UTICA, NY - The Utica University baseball team will open Empire 8 play against Russell Sage College this weekend while also playing in its home opener. The Pioneers will host the Gators in a doubleheader on Saturday with game one beginning at 1 p.m. while remaining at home on Sunday as the designated away team for another twin bill beginning at 1 p.m. 
 
Follow Along: Those not in attendance for Utica's home opener on Saturday or on Sunday can watch or follow with live stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
 
Last Time Out: Utica surrendered its 8th inning lead to the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons and couldn't respond back in the 9th as the team fell on the road 5-4 on Wednesday. Jack Krug (Amsterdam, NY/Canajoharie) pitched well in the opening two frames, setting down six of the first seven batters he faced in the game in his only two innings of work. The Pioneers scored one in the top of the 3rd inning on a two-out RBI single by John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills). Oneonta came back with one of its own in the home half to even the game at one before the Pioneers responded with two runs in the top of the 4th to regain the lead at 3-1. The Red Dragons went on to cut the Pioneers' lead in half on an RBI groundout in the bottom of the 5th. Utica got the run back in the 7th inning on a Nathan Yantz (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) RBI double to go ahead 4-2. In the home half, Oneonta responded with a run to make it a 4-3 game. Still 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th, the Red Dragons pushed home the tying run with one out in the inning before a two-out single gave the home team its first lead of the game at 5-4. With Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) on second and one away, Son and Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) were set down via strikeout to end the game. Seven different players combined for each of Utica's seven hits while five different pitchers were used throughout the game. The final three runs scored by the Red Dragons were their only three earned runs of the game. 
 
Young Guns: As a freshman on the pitching staff, Jack Krug (Amsterdam, NY/Canajoharie) has answered the call when needed. The righty allowed just one hit over his two innings of work against Oneonta on Wednesday and chalked up a strikeout. On the season, the southpaw is second on the team with a 3.27 ERA (four earned runs over 11 innings) and has given up seven hits. He's also second on the team with a 1.00 WHIP while having struck out 10 hitters to four walks. Krug's classmate, Ben Hladun (Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake ), settled into his role against Oneonta as well. After his collegiate debut in which he surrendered four runs on five hits in one inning, Hladun responded with two quality innings pitched against the Red Dragons, going two frames while allowing no earned runs on two hits as well as recording one strikeout. Another freshman on the staff, Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro ), is tied for the team lead with four appearances on the bump. 
 
Spreading the Wealth: Of Utica's 100 total hits on the early season, 17 different players have recorded at least one. Among the 61 qualified hitters in the Empire 8, the Pioneers have eight representatives within the top-50 in total hits. Of the team's 86 runs batted in, 15 different players have driven in at least one run. Led by Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls), who is tied for first in the E8 with 15, and Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw), who is third in the league with 13, Utica has eight players in the top-40 RBI leaders in the conference which ties St. John Fisher for the most in that range. 
 
Any Way You Can: Through 11 games, the Pioneers rank fourth in Division III with a .473 team on-base percentage. Battista leads the E8 and is 18th in the nation with a .568 OBP, followed by Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) who is second in the conference with an OBP of .535. While Muentener has reached base six times via hit this season, he has worked 14 walks which tops the Empire 8. His mark of 1.4 walks per game ranks third in DIII. Also in the top-10 for OBP in the league are Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton HS) (.519) and Noah Barber (Cortland, NY/Cortland) (.500) while Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) and May are within the top-20, respectively. When on base, the Pioneers are also 16-for-17 on stolen base attempts this season while hitters have avoided grounding into double plays, totaling zero such instances through 11 games. 
 
Scouting Sage: In their inaugural season, the Gators are currently 3-13 overall and 0-0 in conference play. A team comprised of 27 freshmen (30 underclassmen in all of 33 total players), one of which, Jacob Coonan, is second in the Empire 8 with a .444 batting average. As a whole, Sage is hitting .260 while averaging just under five runs per game. The team's top-four leaders in at-bats are all hitting .300 or better while Christian Brown (.258, 8-for-31) leads the team with four home runs. On the mound, the Gators own an 8.41 ERA and are topped by William Simkim who is fifth in the E8 with a 4.08 ERA. 

The Road Ahead: The Pioneers will host Cazenovia College at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Apr. 5 in a makeup game that was previously scheduled for Mar. 9.