Veteran athletic trainer Jeff Bray, left, works on Ava Wilburn during a Keuka College women's soccer home game in the fall of 2011.

By John Boccacino/Sports Information Director

Jeff Bray is an avid motorsports fan, and when he arrived in scenic Keuka Park to accept a job as Keuka College’s head athletic trainer/assistant athletic director in the summer of 1992, he figured he was just making a pit stop.

Nearly 20 later, the man who came to campus on a two-year plan can’t imagine working anywhere else.

As he reflects on two decades of dedicated service to the Storm’s student-athletes, Bray can’t help but wonder how he ended up as the second-longest tenured member of the College’s athletics department.

To quote the Grateful Dead anthem, “Truckin’,” what a long, strange trip it has been for Bray.

Born in Sterling, Kansas, a small town that Bray said possesses a similar down-home feel to Keuka, Bray essentially grew up on his parent’s gas station before enrolling in Kansas State to study athletic training.

Bray has taped hundreds of professional athletes during a career that, among other stops, has seen him work the sidelines of NFL games, alongside pit crews for assorted auto racing events across the world, and behind the bucking chutes at top-flight bull riding competitions.

During a four-year stint in the NFL working as an athletic trainer with the Philadelphia Eagles — three as a summer intern and one as a paid professional — Bray taped Hall-of-Famer Reggie White, was part of a team that helped dynamic quarterback Randall Cunningham recover from various knee injuries, and worked alongside talented coaches such as Buddy Ryan, Jeff Fisher and Wade Phillips, to name a few.

Tom Coughlin, the Waterloo native who will lead the NFC champion New York Giants into battle against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI Feb. 5, was also a part of those Eagles’ coaching staffs during Bray’s time with the team.

Jeff Bray has worked as an athletic trainer for numerous auto races, including an open wheel race when he met Helio Castroneves, an IndyCar driver and three-time Indy 500 champion.

Bray worked alongside legendary actor/race car driver Paul Newman and the drivers of his Newman/Haas Racing Team when working in the Champ Car Racing Series. Division I schools, including Bray’s alma mater Boise State, have sought his expertise in the field of athletic training, making enticing job pitches in an attempt to land Bray’s services.

But through an athletic training career that has spanned more than three decades — the last two of them spent at Keuka — there is no place Bray would rather call home than picturesque Keuka College.

“One of the reasons it’s been easy to stay here is because Keuka’s just been a good place to be, with good people who provide a great college experience, be it coaches, parents, administrators, or the student-athletes. Coach Dave Sweet has been an outstanding mentor and has taught me all about the world that is Division III athletics,” said Bray, who became interested in physical training after watching his mother, Nettie, battle back from a debilitating stroke when Bray was 15.

“I really appreciate getting to know the families of the student-athletes here. At a Division I school you never really have any dealings with parents. Keuka is special from that standpoint, and as my kids get older that [relationship with the parents] means more to me, because not too far down the road it’ll be me handing my kids off to a college and I’ll want to feel as comfortable sending my kids off to college as the parents of our student-athletes feel when they send their children to Keuka.”

However, that opinion of Keuka took some time to formulate for Bray, who currently resides in nearby Penn Yan with wife, Kristen, and son Tyler, 15, and daughter Kelly, 13.

When Bray was offered the Keuka position, he had his reservations. Sweet, Keuka’s athletic director and head coach of the women’s basketball team, had been on campus for nine years and was working diligently to transform the Storm from a predominantly women’s sports-based program into a well-rounded, co-ed athletics department that produced championship-caliber teams on the playing fields, and accomplished students in the classroom.

Additionally, Bray had only worked with professional and Division I athletes at his previous jobs, and Keuka was a tiny Division III school smack-dab in the middle of rural Upstate New York.

The Storm didn’t even have a football team, a fact Bray felt was a prerequisite for any potential job. He previously had worked passionately with football teams at every stop along the way: from his student athletic trainer days at Kansas State, to his graduate work at Boise State, through his four-year stint with the Eagles, and his time spent as Illinois State’s head football trainer.

