A total of five members of the Rochester baseball team were recognized as All-Region 3 honorees by D3baseball.com on Tuesday, rewarding their exceptional play for the Yellowjackets this season.
 
First-year pitcher and designated hitter Colby Cruser was named Region 3 Rookie of the Year and 2nd Team utility player. Joining him on the second team were senior first baseman Harper Sy and junior relief pitcher Thomas Karpishin. Additionally, sophomore pitcher Nolan Sparks and senior designated hitter Jacob Matzat were picked to the All-Region 3rd Team.
 
Region 3 encompasses players from four conferences within Division III, the Liberty League, SUNYAC, Empire 8 and Skyline. Rochester's conference, the Liberty League had a total of five teams earn 12 All-Region accolades. The Skyline had the most teams represented with seven, while the SUNYAC led all conferences in the region with 14 players picked.
 
The D3baseball.com All-Region teams are selected by D3baseball.com staff and contributors, with the 2022 season being the organizations tenth overall All-Region selections. There are a total of ten newly realigned regionals in Division III Baseball, with each region having three teams selected. Honorees from All-Region teams are now considered for D3baseball.com All-America accolades.
 
Rochester's five All-Region awards in Region 3 are second most among the 19 teams that had at least one person chosen. Oswego State grabbed six All-Region awards to lead the group. Liberty League rival Ithaca, along with SUNY Cortland and St. John Fisher all had four All-Region players.
 
Cruser was terrific in his first season with Rochester, putting up impressive numbers on the mound in particular, finishing with a 2-2 record and 2.65 ERA across 37.1 innings. The lefty made nine starts, combined on one shutout and allowed opponents to hit a miniscule .198 against him on the year. The first-year added 41 strikeouts and just 14 walks. At the plate, Cruser added a .298 batting average in 21 total games, going 17-for-57 at the plate. He scored 14 runs, had five extra base hits, including two home runs and drove in 11 runs on the season. He was named 2nd Team All-Liberty League as both utility and starting pitcher.
 
Staying on the mound, Karpishin was Rochester's ace out of the bullpen, finishing with a team-low 2.17 ERA over 29.0 innings of work. He was 4-1 on the season and added five saves which ranks among the most in UR single-season history. He combined to strikeout 24 batters and walked just 13 and held opponents to a .245 batting average against. For the second straight season, Karpishin was named 1st Team All-Liberty League in 2022. Karpishin was an All-Region pick last year by the ABCA.
 
Sy was a mainstay in the middle of Rochester's batting order, ending the season with a .357 average (50-140) in 40 games played. He scored 32 runs, had 15 extra base hits and drove in 39 runs. He led the team in hits, triples, home runs and RBI and was highly ranked within the Liberty League in all those categories. Sy also was solid defensively at first base, posting a .994 fielding percentage across 313 overall chances, contributing on an additional 23 double plays. He was named 2nd Team All-Liberty League earlier this spring.
 
Sparks had a memorable second season with the Yellowjackets on the mound and parlayed that to 1st Team All-Liberty League accolades ahead of this All-Region selection. The right-hander was UR's number one starter, finishing with a 6-2 record and 3.10 ERA in 12 appearances (11 starts). He tossed a team-high 61 innings, allowed just 59 hits and 28 runs (21 earned) while striking out 61 compared to just 21 walks.
 
Matzat provided pop in the Yellowjacket batting order, finishing the 2022 season with a .342 average (27-79) in 27 total games. Of his 27 hits, 16 went for extra bases as he smacked 7 doubles, 4 triples and 5 home runs to go along with 18 runs and 24 RBI. His .722 slugging percentage was best on the team and ranks in the top-10 in UR single-season history. He also tied a single-game UR record with 9 RBI against Clarkson on April 9. Matzat was named 1st Team All-Liberty League, his third all-conference honor. He also ended up earning D3baseball.com Team of the Week honors and was Honorable Mention NCBWA Division III Hitter of the Week in mid-April.