Tyler Becomes the Fourth Gator to Earn First-Team All-E8 Honors
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Softball had four players earn All-Empire 8 Conference honors.
Accolades, as determined in a vote of the Head Coaches, were announced by the Conference Office earlier today.
Junior designated player Annalise Tyler (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) became just the fourth Gator to garner first-team All-E8 status.
Tyler, tabbed second-team All-Conference as a freshman and sophomore, concluded her spring eight in the E8 in hitting at .410. Her 55 hits was tied for fifth-most in the Conference, while her 39 runs was good for tenth.
The lead-off hitter finished her spring third in the E8 with 25 stolen bases, the second-most in a season by an RSC player. Tyler now has 59 career stolen bases, third-most among Gators.
The RSC Pitching staff closed the regular season second in the Conference with 234 strikeouts and third with a 3.62 Team ERA. Leading that effort was right-hander Annabella Putnam (Prattsburgh, NY/Prattsburgh/Mansfield), a graduate student that earned a spot on the second-team. Opposing batters were hitting just .223 off her, the worst in the E8. The graduate student was fourth in the Conference with a 2.83 ERA and wrapped up the RSC campaign with 105 strikeouts across 109.1 innings. Those marks ranked fifth and seventh in the E8.
The right-hander was just one of 118 players from across the country to be named to the prestigious National Fastpitch Coaches Association Players and Pitchers to Watch List. She also no-hit visiting Houghton in game one of the E8 doubleheader on April 10,
Her batterymate, senior Emma Heartquist (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) joined Putnam on the second-team.
The catcher spent much of her final season among the E8 leaders in batting average, finishing at .360. She tallied 17 RBI and 17 runs scored. Heartquist registered ten multi-hit performances this spring.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2026 E8 Women's Lacrosse Tomorrow's Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they "compete with honor and integrity" and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen. Junior infielder Izabelle Ratcliffe (Cohoes, NY/Shaker/HVCC) represented the Gators (21-21) on the squad.
The quartet helped RSC qualify for the E8 Championship Tournament for the sixth consecutive year.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: Russell Sage College Softball made its sixth-straight appearance in the E8 Tournament…The run of playoff appearances includes a trip to the finals in 2023…14 returners combine with seven newcomers to make up this year's roster…Tyler, Heartquist, and senior infielder Hannah Smith (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa/Saint Rose) headline the returnees…Putnam and junior catcher/infielder Katie Call (Antwerp, NY/Indian River/Jefferson County CC) highlight the newcomers…Tyler and Smith both earned all-Empire 8 Conference honors last season…Tyler was named to the second team while Smith earned a spot on the third team… Tyler headed into the postseason among the Conference leaders in multiple offensive categories...The junior was tenth in hitting (.410), on-base percentage (.469), and runs scored (36), and ninth with 48 hits...She finished her spring third in the E8 with 25 stolen bases...The mark is second-most in a season by an RSC player...The lead-off hitter has 59 career stolen bases, third-most among Gators...RSC Pitchers closed their season second in the Conference with 234 strikeouts and third with a 3.62 Team ERA...Putnam (7-8, 1 save) and senior pitcher Bailey Catlin (Petersburg, NY/Berlin/Saint Rose) (8-6) led the staff...Opposing batters were hitting just .223 off of Putnam, the worst in the E8...The graduate student was fourth in the Conference with a 2.83 ERA...She whiffed 105 batters across 109.1 innings...Those marks ranked fifth and seventh in the E8...Tyler took home E8 Player of the Week honors for the period ending Sunday, March 15…The infielder slashed .462/.654/.533 during the team's season-opening trip to Florida…The junior scored eight runs, tallied four RBI, laced three doubles, and totaled 17 bases…She registered four multi-hit efforts and stole four bases across the eight games…Putnam was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Players and Pitchers to Watch List…The right-hander, just one of 118 players from across the country to make the prestigious list, was tabbed the E8 Pitcher of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 12…The graduate student, who no-hit visiting Houghton on April 10, went 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA and 13 strikeouts in her two Conference starts that weekend…Overall, she went 2-1 across her three starts this week, all complete games…The right-hander registered 15 strikeouts across 18.0 innings, a 2.33 ERA, and a .232 opposing batting average...Tyler hit .500 (11-for-22) with eight runs scored and two RBI to help RSC secure a home E8 playoff game...The junior totaled 14 bases, laced three doubles, slugged .636, and had a .560 on-base percentage across the six contests... She went 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts.
