UTICA, NY - The Utica University baseball team readies for a four-game week with one game at Hamilton College on Tuesday, April 18 at 4 p.m. and a three-game series against Medaille University. The team hosts Medaille in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 22 with games set for 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and the series concluding with a single game on Sunday, April 23 at noon.
 
Follow Along: Hamilton will provide live video via https://bit.ly/2JjWwog and live stats through https://bit.ly/43yNexD. Those unable to attend either of the home contests can tune in for live video and/or stats via https://bit.ly/2wtxUV5. 
 
Last Time Out: The Utica University baseball game completed its series sweep of the Elmira College Soaring Eagles with a 15-5, eight-inning win on Sunday afternoon. The brilliance of Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville) was on full display as the senior tossed 4.1 innings of near-perfect ball. Mangino faced just 14 batters in his relief stint and was responsible for allowing just one walk to go with no runs on no hits with seven strikeouts. Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) had a great afternoon at the dish as he went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and four runs scored. John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) totaled three hits in six at-bats while Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw), Antonio Martinez (Sunrise, FL/Western) and Jack Bono (Frankfort, NY/Frankfort-Schuyler) all had multi-hit games as well. Fasolo's three RBIs led the Pioneers while Joe Battista (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) and Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton), along with Crossley, each drove in a pair. Utica jumped on the board first after a great top of the 1st inning on the mound by James Roeschlaub (Auburn, NY/Auburn). Joe Battista (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) drove in his first run of the day on a sacrifice fly for a quick 1-0 lead. However, with the help of some defensive miscues by Utica, Elmira jumped out front in the top of the 2nd with three runs coming across. The Pioneers came right back with a four-spot in the bottom half. Crossley drove home a pair on a double down the left field line before madness struck. With Fasolo up and runners at second and third, the junior popped one up in foul territory in what looked to be routine play by the Elmira first baseman, Chris Jones. Upon catching the ball, it was ruled that Jones dropped the ball out of play on the transfer. By rule, Fasolo would be credited with a two-RBI sacrifice fly as the ball going out of play allowed Crossley to take an extra base and score from second. The Soaring Eagles continued to battle back though. In the same inning that saw Aidan McCue (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) enter for Roeschlaub, Elmira came within one run following the 3rd before evening the score at 5-5 with another run in the top of the 4th. From there, however, it was all Utica on offense and the Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville) show on the bump. The team regained the lead with an RBI walk drawn by Battista in the 4th while Mangino followed up with flawless pitching from the 5th inning on. The Pioneers touched home nine more times between the 6th and 8th innings as May ended the game via 10-run rule in the 8th on an RBI single up the middle. With the win, the Pioneers become the first 10-win team in the Empire 8 and, for the time being, hold a slight points advantage in the standings over 9-0 St. John Fisher.
 
Jackie Robinson Game: The game is an annual matchup against local Hamilton College and has been an ongoing tradition since 2002.
 
Senior Send Off: Prior to Saturday's doubleheader against Medaille, the Utica University baseball team will honor Joe Battista (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls), Jack Bono (Frankfort, NY/Frankfort-Schuyler), Tyler Catalfamo (Albany, NY/Colonie), Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro), David House (Clay, NY/Bishop Ludden), Matthew Kanyuk (Mellville, NY/Hills East), John Longeretta (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany), Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville), Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw), James Roeschlaub (Auburn, NY/Auburn), Aaron Simons (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills), Trey Szatko (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) and Nathan Yantz (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia), who are all competing in their final season with the team. 
 
Dugout Dedication: After the senior recognition ceremony on Saturday, Utica University and the Utica baseball team will take a moment to honor Michael Fitzgerald, who made a generous donation towards the improvement of the baseball dugouts. A plaque in his honor located on the home dugout will be unveiled prior to first pitch. 
 
Just Keep Winning: The team has been an offensive powerhouse with a .331 batting average which is .24 higher than second in the Empire 8. The team also leads the conference in runs and hits. Dom Fasolo's (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) .439 batting average is just .01 behind the Empire 8 leader while John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) is tied for fourth in the conference batting .388. Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) has found his stroke as the center fielder is riding a seven-game hitting streak while John Longeretta (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) and Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) have also produced all season. On the mound the team is first in the conference with a 5.42 ERA, has the most wins at 19, is tied for the most shutouts, and most saves. Kooper Knabe's (Cortland, NY/Cortland) incredible 1.58 ERA is first in the conference by 1.01. The freshman is also one of two pitchers with six wins and leads the Empire 8 with three complete games including two shutouts, both are the most in the league. Both Ryan Cardone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville) have been heating up on the mound down the stretch. Cardone has picked up two wins in his last two starts while Mangino has been incredible not allowing a single hit in his last 5.1 innings over the span of two outings. Mangino's last performance was fantastic, in which he went 4.1 innings against Elmira allowing zero hits and striking out seven.At 19 wins, the Pioneers are six away from tying the single-season program record of 25 set in the 1987 season. 
 
Obi-Wan Knabe: Kooper Knabe (Cortland, NY/Cortland) added to his impressive first collegiate season with another complete game win over Elmira College on Saturday, earning him Empire 8 Co-Rookie of the Week. Over his eight innings of work, Knabe allowed just one run on five hits while striking out three and walking none. The win improved his record to 6-0 on the year and lowered his ERA to 1.58. He leads all qualified pitchers in the conference in wins, ERA, complete games, shutouts, and opponent batting average. Knabe's 1.58 ERA ranks 29th in the nation while his six wins are tied for 15th. With one more win this year, the freshman will also tie the single-season program record of seven set by Mark Dodge in 1979. As it stands right now, he also has the fifth-lowest single-season ERA in program history. 
 
About Hamilton: The Hamilton Continentals sport a 14-11 record with a 5-4 conference record. In its last outing the team fell to Amherst 15-5 on Sunday, April 16. The team has a plethora of hitters with seven hitting above .310 and six players with more than 15 RBIs. Gregg Kopp leads the charge with a .369 batting average and 31 hits with a team-leading 20 RBIs. Peter Jones has logged the most innings for the team with a 4.50 ERA over 26 innings of work.
 
Scouting Medaille: The Mavericks are 8-18 and sport a 1-8 Empire 8 record which has them tied for fifth in the conference. The team lost to Sage in its last outing on Saturday, April 15 by a score of 18-5. Gabe Schrader and Nolan Pridmore lead the way offensively each with 20 hits this season while Pridmore leads the team with 16 RBIs. Braeden Lewis and Alex Beaird have each logged at least 29.1 innings and have under a 5.93 ERA. 

Up Next: The team will hit the road to face SUNY Cobleskill on Tuesday, April 25 at 4 p.m.