UTICA, NY – The Utica College baseball team hosts Empire 8 Conference opponent St. John Fisher on Saturday at Murnane Field. The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The two teams were originally scheduled to play Friday afternoon at Utica College but were postponed due to rain.
Last Time Out: Utica dropped a pair of conference games to Elmira College falling 16-5 in the first game and 10-7 in the second … The first game was the continuation of a halted game from earlier in the year … Elmira had a 10-5 lead starting the sixth inning and built on that adding six runs in the final four innings … In the second game the Soaring Eagles offense continued to roll as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead after three innings … Utica would fight back to make it a 8-7 game after five but in the eighth inning Elmira would add to runs to seal the 10-7 victory.
Conference Tournament: The race for the fourth seed tightened over the weekend as SUNY Canton beat Elmira twice to move into a two-way tie for fourth place with Utica … UC holds the tie-breaker with Canton as both teams only have one more conference game left … The Kangaroos face Elmira while the Pioneers face top ranked St. John Fisher … If Utica wins or Canton loses it is in the Conference Tournament … If both teams win or both teams lose UC holds the tie-breaker and will end up in the tournament as a four seed … This year's tournament is the first year that only the top four teams qualify for the tournament … Fisher clinched the top seed in the conference and will have hosting rights to the tournament.
Leading The E8: Freshman
Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) currently leads the Empire 8 with a .432 batting average … He has 35 hits in 81 at bats this season to go along with a team-high 25 RBIs, 15 runs scored, eight doubles, three triples and two home runs … He has 18 hits in his last ten games.
On The Mound: Senior
Joshua Webb (Verona, NY/VVS), a two-time all-conference selection, has once again been the Pioneers number one option on the mound … Over the course of his career he has appeared in 36 games and started 29 while pitching in 174.1 innings … He is the program's active leader with 179 career strikeouts … Webb currently ranks 11th in the Empire 8 with a 4.05 earned run average and has a team-best 40 strike outs …
Dom Caccioppoli (Circleville, NY/Pine Bush ) has been a reliable option out of the bullpen … Caccioppoli has pitched 30.1 innings with 13 strikouts and is 12
th in the Empire 8 with an earned run average of 4.15.
Mr. Consistency: JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) has provided consistency at the plate all season for the Pioneers starting all 30 games this season … He currently ranks12th in the Empire 8 with a batting average of .341 … He leads the team in total hits with 42 and ranks second on the team with 23 RBIs.
Utility Man: Senior
Vincent Burillo (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central ) has done a little bit of everything for the Pioneers this season … He currently ranks third on the team with a .333 batting average … He has a total of 36 hits, 15 RBIs and 13 runs scored … He also has 195 put outs at first base and a 1-3 record on the mound to go along with one save.
.300 Club: Bryce Patterson (Corning, NY/Corning East) is one of four players batting over .300 for the Pioneers this season … He has 19 hits, 11 runs scored and nine RBIs to go along with six stolen bases.
Scouting St. John Fisher: The Cardinals are 27-8 overall with a 15-1 record and are currently receiving votes in the national polls … Fisher is currently on a four game winning streak and has games against Ithaca, Brockport, and RIT before facing Utica on Friday … Mike Roman (35 games played and started, 53 hits, 37 runs, 23 RBIs, 16 doubles, three triples, and one homerun) leads the team in offense while Marc Iseneker (5-2, 2.39 ERA, 60.1 innings pitched, and one no-hitter) leads the team on the mound.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers return to action when they host the annual Jackie Robinson Game against cross-town rival Hamilton College on Monday … The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
