After Putting a Scare into the Top-Seeded Knights, Gators Defeat SUNY Brockport to Extend Season
GENESEO N.Y. – Russell Sage College Softball staved off elimination by defeating SUNY Brockport 8-4 on the first day of the double elimination portion of the 2026 Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament, hosted by SUNY Geneseo.
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
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0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
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2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 13 | 1 |
GENESEO N.Y. – Russell Sage College Softball staved off elimination by defeating SUNY Brockport 8-4 on the first day of the double elimination portion of the 2026 Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament, hosted by SUNY Geneseo.
Senior infielder Ciana Santana (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow) went 3-for-4 with four RBI and a run scored to keep her RSC career going. She finished the day 4-for-7 with six RBI and two runs scored.
Sophomore outfielder Carmela DeMaio (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) was a combined 6-for-9 with three runs scored and two RBI.
With their season on the line, the sixth-seeded Gators, playing as the home team, got started quickly.
Santana put RSC on the board with a two-run single in the first.
After the Golden Eagles, the five seed, took the lead with three runs in the top of the second, RSC answered with four runs in the bottom half.
DeMaio had the big hit, driving in a pair of teammates with a single. Santana and Heartquist also laced RBI singles.
In the fourth, Santana helped the Gators go up 8-4 with an RBI single.
Sophomore reliever Alina Ferguson (New Windsor, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) tossed 4.2 shutout innings to get the victory (6-7). She allowed just one hit and whiffed four.
The right-hander permitted just one earned run and fanned eight across 10.1 innings of work today.
Playing at 9:00 AM for the first time this season as the opening game of the day, the Gators (21-20) put a scare into the top-seeded Knights, falling 7-6 (8 innings) in walk-off fashion.
Down 6-0 after two innings, RSC rallied for six runs in the third inning. The Gators strung together six hits in the frame, knocking out SUNY Geneseo junior Gabrilla Petroski, among the Conference leaders in numerous pitching categories, including ERA, strikeouts, opposing batting average, and innings pitched, out of the game before she could record an out in the third.
Santana and junior outfielder Emily O'Keefe (Albany, NY/Albany) each plated a pair with two-run singles.
Junior infielder Annalise Tyler (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) tripled home O'Keefe, while junior shortstop Allison Kenyon (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) laced an RBI double.
The contest stayed knotted at six until the Knights (29-9), now winners of 12 in-a-row, used back-to-back doubles to improve to 13-0 at home.
DeMaio went 4-for-5 with a run scored to pace RSC in the opener.
The Gators will play a to-be-determined opponent tomorrow afternoon.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: Russell Sage College Softball is making its sixth-straight appearance in the E8 Tournament…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…Tyler, senior catcher/outfielder Emma Heartquist (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane), and senior infielder Hannah Smith (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa/Saint Rose) headline the returnees…Pitcher Annabella Putnam (Prattsburgh, NY/Prattsburgh/Mansfield), a graduate student, and junior catcher/infielder Katie Call (Antwerp, NY/Indian River/Jefferson County CC) 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 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.
