Box Score Stevens 8, Utica 7 -
Box Score
Utica, NY – The Utica College baseball team let a 6-2 lead slip away in the final three innings, as visiting Stevens Institute of Technology rallied to earn a come-from-behind 8-7 victory over the Pioneers, in Empire 8 Conference play at the Utica College Baseball field on Saturday afternoon. Junior
Chris Podlucky (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored for UC, while classmate
Nick Dunbar (Granville, NY/Granville) continued his great season by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI.
Sophomore pitcher
Alec Choleva (Coventry, CT/East Catholic) held the Ducks to just two runs in the first five innings of action, as the Pioneers' mounted a 6-2 lead, but the visitors were able to muster six runs total in the seventh and eighth innings to swipe the conference victory away from the Pioneers. Utica's overall ledger moved to 3-17 and 1-4 in conference play, while the visitors improved to 16-10 overall and 3-3 in the E8.
The Pioneers return to the diamond on Wednesday when they host Hamilton College in the 25th annual Jackie Robinson Game. Utica currently leads the all-time series 13-11 in the annual contest, which dates back to 1987. The game, which is sponsored annually by the Mohawk Valley Frontiersmen, will feature a first-pitch from former Tuskegee airman Herbert Thorpe. Thorpe attended Tuskegee Army Air Field Flight School from 1944-1945. He was a commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, Navigator/Bombardier in December 1944 at Midland Army Air Field in Texas. He then returned to the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama and earned his B-25 (Twin Engine) Pilot's Wings in October of 1945. Thorpe is also the past president and current secretary of the Mohawk Valley Frontiersmen.
Each team will dawn special 25th anniversary Jackie Robinson Game batting t-shirts, which feature the No. 42 on the back, throughout batting practice. Legendary Los Angeles Dodger Jackie Robinson, who made history in 1947 by becoming the first black baseball player in the major leagues, wore the No. 42 throughout his Hall of Fame career. The contest is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.
Stevens 8, Utica 7 – Final
The visiting Ducks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning behind two hits and two errors, which results in two runs for the visitors. Utica answered right back in the bottom half of the second inning, scoring three runs, to give the home team a 3-2 lead. Podlucky and senior
Dan Bittel (New Hartford, CT/Northwestern Region) each tallied a hit, which eventually scored Dunbar, as the Pioneers first run of the day crossed home plate. Senior
Ted Krueger (Franklinville, NY/Franklinville) added a sacrifice to the right side to score Podlucky and freshman
Nick Perkins (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) singled, scoring Bittel, to give the Pioneers a one run cushion, 3-2, early in the contest.
Choleva settled in nicely and held the Ducks scoreless for four straight innings. During that span the Pioneers chipped away, adding a run in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, to give UC a 6-2 lead after six full innings of action. Bittel scored on a wild pitch in the fourth, Podlucky drove home Dunbar in the fifth, and Dunbar singled home junior transfer
Tyler Young (Latham, NY/Hudson Valley) in the sixth to account for the Pioneer scoring.
Stevens combined for five hits to score six runs over the course of the seventh and eighth innings to take a two run lead, 8-6, headed into the bottom of the eighth inning. The Pioneers loaded the bases in the eighth and Podlucky was eventually hit by a pitch, scoring Perkins, to cut the UC deficit to one run, 8-7.
Podlucky, who moved from shortstop to pitcher in the top of the eighth, was able to hold the Ducks scoreless in the ninth but the Pioneers were not able to come up with their second straight comeback as the Ducks earned the one run victory.
Choleva struck out five in seven full innings of work for Utica.
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