In the end, while the decision was Bray’s to make, his future wife Kristen held the ultimate card. She had grown up in the Buffalo area and was a successful basketball player at Canisius College. Even though the couple wasn’t yet married, Bray realized it was important for Kristen to be closer to her family.

So the couple came to an agreement. Kristen and Jeff would relocate and Bray would try out the Keuka position for two years, and if Bray was unsatisfied at the end of the two-year trial period, Kristen would relocate anywhere in the country as her husband searched for his dream job.

Twenty years later and, the rest is history. Bray said he “fell in love” with the job and the students, and while other colleges and universities have called for Bray’s services, the answer has always been the same: “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“I had a unique opportunity at a very young age to reach the pinnacle of our profession,” said Bray, who still carves out time in his busy schedule to work between 5-10 auto races a year as an athletic trainer.

“There are thousands of young athletic trainers, student athletic trainers that aspire to work in pro sports, and only a few get there. I had the opportunity and while I enjoyed my time in the pros, long-term I didn’t know if it was for me. After a lot of thinking, when this job became available I took it and while I couldn’t believe I was at this small college with no football, I owed it to Keuka to give it my best. After all these years this is where I’m supposed to be.”

To achieve peace of mind with his decision about his future, Bray turned to an important part of his past, Otho Davis, his mentor in the athletic training field. Davis was the long-time trainer in the NFL who had worked with the then-Baltimore Colts and was Bray’s boss with the Eagles when Bray secured a summer internship to study under the legendary Davis, who at the time was considered among the best trainers in all of professional sports.

Davis, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2000, was instrumental in swaying Bray to take the job with the Storm. While he was the influence who got Bray into professional sports, Davis also warned Bray of the dangers of working in an industry where off days are few and far between and the average work week could range from 80 to 100 hours.

Davis, who had four sons, rarely got to see his family due to the rigors and demands of the job, a factor Bray considered heavily when debating the pros and cons of the Keuka position.

As Keuka's head athletic trainer, Jeff Bray is responsible for attending to all injured players, whether they play for the Storm or the opposition.

In the end, the chance to help deserving Division III athletes won out. Now, fast-forward 20 years and Bray’s presence has become part of the fiber of a student-athlete’s life. Bray and his staff of athletic trainers work all Keuka College sporting events, ready on the sidelines should an injury befall a member of the Storm or the opposition.

“When I’m asked why I’m still at Keuka, ‘I say why not?’ If our point guard, [Jessica Bandrowski], sprains her ankle and is going to potentially miss some big games coming up, she’s as valuable to her team as [Boise State star quarterback] Kellen Moore is to his team,” said Bray, who used his NFL connections to secure the New York Jets old athletic training equipment when the NFL franchise decided to purchase new equipment in 1998.

“Sure, it’s not going to be in the USA Today or make ESPN that Bandrowski sprained her ankle and might miss a game, but she deserves to be treated like a professional athlete, too. But also, if I go to coach Sweet and say Bandrowski can’t play tomorrow, I’m not going to get the screws put to me [to get her ready to play] to the point that my ethics are pushed and her best interests are questioned in order to get a win.”

Bray’s influence on Keuka’s student-body is not limited to the various playing fields for the Storm’s 16 varsity sports teams. Bray also serves as an adjunct instructor and teaches two sports management classes.

Each fall, as part of their senior class projects, Bray’s sports management students organize the annual Storm Madness pep rally, a raucous affair that provides a first look at the men’s and women’s basketball teams to the campus and neighboring communities.

“Jeff has been my right-hand man for all these years, and he is immensely talented and certainly has a lot to offer to any college,” said Sweet, who credits Bray’s communication skills, problem-solving ability, and self-starter mentality as some of his best personality traits.

“He’s tuned-in well with the needs of our student-athletes and understands what we’re trying to accomplish as a small Division III college athletics program. We’re not all about wins and losses; we try to educate the student-athletes on the overall collegiate experience and Jeff has been extremely helpful, not only to the college but to me in particular.”

