UTICA, NY – The Utica College baseball team returns home on Saturday and Sunday to take on Empire 8 Conference opponent Ithaca College in a four game set.  The contests on Saturday (one seven inning game followed by one nine inning game) begin at 1 p.m. Sunday's doubleheader (one nine inning game followed by one seven inning game) begins at 12 p.m. All four games will be played at the Utica College baseball field.

UC SO FAR: The Pioneers currently hold a 12-8 overall record … Utica needs one win to tie the most wins in a single season since 2006 when the Pioneers went 13-22 overall … UC hopes to return to its winning ways this weekend as the Pioneers have lost five of their last six outings.

THOMAS MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF: Junior transfer Brandon Thomas (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) currently leads the team and ranks 13^th in the Empire 8 with a .327 batting average … He ranks third on the team with 17 hits and he also have five runs scored and five RBIs. 

EVERYDAY PLAYER: Senior Ryan Watson (Deerfield, NY/Whitesboro) has done a little bit of everything for UC so far this season … As a first baseman and a pitcher he is the only player to have appeared in all 20 games this season … He has tallied a team-best 19 hits and he also ranks second on the team with a .306 batting average … He also leads the team with 11 RBIs and he has 12 runs scored … On the mound he has a 2.16 earned run average, a 1-1 record and one save in 25.0 innings of work … He also ranks third on the team with 15 RBIs. 

.300 CLUB: The Pioneers have five players with a .300 average or better in the lineup (minimum 20 at-bats) … Thomas and Watson lead the way, while Ryon Lupia (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills), Jake Ryan (Kingston, NY/Kingston) and Daniel Priore (Utica, NY/T.R. Proctor) also have a averages above the .300 mark … Jake Ryan (Kingston, NY/Kingston) and Daniel Priore (Utica, NY/T.R. Proctor) each have ten hits and six runs scored this season. 

NO FREEBIES: Headed into this week the Utica pitching staff ranked first in the conference and 12^th nationally with an average of just 2.28 walks allowed per nine innings.

WEBB IS LIGHTS OUT: Junior pitcher Joshua Webb (Verona, NY/VVS) ranks fourth in the conference with a 1.85 ERA … He currently ranks first in the Empire 8 and 29^th nationally with an average of 11.65 strikeouts per nine innings … He also has a 2-2 overall record and he has pitched three complete games. 

SZATKO GETTING BACK TO WORK: Utica senior pitcher Stephen Szatko (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit Valley) has a team-best 4-1 overall record on the mound this season … He has a 2.30 ERA to go along with 24 strikeouts. 

HOT CORNER: Junior Adam Pexton (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and freshman Andrew Hobika, Jr. (Clinton, NY/Clinton) have both seen action at third base this season … Pexton has started 16 games and boasts a .288 batting average … His 15 hits rank fourth on the team and he also has 12 runs scored and nine RBIs … Hobika, Jr. has 11 hits in 13 appearances and six of his hits are for extra bases … Hobika, Jr. has a team-best .500 slugging percentage.   

MEET ITHACA: The Ithaca College baseball team currently has an 8-9 overall record and the Bombers are coming off a 5-4 loss at home on Thursday against University of Rochester … Trevor Thompson leads the team with a .397 batting average … He has 25 hits to go along with 11 runs scored and seven RBIs … Zach Pidgeon ranks second on the team with a .345 average and Josh Savacool leads the Bombers with 11 RBIs … Andrew Sanders leads the pitching staff with a 1.21 ERA in 44.2 innings of work this season … Sanders has a 3-3 overall record and 20 strikeouts. 

20 WIN SEASON?: Utica has its sights set on a 20 win season for the first time since 1991 when the Pioneers went 21-8 under Head Coach Don Guido … The 1987 baseball team under Head Coach Jim Spartano (Division I) posted a program-record 25-7 overall record … The 1987 baseball team was inducted into Utica College's Pioneer Hall of Fame last Spring.