Gators Split Sunday Afternoon Doubleheader
Russell Sage College baseball split a doubleheader with St. John Fisher University on Sunday, falling 2-1 in game one before pulling out an 8-3 win in the nightcap.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 8 | 10 | 1 |
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College baseball split a doubleheader with St. John Fisher University on Sunday, falling 2-1 in game one before pulling out an 8-3 win in the nightcap.
The opener was a pitchers duel, as RSC starter Joe Degroot (Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) and SJFU's Ethan Fulton each went the distance.
Degroot struck out five in his seven innings of work, giving up just two runs on a two run blast from Jackson Frey.
The Cardinals had a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh, where Fulton finished his complete game and helped Fisher pull out the 2-1 conference victory.
Four different Gators had hits in game one, and the lone run was produced on a groundout by senior Jorge Oropeza (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena High School).
In game two, the Gators (22-11/16-4 E8) got another great start, as senior Evan Grimes (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) tossed the second complete game of the day, punching out eleven while surrendering just three earned runs, two of which came off another two-run blast by Frey.
Offensively, seven different RSC batters registered hits, while three had multiple RBI's.
Senior Jeff Stearns (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union) had a pair of hits and a pair of runs driven in, while James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber), a grad student drove in a pair on an RBI double. Senior Jorge Oropeza (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena High School) added a two-run double of his own, and senior Leandro Guzman (New Britain, CT/New Britain) drove in a run on a two-bagger.
Senior outfielder Jared Russell (Colonie, NY/Colonie) reached the 100 hits milestone with a single in the bottom of the third inning.
Looking ahead, RSC is back in action on Tuesday as they host Skidmore for a non-conference doubleheader.
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 return 25 players to go along with 18 newcomers…RSC got off to a 12-0 start in E8 play the spring…The Gators clinched a spot in the E8 Championship Tournament for the fourth time with an April 23rd win vs. SUNY Poly…Lubanski, senior infielder Jeff Stearns (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union), graduate pitcher Joe DeGroot (Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), and senior pitcher/outfielder Evan Grimes (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) 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…Casey, Rizzo (Latham, NY/Shaker/HVCC), and graduate pitcher Freddie Callo (Milton, NY/Marlboro/Utica) headline the newcomers that Head Coach Nick Pontari brought in…Pontari and his staff were named E8 Coaching Staff of the Year in 2024…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…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…Junior 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…He began the weekend ranked third in the Conference with 55 strikeouts...Numerous Gators have hit career milestones this season…Lubanksi surpassed the 100 career RBI mark during the three-game series sweep of Alfred…In April, senior outfielder Leandro Guzman (New Britain, CT/New Britain) and senior infielder Zachary Figueras (Apopka, FL/Windermere) both tallied career hit number 100…On the mound, senior relief pitcher Jaylen Cuevas (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep) became the second Gator to record 100 career strikeouts while saving a 4-2 victory vs. Gordon on March 14…The E8 Championship Tournament will commence on Tuesday, May 6 with a first round contest between the teams seeded fifth and sixth…The double-elimination portion of the bracket, held at the regular season champion, begins on Thursday, May 8.
