Auburndale, FL – The Utica College baseball team lost its final two games in Florida on Friday against Olivet College. The Pioneers lost game one 8-5, before falling in game two, 10-3.

The Pioneers now hold a record of 4-6 and will return north to open up Empire 8 Conference play next weekend when they travel to Elmira College for a three game set. Utica is scheduled play Elmira in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and will wrap up the weekend with a nine inning contest on Sunday at 12 p.m.

Utica's Tom Carrigan (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) went 5-for-8 on the day with three runs scored and two doubles, while sophomore Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) went 3-for-8 with four RBIs, one run scored and his second home run of the season.  JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) finished the day going 3-for-8 with two runs and one RBI. 

Ross currently leads the team with a .538 batting average through 10 games played.  He has a team-best 21 hits, 13 RBIs and eight doubles.  Carrigan is batting .432 and leads the team with 15 runs scored, while Quinlan is batting .353 and ranks second on the team with 12 RBIs to go along with a team-best two home runs. 

Olivet 8, Utica 5 – Game One Final
In the opener, Olivet junior Michael O'Brien hit a three-run walk-off home run to lift the Comets to an 8-5 victory. The Pioneers and Comets were knotted at 5-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh before O'Brien's heroics lifted Olivet to the game one victory.  

UC struck first in the early goings of the contest as Tom Carrigan (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) scored on a double from teammate Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) in the first inning to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. In the second inning, Olivet made the score 4-1 after a grand slam from Aaron Gillespie. Quinlan homered in the fourth and JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) drove in a run and then scored on a passed ball in the fifth to make the score 4-4. After a double, Olivet's Michael O'Brien was able to score to push the lead up to 5-4 heading into the sixth inning. Quinlan earned an RBI in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game up at 5-5.

Quinlan was strong at the plate in game one finishing 3-for-4 with one home run, one double, and three runs batted in. Carrigan also was efficient in the game batting 3-for-4 with two doubles while scoring two runs. Ross went 1-for-4 in the contest with a double, one RBI, and he also scored one run.

Freshman ace Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) pitched four innings for the Pioneers and allowed four runs while striking out three batters. Noah Martin (Broadalbin, NY/Broadalbin-Perth) came into the game as the relief pitcher as he struck out one batter, gave up four runs, and received the loss. Baur currently has a 3.23 earned run average, a 2-0 record and a team-best 15 strikeouts in 13.0 innings this season. 

Olivet 10, Utica 3 – Game Two Final
The Comets jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning and never looked back as they earned the game two victory and a sweep of the Pioneers on Friday. The Pioneers made a comeback push in the bottom of the fourth inning, plating three runs, but the rally bid fell short as the Comets tacked on one more run in the top of the sixth to close out the scoring on the afternoon.

JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) finished game two with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate, while Tom Carrigan (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) also tallied two hits of his own.  Mike Fancher (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) went 1-for-2 with one run scored and one RBI, while Zachary Schellenger (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) and Joseph Cozza (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland) each added a hit in game two for the Pioneers.

Kolbie Glionna (Hagaman, NY/Amsterdam) got the start on the mound for the Pioneers and struck out two in 3.2 innings of work. Josh Call (Syracuse, NY/Solvay) came on in relief and struck out four and allowed just one run in 2.1 innings, while Brian McGuire (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer) closed out the afternoon on the mound with one strike out in one inning of work.