The Utica College baseball team split its double header with Empire 8 rival RIT Saturday, losing the first game 17-0 before winning the second 8-5. The Pioneers were led by junior Kevin Oquendo (Caguas, PR) who went a combined 4-for-5 with two runs on the day, while Dennis Labossiere (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) (Lincoln, RI) earned the game two win after throwing five innings allowing just four earned runs.

The Pioneers got off to a slow start in game one reaching base only once in the first three innings. The Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning after a solo home run put them up 1-0. RIT gave itself a commanding lead in the bottom of the third as they scored 11 runs in the inning and went on to win 17-0. Sophomore Andrew Dexter (Lewiston, ME) posted a complete game with four strikeouts and five walks.

In game two the Pioneers displayed a much more competitive performance, taking a 2-1 lead after the first inning. With the game tied and the bases loaded in the top of the fifth inning, UC sent Oquendo to the plate as his single scored freshman Chris Podlucky (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island)  (Grand Island, NY) from third to bring the score to 5-4. The Pioneers would not relinquish the lead from this point on adding three more insurance runs on their way to an 8-5 victory.

Junior Adam Bittel (New Hartford, CT/Northwestern Region) (New Hartford, CT) went 2-for-3 with three runs and an RBI in game two, while sophomore Robert Amor (Oxford, NY) earned the save after throwing two scoreless innings.

The Pioneers now sit a 7-17 overall and 2-4 in conference, while the Tigers are 13-2 on the season and 3-3 in the Empire 8.

Utica College will be back in action this Wednesday as they take on SUNY Oswego at the Utica College Baseball Field with an expected start time of 3 p.m.

                         ---www.ucpioneers.com---