The St. John Fisher College baseball team has been named as the 2008 Empire 8 Conference Sportsman of the Year. The baseball team is also the Empire 8 nomination for the 2008 NCAA Sportsmanship Award, which focuses on respect for self, other and the sport. The national award selections will be announced in July.
The Fisher baseball team, led by head coach Dan Pepicelli, received national recognition for their act of sportsmanship in conceding the conclusion of the game in an ECAC Upstate Championship play-in game.
The Cardinals trailed in the ninth inning when Oswego head coach Frank Paino was struck on the right side of the head with a line drive. Pepicelli, who was the first person to reach the unconscious Paino, met with his players in the dugout and decided to not continue the game, assuring Oswego of the victory and ending the NCAA tournament hopes of the Cardinals.
The gesture was featured in various regional publications and garnered national attention on espn.com as an extraordinary example of sportsmanship.
“This is a tremendous display of sportsmanship,” said Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “The game is never over until the last out and with a potential ECAC championship and NCAA berth on the line, St. John Fisher maintained a healthy perspective and made the honorable decision. It is a life lesson that will remain with those student-athletes longer than any memory of that potential win.”
