UTICA, NY - For a second straight season, the Utica University baseball team will travel to Rochester, NY to take on the St. John Fisher College Cardinals in the Empire 8 Championship. The best-of-three series is set to begin on Friday, May 13 with game one at noon and game two to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Game three, if necessary, is scheduled for Saturday, May 14 at 1 p.m. 
 
Follow Along: Fisher will provide live video and stats for games one and two and, if necessary, game three on Saturday. Fans can watch live through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sjfc/ or keep up with live stats through https://athletics.sjfc.edu/sidearmstats/baseball/summary. 
 
Last Time Out: Utica held off a strong comeback attempt by the Russell Sage Gators to win game three of the Empire 8 Tournament Semifinals, 11-7, and advance to its second consecutive conference championship. The game started with a thrilling play by Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) in center field and Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame) at home. With one away and a runner at third following a triple, Crossley made a catch on a shallow line drive to him. With the runner from third tagging, Crossley came up throwing to Fitzgerald who caught the ball on a one-hop off the pitchers mound and positioned himself in front of the plate to slap the tag and keep the game scoreless. The Pioneers used that momentum in their first at-bats. With two aboard and one away, Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) smoked the first pitch he saw to the right center field gap to bring Crossley home from second and move Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro ) to third. While Sage evened the game in the top of the 2nd on an error, Utica tallied three more in the bottom half. Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) started the inning with a triple and scored easily on a Fitzgerald double down the right field line. Fitzgerald scored on a Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) sacrifice bunt attempt that turned into a throwing error by the third baseman. McCullough then scored on a bunt single by Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) to make it a 4-1 game after two. Pioneers' starter Tyler Catalfamo (Albany, NY/Colonie) got out of the top of the 3rd inning on a heads-up unassisted double play by May at shortstop. With runners on first and second with one away, May gloved a line drive back at him and then beat the runner on second back to the base to double up the Gators. The sides traded runs in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings as the game entered the bottom of the 6th with Utica up 6-3. A fielding error at shortstop brought home the team's seventh run before Battista roped another two-RBI double to right field to extend Utica's lead to 9-3. However, Sage battled back in the top of the 7th. The team rattled off two runs on five hits before the first out could be recorded which turned out to be a ground ball double play that left a runner on third base for the Gators. May came on to pitch in relief of Brian Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) and while the Gators scored two more in the inning, May was able to limit the damage to enter the bottom half up 9-7. The Pioneers were able to score twice more in the 7th thanks to a one-out RBI single by Fitzgerald that scored May from second base and a sacrifice bunt by Steve Sclafani (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale HS) to bring home McCullough from third. Sage threatened in the 8th after the first two batters reached base. However, a strikeout, 5-3 ground out and another strikeout prevented the team from scoring. Utica was also retired in the 8th without any further run support to set up an 11-7 lead entering the final inning. The Gators once again applied pressure with the first two men reaching base. May was able to strike out the next batter while the second out was recorded on a line drive to right. With two away, Joe Salerno III of Sage chopped a ball between third base and home. May was able to take a good first step off the mound to secure the ball, make the throw and send Utica back to the Empire 8 Conference Championship. May led the team at the plate going 5-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. He also tossed 2.1 scoreless innings to finish the game. Muentener, Fasolo and Battista all had two-hit outings as well. Battista also led the team with three RBI while Fitzgerald had two. 
 
Best of the Best: A program record nine members of the Utica University baseball team were named Empire 8 All-Conference selections, as announced by the conference on May 11. Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) (First Team Outfield), Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) (First Team Outfield), Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) (First Team Utility), Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) (Second Team Designated Hitter), Ryan Cardone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (Second Team Starting Pitcher), Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic) (Second Team Second Baseman), Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) (Second Team Shortstop and Relief Pitcher), Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville) (Second Team Relief Pitcher) and Noah Barber (Cortland, NY/Cortland) (Sportsman of the Year) received honors after each had tremendous 2022 seasons. 
 
