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Weeks named to PGCBL first team

Pence, Moore, Churchill also honored

6 min read

NEW HARTFORD -- Fifty-two players from across the 16 teams of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League have been selected as members of the 2026 all-league first-, second- and honorable-mention teams.

Four Jamestown Tarp Skunks received recognition. Second baseman Eric Weeks, the Tarp Skunks' nominee for league Player of the Year, was named to the first team. Relief pitcher Collin Pence was named to the second team. Outfielder Grant Moore was named an honorable-mention designated hitter/utilityman while starting pitcher Camp Churchill also received honorable mention.

In 32 games this summer, Weeks -- a Canisius University product -- hit .347 with 11 doubles and two home runs in 121 at-bats. He drove in 37 runs and scored 31 while walking 16 times, getting hit by four pitches and striking out just 15 times in 144 plate appearances. Weeks' 22 stolen bases ranked seventh in the league and he was caught stealing just once. Defensively, he made seven errors in 89 chances for a .921 fielding percentage.

In 11 appearances covering 23 1-3 innings this summer for the Tarp Skunks, Pence -- a Trinity University product -- went 1-1 with four saves. He pitched to a 3.47 earned run average and 1.16 WHIP with 16 strikeouts and seven walks. Opposing batters hit just .233 against the right-hander.

In 35 games this summer, Moore -- another Canisius University product -- hit .339 with eight doubles, three triples and a home run in 124 at-bats. He drove in 23 runs and scored 44 while walking 30 times, getting hit by eight pitches and striking out just 25 times in 164 plate appearances. Moore's 26 stolen bases ranked fourth in the league and he was caught just three times. Defensively, the center fielder made two errors in 82 chances for a .976 fielding percentage.

In 11 appearances covering 30 2-3 innings, Churchill -- a McMurry University product -- went 4-0 with a complete-game shutout. He pitched to a 3.52 earned run average and a 1.34 WHIP with 16 strikeouts and 15 walks. Opposing batters hit just .224 against the right-hander.

Included on the first team are Player of the Year Gabriel Rivera of Amsterdam and Pitcher of the Year Eric Woodley of Batavia.

The league-champion Batavia Muckdogs led all teams with nine players selected to the all-league teams. The Amsterdam Mohawks, who had the best overall record during the regular season, had eight players selected. The East Division postseason champion Utica Blue Sox had six selections and the 2025 league champion Saugerties Stallions had five. Jamestown and the Elmira Pioneers each had four and the Niagara Ironbacks had three. The Oneonta Outlaws, Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs and Glens Falls Dragons were each represented by a pair of players, and the Auburn Doubledays, Newark Pilots, Geneva Red Wings and Boonville Lumberjacks all saw one player selected to the all-league teams.

Batavia and Amsterdam shared the league lead with five players selected to the first team.

The Muckdogs, who had the best pitching staff in the league, sent three of their pitchers to the first team as well as two position players. Gavin Chandler, who went 4-2 in the regular season and 2-0 in the postseason, including the win in the championship game, was chosen after pitching 43 1-3 innings to a 3.53 ERA with 31 strikeouts. Woodley, who was tied for the league lead with five saves, had a 1.67 ERA and a 4-1 record in 32 1-3 innings pitched with 39 strikeouts. Garrett Beaver went 2-0, recorded three saves and had a 1.98 ERA in 27 1-3 innings with 31 strikeouts. In the field, outfielder Glenn Brooks and designated hitter/utilityman Evan Brock made the first team for Batavia. Brooks hit .394 with 31 RBIs, 31 runs scored and ranked third in the league with 27 stolen bases while Brock hit .377 and led the league with 46 RBIs.

The Mohawks, who led the league in hits, doubles, home runs and runs scored, sent five of their position players to the first team, including first baseman Robert Melo, who hit .418 with seven home runs and 39 RBIs, which all ranked top four in the league. Rivera hit 10 home runs and 12 doubles with 44 RBIs and 48 runs scored, which all rank top three in the league. Outfielder Aiden Dill led the league with 49 runs scored and ranked second in the league in stolen bases, going a perfect 31 for 31. Outfielder Andrew Ezell was second in the league with his 52 hits and .441 average, and designated hitter/utilityman Anthony DeCesare was tied for the league lead with 10 home runs.

Cooper Schmidt of Saugerties was named the first-team catcher after batting .405 for the Stallions with 29 RBIs, 34 hits and a .523 on-base percentage. Anthony Perritano of the Utica Blue Sox was the first-team shortstop after getting on-base at a .516 clip and collecting 35 runs batted in with 11 extra-base hits, including six home runs. Perritano was joined on the first team by fellow Blue Sox Joey Kafka, who shined as a relief pitcher. In 12 1-3 innings, Kafka didn’t allow an earned run, and he compiled a 14-2 strikeout to walk ratio with a 1-0 record and two saves. Rounding out the outfielders selected to the first team was Jake Haarde of the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs. Haarde led the league with 55 hits and 15 doubles while batting .382. He scored 37 runs and his 81 total bases was second only to Amsterdam’s Rivera.

Joining Chandler as the other first-team starting pitchers were Matt Murtagh of the Saugerties Stallions and Brenden Hayes of the Elmira Pioneers. Murtagh went 4-0 on the year with a 2.54 earned run average over 28 1-3 innings pitched, while Hayes co-led the league in wins with a 5-1 record and a 1.93 earned run average, with 45 strikeouts in 42 innings.

Joining Pence on the second team were: catcher Taylor Belza of Amsterdam, first baseman Connor Scanlan of Mohawk Valley, second baseman Steven Ramirez of Saugerties, third baseman Jackson Inman of Batavia, shortstop Nick Croce of Saugerties, outfielders David Harris of Niagara Falls, Jordan Gallo of Niagara, Brett Baker of Elmira and Jordan Perry of Amsterdam, designated hitters/utilitymen Aiden Schmidt of Saugerties and Nolan Stark of Oneonta, relief pitchers Mark Holm of Olean and Brendan Shea of Amsterdam, and starting pitchers Landen Burch of Elmira, Jake Szlis of Batavia and Mason Davey of Batavia.

Honorable-mention selections, in addition to Moore and Churchill, were: catcher Vincent Duffy of Oneonta, first baseman Tyler Worth of Glens Falls, second baseman Michael Flashner of Utica, third baseman Derek Staudt of Olean, shortstop Cooper Martin of Niagara, outfielders Jalen David of Batavia, Teddy Monahan of Auburn, Caleb Delaney of Elmira and Jack Sweeney of Utica, designated hitter/utilityman Michael DeRosa of Newark, relief pitchers Drake Aycock of Utica, Luka Abell of Niagara and Max Lipton of Geneva, and starting pitchers John Rigas of Utica, Jaxon Baptist of Boonville and Colin Richardson of Glens Falls.

Deserving players were nominated by their teams at each position and the league office selected the players to fill each of the three teams. One player was selected at each of the infield positions, along with four outfielders, two designated hitter/utility players, three relievers and three starting pitchers, with an additional starting pitcher added to the honorable-mention team.

Starting at /week.