Utica, NY - The Utica College baseball team will look to get back in the win column this week when they travel to Elmira College for a doubleheader on April 7 with game one starting at 1 p.m. The team will also play Houghton College in a pair of doubleheaders this weekend. The Pioneers will stay home on April 9 with game one at 1 p.m while on April 10 Houghton will host Utica with game one also starting at 1 p.m. These will be the first games that count towards the Empire 8 standings for UC.
Follow Along: Fans can follow along with live stats on April 9 by following the link provided
https://bit.ly/2wtxUV5. On April 10 Houghton will provide a live stream of the game which can be viewed by following this link
https://bit.ly/2xy5ERx. Be sure to check Elmira's website on Wednesday for its link to live stats.
Last Time Out: Utica is coming off a doubleheader loss to Alfred State where they came up short in game one 7-3 before dropping a high scoring game two 14-9. The Pioneers held an 8-5 lead in game two before the Alfred State offense exploded for nine unanswered runs over a three inning span.
Take Me to the Barber Shop: Noah Barber (Cortland, NY/Cortland) was one of the bright spots during the weekend sweep. Barber started game two behind the plate for UC and went 3-for-4 at the dish with a pair of doubles and a home run while driving in four runs. The sophomore is now 8-for-16 on the season with six RBIs and a 1.525 OPS. While his playing time has been limited, Barber has produced each time his number has been called.
Joe Knows: Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) also had a quality day at the plate against Alfred State. The senior went 4-for-6 between the two games while driving in two runs in each game and working a pair of walks. "Joey Bats" currently sits fourth in the E8 with a .400 batting average while also finding himself in the top-10 with a .633 slugging percentage, .538 on base percentage, 12 RBIs and nine walks. Battista has also struck out in just six percent of his at bats.
A Look at Elmira: The Eagles are 2-9 this season and coming off a 10-9 loss on March 30 to Alfred State. As a team Elmira is hitting right on the Mendoza Line at .200 this season while Luke Frontale leads qualified hitters on the team with a .296 batting average. About 75 percent of Elmira's hits are singles as they have hit for extra bases 16 times out of 60 total team hits. The pitching staff has posted a 6.75 ERA in 11 games however, fielding has not helped the team. While the Eagles have surrendered 63 earned runs, they have given up a conference high 97 runs and have allowed by far the most unearned runs in the E8. This mostly has to do with it's league worst 0.916 fielding percentage and 34 total errors.
Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders are currently 8-3 this season while all three losses were against the Pioneers between March 25-27. Four of the team's eight wins came against common opponent Alfred State. Houghton outscored Alfred State 25-13 over the four games while holding them to three runs or less in three of the games. They have three of the top-10 hitters in the E8 with Zach Parr batting .447 (second), Wayne Rode .412 (third) and David Wessells .375 (seventh). Ryan Newtown, who tossed a complete game against UC on March 25, is third in the E8 with a 2.63 ERA while having the second most wins (three) and pitching the most innings in the conference so far with 24.
Down the Road: The Pioneers will hit the road on April 14 to take on SUNY Cobleskill at 3 p.m. UC is 2-1 all-time against the Tigers with all three previous games being played in 2019.
