UTICA, NY - The Utica College baseball team enters the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for the third time in the tournament's five year existence this weekend as the Pioneers trek to Ithaca,NY this weekend to compete for the conference title. The four team double elimination tournament is scheduled to run from Thursday to Saturday at Ithaca College's Freeman Field. The fourth-seeded Pioneers meet top seeded Ithaca College at 9 a.m. to open the tournament on Thursday.

The Field: Ithaca College leads the field into the tournament as the top seed and has won the tournament in all four years of its existence. They have been the Empire 8 champion in each of the last seven years, with the earliest three years of that streak coming through the regular season before the Empire 8 crowned a champion in postseason play. They have won sixteen titles overall. The St. John Fisher Cardinals enter as the second overall seed and are seeking their first Empire 8 conference title since 2011 and a third title overall in the Empire 8. Stevens is the third seed and has never been the Empire 8 Champion. The only team to win an Empire 8 baseball title besides Fisher or Ithaca is RIT, who is now a member of the Liberty League.

The Facility: Freeman Field is an on-campus diamond located on Ithaca's South Hill, with the outfield wall overlooking Cayuga Lake. The ballpark's dimensions are 334 feet down the line in left field, 400 in straightaway center field and 328 in right field. The left-center and right-center power alleys are 405 feet. Foul territory is fairly cavernous, especially around the infield and down the left field line. The field was the site of a SportsCenter Top Ten play earlier this season.

Utica in the Empire 8 Tournament: Utica is 1-5 all-time in Empire 8 tournament play with appearances in 2015 and 2016. The Pioneers hosted the inaugural Empire 8 tournament in 2015, when all seven available teams were invited to participate in a tournament that ran at the Utica College Baseball Field, and at nearby Murnane Field at Donovan Stadium. Utica bowed out of the 2015 tournament with three losses with one coming to Fisher (6-1), one to eventual champion Ithaca (9-4), and a third to Houghton (13-3). In 2016, when many players on the current team were freshmen, the Pioneers were a much tougher out at Dugan Yard in Pittsford, NY. Utica was a win away from the tournament finals as they made tons of noise as the fourth seed. UC opened the tournament by stunning top-seeded St. John Fisher 7-3 for the program's first Empire 8 Tournament win. William Winsman went to the mound in that game and allowed just three runs on eight hits in six innings, and whiffed three hitters before turning the ball over to ace pitcher Josh Webb, who powered through the final three innings to earn the save. A few current Pioneers excelled in that game with Christian Tiffin (Sherrill, NY/VVS) going 2-for-3 while driving in a pair of runs. Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, both of which were driven in by Tiffin. Then-senior Matthew DeMartino hammered a first inning, bases loaded triple that cleared the bases in the first inning and put Utica up 3-0. The shocker proved to be no fluke as the Pioneers challenged well in their next two games against Ithaca and Fisher. In their winners' bracket matchup with Ithaca, Josh Webb gutted out a complete game to give Utica a chance just one day after his three inning relief appearance. Webb held the Bombers off the board in seven of his eight innings pitched, but Ithaca outlasted Utica 5-4 on the weight of a five run second inning. Matt Fitzgerald finished with one hit, one run scored, one RBI and one walk. Jake Ryan (Kingston, NY/Kingston) drove in a pair of runs in Utica's first loss of the tournament. The Pioneers advanced to Saturday to meet St. John Fisher for the right to challenge the undefeated Bombers for the title, but would step out of the tournament with another one-run loss at 6-5. Utica entered the ninth inning down 6-3, but rallied back to a one run game as Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame) and current assistant coach Bryce Patterson each scored a run. That brought the tying run to the plate, but it was not to be as future professional pitcher Marc Iseneker closed the book on the rally to help Fisher survive the rally and advance.

How They Got Here: The Pioneers wrapped up the regular season at 15-22, and they were 9-9 in Empire 8 Conference play to finish fourth. Utica won the season series against every team to finish below them in the standings, and the team swept Houghton and SUNY Canton while grabbing two wins against Elmira, and a win over third-seeded Stevens.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers were swept by Empire 8 opponents while playing three games in three days. They lost to Fisher 8-1, Ithaca 13-1, and Elmira 10-4 in a trio of rescheduled games. 

Turnaround Time: The Pioneers began the season 2-7 in their annual spring trip, but have been much better since returning home with a 13-15 record since their excursion to Florida.

Home Cooked: Aiding the improved record after Utica returned home was a 6-2 clip when the Pioneers played within the confines of the Utica College Baseball Field. The 6-2 record in games played on campus marks the team's second-best win percentage at home in the last 27 seasons. Current players have been responsible for both of those seasons as Utica was 11-1 at home in 2017. Utica has been a winning team at home four times in the new milennium, and three of the four have happened under head coach Joe Milazzo.

It's Playtime: As long as weather conditions permit, the 2019 edition of the Pioneers will tie the school record for games played this weekend. The team currently is tied for second on the all-time list with 37 games played, and needs just two more games to tie the 2012 squad that appeared in 39 games. Utica's pitching staff will set a new school record for innings pitched if they play and complete one game. They have thrown 291 innings, and the 2015 Pioneers threw 295. They also need fourteen more putouts in the field to set a new school record in that category.