Cardone's World: Ryan Cardone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was named Empire 8 Co-Pitcher of the week on May 9. In Utica's 12-0 game one semifinal win over Russell Sage College on May 6, Cardone hurled seven shutout innings allowing just three hits while striking out six and walking none. The Whitesboro, NY native retired the first six Sage batters in order before escaping a 3rd inning unharmed that saw the first two Sage hitters reach base with no outs. After setting down the first two batters in the 4th, the next two Sage hitters reached base before Cardone induced an inning ending groundout to shortstop. From the 5th through 7th innings, Cardone allowed just two base runners on a hit and a fielding error as his day ended after 93 pitchers over 27 batters faced. Cardone leads Utica and is tied for second in the E8 with five wins (5-1) while his 2.08 ERA is second in the conference and is the seventh-lowest for a single season in program history. Over 199 batters faced, 52 innings pitched and nine appearances, opponents have hit .236 on the sophomore while he has also struck out 44 batters to issuing just 10 walks. 
 
Bringing the Heat: Along with Cardone, the likes of James Roeschlaub (Auburn, NY/Auburn HS) and Tyler Catalfamo (Albany, NY/Colonie) have given Utica reliable starters to bridge the gap to the shutdown bullpen arms of Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw), Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville) and Brian Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas). Roeschlaub is tied for the conference lead with 11 starts this season and ranks third in the E8 with 50 strikeouts under his belt. Catalfamo is tied for third on the team with seven starts and has a 3-1 record to go with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. May has thrown 15 innings of relief over 11 games, including the final 2.1 innings in game three of the semifinals against Sage. May is 0-1 on the season with a 3.00 ERA and four saves, which is the second-most in a single season in program history. He has also totaled 22 strikeouts to eight walks while opponents have his just .161 off of the hard-throwing righty. Mangino carries a 4-0 record and a 3.57 ERA over 15 appearances into the championship while Dinnen owns a 4.32 ERA over 16.2 innings of work. 
 
Slugging Away: The Pioneers enter the championship with a team batting average of .315 and a .465 slugging percentage, both good enough for second in the E8. Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) (.418), Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) (.362), Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) (.346), Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) (.342) and Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) (.331) are all within the top-15 in the league in batting. Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro ) and Jack Bono (Frankfort, NY/Frankfort-Fort Schuyler) have also played crucial roles since becoming regular starters as Bono is hitting .373 while Fasolo is at .312 while having recorded seven hits in his last 14 at-bats. Battista (.583), May (553) and Crossley are also among the league leaders in slugging percentage. 
 
About Fisher: The top-seeded Cardinals are 28-14 on the season and finished conference play 18-2 with their only two losses coming against Utica and Sage. The 2021 Empire 8 champions reached the finals after defeating Elmira in three games (Game 1: Elmira 6, Fisher 5; Game 2: Fisher 31, Elmira 2; Game 3: Fisher 14, Elmira 2). Fisher leads the E8 with a team .318 batting average, a .479 slugging percentage, 9.3 runs per game, 39 home runs, a 4.49 ERA and a .347 opponent batting average. Noah Campanelli, the Empire 8 Player of the Year, is tied with Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) for the league lead with a .418 batting average and is the sole leader with 69 hits, a .618 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage. Ben Lavery and Brian Norsen have brought the power to the offense all season as Lavery leads the E8 with 11 home runs and Norsen is second with nine. The pair are also tied for the conference lead with 51 RBI. Connor McHugh, the Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year, leads the E8 with a 7-1 record as well as with a 1.52 ERA and a .154 batting average against. The Pioneers went 1-3 against the Cardinals this season while going 1-1 against Fisher at Dugan Yard on April 9. Fisher took the first game of the doubleheader that day, 3-0, before Utica won the second game 11-4. 

Up Next: The winner of the championship series will receive an automatic bid in the 2022 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament.