Utica, NY (4-16-13) – The Utica College baseball team looks to snap a seven game slide Wednesday as it crosses town to face local rival SUNY Institute of Technology in Marcy, NY ... The twilight doubleheader will be held at Peter A. Spina Field on SUNY's campus with first-pitch of game one scheduled for 2 p.m.

UC Ready for a Run:  The Pioneers are currently 1-13 overall including a winless 0-5 mark in the Empire 8 Conference and look to make a run over the next week with six-of-eight upcoming games at the friendly confines of the UC Baseball Field …. Following Wednesday's doubleheader, UC will welcome Houghton College over the weekend for four games and then Keuka College on Wednesday, April 24th.

Nicked Up: Senior Nick Dunbar (Granville, NY/Granville) and sophomore Nick Perkins (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) currently lead the squad at the dish with a minimum of 30 at bats … Dunbar currently leads UC in average (.283), at bats (46), total bases (17), hits (13), RBI (six), doubles (four) and is second in runs (seven) … Perkins, an everyday utility outfielder, worked his way into the leadoff spot currently batting .270, good enough for second on the team … In 12 games this season, he has tallied 10 hits and five runs in 37 at bats while a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen bases.

Arms on the Hill:  Juniors Alec Choleva (Coventry, CT/East Catholic) and Anthony Johnson (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) along with senior Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) make up the rotation and all manage a 7+ earned run average presently … Choleva (0-4) leads  the team in innings (22.0) and strikeouts (11) while managing a 7.77 ERA … Johnson (0-2), in three starts, has pitched 11 innings allowing 17 runs on 15 hits  while fanning six … Jeffers (0-3) has an ERA of 7.80 in 15 innings while giving up 13 runs on 18 hits.

Szatko & Horning in Relief: Sophomore Stephen Szatko (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit Valley) and freshman Joseph Horning (Canajoharie, NY/Canajoharie) head the relievers each with four appearances … Both have ERA's under 4.20 while keeping opponents to less than a .265 mark at the plate … Szatko, in 8.2 innings has an ERA of 4.16 with batters hitting .265 whereas Horning, in 7.0 innings, has a team-best 3.86 ERA while keeping batters to a dismal .222 average.

Scouting the Wildcats: SUNYIT presently occupies an 8-14 overall record including a 2-6 mark in the North Eastern Athletic Conference … The Wildcats have lost four straight after being  swept in back-to-back doubleheaders by Gallaudet and Penn State-Harrisburg this past week.

UC vs. IT All-Time: Dating back to the 2000 season when the teams first met, SUNYIT currently holds a 9-5 advantage against Utica in heads up play … Last season, the teams split a doubleheader in Utica, NY with the Pioneers wining game one, 12-5, and the Wildcats earning the split with an 11-6 victory in game two … UC won the inaugural meeting back in 2000 by a score of 5-3 however went on to lose the next three contests in 2003 and 2004 … Utica bounced back with a sweep of the Wildcats, two years later in 2006, edging two one run games, 5-4 and 7-6 … Since, the teams have played four doubleheaders from 2008-2012 with the Wildcats earning sweeps in '08 and '11.

Following the Home Stand: UC will wrap up its 2013 campaign with six straight games on the road following the upcoming six-game strut at home … The Pioneers will travel to Hoboken, NJ on the weekend of April 27th for four games before heading to Canton, NY on Wednesday, May 1st for the season finale against the Roo's of SUNY Canton.