Baseball | 5/4/2024 9:15:38 PM
AMSTERDAM, NY – Russell Sage College baseball will host the Empire 8 conference tournament next weekend after a doubleheader sweep over Houghton on Saturday. The Gators (23-15, 16-2 E8) took game one 2-1 and game two 7-0.
The doubleheader served as Senior Day, honoring four student-athletes. Infielder Christian Brown (Troy, NY/Troy), game two starting pitcher Matthew Denatale (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck), Sean Berry (Tivoli, NY/Red Hook), a grad student, and Ricky Parks (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) were all honored for their contributions to Coach Pontari's program prior to game one.
Following a complete game by Joe Degroot (Clay, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), a grad student, on Friday, junior Liam Doyle (West Sayville, NY/Connetquot) went the distance in game one on Saturday, punching out four batters and only allowing one run.
The opener stayed 1-1 until the bottom of the seventh, where James Lubanski (Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber), a grad student, ripped a walk-off double to secure that the Empire 8 conference tournament would be headed to the Capital Region.
Lubanski was one of six Gators to register a hit in the victory. The lone other RBI came off the bat of junior infielder Nick Marsella (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park Memorial), who hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second to square the game at one.
The Highlanders got their run off an RBI-single from Kanta Ueno.
RSC pitching continued to dominate in the weekend set, as Denatale threw a complete game shutout to finish off the Gators regular season with a victory. The grad student punched out five while only giving up five hits in his shutout.
In total over the three contests with Houghton, Russell Sage's three starters combined for 25 innings, just five runs, and 14 strikeouts.
The bats rallied behind Denatale, headlined by Jeff Stearns (Vergennes, VT/Vergennes Union) who hit his ninth and tenth homeruns of the season. The contest marked the junior's third multi-homer game of the week, as he hit two big flys a piece against Cobleskill and Union.
Stearnes, the reigning Empire 8 player of the week, also hit a single and drove in five runs on the afternoon. His homers leave him at a tie for first in the Empire 8 in the stat.
Junior outfielder Brendan Espinal (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and junior infielder Dom Caminitti (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) each had three knocks. Espinal scored twice and Caminitti crossed the plate once. Lubanski, the hero in the opener, had two hits and scored twice and junior outfielder Jared Russell (Colonie, NY/Colonie) drove in two runs on a hit.
The Gators finish their regular season as winners of their last 10 Empire 8 conference contests, playing host to the conference tournament in only their third season as a program.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com.
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