Ray Rosas and Joe Dunn won the award for the Bulldogs in Fetterick’s absence last year.
When the postseason began this year, Brocton was stellar defensively with impressive showings all throughout the diamond, in addition to the Bulldogs’ dominance on the mound. Fetterick’s club won three of the team’s five playoff games via shutout — including both games in the Section VI, Class D playoffs and a State semifinal game. The team also showed off its offensive ability in the State semifinal, with a seven-run inning to blow the game wide open and eventually win by mercy rule.
Besides Brown and Fetterick, Brocton was far from finished in terms of accolades in the Division 2 West All-Star honors. The Bulldogs led the league with four First Team All-Star selections. Brown was joined on the First Team by his catcher, Jordan Krystofiak, along with fellow seniors Derrick Burns and Riley Rivera. All four senior Bulldogs were starters on the team each of the last two seasons, while Krystofiak repeated as a First Team selection, just as he was a year ago. Burns and Rivera were each Second Team selections last year.
The Bulldogs also led the way in terms of the Second Team All-Stars this year, with four selections — Gabe Morello, Caleb Chelton, Mike Steward and Darien Booker. Morello and Chelton were also starters a year ago, while Steward and Booker each earned spots in the lineup this season. While Booker joins the four First Team selections from Brocton who graduate this year, Morello, Chelton and Steward are all juniors expected to return to the Bulldogs next season.
Also selected to the First Team around the league was the Maple Grove trio of Daren VaillanCourt, Ayden Reagle and Easton Tanner, Clymer/Sherman’s duo of Lucas Willink and Garrett McClelland, along with Panama’s Gabe Roth and Westfield’s Brock Schuster.
Maple Grove, Clymer/Sherman and Panama each had two Second Team selections. Representing Maple Grove was Taige Jones and Kyle Trim, while Clymer/Sherman had Trent Burchanowski and Reece Bates as Second Teamers. Panama had Ryan Joslyn and Garrett Hinsdale make the Second team, while Westfield’s Colby Bills was the lone Second Team selection for the Wolverines.
Brocton also had a pair of younger players selected to the Honorable Mention list, as Dakota Planty and Blaise Miller were each recognized. Panama also had two Honorable Mentions in Jevan Newman and Braden Cook. Maple Grove had Tyler McPherson, Clymer/Sherman had Connor Beal and Westfield had Bret Babcock all as Honorable Mentions.
The Team Sportsmanship Award was given to the Panama Panthers.