Utica, NY – The Utica College baseball team will travel to Oneonta for a single on Tuesday and then head over to SUNY Poly on Wednesday for some non-conference play. The game on Tuesday will start at 4 p.m with the game on Wednesday starting at 3 p.m.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers are 9-14 so far in the season, currently on a four-game win streak. They swept Houghton College in a three game series of E8 action last week. UC won 2-1 in the first game, as senior Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) had one RBI, one run scored and one stolen base. Utica won 11-6 in the second game. The team took an early lead with the score at 7-3 by the fifth inning. The Pioneers used four pitchers for the game, with sophomore Justin McKenna (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum Senior HS) getting the win after facing 13 batters and having one strikeout.
Recent Highlights: During the recent matchup with Houghton, multiple players came up with big time performances for the team. Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) started on the hill and gave up just three hits during a 1-0 win against Houghton, with six strikeouts in seven innings pitched. In game two of the three game set, UC trailed the Highlanders 1-0 going into the final at bat. With a runner on second Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame) connected for a walk-off double that brought home the game-winning run. In the third and final game of the series, senior Christian Tiffin (Sherrill, NY/VVS) went yard with the bases loaded for a grand slam in the fifth inning.
Front of the Pack: Senior Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) and sophomore Maki Medici (Latham, NY/Shaker) currently lead the Pioneers with 17 runs scored on the season. Ryan Palmer (Verona, NY/VVS) trails close behind them at 11 runs scored. Quinlan also leads the team in batting average (.398), RBI's (20) and hits (35).
Empire 8 Rankings: Quinlan is currently first in the Empire 8 conference his with .398 average on the year. Brendon Sarnowski (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) is seventh in the E8 with his 1.96 ERA, while teammate Joe Palmieri (West Islip, NY/West Islip) sits in ninth place with his 2.00 ERA. Junior Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) is currently placed 10th in the conference with his 31 strikeouts on the season.
Scouting Oneonta: The Oneonta Red Dragons are currently 13-16 overall. They were swept in a three game series by Oswego over the weekend. Oneonta is led by John Zinko with 16 RBI's on the season. Robert Ottaviano holds a 4-3 record as a starter on the mound, tallying 45 strikeouts in eight starts.
Scouting SUNY Poly: The SUNY Poly Wildcats are currently 7-17 ovearll, coming off of a 2-1 series win over Lancaster Bible. The Wildcats won the second game 8-3, and the third game 9-8 to snaps a four-game losing skid. The team is led by freshman Jake Montrose with 18 RBI's on the season. Senior pitcher, Jeremiah Horton is 3-2 as a started and has racked up 27 strikeouts in six starts on the mound.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will travel to Elmira on Friday for a three game set of conference baseball. Friday's game starts at 5 p.m. with Saturday's doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
