Cobleskill, N.Y.: For the second consecutive season the SUNY Cobleskill baseball team has received votes in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (CBN) National Pre-Season NCAA Division III Poll for the 2022 season. The team is coming off a 2021 season that saw the Fighting Tigers post a 15-9 overall record on their way to winning the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Western Division Championship prior to falling in the league's 2022 Championship Series.

Since his taking over the program in 2019 the team has posted a 39-36 overall record under the direction of Head Coach Lance Ratchford including the team's first win over a NCAA nationally ranked team when on March 27 they posted a 5-4 win over the Red Dragons of SUNY Cortland who won the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Championship and tied for third place at the 2021 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.

Under Ratchford's direction the Orange & Black have advanced to conference championship tournaments with five players earning All-Conference Team honors during his tenure.

As he enters his fourth season at Cobleskill, Coach Ratchford sees the national recognition as an important sign of the program's development.   

"We're always grateful for the pre-season accolades because it shows how far we've come as a program. But with that being said, our goal is to win championships and get to the NCAA Tournament and this group wants nothing more but to accomplish that. This is a mature group with high expectations and were excited to compete and show that we belong among the region's top programs."
 
Individually three Cobleskill players have been identified as Top NCAA Division III Baseball Players for the 2022 season according to CBA. Senior pitcher Devin Lewis, Cobleskill, N.Y., Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, senior shortstop Eddy Garcia, Bronx, N.Y., World View High School, and sophomore second baseman Stephen Tejada, Queens, N.Y, High School for Construction, were mentioned in the publication.

Senior lefty Devin Lewis was the anchor of the Fighting Tiger pitching staff in 2021 posting a 5-1 record in eight starts with a 3.00 earned run average (ERA) in 45 innings of work. Lewis struck out 36 hitters on the year while walking 16. He was also a stellar defender during the season handling 14 chances perfectly while participating in a pair of double plays.

Eddy Garcia provided the Fighting Tigers with power at the plate as the Bronx, N.Y. native had four home runs, nine doubles and a triple on the year which led to 18 runs batted in (RBI) and 15 runs scored. For the year he batted .273 with an on-base percentage of .333 and a slugging percentage of .534.

Sophomore Stephen Tejada enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign earning Second Team All-NAC honors as well as being named to the D3baseball.com All-New York State Regional Third Team. The Queens, N.Y. native led the team in hitting posting a .400 batting average and a .459 on-base percentage. Additionally, he scored 16 runs, drove in eight runs and was perfect in six stolen base attempts. Tejada also pitched for the Fighting Tigers posting a 2-1 record with a 3.95 ERA in six outings striking out 23 and walking 10 in 25 innings of work.

The Fighting Tigers are tentatively scheduled to open the 2022 season on Friday March 4 when they travel to Hackettstown, N.J. for a doubleheader versus the Purple Tornados of Centenary College beginning at 12:00 p.m.