TROY, N.Y. – After opening its season with eight games in Florida last week, Russell Sage College made its Capital Region debut on Wednesday at RPI. The Gators dropped both ends of the non-conference doubleheader by identical 5-1 scores.
Junior infielder Hannah Smith (Clifton Park, NY/Clifton Park) paced the RSC offense with a 2-for-5 afternoon.
RPI (10-4) used a four-run first to take the opener.
Smith doubled home sophomore infielder Annalise Tyler (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) for the lone RSC run. Tyler went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the first game.
Ahead 2-0 in the nightcap, the Engineers tacked on a trio of runs in the bottom of the sixth. The insurance markers proved to be vital when RSC got on the board with an unearned run in the top of the seventh.
Junior outfielder Sydney Speanburg (Albany, NY/Albany) went a combined 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI to help the Engineers sweep.
RSC (2-8) is scheduled to play next on Friday, March 28 vs. Mount Saint Mary College. The 3:00 PM doubleheader is slated to be the home opener for RSC.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: RSC looks to return to the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament for the fifth-straight spring…12 returnees combine with eight newcomers on this year's roster…Senior outfielder Madalyn Ring (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls), Tyler, and junior pitcher Leah Madore (Williamsville, VT/Brattleboro Union) highlight the returning Gators…Madore and Tyler earned second-team All-E8 honors last springs, while Ring made third-team All-Conference…Madore punched out 154 batters across 174 innings, both single-season program records in 2024..The righty, just the fifth Gator to reach 200 career strikeouts, opens the spring with 212 career K's, just 50 away from become the program's all-time leader…Ring commenced the season with 43 career stolen bases, good for fourth in RSC records…RSC opened its spring with eight contests in Florida between March 10-14… Sophomore outfielder Bella Julian (Cicero, NY/Cicero North-Syracuse) led the Gators with a .500 batting average during the time in the "Sunshine State"…Sophomore infielder/outfielder Allison Kenyon (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville), Ring, and junior catcher/outfielder Emma Heartquist (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) comprise the team's Leadership Committee.
