Baseball | 5/7/2024 9:37:45 AM
St. John Fisher University is looking to win its fourth straight league title, as Russell Sage College, St. John Fisher, Utica University and Houghton University will vie for the 2024 Empire 8 Baseball Championship, which takes place from Thursday, May 9 to Saturday, May 11 with all games in the double elimination format at Central Park “A” Diamond, in Schenectady, NY, hosted by top-seed Russell Sage College. The tournament winner will receive an automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, which begins May 17.
The 2024 Empire 8 Baseball Championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on Twitter (@Empire8).
Final 2024 Empire 8 Baseball Championship Seeds
No. 1 – Russell Sage College (16-2 E8, 23-15 Overall)
No. 2 – St. John Fisher University (15-3 E8, 23-17 Overall)
No. 3 – Utica University (11-7 E8, 17-23 Overall)
No. 4 – Houghton University (9-9 E8, 15-20 Overall)
2024 Empire 8 Baseball Championship Schedule
(All games to be hosted by Russell Sage and played at Central Park "A" Diamond in Schenectady, NY)
Thursday, May 9
Game 1 – No. 4 Houghton at No. 1 Russell Sage – 11 a.m.
Game 2 – No. 3 Utica vs. No. 2 St. John Fisher – 2:30 p.m.
Friday, May 10
Game 3 – Losing Team of Game 1 vs. Losing Team of Game 2 – 11 a.m. (elimination game)
Game 4 – Winning Team of Game 1 vs. Winning Team of Game 2 – 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 – Winning Team of Game 3 vs. Losing Team of Game 4 – 6 p.m. (elimination game)
Saturday, May 11
Game 6 – Winning Team of Game 4 vs. Winning Team of Game 5 – 1 p.m.
Game 7 – Winning Team of Game 6 vs. Losing Team of Game 6 (If Necessary) – 4:30 p.m.
DIRECTIONS TO CENTRAL PARK "A" DIAMOND:
From the South and East: Take the New York State Thruway north to at Exit 25 (I-890 West). Take Exit 7 to merge onto Crosstown Connector. After 1.1 miles, turn left onto Golf Road. Turn right onto Fehr Ave and the "A" Diamond is on the left.
From the West: Take New York State Thruway east to Exit 26 (I-890 East). Take Exit 6 toward California Avenue. Keep left at the fork to continue on California Ave, following signs for Michigan Ave. Turn left onto Michigan Ave and continue onto S Brandywine Ave. After 0.8 miles, turn right onto Bradley St, then left onto Monument Hill Rd. Bear right onto Iroquois Way, going around the lake, and the "A" Diamond is across Ashmore Ave from the parking lot.
From the North: Exit the Northway, Route 87, at exit 11 toward Round Lake/Burnt Hills. Turn right onto Round Lake Road. After 2.8 miles, continue onto Schauber Road for 1.4 miles before turning left onto Ashdown Road. After 2.4 miles, turn left onto Blue Barns Road, then continue onto NY-146 West/Balltown Road for 4.9 miles.Turn right onto Crosstown Connection. After 0.6 miles, turn right onto Golf Road. Turn right onto Fehr Ave and the "A" Diamond is on the left.
Top-seed Russell Sage won the 2024 Empire 8 regular season title and earned the No. 1 seed and right to host after finishing 16-2 in league play. The Gators, in just their third season as a program, advanced to the E8 Championship game in 2023 and are looking for their first league title this season. Brendan Espinal leads the Gators in hitting with a .453 batting average, .551 on-base percentage and 1.239 OPS to go along with 53 runs scored, 18 extra-base hits and 34 runs batted in. Jeff Stearnes, who enters the postseason on an incredible roll, is hitting .413 with a 1.237 OPS, 10 home runs and a league-best 52 RBI, while James Lubanski is hitting .338 with 13 doubles, three homers and 47 RBI. Jared Russell has team-high totals of 25 walks and 32 stolen bases on the season. Overall, the Gators lead the league with 89 stolen bases. Joe Degroot leads the Gators with six wins on the mound, while Matthew Denatale is right behind with four wins and has thrown a team-high 57 2/3 innings. Liam Doyle has 39 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings, while reliever Jaylen Cuevas has 32 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings.
No. 2 seed St. John Fisher enters the 2024 Championship looking to win its fourth straight title and sixth in program history. The Cardinals finished 15-3 in league play have a 23-17 overall record. James Murphy is enjoying another tremendous season, batting .391 with a 1.073 OPS and league-high totals of 61 hits, 56 runs scored and 32 stolen bases to go along with 11 home runs, five triples, three home runs and 38 runs batted in. Brian Norsen a league-high total of 22 extra-base hits and 99 total bases, which includes eight homers and 47 RBI this season, while recording a 1.083 OPS. Nick Lemire is hitting .327 with 25 walks and has been hit by a pitch 14 times for a .455 on-base percentage, while Dominic Guccia has driven in 34 runs. The Cardinals have hit 24 home runs as a team this season and are hitting .304 while averaging 8.63 runs per game. Ethan Fulton is 4-1 on the season with a 2.81 earned run average and 1.19 WHIP to go along with 61 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings, while Patrick McGuire, the 2023 E8 Pitcher of the Year, is 4-2 with a 3.05 ERA. Both pitchers were 4-1 in league play. Hunter Walsh has a league-best five saves out of the bullpen. Overall, the Cardinals have recorded five shutouts.
Utica enters the tournament having won its last eight league games to finished 11-7 in conference play to earn the No. 3 seed. The Pioneers are in the E8 Tournament for the seventh time in program history and attempting to win their first league crown. Utica finished as E8 runner-up in both 2021 and 2022. Josh Duval leads the Pioneers with a .393 batting average and has a 1.044 OPS, to go along with three home runs and 26 RBI. Jason Story is having a tremendous season with a .374 batting average and 1.183 OPS to go along with a team-best totals of 10 homers, 11 stolen bases and 40 runs scored while driving in 34 runs. He also has 17 extra-base hits. Andrew Salbinski is batting .345 with six homers and a team-high 36 RBI, while John Longeretta has 23 RBI and Joe Crossley has drawn a league-high 33 walks. On the mound, Austin Rhodes has thrown 42 1/3 innings, striking out 37 batters, while opponents have hit just .185 against him. Jack Krug is 4-1 with three complete games and 37 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched.
Houghton is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the second straight season and fifth time in program history. The No. 4 seeded Highlanders finished the regular season with an 9-9 mark in league play and have 15 wins overall in 2024. Chris VanCheri has a .325 batting average with team-leading totals of three home runs and 30 RBI, while Jeremey Wilcox leads the Highlanders with a .330 batting average to go along with 22 RBI. First-year outfielder Vincent Lucyszyn is a perfect 17-for-17 in stolen bases this season and has added a pair of homers. Ethan Cetton has enjoyed a tremendous season on the mound, with a league-high 58 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched, six complete games and four wins with a 3.20 earned average. Kip Bertram, Aiden Talcott and Brett Rosario have three wins apiece on the mound.
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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