ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College baseball split a doubleheader with SUNY Poly on Wednesday evening, winning the opener 13-8 before falling in the nightcap, 14-10.
The Gators (20-10/14-3 E8) and Wildcats opened the day with a suspended game from April 10th, where SUNY Poly led 8-3 in the top of the fifth inning. RSC scored six runs in the sixth and seventh innings to push ahead.
Junior Aidan Green (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro/Onondaga CC) took most of the workload, throwing 6.1 innings of one-hit ball, striking out eight without giving up a run.
Senior Jared Russell (Colonie, NY/Colonie) provided the big blow on the offensive side, ripping a three-run double in the five-run seventh inning to tie the game up at 8. Junior Colin Casey (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro/Saint Rose) brought Russell around to score with a single, and the Gators held that as they picked up their 14th Empire 8 conference victory.
Game two was all RSC at the start, as they led 10-1 through the first four innings. The Gator offense was highlighted by senior Jeff Stearns (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union), who had two hits including a three-run homerun over the right center field wall, and graduate student James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber), who drove in four runs on two hits including a bases-clearing triple.
Russell made his name known again in Game 2, adding another three hits, while junior Anthony Rizzo (Latham, NY/Shaker/HVCC) contributed a four-for-four day with a run batted in.
The last three frames were all Wildcats, as they scored 13 runs to take down Russell Sage by a final score of 14-10. Benjamin Deragon got the win for SUNY Poly, pitching the final 3.2 innings without allowing a run to score.
Looking ahead, RSC finishes its conference series with SUNY Poly tomorrow in Utica.
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…RSC got off to a 12-0 start in E8 play the spring…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 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.
