SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College was eliminated by Utica 4-3 (15 innings) this morning in the Empire 8 Conference Baseball Championship Tournament, hosted by RSC at Schenectady's Central Park "A" Diamond.
Outfielder Joe Crossley, a grad student, provided the difference with a solo homer off of southpaw Matthew Denatale (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck), a grad student.
After a first inning solo homer got the Pioneers on the board, the Gators scored twice in the bottom half. Junior outfielder Jared Russell (Colonie, NY/Colonie) laced an RBI single, while junior infielder Jeff Stearnes (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union) successfully stole home.
Utica, seeded third, used a pair of fourth-inning doubles to tie it at two and gained the lead with an unearned run in the fifth. It appeared that Utica junior lefty Frederick Callo Jr. would make the marker stand up, going into the ninth up 3-2.
Junior infielder Nick Marsella (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park Memorial) started the frame with a single. Pinch-runner Jack Duane (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) was sacrificed to second and moved to third on fly out to right. With the tying run 90 feet away, Callo induced the needed grounder to third, but the toss across the diamond was dropped by the first baseman, allowing Duane to cross home and send the game to extras.
Callo allowed just five hits and struck out nine Gators across nine innings to take a tough no decision. Fellow lefty Joe Degroot (Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) kept RSC in striking distance to eventually tie it. The southpaw, who also went nine, permitted just six hits and picked off a pair of Utica base runners. Denatale (Loss, 5-5) took over in the tenth and allowed just four hits across six innings.
Sophomore lefty Connor Ford tossed six scoreless frames to pick up the win (3-1).
Junior outfielder Evan Grimes (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and Russell paced the RSC offense with two hits each.
Utica (18-24), which advanced to face Houghton later today for a spot in Championship Saturday, received three hits apiece from infielder John Longeretta, a graduate student, and junior outfielder Josh Duval.
In just their third season as a program, the Gators went 23-17 overall, 16-2 in E8 play to capture the Conference regular season championship and hosting rights for the Championship Tournament.
Gator Bites: RSC secured its first Empire 8 Conference regular season championship by sweeping the three-game series from visiting Houghton on May 3 and 4...The Gators qualified for the E8 Championship Tournament in each of its three seasons as a program, including advancing to the finals of the 2023 edition...RSC, which returned all ten starters from last season, entered the four-team Tournament with the top offense on the circuit in many metrics, including E8-bests of 349 runs scored, a .305 batting average, a .445 slugging percentage, and a .439 on-base percentage…Outfielder James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber), a grad student, and junior pitcher Liam Doyle (West Sayville, NY/Connetquot) headlined the returnees…Lubanski, who holds the program single-season and career records for RBI, was named third-team All-Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association, while Doyle, a righty, topped RSC in innings pitched and ERA last spring…Junior outfielder Brendan Espinal (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) was selected the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 10…He slashed .559/.941/.595 during the team's Florida trip…Espinal totaled 12 runs scored, 10 RBI, 32 bases, and six doubles across the nine games…Espinal closed the regular season atop the Conference in batting average (.453), on-base percentage (.551) and on-base plus slugging (1.239)...Denatale took home E8 Pitcher of the Week on three occasions, for the periods ending April 14, April 28 and May 5…The southpaw (5-5, 1 save) started the Tournament ranked second in the E8 with 57.2 innings pitched and five wins...He combined with Doyle and Degroot to be three of the top-six E8 leaders in both innings pitched and wins...Each member of the starting trio also ranked in the top-eight among Conference hurlers in ERA...Degroot had a conference-best six victories this spring (6-0), while Doyle entered the postseason with a 4-3 record...Junior infielder Jeff Stearnes (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union) closed the regular season strong in helping RSC clinch the hosting privileges for the E8 Tournament, earning Conference Player of the Week honors for the periods ending April 28 and May 5...He commenced the playoffs tops in the E8 in homers (10), RBI (52), slugging percentage (.725), while ranking second to Espinal in batting average (.413), on-base percentage (.512), and ops (1.237)...Russell began the week with a Conference-best 32 stolen bases, most by an RSC player in a single-season, while Lubanski led the E8 with 13 doubles and was tied for second with 47 RBI.
Gator Golf: The 19th Annual Gator Golf Classic will be held May 31, 2024. More Information: https://www.sagegators.com/information/Gator_Golf_Classic
