Clinton, NY - The Utica College baseball team is set to square off against SUNY Cobleskill on Wednesday, March 27. Utica is 2-9 on the season and 0-2 in Empire 8 Conference play. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. and the game will be played at Hamilton College's Loop Road Baseball Complex.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers traveled to Endwell, NY for a double header against Ithaca College this past weekend. In the first game Utica fell to the Bombers 4-2. Three of the four Ithaca runs came in the sixth inning alone. The Pioneers put together a late push in the seventh, however they were only able to send two runs across. In the second game Ithaca got on the board early with three runs in the first inning and four runs in the third inning as UC faced a seven run deficit throughout most of the game. Utica tacked on two runs but it wasn't enough as Ithaca would go on to win 11-2.
Team Comparison: Utica is currently 2-9 overall and 0-2 in Empire 8 play, placing them sixth in the conference so far in the early season. The team is fourth in the conference in pitching, posting a team ERA of 6.53. SUNY Cobleskill is currently 3-8 this season and in sixth place in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) standings. Cobleskill has a .208 team batting average, which places them seventh in their conference. They are also seventh in pitching with a team ERA of 5.42 for the season.
Keeping Up With Quinlan: Senior Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) reached a career milestone during the Pioneers last time out, playing in his 100th game wearing the orange and blue. Already the all-time RBI leader in program history with 107 (he is also the only player to reach 100+ RBI's in program history), Quinlan also ranks second in doubles (33), third in hits (133), tied for fourth with 13 home runs and tied for fifth with 75 runs scored. He is also just eight hits shy of breaking the program's all-time hits record, which currently sits at 140 set by Kevin Glorioso who played from 1997-2000. Quinlan is also just two doubles shy of breaking the program's all-time doubles record while needing eight long balls to become the programs all-time home run king.
Sultans of Swat: Matthew Leviton (South River, NJ/South River) is batting .333 with eight hits, two runs, three doubles and four RBI's so far this season. Leviton has raised his average by .57 points from last season's mark of .276. Along with Leviton, Quinlan holds a .324 batting average with eleven hits, one home run and nine RBI's so far this season. These two combined are responsible for driving in 13 of the Pioneers' 22 runs scored this season.
Speed Demons: The Pioneers are 10-15 on the base paths with Leviton, Quinlan and Maki Medici (Latham, NY/Shaker) leading the team in stolen bases. Leviton has only been caught once this season in four attempts. Quinlan has two stolen bases in three attempts and Medici is a perfect three-for-three on the season. Last season the Pioneers totaled 25 stolen bases in 35 attempts.
On The Hill: Last season, Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) tossed 39.1 innings with 34 strikeouts while posting an ERA of 5.95. This season, Baur has pitched 15.1 innings with 15 strikeouts while posting an ERA of 5.28. As a team the Pioneers have seen their pitching staff improve, posting a 7.77 ERA last season compared to an early 6.53 ERA this season.
Looking Forward: The Pioneers will travel to Rochester this Saturday to kick-off athree game set against the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers. The teams will play a double header on Saturday at RIT, followed by a single game on Sunday back at Hamilton College. RIT owns a 3-8 record and currently coming off a shutout loss to St. John Fisher. The first game on Saturday will start at 12 p.m.
