BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Senior infielder Jeff Stearns (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union) delivered a walk-off single with the bases loaded to put Russell Sage College past Saint John Fisher 6-5 on the opening day of the 2025 Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament.  The second-seeded Gators (26-13/18-6 E8), which erased a 5-1 deficit, will now face host SUNY Brockport, sitting at number 12 in the latest national poll, on Friday at 12:00 PM looking to secure a spot in Saturday's Finals.

"Tournament baseball is about staying locked into the moment in front of us," said Head Coach Nick Pontari. "Our guys did a great job staying behind each other, and battling all game. It was a complete team effort today, and we're excited to get back to work tomorrow."

Both teams tossed their aces this afternoon. SJFU (21-18-1/15-18-1 E8), seeking to capture its fifth-straight Conference Tournament title, started junior Ethan Fulton, who opened the postseason fourth in the E8 in ERA and fifth in strikeouts. 

RSC countered with lefty Joe DeGroot (Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse).  The graduate student ranked third in innings pitched and fifth in ERA during the regular season.

Both teams' offenses, which were in the top-three in the Conference for multiple statistical categories and combined for 25 hits this afternoon, had both coaches going to their bullpens a bit earlier than desired.

The Cardinals, the three seed, led 4-0 after three innings to force DeGroot out of the game, while the Gators had SJFU into its pen in the fifth.

Senior reliever Jaylen Cuevas (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep), who headed into the postseason atop the E8 with three saves, helped the Gators chip away at the SJFU leads of 4-0 after two and a half innings and 5-1 after four and a half.  The right-hander (Win, 4-1) allowed just five hits and one earned run across the final six innings.

RSC got within one with a three-run fourth. Designated hitter James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber) keyed the rally with a two-run double.  The graduate student, the program's career leader in RBI, hits, and doubles, went 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.

The Gators took advantage of a SJFU miscue to knot it at five in the eighth.

After getting four innings of relief from Patrick McGuire (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa), the Cardinals went to freshman Matt Culjak with the goal of getting the neutral site contest to extra innings.

Senior outfielder Jorge Oropeza (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena High School) led off with a single, part of a 2-for-4 performance. 

Following a fielder's choice and a strikeout, senior pitcher/outfielder Evan Grimes (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa/SUNY Adirondack) lasered one through the third base line to put runners on the corners.  SJFU decided to intentionally walk Lubanski, setting up a force at any base, plus take the bat out of Lubanski's hands in favor of Stearns, who was 0-for-5 with a run scored at the time. Stearns, second in the E8 in slugging at .647 and fourth in both homers and OPS, launched a Culjak offering onto the warning track in right for the victory.

Senior infielder Zachary Figueras (Apopka, FL/Windermere) went 2-for-5 with a run scored, while senior outfielder Leandro Guzman (New Britain, CT/New Britain) was 1-for-2 with two runs scored.

SJFU received multiple hits from three different players in the loss. Freshman outfielder Austin Droge went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored to pace the Cardinals, which now have their season on the line at 8:30 AM tomorrow.

Gator Bites with Papa John's: RSC, in only its fourth season as a program, 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 returned 25 players to go along with 18 newcomers…RSC has set program single-season records for both wins and E8 Conference victories...The Gators got off to a 12-0 start in E8 play the spring…RSC clinched a spot in the E8 Championship Tournament for the fourth time with an April 23rd win vs. SUNY Poly...The Gators have scored double-digit runs 18 times this season...The Gators entered the playoffs ranked second in the E8 with a .313 batting average...Stearns, DeGroot, Grimes, and Lubanski 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 Collin Casey (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro/Saint Rose), and graduate pitcher Frederick Callo (Milton, NY/Marlboro/Utica) headline the newcomers that Pontari and his staff, the 2024  E8 Coaching Staff of the Year, brought in…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… The senior began the playoffs ranked second in the Conference with a .647 slugging percentage...His 1.127 ops and six homers were both fourth on the circuit...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…The graduate student concluded the regular season with a 3.77 ERA across 57.1 innings pitched, good for fifth and third respectively in the Conference...Junior pitcher 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…The junior was third among Conference hurlers with 65 strikeouts...Opposing lineups were hitting just .184 off the southpaw, second-worst in the E8… Casey was chosen an E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, May 4…He slashed .583/1.333/.706 with seven runs scored, two homers and seven RBI across the final four games of the regular season...Figueras, tied for sixth in the E8 with 43 runs scored, ranked third in the Conference with 14 doubles...Numerous Gators have hit career milestones this season…Lubanski is the program's career leader in RBI (131), hits (150) and doubles (42)...The grad student sat third in the E8 with 47 RBI and fifth with 49 hits...He surpassed the 100 career RBI mark during the three-game series sweep of Alfred and had career hit number 150 on May 4 vs. Elmira…In April, Guzman, Russell, and Figueras tallied career hit number 100…On the mound, Cuevas became the second Gator to record 100 career strikeouts while saving a 4-2 victory vs. Gordon on March 14...He headed into the postseason atop the E8 with three saves.