Utica, NY - The Utica College baseball team is set to travel to Rochester, NY on Friday for games one and two of the best-of-three Empire 8 Championship Series against top-seeded St. John Fisher College. Game one will begin at noon while game two is expected to start at approximately 3 p.m. If necessary, the Pioneers and Cardinals will meet again on Saturday in a winner-take-all game three at 1 p.m. in Rochester. 
 
How To Watch: Both games on Friday and, if necessary, Saturday, can be streamed by following https://bit.ly/2HB1Fes. Live stats will also be provided through https://bit.ly/2XHS2xK. 
 
Last Time Out: The (3) Pioneers met (2) Houghton College in the best-of-three semifinal series last weekend. In game one, the Highlanders climbed back from a 7-4 deficit in the bottom of the 8th inning before winning the game in the 9th on a leadoff walk-off home run. However, the UC offense erupted for 18 runs on 13 hits in game two on Friday night to come away with an 18-5 win to force a game three on Saturday. In that game, UC found itself behind 6-5 entering the final inning of play. With backs to the wall, the Pioneers' offense pushed across three runs, two of which coming from a two-out Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic) base hit up the middle, to take an 8-6 lead into the bottom half. Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) came on for his first save opportunity of the season and although he allowed one run in the inning it wasn't enough as the Pioneers advanced to its first ever Empire 8 Championship Series with an 8-7 win. 
 
All-Conference Selections: Seven members of the UC baseball team were named to Empire 8 All-Conference honors. Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) was named E8 First Team designated hitter while Brian Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) was one of three First Team relievers. Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) (SP), Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) (SS), Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic) (2B) and John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) (1B) were all selected to the E8 Second Team while Matthew Leviton (South River, NJ/South River) was UC's Sportsman of the Year recipient. 
 
Milestones to Watch: UC is enjoying one of its best seasons in program history as the team's current 18 wins is tied for the sixth most all-time in UC baseball history. The team also set the single season record for runs scored in a season (288) and can set the single season record for team strikeouts with eight more as they currently have 242 as a team. Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) finds himself three strikeouts away from setting the single season record while needing just one more to become the all-time strikeout king in program history. 
 
Son Shined All Weekend: John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) had one of the best performances on the team in the semifinal series. In three games, Son went 7-for-15 at the plate with three doubles, three runs scored, seven RBIs and a grand slam in game two that put the final nail in the coffin. The first baseman leads the team with four home runs this season, tied for the team lead with 36 RBIs and also finds himself fifth in the E8 with a .417 batting average on the year on a team that owns the 34th highest batting average in DIII (.330). 
 
Bats Attack: Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) also had an outstanding weekend at the plate, which comes as no surprise as the Empire 8 First Team All-Conference member has produced all season for the Pioneers. At Houghton, Battista finished the series 7-for-14 at the plate with four RBIs and three runs scored. Battista, who leads the team with a .446 batting average, 50 hits, 36 RBIs and 36 runs scored, is also near the top of the nation in hitting. Battista's .446 average is the 23rd highest in Division III for those that have played in at least 20 games this season. The designated hitter is also top-five in the E8 with a .556 OBP, 28 walks worked and 13 doubles. 
 
Big Game James: The Sequel: James Roeschlaub (Auburn, NY/Auburn HS) (3-2, 4.58 ERA) has become a reliable number two starter in the UC pitching rotation. Tied for second on the team with six starts, Roeschlaub has gone the distance twice, including a two-hit, 14 strikeout shutout over Keuka on April 20th. His 53 strikeouts places him third in the E8 while his mark of 13.5 K/9 is the ninth best in the nation for anyone that has logged over 30 innings pitched. The hard throwing lefty earned the win in game two at Houghton as he tossed 6.1 innings in which he allowed five runs (two earned) on 10 hits while striking out 10 Highlanders. 
 
UC/Fisher Season Series: Fisher took two out of the three games played between the teams this season while the other two scheduled games were canceled due to weather/field conditions. Although the Cardinals captured 16-1 and 9-4 wins in the most recent two meetings, UC handed Fisher its only conference loss this season, 8-2, on April 27th. The pitching duo of Baur and Daniel Parslow (Fonda, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) held the highest scoring team in Division III to its second lowest scoring game of the season when they combined to allow two runs over nine innings. Baur earned his fourth win of the season in that game as he went five innings allowing one run on four hits while recording six strikeouts. Parslow earned his first save of the season when he inherited a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning in a 2-0 game and ultimately escaped it with the lead intact. He tossed the final four innings where he allowed one unearned run on one hit with one strikeout to help give the Pioneers its first win over Fisher since 2016. 
 
UC/Fisher Postseason History: Since the Empire 8 tournament began in 2015, UC and Fisher have met three times in the postseason. The Cardinals own the slight advantage, 2-1, taking the first and third meetings between the teams. In the inaugural Empire 8 Conference Tournament hosted by Utica College, Fisher took down the Pioneers, 6-1. The following season, the fourth-seeded Pioneers stunned the top-seeded cardinals, 7-3, in the opening round before Fisher avenged its loss with a 6-5 win over UC in the semifinals. That would be the last time the teams met in the postseason until this upcoming weekend. 
 
Scouting Fisher: The No. 23 St. John Fisher Cardinals enter the series with a 29-5 overall record and finished E8 play with a 17-1 mark. The top-seeded Cardinals completed a two game sweep over Keuka College in its semifinal round as they defeated the Wolves 10-1 in game one and 20-8 in the series clincher in Rochester. While the 406 total runs scored by the team tops all of DIII, Fisher also boasts the highest slugging percentage (.582) and the third highest team batting average in the nation (.366). Adam Zebrowski, who was named Empire 8 Player of the Year, has had a monstrous season that has put him on a national scale. His .520 batting average is the second highest in DIII for anyone that has over 20 games played while his 17 home runs ties him for the second most in DIII and is a new single season record for Fisher. He also enters the championship series riding a 27-game hitting streak. The pitching staff, led by Empire 8 Pitcher of the year, RJ Kuruts, as well as Anthony Brophy, tops the E8 with a 4.15 ERA, 319 strikeouts and a .249 opponent batting average. Kuruts (10-1, 3.21 ERA) finished sixth in DIII with 90 strikeouts over 61.2 innings pitched while his 10 wins is tied for the most in DIII. Brophy (7-0, 1.67 ERA) had the 36th best ERA in the nation for anyone that logged over 30 innings on the bump. 

Up Next: If UC takes two out of three games against Fisher the program would capture its first-ever Empire 8 championship. If so, the NCAA DIII selection show will take place on May 23rd at 10 p.m. and will be streamed on NCAA.com. A series loss would end a historic season for the UC baseball team.