Season wrap-up
Fayette County Baseball League reveals 2026 awards
The 51st season of the Fayette County Baseball League ended with Carmichaels earning its 15th championship under manager Dickie Krause and the Copperheads reaped plenty of hardware in the aftermath.
FCBL president Ryan Encapera revealed award winners for the 2026 campaign, and the Copperheads took home several top honors along with the league championship trophy.
“Overall, it was a solid season,” Encapera said. “All of the teams were very competitive and there were plenty of close games and contested match-ups.
“With only five teams the level of pitching was high and every night each team faced good, experienced pitchers and had to play their best to win.”
Carmicahels earned the Tom Sankovich Regular Season Champion Award for its first-place finish with a 12-3-1 record and the Mike Susa Playoff Champion Award after going 5-0 in the postseason with a two-game sweep of Mill Run in the first round and a gritty three-game sweep over Hopwood Village Plaza in the final which featured a trio of nail-biting battles. The Copperheads ended up with a 17-3-1 overall record.
Carmichaels infielder Alex Vansickle was given the Tom Croftcheck Playoff MVP Award with a .471 batting average (8 for 17) in the postseason with six RBIs and four runs scored.
The Copperheads’ Ben Shields gathered a trio of top awards. He was voted the Brian Sankoviich Regular Season MVP Award and the Nick Damico Rookie of the Year Award and also took home the John Kupets Batting Champion Award, while teammate Matt Bamford was voted the Joe Kurnot Top Pitcher Award.
Shields hit .447 (21 for 47) with two home runs and 14 RBIs and was 2-1 on the mound with a 1.03 ERA, a .203 batting average against and 21 strikeouts in 20.1 innings pitched.
Bamford was 4-0 with a 2.41 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched.
The Bruce Dal Canton Arm and Hammer Award, determined by statistics, went to Hopwood’s Justin Brestensky who was 4-2 with a 1.80 ERA and .270 batting average against with 27 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched.
Hopwood also was presented with the Bob Nichols Playoff Runner-up Award.
Other awards for statistical leaders were:
– John “Preacher” Collingwood RBI Leader Award: Chad Petrush of Hopwood (15).
– Alex “Pickhandle” Merkosky Home Run Leader Award: Noah Mildren, Carmichaels (4).
Other awards determined by league nominations and votes were:
– Arky Shaffer Comeback Player of the Year Award: Josiah Fisher, Charleroi.
– Vince Zapatosky Mr. Baseball Award: Vince Colarusso, Carmichaels, and Bobby Conchilla, Hopwood Village Plaza.
– Dan Kupets Manager of the Year Award: Richard Krause, Carmichaels.
The Paul Lancaster Umpire Sportsmanship Award, determined by Joe Volpe, went to Mill Run’s Warrick family of John, April, Cade and Luke.
Following Carmichaels in the final regular season standings were Hopwood Village Plaza (10-6), Charleroi (8-7-1), Oakland (7-9) and Mill Run (2-14).
Encapera commended this year’s managers.
“We have a great group of managers who put together good rosters of players and play baseball the right way, with class and respect,” Encapera said. “It’s definitely a challenge to recruit and make sure you have a lineup each night considering outside influences drawing players away from baseball. Hats off to all our managers for holding their teams together.”
Encapera was encouraged to see a solid core of new players join the FCBL.
“It’s great to see another young generation of players moving into the league,” Encapera said. “Hopefully, more will connect to teams and play in the future.”
Encapera would like the FCBL to expand in 2027.
“Moving forward, I’m always looking to grow the league and we’re open to new teams and players,” Encapera said. “I’d hope we can add at least two or more teams for next year.”