Utica, NY - The Utica College baseball team wrapped up its regular season with a 16-14 overall record and a 9-8 mark in the Empire 8 which earned them the three-seed in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The Pioneers will face two-seeded Houghton College in a best-of-three series where the winner will move on to the Empire 8 Championship. UC will travel to Houghton on Friday for two nine-inning games where they can advance if they win both. A split will force a game three to be played on May 15th or 16th. Game one on Friday will start at 2 p.m. while game two will follow shortly after the conclusion of game one. If a game three is necessary on Saturday first pitch will be at 3 p.m. from Houghton, NY. 
 
Follow Along: Fans can follow https://portal.stretchinternet.com/houghton/ for all games to watch or keep up with live stats. 
 
Last Time Out: UC fell to Houghton 21-9 on May 7th in what turned out to be the final regular season game for both teams. The Highlanders jumped out to a 6-1 lead after two innings before the Pioneers clawed back to take a 9-6 lead going into the bottom of the 6th inning. However, Houghton's offense erupted for 15 runs over its final three frames at the plate to pull away with a 12-run win. 
 
Tournament History: Since the Empire 8 Conference Tournament began in 2015, the Pioneers have made three appearances while owning a 1-7 all-time record in postseason play. The program's lone win in the tournament came in 2016 when they stunned top-seeded St. John Fisher in the opening game, 7-3. UC would eventually lose its next two games; a 5-4 loss to Ithaca, who would go on to win the championship, and a 6-5 loss to Fisher in the losers bracket final. The Pioneers and Highlanders have met once before in the conference tournament back in 2015 where UC fell 13-3. 
 
Season Outlook: UC (16-14, 9-8 E8) finished second in the conference behind St. John Fisher with a .330 team average, 6.50 ERA and a .950 fielding percentage (46 errors in 917 chances). Impressively, the offense finished atop of the conference with a strikeout rate of 14.1 percent while the pitching staff gave up 12 home runs in 224.1 innings, the fewest allowed in the E8. The pitching staff yielded a .300 average to opponents while recording 212 strikeouts, 54 of which coming from Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills). 
 
Milestones To Watch: Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame) can become the 16th player in program history to record 100 career hits. He's currently sitting at 98 hits and will have at least two more games to reach the centennial mark before the end of the season. Already owning the record for all-time wins and games started, Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) can add to his Hall of Fame worthy résumé. Baur is 9.1 innings away from throwing the most innings in program history, two more appearances away from taking the mound more times than any other pitcher in UC history and 15 strikeouts away from becoming the all-time strikeout king. With 17 more strikeouts, Baur can also set the new single season record which is currently at 70. Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) and Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) are both currently on pace to set the single season record for on-base percentage. Both of them are sitting at .548 while the current record is .531. 
 
The Name is Bats, Joey Bats: Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) didn't cool down at any point this season as the senior finished second in the Empire 8 with a .439 batting average. He's recorded at least one hit in 20 of his last 21 games while his 43 total for the season placed him fifth in the conference. "Joey Bats" led the team with a 1.160 OPS, .548 OBP, 33 runs scored, 30 RBIs and 12 doubles. 
 
Like Mike: The emergence of shortstop Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) has been a sight to behold over the last month. After starting the season 2-for-10 at the plate, Muentener kicked it into high gear and finished the season with a .429 batting average, the third highest in the Empire 8. Since becoming the primary shortstop on April 7th, Muentener has gone 25-for-53 at the plate (.471) while in his last five games he's 10-for-15 with eight runs scored. Impressively, Muentener has struck out only four times in 63 at-bats (six percent strikeout rate). He also worked 16 walks on the year which helped him reach an on-base percentage of .548, tying Battista for the best on the team as well as second in the E8. 
 
Sonshine: When you think of a workhorse, think of John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills). The first baseman is the only Pioneer to play and start in each of the team's 30 games this season. Son not only suited up everyday, but he was a top contributor on the team as he finished fifth in the conference with a .410 average. His 41 hits, 29 RBIs and 11 doubles were second on the team behind Battista while his three home runs led the team as well as tied him for fifth in the Empire 8. He also led the team with a .630 slugging percentage which was also the fourth best in the E8. Son is currently riding a six-game hitting streak while also hitting safely in nine of his last 10 games. 
 
Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders (19-12, 11-9 E8) enter the tournament as a two-seed which fairs well for them as they are 15-5 at home this season. UC and Houghton met nine times this season as the Pioneers won the overall season series 5-4 while Houghton took three of the five games that counted towards conference record, including the most recent three matchups. They rank third in the conference with a .304 batting average, 7.63 ERA and .947 fielding percentage. Wayne Rode, a two-time E8 Player of the Week, finished fourth in the conference with a .416 average while finishing second in the E8 with five home runs. Ryan Newton (6-1, 4.45 ERA) leads the team with 56.2 innings while leading the conference with four complete games. Hunter Kendall (4-3, 6.05 ERA) and Jeremey Wilcox (3-3, 7.49 ERA) have served as the Highlanders' other two primary starters. 

Up Next: If UC takes both games on Friday the team will advance to its first ever Empire 8 Championship Series which will begin on Friday, May 21st. A split with the Highlanders would force a winner-take-all game three to be played on Saturday or Sunday at Houghton.