Gators Advance in Walk-Off Fashion
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Softball won in walk-off fashion to defeat visiting Utica 7-6 (9 innings) in the first round of the 2026 Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament.
| Final (9) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 5 |
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1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 3 |
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Softball won in walk-off fashion to defeat visiting Utica 7-6 (9 innings) in the first round of the 2026 Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament.
The Gators (20-19), which erased a two-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings, advanced to the double elimination portion of the Tournament. The action at top-seeded SUNY Geneseo kicks off on Thursday at 9:00 AM with RSC, the six seed, facing the host Knights.
Junior infielder Katie Call (Antwerp, NY/Indian River/Jefferson County CC) started the ninth with a double to left-center. Senior infielder Ciana Santana (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow), the ensuing batter, laid down a sacrifice bunt down the first base line in an attempt to move Call one base closer to home. Utica senior pitcher Maggie Haberning had to scramble from the circle to field the ball and throw to first to get Santana, who was barreling quickly down the line. Her throw was wide to the left, deflecting away off the glove of the Utica first baseman and allowing Call to score the game-winning run.
Call and Santana were two of the three RSC players to tally multiple hits this afternoon. Call and senior catcher Emma Heartquist (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) each went 3-for-5 with a run scored, while Santana was 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Sophomore relief pitcher Alina Ferguson (New Windsor, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) (Win, 5-6) helped RSC stay in striking distance to eventually come back and win, allowing just four hits and zero earned runs across the final five innings.
Freshman designated player Kari Graziano paced Utica (16-21) with two hits in five at bats and two RBI. Freshman infielder added three RBI as part of a 1-for-3 effort.
Habernig, took the loss (5-9), pitching essentially all 8+ innings, minus Graziano coming in face Santana in the seventh. Only three of the runs that she allowed were earned.
The Gators started quickly this afternoon, holding a 1-0 lead just two batters in.
Junior Annalise Tyler (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont), among the Conference hitting leaders in multiple statistical categories, led off with a single. The designated player proceeded to steal second and third, coming around to score when the catcher's throw bounded away. The swiped bags moved Tyler, who was voted second-team All-E8 as a rookie and a sophomore, into third place in program career records for stolen bases.
RSC took advantage of two Pioneer errors to add on a pair of runs in the second. Junior outfielder Bella Julian (Cicero, NY/Cicero North-Syracuse) had the big hit of the rally with an RBI single.
With RSC ace Annabella Putnam (Prattsburgh, NY/Prattsburgh/Mansfield), a graduate student, battling in and out of trouble for much of her start, Utica, the seven seed, used three runs in the third and two in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. The Pioneers capitalized upon four walks issued by Putnam in the third, before Graziano put the visitors ahead with a two-run single.
Down 6-4 in its last licks, Heartquist, sophomore outfielder Carmela DeMaio (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick), and Call each singled to load the bases with one out. Back-to-back walks to Santana and junior shortstop Allison Kenyon (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) tied the contest. The Gators looked poised to end the game there, but after a strikeout, Kenyon was deemed to be out on bang-bang fielders' choice play at second.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: Russell Sage College Softball qualified for the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament for the sixth-straight spring…The run of playoff appearances includes a trip to the finals in 2023…14 returners combine with seven newcomers to make up this year's roster…Heartquist, Tyler, and senior infielder Hannah Smith (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa/Saint Rose) headline the returnees…Putnam and Call highlight the newcomers…Tyler and Smith both earned all-Empire 8 Conference honors last season…Tyler was named to the second team while Smith earned a spot on the third team…Tyler headed into the postseason among the Conference leaders in multiple offensive categories...The junior was tenth in hitting (.410), on-base percentage (.469), and runs scored (36), and ninth with 48 hits...She is third in the E8 with 24 stolen bases...The mark is second-most in a season by an RSC player...The lead-off hitter went into the double elimination portion of the E8 Tournament with 58 career stolen bases, third-most among Gators...RSC Pitchers closed the regular season second in the Conference with 213 strikeouts and third with a 3.85 Team ERA...Putnam (7-7, 1 save) and senior pitcher Bailey Catlin (Petersburg, NY/Berlin/Saint Rose) (8-6) lead the staff...Opposing batters were hitting just .222 off of Putnam, the worst in the E8...The graduate student was fifth in the Conference with a 2.98 ERA...She's whiffed 96 batters across 96.1 innings...Those marks ranked sixth and eighth in the E8...Catlin started the playoffs sixth in the E8 with a 3.01 ERA...Tyler took home E8 Player of the Week honors for the period ending Sunday, March 15…The infielder slashed .462/.654/.533 during the team's season-opening trip to Florida…The junior scored eight runs, tallied four RBI, laced three doubles, and totaled 17 bases…She registered four multi-hit efforts and stole four bases across the eight games…Putnam was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Players and Pitchers to Watch List…The right-hander, just one of 118 players from across the country to make the prestigious list, was tabbed the E8 Pitcher of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 12…The graduate student, who no-hit visiting Houghton on April 10, went 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA and 13 strikeouts in her two Conference starts that weekend…Overall, she went 2-1 across her three starts this week, all complete games…The right-hander registered 15 strikeouts across 18.0 innings, a 2.33 ERA, and a .232 opposing batting average...Tyler hit .500 (11-for-22) with eight runs scored and two RBI to help RSC secure a home E8 playoff game...The junior totaled 14 bases, laced three doubles, slugged .636, and had a .560 on-base percentage across the six contests... She went 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts.