Three Hundo Club: The 2019 Pioneers are just the sixth team in program history to surpass 300 combined hits. Two years ago, the Pioneers had a school-record 351 hits, and in 2016, they had 342 hits to rank third. The current senior class will have been on teams to surpass the 300 hit mark in three of their four years here.

Tournament Experience: Three members of the Pioneers roster have appeared in an Empire 8 tournament game. Those players are Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck), Christian Tiffin (Sherrill, NY/VVS), and Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame). All three are now seniors. No current Pioneer pitcher has ever thrown in a postseason game at Utica, as the Pioneers relied on two arms in 2016 to get on to the final day. 

Defense Matters: Utica is on the mark to set a new school record for fielding percentage in a single season at 95.1 percent in 2019. Standouts include Matthew Leviton (South River, NJ/South River), who has played in 32 of the team's 37 games while catching and playing in the outfield, and has yet to be charged with an error this season, or in his entire career in 150 total chances. Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) has made just five errors in 200 chances at the corner infield positions for a .975 fielding percentage, and Charles McAllister (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) is close behind with just five errors in 196 total opportunities. The Pioneers have the third best fielding percentage in the conference.

At The Plate: As a club, the Pioneers are hitting .258 this season. Two every day players are hitting north of the .300 mark as Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) sets the pace with a .378 average, and shortstop Christian Tiffin (Sherrill, NY/VVS) is hitting .315. Utica is toting the fourth best team batting average in the conference heading into the postseason, and have scored 176 runs to also rank fourth. They have mashed the third most doubles in the conference.

Mr. Every Game: Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) is the only member of the ballclub to appear in all 37 games, of which he has started 36. He leads the team in batting average (.378), runs scored (23), hits (54), doubles (18), triples (2), home runs (2), RBI (27), and total bases (82). He is Utica's all-time leader with 176 career hits, and 47 career doubles. He has nine career triples, just two back of Alec Choleva's career mark of 11. He just became the program's second-best run scorer all time with 95 career runs scored. He is pulling away with the college's career RBI record with 125 after grabbing the all-time lead from Associate Athletic Director Jim Murnane at the end of last season. Murnane had 96 career RBI. Quinlan has recorded a program record 470 career at-bats. He is fifth in the Empire 8 in batting average this season, and fourth in hits. He is on a nine game hitting streak.

Tiff, Tiff, Hooray: Shortstop Christian Tiffin (Sherrill, NY/VVS) is second on the club in batting average at .315. He has started 26 games and has slapped eight doubles along with one home run, which was a grand slam in a win over Houghton.

Nice Work, Young Padawan: Zach McGettigan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) has put on a strong late season push. While appearing in just twelve games, and starting eleven, he has compiled an excellent .356 batting average as a freshman. He is a perfect 7-for-7 on steal attempts. He has recorded a hit in seven of his last eight games.

He Splits The Uprights: Sophomore Maki Medici (Latham, NY/Shaker) is becoming just as well known for hitting the baseball, as he is for kicking the football. He is currently batting .299 and could be above the .300 mark in his first season of varsity baseball with a strong outing this weekend.

The Ace Of The Deck: Junior Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) is the likely game one starter for Utica as the ace of the team's staff. The New York Mills native is 4-5 this season with an ERA of 3.48 in eleven starts, and opponents are struggling to hit the ball against him at .227. He is seventh in the Empire 8 in ERA, and is ranked ninth in the conference with 43 strikeouts. His four wins also rank ninth. In his last outing, he allowed two runs on three hits in one inning in a loss to Elmira.

Big Jon: Pitcher Jonathan Hardy (Clinton, NY/Clinton) is third in the conference when it comes to striking out batters looking. Hardy has landed the knockout blow on 18 hitters this season with a called third strike. Hardy recently had a wonderful performance against SUNY Canton where he allowed one run on four hits in six innings in the win that clinched Utica's spot in the conference tournament.

Sorry, We're Closed: Sophomore Joe Palmieri (West Islip, NY/West Islip) has fit in nicely in the closer role this season as he leads the Empire 8 with six saves. He has set a new school record for career saves in this season alone, as the previous career mark stood at five. He has an ERA of 1.38 and has allowed an opponent to score in just one outing the entire year. He has struck out sixteen and walked just two.

Starting Candidates: Baur, Hardy, AJ Farina (Sherrill, NY/VVS), Mark Spina (Frankfort, NY/Frankfort-Schuyler), and Sean Morris (Califon, NJ/Voorhee) are the leading candidates to start games this weekend. Morris is a perfect 3-0 this season when he has been part of the decision.

Against Ithaca: The Bombers swept the season series this year by scores of 4-2, 11-2, and 13-1. Ithaca has won the last five games of the series, with Utica's last win coming last season on April 14th. Matthew Leviton (South River, NJ/South River) drove in three runs on a pair of hits, and Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) and Brett Sarnowski (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) combined to pitch Utica to the win.

Up Next: If Utica wins, their next game would be at 1 p.m. on Friday, a loss puts Utica in an elimination game at 10 a.m. on Friday.