ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College junior Xavier Garcia (Greenfield Center, NY/Saratoga Springs/SUNY Adirondack) was chosen the Empire 8 Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 6.
The lefty (2-0) allowed zero earned runs and struck out 11 Keuka batters across six innings of work in the home win on April 4.
He begins the week leading the Conference by allowing opposing hitters to just a .177 batting average and ranks third in the E8 with 37 strikeouts.
The Gators (11-7/5-0 E8) are scheduled to play a doubleheader with the Wolves this afternoon.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: RSC 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…Graduate outfielder James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber), 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… Junior infielder Anthony Rizzo (Latham, NY/Shaker/HVCC), junior catcher Colin Casey (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro/Saint Rose), 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 period ending Sunday, April 5…The lefty allowed zero earned runs and struck out 11 Keuka batters across six innings of work in the home win on April 4.
