Gators Tally Highest Hit Total of Season in Wednesday Evening Victory Over Utica
Russell Sage College baseball, who is receiving votes in both the ABCA and d3baseball.com national polls, registered their highest number of hits in any game this season on Wednesday as they defeated Utica 18-14.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 20 | 6 |
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4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 7 |
UTICA, N.Y. – Russell Sage College baseball, who is receiving votes in both the ABCA and d3baseball.com national polls, registered their highest number of hits in any game this season on Wednesday as they defeated Utica 18-14.
The Gators, who saw their 16-game win streak snapped on Tuesday in a four-hit performance at Williams, got right back to normal with a 20 hit, 18 run showing on Wednesday to move to 12-0 in Empire 8 Conference play.
Eight different RSC hitters registered multiple hits, including four with a trio of knocks.
Darren Dengler (Hobart, NY/South Kortright) contributed the biggest blow, depositing a three-run shot over the left field fence in the top of the third inning. The sophomore added a double and a single while stealing a pair of bases and scoring four times.
Sophomore John Kelleher (Monroe, NY/Monroe Woodbury) also drove in three runs on a trio of singles, while junior Jayden Kennedy (East Patchogue, NY/Patchogue Medford/HVCC) and senior Colin Casey (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro/Saint Rose) both had three hits of their own.
Freshman Nick Irizarry (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield), the reigning Empire 8 Conference baseball rookie of the week, contributed a huge afternoon, driving in three runs on two hits while scoring a trio of runs. The conference's leader in stolen bases added to his total with four swiped bags in the victory.
The Gators, ranked at the top of Division III in stolen bases per game, totaled ten stolen bases, the highest output of the season thus far.
Senior Evan Grimes (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) ripped a triple and senior infielder Anthony Rizzo (Latham, NY/Shaker/HVCC) hit a double as the pair each drove in two runs and had two hits apiece. Sophomore Nick Chicaway (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) had two singles and scored two runs.
"Our group did a great job staying mentally consistent and moving forward through any adversity today. Really proud of our guys," shared Head Coach Matt Marsh after the victory. "The at bats were significantly better and we created runs in many ways— with the bats, on the bases and in our short game. Our pitching staff did a nice job commanding the zone and attacking in some less than ideal circumstances. We will continue to get better at practice tomorrow and grow in preparation for the next few weeks."
The Gators (23-4/12-0 E8) are back in action on Friday to kick off their weekend series against SUNY Brockport.
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 American Baseball Coaches Association…Casey was named second-team All-Empire 8 for the 2025 campaign… Senior infielder Joseph Karpierz (Latham, NY/Shaker/Xavier), 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...RSC earned 19 votes in the April 7th ABCA national poll…The Gators broke the program single-season record for steals in a season during the home doubleheader sweep of Alfred on April 11…RSC entered Tuesday's non-conference game at Williams with three of the top-four base stealers in the Conference…Karpierz was tabbed the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 12…He batted .529 (9-for-17) with nine runs scored and 13 RBI in the 4-0 week…The senior, who totaled 20 bases, slugged 1.176 and registered a .600 on-base percentage…Outfielder Nick Irizarry (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) was selected the E8 Rookie of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 12… The freshman batted .357 with five runs scored, six stolen bases and ten RBI in the 4-0 week…He has been setting the table effectively, successfully swiping bases on 29 of his first 30 collegiate stolen base attempts…RSC began the spring with a 22-3 overall record, 11-0 in E8 play…The Gators opened their Conference schedule out-scoring opponents by a 141-36 margin…RSC was pummeling E8 pitchers to the tune of a .405 batting average, while keeping the opposition to hit just .203…Karpierz entered Tuesday's game at Williams leading the Conference in hitting at .490…The infielder, who helped RSC bat .344 as a team, topped the E8 with a .570 on-base percentage and 40 runs scored…Grimes is among the Conference leaders at the plate and on the mound…The southpaw began the week leading the E8 with 50 strikeouts across 36.2 innings, the third-most on the circuit…He is second in the Conference with four triples, third with three homers and fifth with 34 RBI…In addition to Grimes, seniors Aidan Green (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro/Onondaga CC) and Garcia have started the spring strong on the mound…Green commenced the week fourth in the E8 with 35.2 innings pitched and a 2.78 ERA…The duo both start the week with 4-0 records and six games started.
