Pair of Gators Earn Empire 8 Weekly Honors
Russell Sage College baseball, who is receiving votes in both the ABCA and d3baseball.com National Polls, had two garner Empire 8 Conference weekly honors for the period ending on Sunday, April 12.
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College baseball, who is receiving votes in both the ABCA and d3baseball.com National Polls, had two garner Empire 8 Conference weekly honors for the period ending on Sunday, April 12.
Senior Joseph Karpierz (Cohoes, NY/Shaker/Xavier) was named the E8 Player of the Week, hitting .529 (9-for-17) with nine runs scored and 13 RBI in the 4-0 week. The infielder, who totaled 20 bases, slugged 1.176 and registered a .600 on-base percentage.
Nick Irizarry (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) earned E8 Rookie of the Week honors in the 4-0 week. The freshman batted .357 with five runs scored, six stolen bases and ten RBI out of the leadoff spot.
The Gators (22-3/11-0 E8) are back on the diamond on Tuesday for a non-conference test at Williams.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: Russell Sage College Baseball is in its first season under the direction of Head Coach Matt Marsh…The Gators are coming off a 27-15 record and a trip to the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament Finals…19 returners combine with 18 newcomers on this year's squad…Senior pitcher/outfielder Evan Grimes (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa/SUNY Adirondack), senior catcher Colin Casey (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro/Saint Rose), and senior pitcher Xavier Garcia (San Diego, CA/Saratoga Springs/SUNY Adirondack) headline the returners…Grimes garnered a multitude of honors after last season, being named to the First-Team in the Empire 8 and Second-Team All-Region from the ACBA…Casey was named second-team All-Empire 8 for the 2025 campaign…Karpierz, junior infielder Jayden Kennedy (East Patchogue, NY/Patchogue Medford/HVCC), and junior pitcher Tyler Murray (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia/HVCC) highlight the newcomers…Grimes was named the E8 Pitcher of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 1...The lefty registered an eleven strikeout performance across 5.2 innings in the 2-0 season-opening win vs. Mount Saint Vincent on February 28...The All-Region performer allowed just two hits and two walks to help the Gators begin their season in the win column...Karpierz was selected the E8 Baseball Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 15...He batted .522 (12/23) with nine runs scored and 13 RBI across six games...The infielder, who slugged .826 and reached base at a 58.1 percent clip, tallied five doubles and went 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts…Grimes was named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 22...He hit .529 with nine RBI in the 4-0 week...The senior, who scored three runs and totaled 16 bases, slugged .941 and reached base at a .556 rate...Garcia was named the Empire 8 Conference Pitcher of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 22...The senior allowed three hits and zero earned runs to earn the win against Western New England on March 21…The Gators received seven votes in the March 31st edition of the ABCA Division III Coaches Poll, the first time receiving votes in program history…Grimes was named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, April 5...The senior hit .385 with 17 RBI in the 7-0 week including a walk-off grand slam against Houghton...On the mound, the lefty went 2-0 with 16 strikeouts across 13 innings...The Gators started the spring with an 18-3 record, 7-0 of which was in E8 play…RSC earned 19 votes in the April 7th ABCA national poll…Karpierz entered Wednesday's game vs. SUNY Poly leading the Conference in hitting at .481…The infielder, who has helped RSC bat .329 as a team, topped the E8 with a .564 on-base percentage and 35 runs scored…Grimes is among the Conference leaders at the plate and on the mound…The southpaw began the week leading the E8 with 43 strikeouts across 32.0 innings, the third-most on the circuit…He is second in the Conference with four triples, and third with three homers and 33 RBI… Freshman utility Nick Irizarry (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) has been setting the table effectively, swiping bases on 23 of his first 24 collegiate stolen base attempts… Senior Aidan Green (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro/Onondaga CC) and Griffin have started the spring strong on the mound…Griffin entered the SUNY Poly game with a 0.86 ERA, the best in the E8…Opponents were batting just .176 off of the transfer from Lock Haven, the worst in the Conference…Green commenced the week fourth in the E8 with 30.2 innings pitched…He tallied 25 strikeouts, one complete game, and a 3.23 ERA to start his spring at 3-0...Irizarry batted .357 with five runs scored, six stolen bases and ten RBI in the 4-0 week and was named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Week...The rookie, who had two multi-hit performances, totaled six stolen bases...Karpierz was named the E8 Player of the week for the period ending Sunday, April 12...The senior batted .529 (9-for-17) with nine runs scored and 13 RBI in the 4-0 week. The infielder, who totaled 20 bases, slugged 1.176 and registered a .600 on-base percentage.
