Hilton, KY –Russell Sage College's softball outfielder Arianna Papas (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill) was named the 2023 Empire 8 Softball Player of the Year on Monday and headlined the list of eight Gators that also earned acclaim from the league.

RSC Head Softball Coach Erica Li commented "This year's success is a result of a great team effort."  She added, "the 2023 team dedicated themselves to improving their game and pushing each other to play at their best. Our roster's depth is shown in our team's best seven selections to the Empire 8 All-conference team. Congratulations to all of our all-conference recipients and the 2023 squad."

The graduate player becomes the first Gator to earn back-to-back citations from the Empire 8 for the award after she starred for the Gators this season. Papas, the Gators' centerfielder, was a NFCA First Team All-Region pick in both 2021 and 2022, added 160 career hits, with 40 career doubles, 12 triples, and 14 home runs.  Voted the 2022 Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year, she also earned first-team All-E8 honors and also tapped as the E8 Conference Player of the Week on two occasions last year and also saluted this spring twice. She was also named to the 2023 Empire 8 First Team and capped her career 

On the 2023 season, she led the Gators with her.467 batting average, while connecting for a team-best 64 hits on 17 doubles, with five triples and six home runs. She also added a team-leading 36 RBI's with 109 total bases and a .796 slugging percentage having also swiped 12 stolen bases on 14 attempts. As of May 15, she is Empire 8 leader in batting average, runs scored, doubles, OPS (1.400), on-base percentage (.526) and was second in triples, doubles and fourth in home runs.

She was also named to the NFCA Watch List for Division III this spring. A starter in 41 games in 2023, she added 18 multiple-hit games in 2023 and tied the single-season hit record as well. She caps her time in a Gator uniform having batted a career-best .488 in 100 career games played (No. 31). Her 328 career at-bats is 12th best, while her 160 career hits is sixth highest. She added 40 doubles, which is tied for fifth best, while her 12 career triples is second best. Her 14 career homeruns is fifth best and her 107 career runs scored is fourth highest. She drove in 82 runs (No. 10), drew 31 walks (No. 16), and had 21 stolen bases (No. 12).

Li added, "Congratulations to Arianna on another tremendous season and a well- deserved award. Ari's league leading offense and perfect fielding percentage, continue to show why she is one of the top outfielders and bats in our region."

Another of the Gator graduate players, pitcher and utility player Taylor Dicranian (Bennington, VT/Mt. Anthony Union) was named to the Empire 8 All-Conference First Team as well after another tremendous campaign for RSC.  Named last week's Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week after she went 2-0 in the circle and broke the program's career doubles record, Dicranian capped her year off with a .323 batting average, while also adding a 13-10 record in the circle in 25 appearances. She also had 12 multi-hit games along the way. She ranked first in wins and innings pitched in the league this spring, while ranking 25^th in batting average and third in doubles.

Dicranian, who worked all 32.0 innings of the 2023 Empire 8 tournament for the Gators, had five complete games in the Empire8 Tournament with a 3-2 record and a 2.62 ERA as well. Dicranian had 146 career hits in 132 career games played. She ranks eighth in games played and hits, while her 400 career at-bats stands eighth as well. She set the school career record with 51 doubles and added eight career home runs (No. 12), 80 runs scored (No. 10)85 RBI's (No. 7) and a .365 career batting average. As impressive as her batting statistics are, her pitching numbers are just as strong.

She closes her career first in appearances with 94, first in innings pitched 447.1, second in wins (37), fourth in complete games (42), and 14th with her 94 career strikeouts. She ranks 14th all-time with a career 4.04 ERA.

Named to the Second Team were rookie first baseman Amber Banas (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) and sophomore designated player Madalyn Ring (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls). Third Team honors were given to sophomore second baseman Emma Anderson (Tolland, CT/Tolland), rookie third baseman Ciana Santana (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow), and rookie pitcher Leah Madore (Williamsville, VT/Brattleboro Union), while junior catcher/infielder Amelia Wasilko (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) was named to the 2023 Empire 8 Softball Sportswoman Team.

Banas started 35 games for the Gators and had a .976 fielding percentage to go with 24 hits this spring. She added eight extra-base hits and batted .264 on her first season with RSC. Ring, a returning letterwinner from last year's team, enjoyed a banner sophomore season as she played in29 games with a .373 batting average. She was 12-12 on stolen bases this spring and is now 20-20 on the base paths as a Gator in 57 career games played. Ring finished the season ranked sixth in the Empire 8 in batting average and 16^th in on-base percentage.

