The Brockport baseball team’s 2022 campaign is underway, and the Golden Eagles have their sights set on another State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) playoff berth. Ranked third in the conference preseason poll, the team is hoping to raise the championship banner this time around.  

Brockport is also receiving votes in the national poll after finishing last season fifth in the region and with a record of 18-7. Starting pitcher Andrew Huffman, outfielder/pitcher Tom Kretzler, and infielder Matt O’Dair were all named to the preseason players to watch list for Division III. Their success will be key to making a run in the playoff tournament.  

Head coach Justin Beach had high praise for his trio of stars.  

“Tommy’s been an absolute dude for our program for a long, long time now. He’s going to have to be a big part of it for sure, both as a pitcher and as a hitter,” Beach said. “The same can be said for Huffman, to beat some of the better teams in our conference. O’Dair had a great coming out year last season when he broke our school record for batting average, which is awesome.” 

Beach says winning a SUNYAC title is no easy feat. Although the conference is stacked, Beach is ready to take his team into each game with the right mindset. 

“It’s not an easy task to do, to win a championship. The SUNYAC has some pretty heavy hitters we have to compete against. We have the mindset that no matter who we’re competing against, we’re going to have to bring our best and play good baseball. When it gets to the playoffs, we’ll show up like Brockport baseball usually does,” Beach said.  

The Golden Eagles have a lot of familiar faces returning to the lineup who are eager to avenge their semifinal loss to Cortland last season. For a team built on the blue collar foundation of hard work, keeping the chemistry from last season is all-important to this season’s success.  

“It was nice to get that jolt as far as the culture of Brockport baseball and being a contender, as we should be. There’s going to be some new faces this year. We do have a lot of returners, but it’s a new year. There’s a lot of new challenges. I’m excited to see the new guys get an opportunity to step up,” Beach said.  

With a third place finish in the SUNYAC standings and an excellent record of 18-7, coach Beach earned his third SUNYAC Coach of the Year award last season. While individual accomplishments are a tremendous accomplishment, Beach’s program focuses primarily on one thing–team success.  

“It (coach of the year award) is an indication of our team, not me necessarily, and our coaching staff more than anything. Really, it should be a coaching staff award because it’s an indication of the collective group, not really anything I did specifically, other than writing down the lineup and pushing some buttons here and there and putting guys in the best spot they could be in,” Beach said.  

Brockport is hopeful they can build off last year’s success and find themselves at the top of the conference when all is said and done. It will not be an easy task, but Beach and the Golden Eagles are ready for the challenge. Last year’s loss has left a bad taste in their mouths, and now is the time to seek revenge; and show the rest of the conference what Brockport baseball is made of.  

Brockport has started the season at 1-1 following their trip to New Jersey. They’ll be back in action Saturday, Mar. 5 when they travel to Onondaga Community College to face Clarkson University in a doubleheader.