UTICA, NY -- The Utica College baseball team hits the road this Easter weekend to square off against Empire 8 rival and nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College. The Pioneers will first play a nine-inning game against the Cardinals Friday at 3 p.m. before turning right back around to wrap up the season series with a doubleheader on Saturday at Dugan Yard beginning at noon.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers are riding the highs of a successful three-day home stand and six consecutive wins, including five in Empire 8 play … They swept Houghton in a doubleheader Monday (Game 1: 9-7; Game 2: 16-15)… Beat the Highlanders again 11-8 last Tuesday, and recorded another doubleheader sweep against SUNY Canton (Game 1: 11-6; Game 2: 7-4) … Utica junior Tom Carrigan (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) went 6-for-9 at the plate with three runs scored and three RBIs in the Pioneers doubleheader sweep against Canton… Sophomore Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) went 4-for-7 with three runs scored and five RBIs, and junior Jake Ryan (Kingston, NY/Kingston) posted a 5-for-7 day with four RBIs and two runs scored.
 
Pioneers' Season Status: Utica is 11-9 overall and have a 5-2 record in Empire 8 Conference play … Utica also has the highest batting average (.325) in the Empire 8. 

Coming Up Big: Utica's Jake Ryan (Kingston, NY/Kingston) made his first collegiate home run a memorable one as he lifted the Pioneers to a 16-15 victory  with a walk off HR to left field in extra innings against Houghton … Ryan is a riding a four game hitting streak, where he has eight hits, six RBIs and four runs scored. 
 
JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) Still on Top of his Game: One reason why the Pioneers are on top of the Empire 8 in batting is because of Utica College senior JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills)… Ross has a team-high (second in the E8) average of .450… He has also recorded 19 RBIs, one homerun, and a team-high 36 hits.

Catching Fire: Catcher Ben Julian (Wynantskill, NY/Troy) is 7-for-14 with seven runs and five RBIs over the course of his last five starts for the Pioneers … Tom Carrigan (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) is batting .403 with 29 hits, 29 runs scored and 16 RBIs this season … Jacob Gaboriault (Colchester, VT/Essex) has seven hits and three RBIs in his last five starts. 

Mr. Consistency: Utica sophomore Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) is batting .366 this season with a team-best 27 RBIs and he is teid for the team-lead with seven stolen bases.  

Youngsters Helping Out: Freshman pitcher Justin Bodley-Bjorklund (Washington, DC/St. Johns) earned his first collegiate win as a starting pitcher against Canton on Wednesday … He threw six full innings, allowing just three earned runs … Sophomore Noah Martin (Broadalbin, NY/Broadalbin-Perth) also picked up his first collegiate win as he pitched 5.1 innings, allowed just three earned runs and struck out one in game two against Canton on Wednesday … Freshman right-hander Jake Cavanagh (Plainville, NY/King Phillip Regional) came on in relief of Haydn Demers-St. Hilaire (North Lawrence, NY/St. Lawrence Central) on Tuesday against Houghton and pitched 6.2 innings while striking out six to earn his first collegiate victory … First baseman Matt Yozzo made his varsity debut on Tuesday against Houghton and is 3-for-9 with three RBIs in his first three games. 
 
#1 & #2: Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) and Alex Rocci (Utica, NY/Notre Dame) have so far been reliable resources for the Pioneers' pitching staff this season… Baur has recorded a team-high 27 strikeout, has a 7.90 ERA, and is 2-2 this season…  Rocci has 19 strikeouts which is second best on the team… He also has a 5.13 ERA.   
 
Scouting St. John Fisher: The nationally-ranked Cardinals are 16-6 this season and have yet to lose to an Empire 8 conference opponent (4-0)… The team just recorded their eighth straight win on the road Wednesday against Brockport… The Cardinals were trailing 6-0 in the top of the fourth, but St. John Fisher put up five runs in the bottom of the fourth and recorded seven more runs late in the game to beat the Golden Eagles 12-8… Freshmen Justin Graham, Thomas Pasquale, junior Ryan Fahy and senior Jack Trotman each recorded two hits in the victory… Cardinals' pitcher Caleb Lee recorded a team-high four strikeouts in three innings of work… Although freshman Antony Mantova did not play against Brockport last Wednesday, he still has a team-high batting average of .417… He posted 15 hits, one homerun, and seven RBIs this season… Scott Eisenmenger has a team-high seven homeruns and 33 RBIs… Eisenmenger has also recorded 31 hits and has a .369 batting average to go along with seven home runs … Cardinals' pitcher Anthony Brophy has a team-high 25 strikeouts and 1.42 ERA in the six games he started this season. 
 
Against the Cardinals: The Pioneers squared off against the Cardinals in the Empire 8 Baseball Tournament last season… Utica pulled off the thrilling 7-3 upset over St. John Fisher in game one of the tournament on May 12, 2016… Former ace Joshua Webb (Verona, NY/VVS) earned the save for Utica, as he just allowed two hits and struck out four batters… UC's JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) finished the day with a 1-for-5 effort, while Vincent Burillo (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central ) went 2-for-4 at the plate with one run scored… Outfielder Brandon Thomas (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) continues to snap out of a slump as he went 2-for-4 at the plate, while freshman catcher Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame) added a 1-for-2 day with two walks and one run scored… Christian Tiffin (Sherrill, NY/VVS) capped an outstanding day with a 2-for-3 effort at the dish to go along with two RBIs… Despite the early tournament victory, the Cardinals two days later (5/14/16) beat the Pioneers 6-5 in the tournament's elimination game. 
 
Looking Ahead: After the road trip to Fisher, the Pioneers will return home Tuesday to take on non-conference rival SUNY Oneonta… Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.