Clifton Park, NY. – Russell Sage College continued a busy week by sweeping both ends of this afternoon's Empire 8 Conference doubleheader against Keuka College. The Gators posted a 9-0 win in the first game in five innings and added a 10-2 win in the nightcap, also in five innings. The wins put RSC at 14-18 overall and 7-5 in the Empire 8, while Keuka drops to 2-20 overall and 1-11 in the league.
The Gators, in the midst of a stretch of three twin-bills in four-days, connected on three homeruns, while also tallying 19 hits including six extra-base hits.
In the first game, senior outfielder Arianna Papas (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill) went deep in the bottom of the first inning to put the Gators on the scoreboard and bottom of the third inning senior pitcher Taylor Dicranian (Bennington, VT/Mt. Anthony Union) connected on a solo home run to left field for her 100th career hit.
For the game, Papas was 3-for-3 with three RBI's, while junior Makayla Lindsey (New Fairfield, CT/New Fairfield) was 2-for-3. Sophomore outfielder Isabella Vano (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown) drove in two runs with a double as she was 1-for-2.
The Gators got a complete game win in the circle from Dicranian as she scattered just two hits and fanned one along the way. She moves to 8-5 on the year in the circle.
Keuka's sophomore Emily Vanderlinder (Corning, NY/Corning) suffered the loss as she allowed six earned runs off of 10 hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts. She drops to 0-11 on the year.
In the nightcap, Papas broke open the game as she led off with a single to centerfield off Keuka's starter, junior Kelsey Mohl (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park). She stole second and moved to third on a bunt single from rookie outfielder Madalyn Ring (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls). Ring stole second and at the same time, Papas stole home to score the Gators' first run of the game.
Sage was up 2-0 in the top of the second, when Mohl belted a solo shot to left center field. In the bottom of the inning, graduate third baseman, Emily Agate (Franklin Square, NY/H. Frank Carey) delivered a grand slam to give Sage a 6-1 lead through two innings.
In the top of the junior infielder Jordyn Fargo (Elmira, NY/Elmira Notre Dame) had a solo home run to cut the score to 6-2, but the Gators tacked on three in the bottom half of the inning including a pinch hit single by sophomore infielder Alyson Murphy (Gil, MA/Turners Falls) and a double by Dicranian.
Sage wrapped the sweep in the bottom of the fifth as junior Lauren Salmonese (Poughkeepsie, NY/Poughkeepsie) reached on an error and moved to second on the throw. She went to third on a wild pitch and scored the game-ending run on another wild pitch.
For the contest, Agate led the Gators with her four RBI's, while junior pitcher Makayla Lindsey earned the complete game win as she struck out three, giving up two earned runs off three hits. She stands at 5-5 on the year and leads Sage with her 24 strikeouts.
Papas continues her red-hot season as she leads the team and the league with her .511 batting average on 47 hits with her team-best 31 runs, four triples, and five home runs and a blistering .891 slugging percentage. On her career, she has eight career homeruns which ranks in a tie for seventh, while now adding 92 career hits.
Agate, who now has 110 career hits ranks 13th on the career list, while appearing in in 116 games (No. 17). She stands 15th in at bats (337), tied for 15th in doubles (18), tied for 12th in home runs, and eighth with her 83 RBI's.
Dicranian, who owns a 24-16 career record in the circle, is making her mark as both a hitter and a pitcher. She is tied for fifth in appearances (65), while having worked in 279.1 innings (No. 8). She is now fifth in wins, while ranking 18th in strikeouts and has a 4.56 career ERA (No. 16). At the plate, she has 101 hits (No. 17), with 36 doubles (No. tied for 6th), with 52 RBI's (Tied for No. 21).
The Gators wrap up the regular season on Sunday afternoon vs. Alfred. The E8 doubleheader, to be held at the Plumeri Sports Complex, is set to begin at 1:30 pm. The event will also serve as the program's "Senior Day".
Notes: Senior outfielder Arianna Papas (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill) began the week as the E8 batting leader…She also ranked in the top-five on the circuit in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, ops, runs scored, doubles and triples… Senior left hander/infielder Taylor Dicranian (Bennington, VT/Mt. Anthony Union) sat atop the E8 with 14 doubles. Head Coach Erica Li, now in fourth season at the helm of the Gators is looking to guide the Gators back to the Empire 8 tournament after last year's banner season.
