RSC Baseball Nationally-Ranked for the First Time
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Baseball is ranked for the first time in program history, coming in at number 28 in the most recent American Baseball Coaches Association National Poll.
Since earning votes for the first time in the March 31st edition, the Gators (29-5/18-1 E8) have steadily increased their vote total. RSC tallied 104 points this week.
The Gators, continuing to receive votes in this week's D3Baseball.com National poll, play at Skidmore on Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 PM.
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 have set the program single-season wins record…Heading into the final week of the regular season, RSC can finish no worse than second in the E8 standings...The Gators, which hold the head-to-head tiebreaker on SUNY Brockport, currently occupying second place, would clinch the E8 regular season title and top overall seed with one win or one Brockport loss this weekend...The Gators have a three-game series at Elmira, while SUNY Brockport plays Utica…The Gators would then host the double elimination portion of the E8 Championship Tournament May 7-11 at Central Park "A" Diamond in Schenectady…RSC also was the E8 regular season champs and top seed in 2024…The Gators clinched a spot in the E8 Championship Tournament with the home win vs. SUNY Brockport on April 17…RSC has now made the playoffs in all five years that it has been a program…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 Conference's 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 E8 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 E8 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 earned votes in the D3Baseball.com rankings for the first time on April 7…RSC broke the program single-season record for steals in a season during the home doubleheader sweep of Alfred on April 11…RSC commenced the week with the top-two base thieves 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…Grimes was tabbed the Conference's Pitcher of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 19…The lefty helped the Gators hand SUNY Brockport, the defending E8 Champions, their first conference loss of the spring on April 17…He allowed just one earned run on four hits, and struck out three Golden Eagles across six innings of work…After a 4-0 week, including sweeping the three-game series at Saint John Fisher, then receiving votes in the ABCA National Poll, RSC dominated the Conference weekly awards for the period ending Sunday, April 26… Senior infielder Anthony Rizzo (Latham, NY/Shaker/HVCC) was tabbed the E8 Player of the Week…He batted .474 (9-for-19) with seven runs scored and seven RBI in the 4-0 week...The senior totaled 11 bases, slugged .579 and reached base at a .524 percentage... Irizarry was selected the E8 Rookie of the Week…He hit .556 (10-for-18) with eight runs scored and four RBI in the 4-0 week...The outfielder, who went 6-of-6 on stolen base attempts, slugged .556, totaled 10 bases, and had a .636 on-base percentage...Grimes was chosen the E8 Pitcher of the Week…The lefty held the high-powered Saint john Fisher offense in check, allowing just seven hits and two earned runs across eight-innings…He fanned six in the 13-3 road victory…Karpierz began the week leading the Conference in hitting at .472…The infielder, who has helped RSC bat .341 as a team, ranked second the E8 with a .557 on-base percentage and 46 runs scored…Irizarry, who broke the program record for stolen bases in a season, tops the E8 with 41 stolen bases and 52 runs scored…Grimes is among the Conference leaders at the plate and on the mound…The southpaw started the week leading the E8 with 59 strikeouts across 50.2 innings, the second-most on the circuit…He is third in the Conference with 44 RBI, second with stolen bases, and tied for fourth with 42 runs scored…In addition to Grimes (5-1), seniors Aidan Green (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro/Onondaga CC) (5-1) and Garcia (6-0) have excelled on mound…Green commenced the week atop the E8 with 52.0 innings pitched, three complete games, and a 2.42 ERA…Murray (4-1, 2 saves) has emerged this spring, sitting among the E8 leaders in wins and saves at the beginning of the week.
