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Utica, NY (4-16-14) – The Utica College baseball team heads to Houghton College this weekend for a pair of doubleheaders against the Highlanders … First pitch for Friday's game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. while Saturday's is set for 12 p.m. at the Houghton Baseball Stadium.
 
Tough Stretch: Utica is currently 4-12 overall including a 0-6 mark in the Empire 8 Conference and recently dropped four straight to Ithaca over the weekend in league action … UC is coming off a stint of eight games over eight days where the Pioneers went 1-7 including a 3-1 win over Hamilton in the 27^th Annual Jackie Robinson Game ... After four days off due to the weather, UC is set to open up another similar strecth of eight games, four doubleheaders, over the next seven days.

Ithaca Takes Four from The Pioneers in E8 Action: Utica dropped four games over the weekend in Empire 8 action, on the road, to rival Ithaca College (19-5, 7-1 Empire 8) …Three of the four games were within four runs, losing on day one by scores of 3-2 and 7-3, and on day two by scores of 10-8 and 10-3.

On Saturday, the Pioneers were led by junior Vincent Burillo (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central ) who tallied a team-best three hits on the day … On Sunday, Cam Andrews (Bangor, PA/Bangor) and Rob Heath (Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore) both went 3-for-4 on the afternoon, while Matthew DeMartino (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside) was 3-for-7 with two runs scored and one RBI … Junior catcher Thomas Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas ) tallied two hits, including one home run, and he also added three RBI's and two runs scored … Dinnen leads Utica with 21 hits and four home runs in 16 games played this season … DeMartino went 5-for-14 for the weekend.

Statistical Leaders: Junior's Thomas Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas ) and Benjamin Hobaica (Clinton, NY/Clinton) lead the Pioneers and sit atop the Empire 8 leaders in batting average … Dinnen is eighth in the conference with a .375 average and leads the league with four home runs while third in slugging (.679%) …  Hobaica is 11^th in hitting with a.342 average and sixth in runs scored with 18 … Junior first baseman Ryan Watson (Deerfield, NY/Whitesboro) is third in the E8 in RBI with 20.
 
Getting to Know the Highlanders:  Houghton currently holds a 6-13 overall record and has lost nine straight … The Highlanders lost four games to Ithaca in late March … Three losses by a score of 5-2 … HC took four games from Utica last season including three tough one-run battles.

E8 Standings: St. John Fisher (18-2) is in first place with a 2-0 mark in league play ahead of Ithaca (19-6) who holds a 7-1 mark … Stevens (12-7) is in third with a 1-3 mark while Utica (4-12) rounds out the standings at 0-6.

Back on the Diamond: Following the weekend, Utica is back in action Tuesday as it travels to Potsdam, NY for a twilight doubleheader against Clarkson University … First pitch of game one is set for 2 p.m. at Jack Phillips Stadium at Snell Field … The Golden Knights are presently 8-10 on the season while managing a 4-6 mark in the Liberty League …Tuesday will be Clarkson's home opener set to take place … Last season's matchup between the two squads originally scheduled in Utica was cancelled and never made up.