Utica, NY - The Utica College baseball team is on the road this weekend for a three-game series with Empire 8 rival, St. John Fisher. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. with Sunday's single contest starting at 1 p.m
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers split a doubleheader on the road at SUNY Cobleskill on Monday. Cobleskill won game one 2-0 with runs in the first and sixth innings, while their pitching staff held the Pioneers to five hits. In game two, the Pioneers earned a 10-5 win in comeback fashion. Down 5-3 entering the sixth inning, the Pioneers exploded for seven runs with the deciding hit being a three-run double off the bat of Kyle George (Oneida, NY/Oneida) to take a 7-5 lead. This non-conference win improved the Pioneers to 12-16 overall on the season.
 
Saving the Day: Joe Palmieri (West Islip, NY/West Islip) has been lights out as the Pioneers' closer this season. The sophomore not only leads the Empire 8 Conference with a program-record six saves in the season, but he has also already become the program's all-time saves leader for a career. Palmieri has only allowed two earned runs in 12 innings on the bump this season. His 1.50 ERA is the lowest among players in the E8 who have hurled at least 10 innings.
 
Breaking Baur: Junior Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) recently entered the program's 100 strikeout club while also setting a career high with 40 strikeouts so far this year, surpassing his previous high of 36 strikeouts set in 2017. His strikeout total ranks eighth among all E8 pitchers while his 3.28 ERA is sixth best among pitchers who have recorded 40 innings pitched or more this season.
 
McGettin' the Job Done: Freshman Zach McGettigan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) didn't see the varsity roster until April 7. Since then, McGettigan has hit .378 (14-37) while recording at least one hit in five of his last six games. He's also a perfect seven-for-seven on stolen base attempts this season.
 
It's all Mak-ight: Maki Medici (Latham, NY/Shaker) has been on an offensive tear since April 7. Begining on that day, Medici owned a nine game hitting streak which was snapped on April 19 at Elmira College. However, in both games since the 19th, Medici is back on track recording a hit in both games. His .341 batting average is good for ninth in the E8.
 
Scouting Fisher: The Cardinals are 23-10 overall this season and 9-4 in Empire 8 play. They lead the E8 with a team batting average of .312, much thanks to registering 352 hits so far this season (no other team has over 300 in the conference). Their offense has also mashed 25 long balls this season which is the second most in the E8. The pitching staff owns the third best ERA in the conference at 5.39 and lead the E8 with 257 strikeouts. However, they have also been prone to giving up the long ball as their 22 home runs allowed is the second most in the E8. The team's .969 fielding percentage is also the best in the conference. Their offense is led by Allen Murphy, who has the highest batting average in the conference at .422 as well as a conference high eight home runs hit.
 
Against Fisher: This series will mark the first time the Pioneers and Cardinals square off this season. UC has lost seven straight games to St. John Fisher dating back to May 12, 2016. The Pioneers won 7-3 that day on the road in Rochester. Besides 2016, UC has only two other wins against St. John Fisher since April 28, 2007.
 
Tasting the Tourney: Utica currently sit fourth in the Empire 8 Conference standings which, if the season ended today, would mean they would qualify for the E8 Conference Tournament for the first time since 2016. UC is 6-4 in conference play which equates to 12 conference points - six points behind St. John Fisher for third and two points ahead of Houghton who is currently the last team out of the tournament field in fifth place.
 
Looking Ahead: UC has four games remaining on the schedule, with all contests being away from home. The team will meet with SUNY Canton on Tuesday to finish up the conference series, starting at 2 p.m.