Pitching Performance of the Year: Cioffi’s Gem

By: Ryan Murphy

Nick Cioffi (Saint Rose) fires a pitch.

December 7, 2015

As 2015 comes to a close, DutchmenBaseball.com is taking a look back at the year that was, continuing today with 2015’s Pitching Performance of the Year.

After a July 22 loss to the Glens Falls Dragons, the Dutchmen sat three games back of the final playoff spot in the PGCBL East with just seven games to make up the deficit. With a home game coming the next day, a Dragon victory would likely lock up the third playoff position for Glens Falls.

In the must-win situation, the Dutchmen sent ace Nick Cioffi (Saint Rose) to the mound, and the right-hander produced his best game of the season, a performance worthy of naming Albany’s 2015 Pitching Performance of the Year.

Cioffi, a second-team All-PGCBL selection and the team Pitcher of the Year, dominated Glens Falls hitters, allowing only a ninth-inning run to go with a season-high nine strikeouts. He worked all nine innings for Albany, one of four complete games worked by the Averill Park native.

Cioffi, who was unsurprisingly named Recognize Player of the Game for the night, said he improved as the game went on after working out of some trouble in the early innings.

“The first few innings, I didn’t have great stuff and just had to battle,” Cioffi said after the game. “As the game went on, my stuff got a lot better, and I knew once I got through the fifth or sixth inning, I knew I could finish this one out.”

The righty only faced four hitters without the lead, as a Grayson Lewis (Rice) double and a Jack Weiller (Virginia) single gave Albany a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

A four-run sixth inning and another run in the seventh extended Cioffi’s cushion, of which he did not need much.

“You don’t change your approach on the mound, but it gives you a little more breathing room and the pitches are less stressful,” Cioffi said of being able to pitch with a lead. “You still make your pitches, but you can afford to give up a hit.”

Spurred by the major victory, the Dutchmen ran down the Dragons in the final week of the season, capped by a win on the final day of the season with none other than Cioffi on the mound. Over four starts against the Dragons, Cioffi allowed just three earned runs over 28 innings with 24 strikeouts.

Cioffi allowed just one earned run over his final 29 innings on the mound for Albany, winning each of his last four starts. That July stretch, which kept Albany afloat, was spotlighted by his season-saving effort on July 23, Albany’s Pitching Performance of the Year.

Next week: DutchmenBaseball.com continues our Year in Review with a look at Albany’s Offensive Performance of the Year.



Search Archive »





Browse by Month »

April 2024
March 2024
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
January 2022
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
March 2021
May 2020
March 2020
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
November 2018
October 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
October 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
October 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
Ignite Business Solutions