2020: Started in all seven games for the Privateers and finished with seven hits and a .292 batting average. He also finished with four RBIs. His season was highlighted by going 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored in a win against Plattsburgh. His seven hits moved him to third all-time in program history for career hits.
2019: Started in all 40 games for the Privateers, which set a new program record for most games started and played in a single season. He continued his success at the plate from previous years and ended the season with 41 hits, 25 RBIs and a .273 batting average. The 41 hits moved Russo to 136 for his career, good enough for fourth all-time and just 21 hits away from tying the program record. His season was highlighted by going 4-4 at the plate against Dominican with two RBIs, as well as going 4-5 against Lehman with three RBIs, 4-5 against St. Joseph's Brooklyn with an RBI and run scored, 4-5 against USMMA with two RBIs and 2-4 against CCNY with two RBIs and three runs scored. At first base, he finished with a new career high .974 fielding percentage.
2018: Named Skyline All-Conference Second Team following the conclusion of the regular season…started in all 36 games for the Privateers as a sophomore…was second on the team in hitting with a .349 batting average and was also second on he team with 44 hits…ended the year third on the team with 25 RBIs…was fourth on the team with 24 runs scored…had four hits and two RBIs while scoring four runs in the team’s doubleheader sweep over Southern Vermont (3/3)…had a double and scored a run against Penn State-Behrend (3/7)…picked up a single and RBI in each game of the team’s doubleheader with Lebanon Valley (3/8)…had two hits including a double and scored three runs in the team’s conference-opening doubleheader with Yeshiva (3/16)…had six hits and drove in three runs while scoring two runs in the team’s league sweep over Purchase (3/24)…had a three-hit game and walked twice while driving in one against New Rochelle (3/27)…had four hits in seven at bats with three RBIs and two runs scored against Staten Island (4/6)…had three hits including a double in the opener with Merchant Marine (4/8)…drove in two and had his only triple of the season in the opener with St. Joseph’s (Bklyn) (4/14)…had the first two home runs of his career and had a season-high four RBIs in the opener with Mount St. Vincent (4/15)…tallied another two hits in the openers with both Farmingdale (4/21) and Mount St. Mary (4/22)…had a single in each game of the team’s doubleheader with Old Westbury (4/28)…picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly in the team’s Skyline Conference Championship First Round matchup with Merchant Marine (5/2).
Game-by-Game Statistics
2017: Appeared in 38 of the team’s 39 games during his freshman season with the team and started in 37 contests…finished the season with a .359 batting average with 51 hits and 25 RBIs while scoring 14 runs…recorded a .394 slugging percentage and had a .388 on-base percentage…began his season with two hits and drove in a run in the team’s opener against Southern Vermont (3/5)…recorded a hit and RBIs in games against Misericordia (3/9) and Drew (3/10) while in Florida…was 1-for-3 with an RBI in the opener against Staten Island before adding a pair of hits in the second game of the doubleheader (3/19)…recorded five hits on the day with one run scored and one RBI in the team’s conference opening doubleheader versus Mount St. Mary (3/25)…had a single and two RBIs in the opener against Old Westbury (3/26)…notched four hits with one RBI and one walk in the team’s sweep over Merchant Marine (4/2)…collected two hits and was hit by a pitch in the opener against Purchase (4/8)…picked up two hits and scored four runs in the team’s non-conference doubleheader at home versus John Jay (4/15)…was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored in the opener against Mount St. Vincent (4/23)…picked up three more hits and drove in a pair in the team’s split versus Farmingdale (4/29)…had two more hits and an RBI in action versus St. Joseph’s (Bklyn) (4/30)…opened the day with three hits and drove in a pair in the team’s first game against Yeshiva (5/1)…picked up two hits in seven at bats against Merchant Marine in the opening game of the Skyline Conference Championship (5/6)…had a season-best four hits and drove in three runs while scoring a pair against St. Joseph’s (LI) (5/7)…tallied three more hits and three RBIs with a pair of doubles against Mount St. Mary (5/8)…opened up the team’s NCAA Tournament game against Shenandoah with three hits and one RBI (5/18)…added a hit and drove in two more runs in the team’s final game of the season against Elizabethtown (5/19).
Game-by-Game Statistics
High School: Graduated from St. Joseph by the Sea High School on Staten Island in New York in 2016 … played four seasons of varsity baseball for the Vikings … was a member of the 2014 and 2015 Staten Island Championship teams … earned Staten Island Advance All Star recognition in 2016 and was also an MSG Varsity Second Team All-City choice as a senior after hitting .423 his senior year with 20 RBIs … was a team captain as a freshman and a senior … also played one season of football while in high school … was a member of the Richmond County Baseball Club team outside of high school … also a member of the National Honor Society and the Holy Name Society in high school.
Personal: Son of Lucrezia and Frank Russo … has one younger sibling; Angelo … is planning to graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Maritime.
