ITHACA, NY – The Utica College baseball team saw its season conclude on Thursday at the Empire 8 Baseball Championship Tournament in Ithaca, NY.
Put in an unenviable position with a tournament opening loss to Ithaca earlier in the day, the Pioneers put on a resilient effort in an elimination game against Stevens Institute of Technology. That effort saw them stay within arm's length much of the way against the Ducks. Both teams had opportunities, and made good on a share of them, but the Stevens Ducks found a way to capitalize on a few more than the Pioneers did as Utica bowed out of the tournament by a 7-5 score in an Empire 8 baseball tournament elimination game at Ithaca College's Freeman Field. The Pioneers had been facing elimination following a 5-0 loss to Ithaca on Thursday morning.
The Pioneers step out of the double elimination tournament with an overall record of 15-24. Utica is now 1-7 all-time in Empire 8 tournament contests.
Freshman Zach McGettigan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) had the offensive highlight of the day for Utica with a two run home run to left field for his first college home run. The blast came at a pivotal time. It kept Utica alive in the ninth at a point where they were down to their final strike. Down by a 7-3 score and stuck in a sizeable hole, McGettigan walloped a two strike pitch over the left field fence towards Cayuga Lake to plate a pair of runs and give the Pioneers a fighting chance before the rally was halted. The freshman led UC with three RBI on Saturday.
Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame) was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, and Christian Tiffin (Sherrill, NY/VVS) doubled in his final college game. The Pioneers gathered five runs on six hits. On the mound, Jonathan Hardy (Clinton, NY/Clinton) allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out four in five innings while taking the loss. In relief, Sean Morris (Califon, NJ/Voorhee) surrendered three earned runs on five hits, and also struck out four.
Stevens was led by a big time effort by left fielder Donny Gherardi. Gherardi made a huge difference in the game by going 4-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI. He was a triple shy of the cycle.
It was Gherardi who helped the Ducks strike first in the opening inning and beyond. His single up the middle scored Matt Branco to spot the New Jerseyians a 1-0 advantage after one inning of play. That lead increased to a pair when Gherardi drove in another run in the third. Branco got the wave around to score after Gherardi doubled to left center for a 2-0 Ducks lead in the third. Another single by Gherardi knocked home a run in the fifth for a 3-0 advantage.
With a 3-0 deficit on the board, the Pioneers rallied back to a one-run game in their half of the fifth inning. Maki Medici (Latham, NY/Shaker) singled into left field to bring Matthew Leviton (South River, NJ/South River) in to score, and McGettigan reached on a fielders' choice that scored Fitzgerald to slim the lead back down to 3-2.
The Ducks re-established a greater advantage in the sixth and seventh innings. In the sixth, Tommy Barroner singled through the left side to bring in Pat Rood to score, and a Gherardi solo home run in the seventh expanded the Stevens lead to 5-2. The Pioneers chopped into the deficit when Fitzgerald scored on a wild pitch in the seventh to make it 5-3. However, the final two frames did not get much closer as both Mcgettigan and Hanley hit two-run homers and the Ducks eventually waltzed away as 7-5 winners over the Pioneers when all was said and done.
The playoff game will mark the final time that Utica meets Stevens as an Empire 8 opponent. Stevens is set to head to the Middle Atlantic Conference following this year.
