Rochester, NY - The Utica College baseball team went on the road on Tuesday afternoon and picked up the program's first win over St. John Fisher since May 12, 2016. The Pioneers defeated the Cardinals, who received 42 votes in the latest top-25 poll, 8-2 while also handing Fisher its first Empire 8 loss of the season. 

The Pioneers drew first blood in the top of the first inning as Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) connected for a 2-out single to center that brought Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) home from second to give starter Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) and UC an early 1-0 advantage. 

Baur cruised through his first two innings on the bump, allowing one hit while facing seven batters before the offense gave him an extra run to work with in the top of the third inning. Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) stepped into the box with the bases loaded and one out and hit a slow chopper to third baseman James Murphy who looked to get the force out at home. On the play, Murphy overthrew the catcher which allowed Battista to score from third before Matthew Leviton (South River, NJ/South River) was called out attempting to score from second on the overthrow. Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic) flew out to end the inning with the Pioneers ahead 2-0. 

While the Pioneers offense was held in check from the fourth through the seventh innings, Baur ensured the Pioneers' lead was secure. He escaped from a jam in the bottom of the third inning in which the Cardinals had a man on third with two outs before recording an inning ending strikeout. After a clean fourth, Baur once again escaped a 2-out jam in the fifth inning with a strikeout as the Cardinals were threatening with runners on the corners. 

After Baur allowed the first two men to reach base in the sixth inning, Fisher found the board thanks to an RBI single to left field by Adam Zebrowski, who is the leading hitter in the E8, to cut the Pioneers' lead in half. Baur's day ended following the play as he tossed five-plus innings while allowing one earned run on four hits to go along with six strikeouts. Daniel Parslow (Fonda, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) came on in relief and was able to induce a 6-3 double play which was followed by a fly out to end the sixth with UC ahead 2-1. 

The Pioneers went on the push across six more runs between the seventh and eight innings with big hits coming from a Muentener two RBI single to right field in seventh and Noah Barber (Cortland, NY/Cortland) adding two more the same way in the eighth inning as UC took an 8-1 lead into the home half of the eight. 

The Cardinals added an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth however, Parslow got through the remainder of the inning unharmed before finishing Fisher off in the ninth inning to give UC an 8-2 win. Parslow finished the game pitching the final four innings allowing an unearned run on one hit with a strikeout added to his line. 

At the plate, Sean Vanegas (Bronx, NY/Mt. St. Michael) went 3-for-5 with a run scored. Barber finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs while Muentener recorded one hit in three at-bats to go along with three RBIs in the game. 

UC (13-11, 6-5 Empire 8) and Fisher will meet for a doubleheader at Dugan Yard again on Saturday. Game one is set to start at 1 p.m.