Live Stats

Utica, NY (4/13/12) – The Utica College baseball team will head into a tough weekend of baseball as they host conference leader and nationally ranked No. 23 Ithaca, twice on Saturday and once more on Sunday.  Saturday's games are set to begin at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., then once again at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Late Rally:  The Pioneers (4-17, 1-4 E8) are coming off an extra-inning rallying win against Hamilton in the 25th annual Jackie Robinson Game on Wednesday…Utica tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, then with loaded bases in the bottom of the tenth UC's Chris Podlucky (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island) was hit by a pitch, advancing the scoring run to victory…The Pioneers are looking to continue the rally into more conference play.

Big Bats:  Junior Nick Dunbar (Granville, NY/Granville) leads the Pioneers in four batting categories…Dunbar sets the bar with a .360 batting average and a .493 slugging percentage, with a total of 27 hits and 21 RBI…Number 16 also has the best on base percentage with .417 and has the second most runs scored with 11.

Copy Cat:  Also present near the top of the statistical categories is sophomore Alec Choleva (Coventry, CT/East Catholic)…Choleva leads the team with 13 runs scored, has the third best batting average hitting .284, and has the second best slugging percentage at .407…He also follows leader Dunbar in hits and RBI, with 23 and 10.

UC vs. Opp: UC has a .254 batting average with 174 hits, while its opponents are hitting .333 with 250 hits…Pioneers opponents have amassed 164 RBI, while Utica has 78 RBI on the year.

In History: Almost two years-to-date brings us back to the last time Utica beat Ithaca on the diamond...Andrew Dexter through a two-hitter for UC, propping the Pioneers to a 2-0 victory…since April 10, 2010 the Pioneers have lost seven straight, getting outscored 20-83.

No.23 Ithaca:  In the latest statistics released by the NCAA, the Bombers (15-4-1, 5-1 E8) rank third in batting average (.355), sixth in doubles (2.65 per game), 11th in slugging percentage (.482), 14th in scoring (8.6 runs per game), 14th in hit by pitches (50 total; Ithaca's average of 2.5 per game is third nationally), 24th in winning percentage (.775), 31st in hits per nine innings (8.18) and 38th in ERA (3.30)…Ithaca was also ranked No.23 in the nation for Division III baseball, according to NCAA Rankings released on April 3..Ithaca has since won four games and is on a four game winning streak.

Looking Ahead: Flowing the series against Ithaca, UC remains at home as it hosts cross-town rival SUNY IT on Wednesday… The double header is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.


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