RSC Baseball Concludes Regular Season with Run-Rule Victory
Russell Sage College baseball concluded their regular season on Sunday afternoon as they secured the sweep of the three-game set with an 18-1 run-rule victory in eight innings over Elmira.
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HORSEHEADS, N.Y. – Russell Sage College baseball concluded their regular season on Sunday afternoon as they secured the sweep of the three-game set with an 18-1 run-rule victory in eight innings over Elmira.
Senior Xavier Garcia (San Diego, CA/Saratoga Springs/SUNY Adirondack) got the start on the hill, securing his Empire 8 Conference leading seventh pitching victory of the season with a six-inning, eight strikeout performance.
The Gators scored in six different innings to finish the best regular season in program history, concluding with a record of 33-5. RSC finished 21-1 in regular season Empire 8 Conference play.
Senior Collin Casey (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro/Saint Rose) ripped four hits to lead the Gators. The backstop scored a pair of runs and contributed an RBI.
Senior Joseph Karpierz (Latham, NY/Shaker/Xavier) knocked home five runs on a trio of hits, while senior Anthony Rizzo (Latham, NY/Shaker/HVCC) had two hits and a pair of RBIs while scoring three times.
Senior Evan Grimes (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) drove in two runs with two hits, including a solo homer, his team-leading seventh of the season.
Junior Connor Griffin (Jersey Shore, PA/Jersey Shore/Lock Haven) and freshman Jameson DeLancey (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) each had a hit and two runs-batted-in in the victory.
"Our team did a great job staying present in the moment and competing every pitch. There were so many guys that stepped up this weekend and executed when called upon. The dugout energy was tremendous again and I'm proud of our group for being so invested in each other. It was an incredible regular season filled with so much growth from our entire program," shared Head Coach Matt Marsh. "Next week and the rest of the way we will play quality opponents who will challenge us and for us to be successful in those games we will need to continue to trust our training, be present and compete for the guy next to us."
The Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament, Hosted by the No. 1 seeded Russell Sage College Gators, begins on Thursday, May 7th at Central Park 'A' Diamond in Schenectady, New York.
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.
