Gators Battle With Twelfth Ranked SUNY Brockport
Russell Sage College baseball battled with SUNY Brockport, the twelfth ranked team in the nation, in a doubleheader on Friday afternoon.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | X | 7 | 11 | 1 |
BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Russell Sage College baseball battled with SUNY Brockport, the twelfth ranked team in the nation, in a doubleheader on Friday afternoon.
The Gators fell twice in the twin bill, 2-0 in the opener and 7-1 in the nightcap.
Junior pitcher Xavier Garcia (Greenfield Center, NY/Saratoga Springs/SUNY Adirondack) got the ball in game one, throwing a complete game while punching out six and surrendering just two runs.
Those two runs were enough for the Golden Eagles, who's starter, Zach Eldred, also went the distance without giving up a run. RSC had three hits, all singles from senior Evan Grimes (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), senior Jeff Stearns (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union), and graduate student James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber).
Another pitchers duel ensued in game two, as Gators starter Joe Degroot (Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), a grad student, and Golden Eagles starter Anthony Lapine kept the game scoreless through six innings. Brockport used a six run eighth inning to pull away and finish off the doubleheader sweep.
Degroot gave up just three earned runs while punching out a pair in his seven innings of work. The lone RSC run came from a sacrifice fly from junior Colin Casey (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro/Saint Rose) in the eighth.
Six different Gators had hits, including one each for seniors Leandro Guzman (New Britain, CT/New Britain) and Zachary Figueras (Apopka, FL/Windermere), who both joined the 100 hits club in the past week, just the second and third Russell Sage hitters to do that in program history.
RSC (18-9/12-2 E8) wraps up the weekend series with Brockport on Saturday.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: RSC 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 10-0 start in E8 play the spring…Graduate outfielder James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber), 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… Junior infielder Anthony Rizzo (Latham, NY/Shaker/HVCC), junior catcher Colin Casey (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro/Saint Rose), 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.
