AMSTERDAM, N.Y. – Russell Sage College baseball will host the Empire 8 conference tournament next weekend after a doubleheader sweep over Houghton on Saturday. The Gators (23-15/16-2 E8) took game one 2-1 and game two 7-0.
The doubleheader served as Senior Day, honoring four student-athletes. Infielder Christian Brown (Troy, NY/Troy), game two starting pitcher Matthew Denatale (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck), Sean Berry (Tivoli, NY/Red Hook), a grad student, and Ricky Parks (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) were all honored for their contributions to Coach Pontari's program prior to game one.
Following a complete game by Joe Degroot (Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), a grad student, on Friday, junior Liam Doyle (West Sayville, NY/Connetquot) went the distance in game one on Saturday, punching out four batters and only allowing one run.
The opener stayed 1-1 until the bottom of the seventh, where James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber), a grad student, ripped a walk-off double to secure that the Empire 8 conference tournament would be headed to the Capital Region.
Lubanski was one of six Gators to register a hit in the victory. The lone other RBI came off the bat of junior infielder Nick Marsella (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park Memorial), who hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second to square the game at one.
The Highlanders got their run off an RBI-single from Kanta Ueno.
RSC pitching continued to dominate in the weekend set, as Denatale threw a complete game shutout to finish off the Gators regular season with a victory. The grad student punched out five while only giving up five hits in his shutout.
In total over the three contests with Houghton, Russell Sage's three starters combined for 25 innings, just five runs, and 14 strikeouts.
The bats rallied behind Denatale, headlined by Jeff Stearns (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union) who hit his ninth and tenth homeruns of the season. The contest marked the junior's third multi-homer game of the week, as he hit two big flys a piece against Cobleskill and Union.
Stearnes, the reigning Empire 8 player of the week, also hit a single and drove in five runs on the afternoon. His homers leave him at a tie for first in the Empire 8 in the stat.
Junior outfielder Brendan Espinal (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and junior infielder Dom Caminitti (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) each had three knocks. Espinal scored twice and Caminitti crossed the plate once. Lubanski, the hero in the opener, had two hits and scored twice and junior outfielder Jared Russell (Colonie, NY/Colonie) drove in two runs on a hit.
The Gators finish their regular season as winners of their last 10 Empire 8 conference contests, playing host to the conference tournament in only their third season as a program.
Gator Bites: Now its third season as a program, RSC looks to continue to climb the Empire 8 Conference ladder in 2024…The Gators, which returned all 10 starters, were the runner-up in the 2023 E8 Championship Tournament…RSC secured its third appearance in the E8 Championship Tournament by sweeping three games at Keuka April 27 and 28…The double elimination Tournament begins May 9 and will be hosted by either Russell Sage College, Saint John Fisher, or Houghton…Outfielder James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber), a grad student, and junior pitcher Liam Doyle (West Sayville, NY/Connetquot) headlined the returnees…Lubanski, who holds the program single-season and career records for RBI, was named third-team All-Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association, while Doyle, a righty, topped RSC in innings pitched and ERA last spring…Junior outfielder Brendan Espinal (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) was selected the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 10…He slashed .559/.941/.595 during the team's Florida trip…Espinal totaled 12 runs scored, 10 RBI, 32 bases, and six doubles across the nine games…Espinal commenced the week tops in the E8 with a .473 batting average...Left-hander Matthew Denatale (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck), a grad student, took home E8 Pitcher of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 14…The southpaw allowed just one earned run and four hits across 8.0 innings in the win at Utica on April 14…A pair of Gators earned E8 weekly awards for the period ending Sunday, April 28...Denatale was chosen the E8 Pitcher of the Week, while junior infielder Jeff Stearns (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union) took home Player of the Week honors...Stearnes slashed .500/.750/.505 across five games last week. He hit .625 with 11 RBI, six runs scored, and three doubles to help the Gators go 4-0 against E8 competition and secure a spot in the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament...DeNatale made two appearances totaling 10.0 innings and earned a win and a save...The lefty allowed just three earned runs and whiffed four Keuka batters across eight innings in a E8 road victory on April 28...Two days earlier, he locked down the RSC 9-7 win at SJFU, tossing two shutout innings and permitting just three Cardinals to reach base, only one via a hit...Junior outfielder Jared Russell (Colonie, NY/Colonie) began the week with 27 stolen bases, most by an RSC player in a single-season, while Stearns opened the final week of E8 regular season play ranked four in the Conference with a .390 batting average.
Gator Golf: The 19th Annual Gator Golf Classic will be held May 31, 2024. More Information: https://www.
