The Cayuga Community College baseball team captured its fourth conference championship in the past five seasons this spring, narrowly edging out Onondaga Community College for the Mid-State Athletic Conference title.
The Spartans finished the regular season 31-19 overall and posted a 14-4 conference record to secure their second straight conference crown. Cayuga also won league titles in 2022 and 2023 and finished as runner-up in 2024.
The 31 victories tied a program record, while the team also established new program marks this season in runs scored with 447, home runs with 24, and on-base percentage at .472.
Offensively, the Spartans averaged nearly nine runs per game and featured nine players with at least 100 at-bats hitting .300 or better. Tyler Black led the team with a .423 batting average, followed by Chase Mascelli at .398, Jeremy Recio at .396, and Eathen Yoon at .393.
Black also led Cayuga with 63 RBIs, while Recio paced the team with six home runs. Sophomore leadoff hitter Jakson Ross scored a team-best 63 runs and finished with a .516 on-base percentage. Five Spartans posted on-base percentages above .500 this season.
On the mound, seven Spartans pitched at least 30 innings this year. Sophomore Dylan Gordon led the staff with 40 and two-thirds innings pitched and made a team-high 10 starts. Jancarlos Rodriguez, Jack Walters, Ashtyn Traugott-Knoll, and Gordon each recorded at least four wins, with Rodriguez leading the way with six victories.
Traugott-Knoll led the pitching staff with 34 strikeouts and tied Gordon with two complete games. Sophomore reliever James MacLean led the team with three saves and made 19 appearances.
Cayuga finished third in Region III’s East Division with a 20-8 divisional record. The Spartans will open regional postseason play this weekend with a best-of-three series against Erie Community College, which finished second in Region III’s West Division at 29-23 overall and 18-10 in divisional play.
The teams split a doubleheader earlier this season at Falcon Park.
The playoff series begins Saturday, May 9, with a doubleheader at Erie Community College starting at noon. A deciding third game, if necessary, will be played Sunday. The winner advances to the Region III Final Four beginning Thursday, May 14, at Falcon Park.
