No. 1 St. John Fisher and No. 4 Russell Sage Advance to 2023 Empire 8 Baseball Championship

Baseball | 5/12/2023 8:58:49 PM

Top-seed St. John Fisher University (29-12) and  No. 4 seed Russell Sage College (18-24) and will meet in the championship round of the 2023 Empire 8 Baseball Tournament after advancing through on Friday, May 12. The Cardinals defeated No. 2 Utica University, 11-6 in the winners bracket game on Friday afternoon. Russell Sage won a pair of games on Friday, 12-2 over No. 3 Houghton University (19-22) in an elimination game on Friday morning before rallying to defeat Utica (24-15), 7-6 in 11 innings in the second elimination game.

St. John Fisher and Russell Sage will meet in the game six of the tournament at noon on Saturday, May 13. St. John Fisher, who is unbeaten in the tournament, would claim the Empire 8 Championship with a win in game six. If Russell Sage wins game six, that would set up a winner-take-all game seven, which would be played at 3:30 p.m. St. John Fisher is in the title game for the seventh straight time is and looking to claim its third consecutive league title and fifth championship overall, while Russell Sage is in the E8 Championship game for the first time in program history.

GAME 3 - NO. 4 RUSSELL SAGE 12, NO. 2 HOUGHTON 2
Russell Sage's bats combined for 12 hits, including four doubles with eight stolen bases in addition to nine walks to fend off elimination and knock out Houghton in the opening game on Friday morning.

Sophomore first baseman Frank Colletta (Holtsville, NY/St. John the Baptist) was 3-for-5 at the plate with three runs scored, two RBI's and a stolen base. Senior left fielder James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber) added a double and was 1-for-4 with three runs scored with three stolen bases and two walks. Lubanksi continues to lead the Gators as he now has a single-season 17 doubles to go with his 34 runs scored with 75 total bases. 

Sophomore right fielder Jared Russell (Colonie, NY/Colonie) was 1-for-5 at the plate with a double and a stolen base, while sophomore third baseman Christian Brown (Troy, NY/Troy) was 1-for-5 with two RBI's and a stolen base. Sophomores Andrew Knapp (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) and Zachary Figueras (Apopka, FL/Windermere) both had doubles as RSC now has 65 on the season.

On the mound, right handed sophomore Liam Doyle (West Sayville, NY/Connetquot) collected the win after he scattered eight hits, allowing just one earned run and struck out five in 7.2 innings of work. Sophomore Michael Karpinski (Ballston Spa, NY/Saratoga Springs) worked 1.1 innings with a pair of strikeouts.

The Gators scored the game's first seven runs before exploding for five runs in the ninth inning to put the game away.

Chris VanCheri led Houghton by finishing 3-for-4 with a double and RBI. Ethan Cetton took the loss on the mound, allowing six hits and five runs (three earned) in three-plus innings of work. Houghton made seven errors which led to seven unearned runs.

GAME 4 - NO. 1 ST. JOHN FISHER 11, UTICA 6
The Cardinals rallied from three separate deficits over the first five innings and used a dominant relief outing from Hunter Walsh to defeat Utica 11-6 and advance to the E8 Championship on Saturday.

Down 1-0, Ethan Perry singled up the middle in the bottom of the second, scoring Ben Lavery, who doubled to lead off the frame tying the game, 1-1. After a run-scoring single and perfectly excecuted squeeze bunt by Utica in the top of the fourth inning gave the visitors a 3-1, Fisher responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Perry doubled to right field, bringing home Jake Crantz. Later in the inning, Nick Lemire singled to left field, with Perry scoring. Right after, Noah Campanelli scored on a wild pitch.
 
Brendan May would lace a two-run single in the top of the fifth, followed by a sacrifice fly by Tyler Jennings to allow Utica to reclaim a 6-4 lead. Fisher would respond with four runs the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good. Jack Migliore walked with the bases loaded, allowing Lavery to score. Next up, Campanelli grounded out to second base, with Crantz scoring. Immediately after Lemire singled up the middle, bringing two runners home and giving the team an 8-6 advantage.
 
The Cardinals would add two insurance runs in the seventh and one in the eighth.

Connor McHugh pitched the first 4.1 innings for the Cardinals, striking out two, walking three, and allowing five hits and six runs. Up next, Logan Persse pitched 0.2 innings. Facing two batters, Persse collected the win. Walsh came on and pitched the final 4.0 innings, facing 14 batters, striking out five, and only allowing one hit to collect his second save of the season. He was masterful, needing just 53 pitches to get through the four frames. Walsh needed just 10 pitches to strike out the side in the top of the eighth inning.

Perry was 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI for the Cardinals. Lemire was 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Crantz scored three runs. Overall, St. John Fisher collected 14 hits and drew eight walks.

GAME 5 - NO. 4 RUSSELL SAGE 7, NO. 2 UTICA 6 (11 INNINGS)

In an extra-inning battle, the Gators clawed their way back into the game tying it four times before ultimately taking the lead in the top of the 11th inning. Sophomore second baseman Dom Caminitti (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) led off the top of the inning with a double to left center field. He moved to third on a groundout. With two outs, sophomore catcher Dylan Scherillo (Drums, PA/New Dorp) drove in what would be the game-winning run with his infield single through the left side.

In the bottom of the 11th, with two outs, Utica's Andrew Salbinski drew a walk off Jaylen Cuevas (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep). Jason Story lined a single to centerfield and Salbinski advanced to third on an errant throw and decided to head home, only to be thrown out by third baseman Christian Brown (Troy, NY/Troy) to Scherillo.

The Gators combined for 16 hits with four doubles and left 15 on base. Headlining the Gator hit parade was Caminitti as he was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Lubanski went 2-for-5 with three RBI's and added a double, while sophomore centerfielder Jacob Coonan (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a double.

Russell Sage graduate pitcher Matthew Denatale (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck) got the nod as the starter and went 0.2 innings, allowing three earned runs off of two hits with two walks and a strikeout. Graduate player Cameron Anderson (Clifton Park, NY/Burnt Hills) threw 4.2 innings for teh Gators in relief, allowing two earned runs off of six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Karpinski worked 2.2 innings of scoreless relief fanning three and walking three before Cuevas came in and worked three innings for RSC. Cuevas allowed no runs off of three hits with three walks and three strikeouts and earned his first win of the year, moving to 1-3.

James Roeschlaub got the start on the mound for Utica ans allowed eight hits and two runs over four innings. Derrike Goutremout allowed six hits and four runs over four innings, while Brendan May pitched the final three innings, allowing two hits and a run, whle striking out three batters to take the loss.

Story was 2-for-5 with two RBI for the Pioneers, while Steve Sclafani reached base four times on a hit and three walks. Jack Bono and John Son had two hits apiece.

St. John Fisher and Russell Sage are meeting for the fifth time this season and second time this weekend. The Cardinals have won all previous meetings this season, including an 8-3 win on Thursday in the opening game of the tournament.