Baseball | 5/6/2025 11:59:32 AM
St. John Fisher University is looking to win its fifth straight league title, as SUNY Brockport, Russell Sage College, St. John Fisher, Utica University, Houghton University, and SUNY Poly will vie for the 2025 Empire 8 Baseball Championship, which takes place from Tuesday, May 6 to Saturday, May 10. No. 5 Houghton will host No. 6 SUNY Poly in opening round action Tuesday, before action shifts to top-seed SUNY Brockport for the double elimination format from May 8-10. The tournament winner will receive an automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, which begins May 16.
The 2025 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 X and Instagram (@Empire8).
2025 Empire 8 Baseball Championship Tournament Participants
No. 1 – SUNY Brockport (21-1-1 E8, 33-3-2 Overall
No. 2 – Russell Sage College (18-6 E8, 25-13 Overall)
No. 3 – St. John Fisher University (15-8-1 E8, 21-17-1 Overall)
No. 4 – Utica University (12-11 E8, 18-15-1 Overall)
No. 5 – Houghton University (11-13 E8, 21-19 Overall)
No. 6 – SUNY Poly (10-14 E8, 14-21 Overall)
2025 Empire 8 Baseball Championship Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, May 6 (At Higher Seed – Houghton)
No. 6 SUNY Poly at No. 5 Houghton University – 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 8 (at SUNY Brockport)
Wild Card – No. 4 Utica University vs. Winner of Houghton/Poly (Losing team eliminated) – 8:30 a.m.
Game 1 – No. 2 Russell Sage College vs. No. 3 St. John Fisher – 12 p.m.
Game 2 – Winner Wild Card game at No. 1 SUNY Brockport – 3:30 p.m.
Friday, May 9 (at SUNY Brockport)
Game 3 – Game 1 Losing Team vs. Game 2 Losing Team (elimination game) – 8:30 a.m.
Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – 12 p.m.
Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser – 3:30 p.m. (elimination game)
Saturday, May 10 (at SUNY Brockport)
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 11 a.m.
Game 7 – Championship Game (if necessary – 2:30 p.m.
Top-seed SUNY Brockport won the 2025 Empire 8 regular season title and earned the No. 1 seed and right to host after finishing 21-1-1 in league play. The Golden Eagles are ranked No. 12 nationally, 15th in the NCAA Division III Baseball National Power Index and enter the tournament with a remarkable 33-3-2 overall record. Senior Zach Eldred is having a remarkable season at the plate and on the mound. He is among the national leaders with a .447 batting average, .920 slugging percentage, 67 hits, 57 runs scored, 18 home runs, 69 runs batted in, 138 total bases and a 1.431 OPS. On the mound, he is 7-0 with a 2.13 earned average, 1.04 WHIP and 66 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched. Kyle Blake is hitting .421, while Jason Story has nine home runs and 49 RBI. Brockport is averaging 10 runs per game this season. Senior hurler Anthony Lapine is 8-0 on the mound with a 1.37 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 59 innings.
No. 2 seed Russell Sage finished 18-6 in league play and are 25-13 overall in 2025. The Gators, in just their fourth season as a program, advanced to the E8 Championship game in 2023 and are looking for their first league title this season. The Gators are averaging just over nine runs per game. Jeff Stearns leads the Gators with a .392 average, and 1.127 OPS to go along with six homers and 37 RBI in just 27 games played. James Lubanski leads the Gators with 47 RBI. On the mound, Joe DeGroot and Evan Grimes each have five wins, while Xavier Garcia has struck out 66 batters in just 44.2 innings of work.
No. 3 seed St. John Fisher enters the 2025 Championship looking to win its fifth straight title and seventh in program history. The Cardinals finished 15-8-1 in league play have a 21 wins overall. Jack Griffin leads the Cardinals with a .402 batting average, six home runs and 45 RBI. Mario Cubello has a team-best 1.193 OPS with eight homers and a league-best 41 walks, while Jordan Perry also has 45 RBI. Ethan Fulton is 6-4 on the mound with a 3.02 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 56 innings pitched.
Utica enters the tournament having finished 12-11 in conference play to earn the No. 4 seed. The Pioneers are in the E8 Tournament for the eighth time in program history and attempting to win their first league crown. Utica finished as E8 runner-up in both 2021 and 2022. Kody Czternastek leads the Pioneers in hitting with a .364 batting average, while Ty Montrose has 29 RBI. Kooper Knabe is 6-0 in the mound with a 3.95 ERA, while Peyton Newton is 4-0 in relief with two saves, a 1.50 ERA and two saves.
Houghton is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the third straight season and sixth time in program history. The No. 5 seeded Highlanders finished the regular season with an 11-13 mark in league play and have 21 wins overall in 2025. Kanta Ueno is among the Empire 8 leaders with a .463 batting average and 1.128 OPS. He has 62 hits and 43 RBI. Nate Hall has a team-high 36 RBI, while Houghton has six players with at least 20 walks and six with at least 13 stolen bases.
SUNY Poly is in the E8 Tournament for the first time in its first season as a league member. The Wildcats won 10 league games in their league debut. Quinn Hill leads the team with a .400 batting average and 1.102 OPS to go along with 20 stolen bases, while Luke Landis has team-best totals of six home runs and 38 RBI.
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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