SULLIVAN COUNTY — August 31, 2007 — The Sullivan Spartans of the Hudson Valley Collegiate Baseball League (CBL) have announced their postseason awards for the 2007 season.
The Spartans, who finished the season with an overall record of 20-25-1 and 12-16 in the CBL, were defeated in the semifinals by the eventual CBL champion Wappingers Yankees. The Yankees defeated the Marlboro Cobras three games to one in the best-of-five game championship series to capture their third consecutive title.
For the first time in their history, the Spartans earned league recognition courtesy of center fielder Byron Haynes.
Haynes was awarded the league Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Haynes, a native of Dublin, Ga. and a member of Georgia Southwestern State University’s baseball team, led the league in the following categories: at bats (77), runs (25), hits (34), batting average (.442), total bases (51), walks (32), stolen bases (29), on base percentage (.629) and slugging percentage (.669).
Haynes finished second in the league in three categories: doubles (five), triples (three) and home runs (two).
In addition to the CBL awards, the Spartans presented their own awards for the recently completed season.
Spartans’ 2007 Offensive Player of the Year: It was no surprise that Haynes would take home this award as well.
Haynes’ season totals, which include both CBL and non-league games, were a batting average of .398 (49-for-123), 37 runs scored, 10 doubles, five triples, two home runs and 16 RBIs. He walked 40 times, got hit by 10 pitches, and stole 34 bases – while only being thrown out five times.
Haynes’ outlandish numbers don’t stop there. He also had a .595 on-base percentage and a .610 slugging percentage.
“Byron not only put up numbers that would make a slow pitch softball player jealous, but he was an absolute pleasure to have on the team,” Sullivan Spartans Head Coach/General Manager Jed Carrier said. “He led by example, got his work in every day and was willing to make adjustments to better his future as a baseball player. I wish him the best of luck.”
Haynes will be a sophomore at Georgia Southwestern this fall.
2007 Defensive Player of the Year: In a year where the Spartans had their difficulties in the field, catcher Dave Luczyski’s efforts behind the plate really stood out, especially during the stretch run of the season.
Luczyski, of Woodridge and Orange CC, ended up carrying the load of the 46-game season after Marc Mortarello went down with an arm injury in early July.
“I must admit that I was hard on Dave early in the year while he was still getting his bearings, but he stepped up and shouldered the load for us,” Carrier said. “He showed a ton of improvement in calling a game, handling balls in the dirt, being soft with pitches around the corners and he basically shut down the opposition’s running game the last three weeks of the season.”
Luczyski will be a sophomore at Orange CC this autumn.
2007 Pitcher of the Year: While the Spartans may have had their difficulties in the field and at times at the plate, the mound was the Spartans safety net. The one pitcher that carried the team from opening day to the the last playoff game was Mike Murtagh.
Murtagh, despite a win-loss record of 1-3, was a horse for the Spartans. Murtagh, of Warwick and Orange CC, threw a team high 51 1/3 innings with an earned run average of 1.77 (second best on the team). Murtagh struck out 55 batters and allowed 48 hits on the season. Carrier’s Comments: “When you look at Mike’s numbers within the CBL or overall you know they are good, maybe not the best. The difference maker from a coach’s standpoint was that Mike wanted the ball every time out but yet was honest about whether he was growing tired late in the game. He wanted to give the team their best shot of winning and he drew all of the tough match-ups this season. His only bad start was in the Albany tournament a day after a root canal. With his size and command of three pitches, he should have bright future ahead.” Murtagh will be joining Luczyski this fall as a sophomore at Orange CC. Carrier’s take on the season, “ Every year is filled with ups and downs, in the loss column it appeared that we had more downs. In my mind is that these guys took a lot more away from this summer then wins and losses.” Carrier continues with “ All three award winners were coming off their freshman seasons, we had seven players with over 100 plate appearances and eight pitchers that threw more then 20 innings, including one who appeared in 16 games.”  The Spartans also had a beautiful new field at Sullivan CC, played on Doubleday field in Cooperstown, had five players named to the all-star game played at Dutchess Stadium, played 46 games, made the playoffs for the fourth straight year and finished fourth in the Albany tournament. “All in all there was more positives then negatives.” concluded Carrier.
Carrier would also like to thank Sullivan County Community College’s Athletic Department (Athletic Director Chris DePew, Head Baseball Coach Mike Marra and assistant Adam Lake), the dorm staff and the Buildings and Grounds crew, headed by Gary Bright for their assistance in having the new field game ready day in and day out.