Anderson, another of the Gator infielder honored this season, played in 23 games at second base with a .275 batting average. She had a .9225 field percentage having only committed five errors in 67 total chances.  Santana, who played at third this year, batted .310 in 27 games played. She added a .397 slugging percentage as well.

Rookie pitcher Madore, posted a record of 10-8 in the circle, while working in 118.2 innings along the way. She struck out 58 batters and had 15 complete games with a 3.95 ERA. She already has made an impression with her accomplishments as she is ranked (No. 24) in single-season appearances (19), No. 13 in innings worked, No. 8 in victories, No. 15 in strikeouts and 26^th in ERA. Her (10) career wins also ranks 14^th as well. She also struck out a personal-best 10 batters in the team's win over MCLA in late April.

Wasilko played in 28 games this year seeing time behind the plate and as an infielder. She batted .278 with three doubles and had an impressive .959 fielding percentage as she had only three errors on 72 total chances.

One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2023 Softball Sportswoman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen. Wasilko was honored with this distinction for her role with the Gators this spring.

Player of the Year: Arianna Papas, Gr., OF, Russell Sage

Pitcher of the Year: Arden Hatch, Sr., P, Alfred

Defensive Player of the Year: Ashley Lugo, Gr., SS, Alfred

Rookie of the Year: Jessica Remm, Fr., OF, Alfred

Coaching Staff of the Year: Alfred, led by head coach Luke Wesneski

Empire 8 First Team

Catcher – Mari Spitz, So., C, St. John Fisher

First Base – Mya Wells, Jr., 1B, Alfred

Second Base – Madi Rose, Fr., 2B, St. John Fisher

Shortstop – Emily Joss, Gr., SS, Utica

Third Base – Allison O'Toole, Sr., 3B, Alfred

Outfield – Jessica Remm, Fr., OF, Alfred

Outfield – Arianna Papas, Gr., OF, Russell Sage

Outfield – Maddie Zulager, Fr., OF, Utica

Utility – Taylor DiCranian, Gr., U, Russell Sage

Designated Player – Abigail Gatza, Jr., DP, Alfred

Pitcher – Arden Hatch, Sr., P, Alfred

Pitcher – Jessica Patterson, Sr., P, St. John Fisher

Empire 8 Second Team

Catcher – Isabella Orozco, Jr., C, Alfred

First Base – Amber Banas, Fr., 1B, Russell Sage

Second Base – Lauren Paul, So., 2B, Utica

Shortstop – Ashley Lugo, Gr., SS, Alfred

Third Base – Kelly Cournoyer, Jr., 3B, St. John Fisher

Outfield – Isabella Carillo, So., OF, Alfred ^

Outfield – Sarah Simmons, Gr., OF, Nazareth

Outfield – Maddie Donlin, So., OF, St. John Fisher ^

Outfield – Allie Klonowski, Sr., OF, St. John Fisher

Utility – Maryann Sobel, So., P, Elmira

Designated Player – Madalyn Ring, So., DP, Russell Sage

Pitcher – Emily Daciw, Sr., P, Nazareth

Pitcher – Cassidy Ormond, So., P, St. John Fisher

^ There was a tie for the third second team outfielder spot. There are four second team and will be two third team outfielders.

Empire 8 Third Team

Catcher – Makenna DeMoney, Fr., C, Keuka

Catcher – Abbigail Doherty, Sr., C, Medaille

First Base – Justine Brooks, Sr., 1B, Nazareth

Second Base – Emma Anderson, So., 2B, Russell Sage

Shortstop – Kaitlyn Belmont, Jr., SS, Elmira

Third Base – Ciana Santana, Fr., 3B, Russell Sage

Outfield – Madison Brown-Bloom, Sr., OF, Elmira

Outfield – Amelia Martin, Sr., OF, Elmira

Utility – Kylie Murray, So., U, Utica

Designated Player – Jillian Cortez, Sr., P, Elmira

Pitcher – Megan Bennett, Jr., P, Alfred

Pitcher – Maryann Sobel, So., P, Elmira

Pitcher – Leah Madore, Fr., P, Russell Sage

Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year

Raygan Ashmore, Jr., 1B, Alfred

Bella DeAmelia, Jr., C, Elmira

Carlee Miller, Jr., SS, Houghton

Joan Carroll, Sr., OF, Keuka

Maddie Klein, Fr., 3B, Medaille

Megan Pum, Jr., 2B, Nazareth

Amelia Wasilko, Jr., C/IF, Russell Sage

Maddie Nadrich, Jr., C, St. John Fisher

Erica Sanford, Jr., U, Utica

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