CLINTON, NY - The Utica University baseball team split its neutral site doubleheader with the SUNY Canton Kangaroos at Hamilton College on Saturday evening. 
 
Canton 15, Utica 9 
John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) got the Pioneers offense started in the home half of the 1st inning with an RBI double. The Kangaroos responded in the top of the 2nd as the visitors put up four runs on Utica starter James Roeschlaub (Auburn, NY/Auburn HS) for an early 4-1 lead. 
 
Utica answered back with a pair in the bottom half of the frame by way of a Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) single that drove in two runs before the team tied the game at 4-4 in the 3rd inning after Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) drove home Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls). Canton broke the tie in the 4th inning after scoring five runs while Utica managed two in the home half, making it a 9-6 game in favor of Canton entering the 5th. 
 
The Pioneers evened the game again after a one-run 5th and another two-RBI single by May in the 6th to enter the final inning of play tied at nine. However, the Kangaroos continued its trend of chunk runs by coming across home six times in the 7th, leaving the Pioneers in a 15-9 hole with three outs to go. Utica was set down after four batters as Canton took game one. 
 
Roeschalub tossed four innings allowing nine runs, seven earned, on eight hits. Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro ) pitched the final three frames allowing six runs on four hits in the losing effort. Both pitchers struck out five batters as well. At the plate, May led the team with two hits and five RBIs while Son, Battista, McCullough and Noah Barber (Cortland, NY/Cortland) also had two hits each. Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic) went on to drive in a pair of runs as well. 
 
Utica 4, Canton 3
Pitching dominated the first three innings as the teams were tied at zero entering the 4th inning. With Ryan Cardone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) still dealing for Utica, a defensive error with one away in the top of the 4th frame led to an RBI single then a two-RBI single for three unearned Canton runs. Cardone would go on to complete the inning while pitching clean 5th and 6th innings as the Pioneers trailed 3-0 entering the 7th. 
 
Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville) came on to pitch in the 7th inning and despite an error coming off the bat of the first hitter of the frame, he escaped the inning clean. Down 3-0 in the 7th, the Pioneers worked walks in four of the first five batters to now trail 3-1 with bases loaded and one away. Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) singled home a run, leading to an RBI walk from Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro ) to tie the game at three with one out. 
 
The next batter, Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame), stepped up with the bases juiced and ended the game with an RBI single for a 4-3 Pioneers win. 
 
Cardone went six innings allowing three runs, none earned, with three strikeouts. Mangino earned his first win of the season after an inning of no run ball, allowing just one base runner by way of an error. At the plate, Battista recorded two of the team's four hits while John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) and Fitzgerald were responsible for the other two. 
 
Utica (6-4) will play its home opener against Canton at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.