HOUGHTON, NY – The Elmira College baseball team rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to defeat Utica College 6-3 in Empire 8 Conference action at Houghton College on Sunday.  The Soaring Eagles clinched the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Conference Tournament with the victory. 

UC's JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) and Jake Ryan (Kingston, NY/Kingston) both went 2-for-4 on the afternoon.  Ryan added two RBIs to pace the Pioneers.  Ben Julian (Wynantskill, NY/Troy), Adam Nell ( Vernon, NY/VVS), Jacob Gaboriault (Colchester, VT/Essex) and Christian Tiffin (Sherrill, NY/VVS) each recorded one hit in the contest for the Pioneers.

Utica's record moved to 18-17 overall and 8-9 in Empire 8 play, while Elmira improved to 16-15 overall and 9-8 in conference play.

Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) started on the mound for Utica and allowed just two earned runs in 5.1 innings of work.  Jake Cavanagh (Plainville, NY/King Phillip Regional) came on in relief and struck out two batters in 2.2 innings, but also gave up four runs as his record moved to 2-2 on the season.

UC's Jake Ryan (Kingston, NY/Kingston) got the scoring started in the second inning when he drove in Adam Nell ( Vernon, NY/VVS) to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. Utica added to its lead in the third inning when JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) doubled home Jacob Gaboriault (Colchester, VT/Essex) to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead. 

Ryan came back in the fourth inning and singled to left field, scoring Ben Julian (Wynantskill, NY/Troy), to hand the Pioneers a 3-0 lead after four innings. 

Elmira's rally began in the fifth inning as they cut UC's lead to 3-2 after Fogarty doubled to left center, scoring Bellinger. 

The Soaring Eagles added four more runs in the seventh inning to take a 6-3 lead that they would not relinquish. 

The Pioneers will look to secure a spot in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament with a win over SUNY Canton in the nightcap.