ALBANY, N.Y. – An important three-game Empire 8 Conference series between Russell Sage College and Saint John Fisher kicked off with the visiting Cardinals taking advantage of six Gator miscues in what became a 12-3 win for the visitors.

SJFU, seeking its fifth-consecutive E8 Championship Tournament title, scored nine runs during the sixth through ninth innings to break open what was a 3-2 contest. With bases loaded, nobody out and two runs already in for the Cardinals, the total could have been worse for RSC, the 2024 E8 Regular Season Champs.  However, junior second baseman Anthony Rizzo (Latham, NY/Shaker/HVCC) made a diving catch of a sinking pop up to kick off a 456 triple play. 

Designated hitter James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber), a graduate student, and junior catcher Colin Casey (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro/Saint Rose) had two hits apiece to pace  RSC (21-11/15-4 E8). Casey, one of two Gators to cross home in the bottom of the fourth, laced an RBI single to plate Lubanski with the final RSC tally in the eighth. 

Junior first baseman Benjamin Huckans went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI to lead the Cardinals (18-14-1/13-5-1). 

The squads are scheduled to conclude their weekend series with a Sunday afternoon doubleheader at Plumeri.

Gator Bites with Papa John's: RSC, in only its fourth season as a program, looks to build upon the most successful season in program history in 2025…Coming off a 16-2 record in Empire 8 Conference play and an E8 Regular Season Championship, the Gators return 25 players to go along with 18 newcomers…RSC got off to a 12-0 start in E8 play the spring…The Gators clinched a spot in the E8 Championship Tournament for the fourth time with an April 23rd win vs. SUNY Poly…Lubanski, senior infielder Jeff Stearns (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union), graduate pitcher Joe DeGroot (Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), and senior pitcher/outfielder Evan Grimes (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) highlight the returners…Lubanski, Stearns, and Grimes made first team All-E8 conference, while DeGroot found himself on the second team…Four others earned all-conference honors in 2024, including senior outfielder Jared Russell (Colonie, NY/Colonie), who was named third team All-E8…Casey, Rizzo (Latham, NY/Shaker/HVCC), and graduate pitcher Freddie Callo (Milton, NY/Marlboro/Utica) headline the newcomers that Head Coach Nick Pontari brought in…Pontari and his staff were named E8 Coaching Staff of the Year in 2024…Stearns was selected the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 16…He hit .435 with 10 runs scored, two homers, and 10 RBI across six games…DeGroot was chosen the E8 Pitcher of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 30…He allowed just one hit across six shutout innings to help RSC start E8 play 3-0 at Houghton…Junior Xavier Garcia (Greenfield Center, NY/Saratoga Springs/SUNY Adirondack)  was selected the E8 Pitcher of the Week for the periods ending Sunday, April 6 and Sunday, April 13…The lefty allowed zero earned runs and struck out 11 Keuka batters across six innings of work in the home win on April 4…He then tossed seven shutout innings to get the win on April 11 vs. Alfred…Garcia allowed just one hit and whiffed 12 Saxon batters to move to 3-0 in his RSC debut spring…He began the weekend ranked third in the Conference with 55 strikeouts...Numerous Gators have hit career milestones this season…Lubanksi surpassed the 100 career RBI mark during the three-game series sweep of Alfred…In April, senior outfielder Leandro Guzman (New Britain, CT/New Britain) and senior infielder Zachary Figueras (Apopka, FL/Windermere) both tallied career hit number 100…On the mound, senior relief pitcher Jaylen Cuevas (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep) became the second Gator to record 100 career strikeouts while saving a 4-2 victory vs. Gordon on March 14…The E8 Championship Tournament will commence on Tuesday, May 6 with a first round contest between the teams seeded fifth and sixth…The double-elimination portion of the bracket, held at the regular season champion, begins on Thursday, May 8.