Tarp Skunks receive all-league recognition
AUBURN, N.Y. — The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League selected the all-league teams for the 2021 season at its fall meeting Sunday at Falcon Park.
The Jamestown Tarp Skunks fared pretty well.
Two players on the Western Division champions — starting pitcher Justin Guiliano (Canisius) and reliever Matt Henson (George Mason) — were selected to the first team, while outfielder Haiden Hunt (Chattanooga State Community College) earned a spot on the second team. Team executives made their votes after each team submitted their representatives for consideration.
For Tarp Skunks manager Jordan Basile, the recognition was well-deserved.
“Not everyone can get an award,” he said, “so to have a few guys in there it’s a great start and we hope to keep adding guys to that list in years to come.”
Guiliano posted a 7-1 record with a 2.97 earned-run average after not playing at all for Canisius last season. In 13 games, including two starts, the left-hander struck out 28, walked 17 and gave up 16 hits in 30.1 innings. His only blemish was in the Tarp Skunks’ playoff loss in late July.
“Every time he came into a game it was pretty much lights-out,” Basile said.
Henson, meanwhile, posted a 1-2 record with 11 saves in 19 appearances. In 18.1 innings, the right-hander struck out 18 and walked 17.
“No matter what, we knew he would focus in and get it done,” Basile said. ” … Once he got that focus, we knew he wasn’t losing.”
Finally, Hunt turned in an exceptional season before leaving the team due to family obligations with a handful of games remaining. All told, he batted .351 (33 of 94), smacked seven doubles and stole 22 bases.
“I thought he was a no-doubt first-teamer,” Basile said. “He was (fifth) in batting and second in stolen bases. … He had a great season. He’s the guy we wanted at the plate. You couldn’t ask for more in a leadoff hitter.”
According to a press release from the PGCBL, both first- and second all-league teams have one player at each infield position, one catcher, three outfielders, five starting pitchers, two relief pitchers, one utility player and one designated hitter.
Fourteen teams in the league had at least one player elected to an all-league team, while 10 teams had multiple players honored. The three teams to have multiple players garner first-team accolades are Amsterdam, Jamestown and Geneva.
Amsterdam led in both overall nominations as well as first-team selections, as the Mohawks had six players named to an all-league team, four of which received first-team recognition.
Brett Coker (Middle Tennessee State), CJ Funk (Pittsburgh), Nick Smith (Evansville), and Matt Shaw (Maryland) got the first-team nod, while pitchers Cole Patten (Seton Hall) and Connor Brandon (Toledo) received second-team recognition.
Mohawk Valley received a second-best four nominations, while Utica, Albany, Batavia and Jamestown all received three nominations. Jamestown was the only one of the five teams to have multiple first-team recognitions.
The 2021 PGCBL champion Saugerties Stallions placed designated hitter Kip Fougerousse (Indiana) on the first team as well as Cade Verdusco (Grand Canyon) on the second team.
The PGCBL will announce player, pitcher and coach of the year later this week. Guiliano, Henson and Basile are among the candidates in their respective categories.





