UTICA, NY – The Utica College baseball team (13-11) prepares for five games in three days beginning Thursday as it heads to SUNY Canton for a twin bill ... First pitch of game one is set for 2 p.m.  ... The Pioneers then welcome Houghton on Friday and Saturday for three games.

PIONEERS ONE WIN AWAY:  The Pioneers split a doubleheader with Ithaca on Sunday as they posted their 13^th win tying the most wins in a season in nine years … The 2006 Pioneers compiled a 13-22 overall record … With 11 games remaining on the 2015 schedule, UC has a chance to tie the most wins in a season since 1991 with eight more victories.

UC DROPS THREE-OF-FOUR TO ITHACA: Utica and Ithaca squared off over the weekend in back-to-back doubleheaders at the UC Baseball Field with Ithaca winning the first three … UC let two slip away on Saturday as it led both games in the last inning before Ithaca managed comebacks for the day one sweep … UC led game one on Saturday 5-2 and lost 9-5 giving up seven runs in the seventh and had an 8-4 lead in the ninth of game two before losing 10-8 … Nine errors in the two games helped the Bombers earn the comeback.

On Sunday, both contests ended in shutout fashion with Ithaca taking game one 11-0 before the Pioneers earned the game two victory, 3-0, behind Ryan Watson (Deerfield, NY/Whitesboro)'s shutout performance on the mound … Watson improved to 2-1 as he tossed his second complete game of the season … He allowed just five base runners on three hits and two base on balls as he remains atop the Empire 8 Conference in several categories … Thomas Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas ) led the UC offense over the weekend going a combined 6-for-14 with four RBI and three runs scored including a three-run blast.

RYAN ON THE BASES:  Jake Ryan (Kingston, NY/Kingston) currently leads the Pioneers and is ninth in the Empire 8 in on base percentage with a mark of .423 … The first year Pioneer is also fourth in the league in triples and second on the team in average … Ryan is batting .302 (13-for-43) and has nine runs scored and five RBI on the season.

THOMAS'S HOT BAT:  Transfer Brandon Thomas (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) is currently leading the Pioneers in batting with a .323 average … While starting in 18 games, he has racked up 20 hits, nine RBI, seven runs scored and a .419 slugging percentage.

BEHIND THE PLATE: Thomas Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas ), UC's everyday catcher, boosted his average of late and currently ranks third on the team with a mark of .293 … He is coming off a week where he batted .388 going 7-for-18 with four RBI, four runs scored and a three run homer.

UC'S NUMBER 3: After his impressive performance Sunday on the mound against Ithaca, Ryan Watson (Deerfield, NY/Whitesboro) remains one of the top pitchers in the conference … Watson is second in earned run average (1.69) and opposing batting average (.196) while third in hits allowed (22) … He is UC's three hole hitter as well as third in the rotation and is the only Pioneer to play in all 24 games this season …  At the plate, he is batting .293 and is second on the squad in hits (22), runs (14) and RBI (12).

GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE ROOS:  SUNY Canton is presently 9-21 overall this season and has not yet played a home game … The Kangaroos have dropped eight of their last ten games ... However, five of those losses have come by two runs or less including three one run defeats … Last season, Canton finished 15-19 and split a twin bill with UC losing game one 17-3 before winning game two 11-7.

THE HIGHLANDER REPORT: Houghton presently holds a 14-15 overall record while occupying a 2-7 mark against Empire 8 opponents … HC has dropped five straight including being swept at home by Stevens this past weekend … The Highlanders lost 15-7 to the Ducks on Friday before falling 8-1 and 11-1 on Saturday … Last season, Houghton and the Pioneers split four games with UC taking day one by scores of 2-0 and 5-4 and HC sweeping day two, 2-0 and 1-0.

ROAD AHEAD: Following this week, Utica will have five games remaining on the schedule of which four will be at the friendly confines of the UC Baseball Field … UC welcomes Hamilton College on Tuesday, April 28^th followed by Keuka (4/29/15) and Cazenovia (5/1/15).