Applauding Keuka’s unique Field Period as one of the most beneficial aspects of a Keuka education, Bray backs the college’s required annual 140-hour long internship program that offers real-world work experience to students each year they’re on campus.

“Professionally, if you’re trying to get somewhere, don’t always think you’re going to get somewhere on your own,” said Bray, who originally learned of the Eagles’ summer trainer position through Jim Rudd and Hank Fijalkowski, his bosses while Bray was a student athletic trainer at Kansas State.

“There are people that can and will help you if they know where you want to go. I am a firm believer in our Field Period because I lived the internship route, that’s how I got into the NFL. Jim and Hank, my mentors, told me I needed to do an internship in the NFL, and at the time I was probably too stupid to ask questions. But if Otho, Jim or Hank told me to do something, I knew that was what I needed to do. Our students need to get out and have those workplace experiences, but students can’t have a broken want-to. You can’t be the one pushing them; they need the drive and motivation to succeed.”

Throughout the years, Bray’s dedication toward Keuka College and the Storm’s student-athletes has never wavered, and he is just as passionate about his job and this campus as he was July 1, 1992, the day he first reported for duty at Keuka.

“I think you’re missing the boat of life if you’re not passionate about something,” Bray said. “To this day, I’m still doing something I’m passionate about and that’s pretty cool.”

Second-year Keuka College baseball coach Michael Barry was recently interviewed by Baseball Factory, a national organization that advises baseball players on the college recruiting process.

Recently, second-year Keuka College head baseball coach Michael Barry was interviewed by Woody Wingfield, a reporter for the Baseball Factory, to discuss the upcoming 2012 baseball season, his mentors in the sport and what he looks for in a recruit.

Woody Wingfield: How long have you been coaching? How long at Keuka College?
Michael Barry: “I have been coaching for 15 years and this is my second year as the head baseball coach at Keuka College.”

WW: Who are some of your mentors or coaches that you look up to?
MB: “Bruce Haas, my coach at Emil A. Cavallini Middle School in New Jersey, was the first coach I looked up to. I remember, in eighth grade, we were playing in Ramsey, NJ and I hit a missile to left field that hit the black top and bounced up against the school for a triple. My next at-bat, I hit another one. But this time, they moved the leftfielder back. He took off after the ball and caught it on the run before hitting the school building. I was so mad. I went back into the dugout, threw my helmet, said some things I shouldn’t have, and Mr. Haas came over. He got right in my face, grabbed the bill of my cap and told me that if I ever acted like that again after hitting a ball like that, I’d be off the team. I don’t think I’ve ever thrown a helmet again.   

Nick Boothe, my former head coach at Virginia Wesleyan College, was obviously a huge influence. We [had] many summer days working on the field and he taught me the importance of field work and taking pride in the minutia that most people find mundane and boring. He is the person most responsible for making me want to coach at the collegiate level.

Ed McCann, my former head coach at Centenary College, taught me everything I know about recruiting. I had just finished my Masters degree at Old Dominion and Eddie hired me as his assistant. I drove to Shreveport, LA completely sight unseen. I was so green then. Anyway, Eddie threw me right into the recruiting fire, sending me all over the place and I burnt a lot of midnight oil in the office. He put a lot more faith in me than many college coaches would have.

David Baad, my former high school coach, has been my baseball father for a very long time.  He has been a sounding board for me throughout my coaching career. One of the happiest and saddest days in my life was the day I drove to Washington, DC to tell him that I got the head coaching job here at Keuka College. We were sitting in his office and he said, ‘Well Boomer, I don’t know if there’s anything more I can do for you now’.” I know he was immensely proud because my getting to this point in my career is as much a testament to him as it is to me. I just get the name on the door, that’s all.

