Baseball | 5/3/2026 7:07:12 PM
SUNY Brockport is looking to repeat as E8 Champions, as Russell Sage College, Brockport, St. John Fisher, Utica University, SUNY Poly and Keuka College will vie for the 2026 Empire 8 Baseball Championship, which takes place from Monday, May 4 to Saturday, May 9. No. 5 SUNY Poly will host No. 6 Keuka in opening round action Monday, before action shifts to Russell Sage for the play-in game and double elimination format at Central Park “A” Diamond, in Schenectady, NY, hosted by top-seed Russell Sage College from May 7-9. The tournament winner will receive an automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, which begins May 15.
The 2026 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).
2026 Empire 8 Baseball Championship Tournament Participants
No. 1 – Russell Sage College (21-1 E8, 33-5 Overall)
No. 2 – SUNY Brockport (17-5 E8, 21-19 Overall)
No. 3 – St. John Fisher University (16-6 E8, 27-10 Overall)
No. 4 – Utica University (13-9 E8, 22-16 Overall)
No. 5 – SUNY Poly (11-11 E8, 15-16 Overall)
No. 6 – Keuka College (10-12 E8, 14-19 Overall)
2026 Empire 8 Baseball Championship Schedule
May 4 at SUNY Poly; All games from May 7-9 to be hosted by Russell Sage College and played at Central Park "A" in Schenectady, NY)
Monday, May 4 (At Higher Seed – SUNY Poly)
No. 6 Keuka College at No. 5 SUNY Poly – 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 7 (at Central Park “A” – Schenectady, NY – host Russell Sage College)
Wild Card – No. 4 Utica University vs. Winner of SUNY Poly/Keuka (Losing team eliminated) – 11 a.m.
Game 1 – No. 2 SUNY Brockport vs. No. 3 St. John Fisher – 2:30 p.m.
Game 2 – Winner of Wild Card game at No. 1 Russell Sage – 6 p.m.
Friday, May 8 (at Central Park “A” – Schenectady, NY – host Russell Sage College)
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 9 (at Central Park “A” – Schenectady, NY – host Russell Sage College)
Game 6 – Winning Team of Game 4 vs. Winning Team of Game 5 – 12 p.m.
Game 7 – Winning Team of Game 6 vs. Losing Team of Game 6 (If Necessary) – 3:30 p.m.
Top-seed Russell Sage won the 2026 Empire 8 regular season title and earned the No. 1 seed and right to host after finishing 21-1 in league play. The Gators, in just their fifth season as a program, advanced to the E8 title games in 2023 and 2025 and are looking for their first league title this season. Russell Sage, who is ranked No. 13 in the NCAA Baseball National Power Index, is averaging 11.1 runs per game this season and is hitting .349 as a team. Joseph Karpierz leads the league in hitting at .484 with a 1.279 OPS, 16 doubles, two homers and 49 RBI to go along with 23 stolen bases. First-year Nick Irizzary has 59 runs scored, 33 walks and a league-high 42 stolen bases in 44 attempts. Evan Grimes is hitting .354 with a 1.217 OPS, seven homers and 52 RBI, while Anthony Rizzo is also hitting .396. The Gators lead the league by a wide margin with 181 stolen bases. Grimes, Aidan Green and Xavier Garcia lead a potent Russell Sage pitching staff that led the E8 with a 2.91 earned run average in league play. Green is 6-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 56 innings, while Grimes is 6-1 with 74 strikeouts in 57.2 innings and Garcia is 7-0.
No. 2 SUNY Brockport won the 2025 Empire 8 Championship in its first season as a league member and is looking to repeat in 2026 after finishing 17-5 in league play. Zach Coon leads the Golden Eagles with a .357 batting average, 1.106 OPS and 23 extra-base hits, including nine home runs and 42 RBI. James Dixon is also hitting .357, while Michael Norton has 25 extra-base hits (16 doubles) and Evan Brock has eight homers and 48 RBI. Brockport is averaging just over nine runs per game this season and is hitting .308 as a team. Pitcher Tyler Pohlman went 5-1 on the mound in league play with 41 strikeouts in 37.2 innings.
No. 3 seed St. John Fisher enters the 2026 Championship looking to win its fifth title in six seasons and seventh overall in program history. The Cardinals finished 16-6 in league play have a 27-10 overall record. Jack Griffin leads the Cardinals with a .445 batting average, 1.335 OPS and 30 extra-base hits, including 22 doubles, seven home runs and 50 RBI. Jordan Perry is hitting .409 with four homers and 46 RBI, while Jackson Frey has a team-best 52 RBI and Mario Cubello has stolen 27 bases in 29 attempts to go along with 41 RBI. St. John Fisher is averaging 10.6 runs per game this season and is hitting .325 as a team. Pitcher Justin Christiansen is 6-0 on the mound with a 2.09 earned run average, 1.01 WHIP and with 62 strikeouts in just 38.2 innings. Fellow hurler Robert Leach is 7-2 with a 3.33 ERA and just over a strikeout per inning in 48.2 innings pitched.
Utica enters the tournament having finished 13-9 in conference play and 22-15 overall to earn the No. 4 seed. The Pioneers are in the E8 Tournament for the ninth time in program history and attempting to win their first league crown. Utica finished as E8 runner-up in 2021, 2022 and 2024. Mike Rockwell leads the Pioneers with a .420 batting average, 1.203 OPS, and 22 extra base hits, including five triples and eight home runs in addition to 43 runs batted in. Matthew Paolucci has five home runs and a team-high 45 RBI, while Ryan Smith, Lance Berger, Ty Montrose and Kody Czternastek all have at least 40 runs scored. Utica is averaging 8.2 runs per game this season and is hitting .315 as a team. Brady Leichtman and Kooper Knabe have anchored the Utica pitching staff all season, combining to win nine games and throw 86 innings.
SUNY Poly is in the E8 Tournament for the second straight season and is looking for its first postseason win as a league member. The Wildcats won 11 league games in 2026. Jonny Yamin leads the team with a .365 batting average and 1.000 OPS to go along with 27 walks, while Luke Landis has team-best totals of 12 doubles, eight home runs and 34 RBI to go along with a 1.117 OPS. Poly is averaging 7.4 runs per game this season and is hitting .292 as a team. Austin Stoquert leads the Wildcats with three wins on the mound, while Trevor French has a team-best 3.86 earned run average.
Keuka is in the E8 Tournament for the second time in program history and first since 2021. The Wolves won 10 league games in 2026 to earn the No. 6 seed. Evan Cuba leads the team with a .394 batting average and 1.070 OPS to go along with 25 runs batted in, while Derek Novicki has team-best totals of 42 hits and 10 doubles, while batting .382. Mason Smith went 4-0 on the mound in league play, while Luis Rivera has thrown a team-high 38.1 innings.