UTICA, NY - The Utica University baseball team will play its home opener at 3 p.m. on Tuesday against Union College. The following day, the Pioneers will travel to SUNY Oneonta for a 4 p.m. game before welcoming Houghton University for a three-game series, starting at 3 p.m. on Friday before the sides meet for a twinbill on Saturday beginning at noon.
Follow Along: For all home games, fans can keep up with live video and/or stats through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ while Oneonta will have live video through
https://oneontaathletics.com/watch/?Live=219&type=Live and live stats at
https://oneontaathletics.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary.
Last Time Out: Utica claimed its season series against the Russell Sage College Gators thanks to an 11-6 win in game one before falling 15-12 in game two at Gutchess Sports Complex on Sunday. In game one,
John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) had a perfect performance at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, and a walk to go with two RBI.
Steve Sclafani (North Massapequa, NY/Farmingdale) recorded three hits in three trips to the play while
Matthew Kanyuk (Mellville, NY/Hills East),
Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) and
Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) each had two hits in the win. Fasolo also drove in a team-high four runs. On the mound,
James Roeschlaub (Auburn, NY/Auburn) earned the win after going five-plus innings allowing four runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts and four walks issued.
Aidan McCue (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) produced one inning with one unearned run allowed on no hits with two walks and a strikeout.
Chris D'Agostino (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) pitched the final inning giving up one run on two hits and two walks with a strikeout. In the second game,
Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw),
Andrew Salbinski (Essex, CT/Valley Regional) and
John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) led Utica with two hits each. May drove in a team-high four runs followed by Son with three. On the mound, starter
Kooper Knabe (Cortland, NY/Cortland) picked up the win after going five innings allowing six runs, just two earned, on nine hits while striking out five and walking three.
Derrike Goutremout (Chaumont, NY/Lyme Central) went one-plus innings allowing six runs, four earned, on three hits and three walks in the losing effort.
Jack Krug (Rotterdam Junction, NY/Canajoharie) and
Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville) combined for one run allowed over two innings as well.
Dom Bomb: The sweet-swinging lefty that is
Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) could not have asked for a better start to his 2023 campaign. Through 35 at-bats, Fasolo is slashing .486/.525/.686 with four doubles, a homerun and 13 RBI. His batting average tops the E8 while his slugging percentage and on-base percentage also rank within the top-five in the conference.
We've Got Sonshine: John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) had a dominant week at the plate in a 4-1 week for Utica. Son went 9-for-21 at the dish with three doubles, two triples and a homerun while driving in 15 runs and scoring nine times. Over his 21 trips to the plate, Son also drew three walks and was called out on strikes just one time. Son had a six RBI performance in game one against SUNY Canton on Wednesday that included a three-run homer to left field. He also went a perfect 4-4 at the plate in game one against Sage on Sunday with two doubles, a triple, three RBI and three runs scored. On the year, Son's 23 RBI lead the Empire 8 while his .378 average ranks within the top-five in the league as well. Keep an eye on his next week as well, Son is 12 hits away from becoming the 18th player in program history to reach 100 career hits.
About Union: The Dutchmen will travel to Utica 5-5 overall on the year after taking game one from Williams on Sunday, 10-4, before game two was called before it began. The team has averaged 5.1 runs per game over its first 10 outings while the offense has hit for a combined .254 average and has posted a .356 on-base percentage. Union has two qualified hitters batting over .300 in Thomas Parisi (.356, 6-17 with one extra-base hit) and Kobe Mentzer (.333), who also leads the unit with 11 RBI. The pitching staff owns a 4.77 ERA and .268 opponent batting average against in 75 innings. Chris Suter leads the staff with a 2-0 record and 2.77 ERA however, Utica is unlikely to face him as he just threw against Williams on Sunday. Deven Smith (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8IP), Jack Klein (0-1, 4.00 ERA, 9IP) and Bryce Fournier (0-1, 2.75 ERA, 6.2IP) are all candidates to start against the Pioneers. Union holds the edge in the all-time series between the teams, 15-10, while the sides have not met since 2014.
A Look at Oneonta: The Red Dragons enter the week 10-3 overall and 1-0 in SUNYAC play. The team will play Plattsburgh State twice at home on Monday and will host SUNY Canton for a pair on Tuesday prior to hosting Utica on Wednesday. Through 13 games, Oneonta has averaged 7.4 runs per game thanks to a .300 team batting average and .402 team on-base percentage. Four players are batting over .350 so far this year in Jake Barrett, Nate Guillen, Liam Kaseta and Josh Gilkey. Guillen and Kaseta are also tied for the team lead with 11 RBI apiece. The pitching staff has posted a 4.95 ERA through 107.1 innings as Devin Rooney, Sean Liquori, Logan Carriero and Martin Thorsland all have under 2.05 ERA's - the latter three doing so with over 13 innings pitched each.
Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders enter the week 7-8 overall and 2-0 in Empire 8 play. The team will cap off its three-game set with Elmira College on Tuesday before playing Pitt-Bradford on Tuesday prior to traveling to Utica. The team has scored 98 runs over its 15 games on third-ranked Empire 8 batting average of .277 and a sixth-ranked .357 on-base percentage. At the dish, Ian Slate has hit .378 with four extra-base hits over 37 trips to the dish. Jason Kauffedlt leads the trip with 59 at-bats and is hitting .305 while Dylan Boprey and Zach Parr have produced a combined 24 runs driven in. On the mound, Hunter Kendall is 2-2 with a 4.38 ERA and 1.62 WHIP while having posted a near 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Aiden Talcott has started three games for the team as well and is 2-1 with a 5.21 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Pioneers are 22-18 all-time against Houghton while having won three in a row and five of the last six games between the teams.
Up Next: The team will host SUNY Cobleskill at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4.