Dave Beccaria, the head coach at Haverford College, is definitely a huge influence. I was his pitching coach for three years before arriving at Keuka College and we are really complete opposites in how we deal with things. Dave is much more cerebral and analytical in his approach to the game while I feed on the emotional and coach like a football coach. Working with Dave helped me become a much more well-rounded coach and he took a lot of time to fine-tune me. I will always be in his debt for that.”

WW: What is the first thing about your school and program that you want recruits to know about?
MB: “We are on the rise and are doing things in a completely different way than has ever been done in the baseball program at Keuka College. We have moved from recruiting solely in our backyard to a more regional recruiting power. In our first year, our coaching staff has converted the baseball program into the most geographically diverse single organization on campus, boasting a roster of players from five different states. And this is just the beginning.

Because most of the teams in our conference are state schools, their rosters tend to be limited to players within their own state. Keuka College, being a private institution, has the ability to recruit and draw some of the best players from outside the state of New York. Having the ability to recruit both within and outside the state with equal effectiveness gives us a huge advantage on the other teams within the conference.”

WW: What do you look for in a prospective recruit on the field? Off the field?
MB: “Being a Division III institution, we don’t have athletic scholarships; however, our Admissions Department does a great job with academic financial aid packages. For that reason, we target strong academic students with borderline Division I and Division II talent, who may get more academic money from us than they will in athletic money from another school. Last year, this philosophy served us very well in recruiting and, since our coaching staff was able to hit the recruiting trail so much earlier this year, we’re already seeing the benefits of this approach.”

WW: How has video helped you in the recruiting process?
MB: “No matter how much time you spend recruiting, it is impossible to see every prospect out there. There were a number of recruits we were talking to this summer that we just weren’t able to see in person because of commitments to other events. That’s why our program started a Prospect Weekend this fall. And, while that is helping us see more players, it still doesn’t fit into everyone’s schedule.

For that reason, video is extremely important to our recruiting efforts. There are a number of what most programs would consider “little things” that we are doing in an effort to improve our program and facilities that all cost money that, in effect, shorten our recruiting budget. So, if there’s a player in California, Florida, or Utah we’re interested in, the only way for us to see him is on video. We have a young man on the team this year from Montana. He’s a great kid and will probably get considerable playing time this year as a freshman. Well, when you’re recruiting over 100 players, it’s just not feasible to drop everything and fly out to Montana to see him play. He sent me a lot of video and, from the start, it was evident this kid could play. So he visited, liked the direction of the program, loved the campus and the fact that it’s right on the lake and, voila he’s an important member of this year’s freshman class. However, that would not have been without him sending me his video.”

WW: Can you break down your fall practice schedule? What are you all trying to accomplish?
MB: “Last year and this year’s fall schedule are very similar. Last year, I had inherited a program that, while I could look at statistics, had never seen play and only had 19 players on the roster the year before. Therefore, I had to see them play, put players in different situations and see how they respond. This year we have a lot of freshmen who need to learn each others’ tendencies, habits, how to work together. We need to gel as a unit. So, last fall and this fall, we’re pretty much exclusively inter-squading. This allows the coaching staff to work with players [and] teach in-game strategy that is very difficult to simulate within a traditional practice. It also allows us to see and evaluate all 30 players during the course of a practice, whether how they play specifically during the game or how they interact and carry themselves when they’re not playing.”

WW: Do you have a strength and conditioning coach?
MB: “We do not have a strength and conditioning coach; however, I’ve been around the block a few times and have a lot of contacts who have all influenced our strength and conditioning program, which the players take very seriously both in-season and out of season. Division III schools are not allowed to have mandatory workouts anyway and the best players are going to follow the program and do their work. The players we recruit are self-starters and don’t need a coach or teammate looking over their shoulder, making sure they get their work in. If you’re not responsible enough to take care of your academic responsibilities and baseball obligations, you’re not going to last long in our program.”

WW: What can you tell us about your facilities?
MB: “We have great facilities and, as I said before, we’re always looking to improve them. The college just put the finishing touches on an auxiliary gym with a 75-foot drop-down batting cage. Last fall we completely renovated our infield mix and it plays absolutely beautifully. We’re in the process of giving our home bullpen a complete facelift and have a ten-year plan of yearly improvements to the baseball stadium. Right now, we easily have the best facilities in the conference. Our goal is to have the best on-campus baseball stadium in the region.”

WW: What part of the 2012 schedule/year are you looking forward to the most?
MB: “Seeing the team play. The returning players on the team and I have been together for a year and, although our record left something to be desired last year, we feel like we were just a couple pieces short of making some real noise in the conference. The new players are members of our first recruiting class and that’s always a special dynamic. We’re going to be counting on a lot of young players making significant contributions to the team this year, so it will be exciting to see what happens.”

WW: Is there anything you would like to add about your assistant coaches, recruits, parents, or program that we have not asked you about?
MB: “The most important thing about this year’s team is that everyone wants to be here and everyone shares the same vision for the direction of the baseball program. And that doesn’t just go for the coaches or the players. That goes for everyone from our Athletic Director, Dave Sweet, to our parents.

There is a new dynamic surrounding our baseball program. Our returning players are excited to be playing with people from Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. For some of them, this is the first time they’ve been exposed to the different styles of play that exists in different parts of the country. Our new players saw last year’s record and are ready to do whatever they can to turn this ship around. And the parents…Gee, sometimes I wonder if they’re looking forward to the season more than the coaches and players. They can’t wait for the weekend trips to the ballpark. I’m already wondering if we’re going to have to rope-off a section of the stands just for them, they’re so excited.

The entire program has a shared vision of what Keuka College baseball can and should be and we’re seeing that take shape before our eyes at every practice this fall. This is a very exciting time.”

For more information on the Baseball Factory, visit its website, www.baseballfactory.com. The Baseball Factory, located in Columbia, MD., was founded in 1994 to provide a service that would advise and educate baseball players on the college recruiting process.

Senior Jason Kirkum tossed a complete game five-hitter in game one.

The Keuka College baseball team ended its season with a pair of non-conference losses to the visiting Lakers of SUNY Oswego on Friday.  Keuka fell 5-2 in the first game and 8-0 in the second game.

Keuka finishes its season 3-20 overall while Oswego ends its season with a 19-20 overall record.

In game one, senior ace Jason Kirkum (Basom, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama) took a no-hitter into the fifth inning but ended up with the loss.  He tossed a complete game and allowed just five hits while striking out six.

Keuka finished with just three hits with junior Pete Venuti (Syracuse, N.Y./Solvay) picking up two of them including an RBI triple.  Sophomore Keith Prestano (Queens, N.Y./Xaverian) belted a double for Keuka’s other hit.

In game two, the Storm were out-hit 11-3 while senior pitcher Will Waldau (LaFayette, N.Y./CBA) tossed the first four innings and allowed just one run with two strikeouts.  All three Keuka hits were by seniors as Kirkum, Mike Marsh (Cortland, N.Y./Southside), and John Talcott (Binghamton, N.Y./Union-Endicott) each ripped a single on senior day.

Sophomore Keith Prestano was selected to the All-NEAC second team.

Keuka College baseball outfielders Keith Prestano (Queens, N.Y./Xaverian) and Gavin Corbin (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) were both selected to the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) All-Conference teams.

Prestano, a sophomore, was selected to the All-NEAC second team after batting .328 with a team-high 15 RBIs.  Prestano batted 21-for-64 and led the team with nine doubles, two home runs, and a .594 slugging percentage.  The center fielder was second on the team in runs with 10 while going a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases.

Corbin, a freshman right fielder, was selected to the All-NEAC third team after batting a team-high .361 while leading the team in hits (26), runs (16), triples (3), and stolen bases (8).  Corbin was second on the team with seven doubles and a .542 slugging percentage while driving in five runs from the lead off spot in the lineup.

Junior Ben Przepiora was 3-for-6 in the two games.

The Keuka baseball team lost a pair of home games to the visiting Tigers of RITon Wednesday.  Keuka fell 9-3 in game one and 9-4 in the second game.

With the two losses, the Storm slip to 3-18 overall while RIT improves to 11-16.

In game one, Keuka was out-hit 8-5 but committed three costly errors that led to three unearned runs.  Freshman Jeremy Pyszczynski (Alden, N.Y./St. Mary’s) suffered the loss, dropping him to 1-3 on the season. 

Junior catcher Ben Przepiora (Syracuse, N.Y./Solvay) led the bats, going 2-for-3 with an RBI while freshman Gavin Corbin (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and a triple.

In game two, Keuka was out-hit 10-9 while junior Charlie Engel (Bainbridge, N.Y./Bainbridge-Guilford) took the loss.  Classmate Anthony Zaia (Phoenix, N.Y./Phoenix) pitched the final five innings while not allowing an earned run and striking out four.

Corbin was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while junior Pete Venuti (Syracuse, N.Y./Solvay) was 2-for-3 with a double.  Senior Jason Kirkum (Basom, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama) was 2-for-4 as well.

Keuka will next play host to St. John Fisher College this Thursday, May 5 beginning at 2 pm.

Freshman Gavin Corbin blasted a double and a triple in game two.

The Keuka baseball team lost a pair of road games to the Spartans of D’Youville College on Saturday.  Falling 4-3 in a close game one and losing game two 5-1.

The Storm are now 3-16 overall while the Spartans improve to 6-19 on the season.

In game one, the Storm trailed 3-0 entering the top of the seventh before plating three runs to tie the game.  Keuka was unable to hold D’Youville from scoring, who scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. 

Junior Anthony Zaia (Phoneix, N.Y./Phoenix) pitched five strong innings, allowing just five hits and striking out three.  Freshman Patrick Campbell (Avon, N.Y./Avon) suffered the loss on the hill while pitching 1.1 innings.  Keuka was out-hit 10-3 with sophomore Keith Prestano (Queens, N.Y./Xaverian) leading the way by going  1-for-3 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a double.

In game two, Keuka again was out-hit 10-3 while scoring its run in the top of the sixth inning.  Freshman Gavin Corbin (Endicott, N.Y./Union Endicott) picked up two of Keuka’s three hits with a double and a triple.  Freshman Brandon Jacobs (Walworth, N.Y./Gananda) suffered the loss in his collegiate debut.  Jacobs allowed five earned in five innings of work.

Keuka will next play host to RIT this Wednesday, May 4 beginning at 2:30 pm.

Freshman Gavin Corbin had a walk-off single in game one.

In game one, Keuka held a 3-0 lead until Cobleskill tied it in the sixth.  The Storm again took a lead and again was answered in the top of the seventh sending it to extra innings.  Freshman Gavin Corbin (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) finished the game with a walk-off single, plating classmate Patrick Campbell (Avon, N.Y./Avon).

Freshman Jeremy Pyszczynski (Alden, N.Y./St. Mary’s) pitched 5 1/3 solid innings, allowing just two hits and two earned runs.  Senior Will Waldau (LaFayette, N.Y./CBA) pitched the final 3 2/3 innings while not allowing a hit and picking up the victory.

Corbin finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored as classmate Dom D’Augustino (Williamson, N.Y./Williamson) batted 2-for-4 with two runs scored while also flashing some leather at second base.  Sophomore Keith Prestano (Queens, N.Y./Xaverian) belted a home run.

In game two, senior ace Jason Kirkum (Basom, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama) tossed a complete game, one-hit shutout but suffered the loss as three unearned runs came around to score.  Freshman Zach Sutton (Savona, N.Y./Campbell-Savona) batted 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Keuka will next play at D’Youville College this Saturday, April 30 beginning at 2:30 pm.

Senior Jason Kirkum reached base all four at bats in game two.

The Keuka baseball teams losing streak hit six games after two home losses to the Wildcats of SUNYIT on Friday.  The Storm lost 10-1 in game one and 14-7 in the second game.

