Utica, NY - The top two baseball teams in the Empire 8 are set to square off five times this week as the second place Utica College Pioneers will travel to first place St. John Fisher on Tuesday and Saturday before hosting the Cardinals on Sunday. Tuesday's game will be a single nine-inning contest that will begin at 3 p.m. while Saturday and Sunday will feature a pair of doubleheaders starting at 1 p.m. on both days. 
 
Follow Along: Fans can keep up with live stats or watch by following https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sjfc/ on Tuesday and Saturday while using https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ to follow live stats on Sunday. 
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers traveled to Keuka Park, NY on April 20 and came home with a series split against the Wolves. Keuka took game one thanks to a walk-off double while UC fired on all cylinders in the second game, taking down the Wolves 14-0. The offense erupted for 11 hits while John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) led the charge at the dish going 3-for-4 with a 1st inning three-run home run and a total of six RBIs in the game. 
 
Big Game James: James Roeschlaub (Auburn, NY/Auburn HS) went the distance for UC in game two against Keuka on April 20. The junior took a no-hit bid into the 6th inning before ultimately allowing two hits over the final two frames. He sat down 14 batters via strikeout while walking just three en route to a complete game shutout and his first career win as a member of the Pioneers. 
 
All Gas, No Brakes: While Fisher has the top offense in the conference, the Pioneers shouldn't be overlooked at the plate. They rank second in the Empire 8 with a .332 team batting average, 194 total runs (8.4 runs per game), 64 extra-base hits, nine home runs and a .442 on-base percentage. Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) and John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) have both played large parts in the Pioneers offensive success this season. Battista is second in the conference with a .447 batting average, tied for first with 11 doubles while ranking fifth with 23 RBIs and a .537 on-base percentage. Son finds himself fifth in the Empire 8 with a .427 batting average, tied for third with three home runs while also tied for second with 26 RBIs. 
 
I Got a Story to Tell: Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton HS) has quietly become an asset to the Pioneers offense over the past two weeks. The freshman has recorded a hit in 10 of his last 11 games while seeing his batting average climb to .371. While he hasn't played enough to qualify for the Empire 8 leader board, that average would place him in the top-10 in the conference. In 14 games, Story has compiled 13 hits that include three doubles and a homerun, as well as a .987 OPS. 
 
Levi, Levi, Levi, Can't You See: Matthew Leviton (South River, NJ/South River) has been on a different level since April 13. Over his last six games since April 13, Leviton has hit .400 (10-for-25) while recording multiple hits in four of those games. He's also hit safely in eight of his last nine games overall. His past week has helped his average climb to .351 which is good enough for the 11th best in the Empire 8. 
 
Scouting Fisher: The Cardinals enter the week 21-4 overall on the year while owning a perfect 12-0 Empire 8 record as well as riding a nine-game winning streak. They lead the conference with a .349 team batting average, 276 total runs (11.04 runs per game), 297 hits and a whopping 31 home runs in 25 games. Adam Zebrowski leads the charge on offense as he leads the E8 with a .506 batting average, 45 hits and 11 home runs. Noah Campanelli is also a top-five hitter in the conference as he ranks fifth hitting .416. The pitching staff also tops the conference with a 4.10 ERA, 228 strikeouts in 200 innings while holding opponents to a .248 batting average. Anthony Brophy (5-0, 1.75 ERA), Alec Teska (3-1, 2.97 ERA) and RJ Kuruts (7-1, 3.02 ERA) own the top-three ERA's in the conference. Kuruts also leads the conference with 69 strikeouts in 44.2 innings of work. 

Up Next: UC will play its final five regular season games next week with four of them being played at home. The week will start on May 4 against Keuka College with the start time TBD.