Keuka now stands at 2-13 overall and 2-10 in the NEAC while SUNYIT improves to 20-12 overall and 10-2 in the conference.

In game one, junior pitcher Kyle McGrath (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) had a no-hitter entering the fourth inning before allowing five unearned runs in the fourth.  McGrath would scatter 10 hits while allowing just four earned runs and striking out three in a complete game loss.

Freshman Dom D’Augustino (Williamson, N.Y./Williamson) drove in junior Ben Przepiora (Syracuse, N.Y./Solvay) for Keuka’s lone run.

In game two, Keuka was out-hit 14-7 as the Wildcats scored in every inning except for the third and seventh.  Trailing 14-1 with one out left in the game, the Storm rattled off six straight runs to make it a 14-7 final.

Nainoa Kavanaugh (Walworth, N.Y./Gananada) took the loss while allowing three earned in three innings.  Senior Jason Kirkum (Basom, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama) reached base all four at bats with three walks and a two-run single.  Junior Keith Prestano (Queens, N.Y./Xaverian) was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs as freshman Gavin Corbin (Endicott, N.Y./Union Endicott) was also 2-for-4.

Keuka will next play host to SUNY Cobleskill this Saturday, April 23 beginning at 1 pm.

Junior Anthony Zaia allowed just one earned run.

The Keuka College baseball team was swept by the Wildcats of Cazenovia College on the road Thursday as they fell 11-0 in game one and 13-3 in the second game.  Keuka currently stands at 2-11 overall and 2-8 in conference action.

In the opener, Keuka was out-hit 14-3 while allowing five runs in the second inning, and six more in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.  Senior Jason Kirkum (Basom, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama) suffered the loss while striking out four batters in four innings.  Sophomore Ricky Newman (Cortland, N.Y./Homer) went 1-for-1 with a double and a walk.

In game two, the Storm were out-hit 12-6 and were tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the fifth inning when the Wildcats plated 10 runs.  Junior Anthony Zaia (Phoenix, N.Y./Phoenix) pitched the first 4.1 innings while allowing just one earned and striking out two.

Rookie Dom D’Augustino (Williamson, N.Y./Williamson) was 2-for-3 while Gavin Corbin (Endicott, N.Y./Union Endicott), Mike Marsh (Cortland, N.Y./Southside), and Pete Venuti (Syracuse, N.Y./Solvay) each drove in a run.

Keuka will next play host to SUNYIT this Friday, April 22 beginning at 2 pm.

Sophomore Keith Prestano batted 2-for-4 with two runs scored in game two.

The Storm baseball team suffered two close losses on the road to the Bisons of Gallaudet University on Sunday.  Keuka fell 5-2 in game one and 5-4 in game two.

Keuka now sits at 2-9 overall and 2-6 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC).  Gallaudet improves to 14-17 overall and 5-3 in the conference.

In the first game, the Storm were limited to just four hits but senior Jason Kirkum (Basom, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama)pitched a complete game for Keuka and held the Bisons to just seven hits.  Kirkum struck out seven while allowing just four earned.

Freshman Gavin Corbin (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) batted 1-for-4 with a double, and RBI, a pair of stolen bases, and a run scored.  Sophomore Ricky Newman (Cortland, N.Y./Homer) had Keuka’s other run while going 1-for-2 at the plate.

In game two, the Storm led 3-2 after the top of the fifth inning.  The Bisons rallied for three runs in the bottom half of the fifth to steal the win.  Senior Will Waldau (LaFayette, N.Y./CBA) took the loss allowing a run in two innings of work.  Junior Anthony Zaia (Phoenix, N.Y./Phoenix) started on the hill and went the first four innings, allowing just two earned.

Sophomore Keith Prestano (Queens, N.Y./Xaverian) batted 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a double.  Kirkum batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Keuka will next play host to SUNY Canton this Tuesday, April 12 beginning at 2 pm.