UTICA, NY - The Utica University baseball team begins its final week of regular season play with a non-conference contest against Hamilton before hosting Keuka this weekend for a crucial three-game slate. The Pioneers and Continentals will meet under the lights at 7 p.m. on Tuesday from Delutis Field in Rome, NY. Utica will then welcome Keuka for two games on Saturday (¼ p.m.) and a single game on Sunday at noon. 
 
Follow Along: Live video and stats for all four games this week can be found through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: The team collected a crucial sweep over Elmira College, winning 13-6 in game one (7 Inn.) and 17-3 (7 Inn.) in game two to keep the team very alive in the playoff hunt. Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton) reached the 100 career hits milestone to become just the 18th player in program history to do so. In game one, Jacob Scalise (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) turned in a career game going 2-for-2 with a career-high four RBIs, three runs scored, and a pair of walks. John Longeretta (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) also had a great game driving in a trio of runs. Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs with Josh Duval (Utica, NY/Proctor) going 3-for-5 and driving in one. The trio of Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Jack Scanlon (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute), and Lance Berger (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony's) each drove in one RBI with Fasolo's coming via a home run. Jack Krug (Rotterdam Junction, NY/Canajoharie) got the start on the bump and pitched the full seven innings allowing six runs, all earned, on 10 hits, with three walks, and striking out six to improve his record to 4-1 this season. In the second game, The Pioneers bats were explosive smacking 12 hits and scoring 17 runs. Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was fantastic going 2-for-5 with a team-leading five RBIs while also scoring twice. Duval tallied two hits and a trio of RBIS with Andrew Salbinski (Essex, CT/Valley Regional) going a perfect 3-for-3 while driving in two. Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro), Jack Scanlon (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute), and Lance Berger (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony's) each drove in a pair of runs with Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton) adding two hits and crossing the plate four times. Peyton Newton (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) got the nod going five innings allowing three runs, all earned, on eight hits while striking out three to earn the first victory of his Pioneer career. Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) closed out the final two innings allowing only one base runner via a hit by pitch while striking out three.
 
Senior Sendoff: Prior to Saturday's games the Pioneers will honor seniors Chris Palmieri (Chester, NY/Warwick Valley), Ryan Cardone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton), Steve Sclafani (North Massapequa, NY/Farmingdale), Tim Martin (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls Lima), Frederick Callo Jr. (Milton, NY/Marlboro), Christian Cicchetti (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon), Antonio Martinez (Sunrise, FL/Western), Justin Mazovec (Lake Grove, NY/Centereach), Daniel Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Clinton), Caden Congdon (Cortland, NY/Cortland) and Tyler Jennings (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool). 
 
Where We Stand: The Pioneers are currently 7-7 in conference play with an overall record of 13-21. The team has won four straight conference games to jump into fourth place in the Empire 8 standings. While currently looking at a four-seed, Utica has four crucial conference games this week in which they will look to finish strong and earn a spot in the Empire 8 Tournament. Overall, the Pioneers need to win two out of their final four league games to secure a postseason berth. Utica can finish as high as third in the conference standings which would put them up against the second seed in the conference tournament. 
 
Lefty Lumber: The Lefty trio of Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Andrew Salbinski (Essex, CT/Valley Regional) and Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton) were hot this past week, combining for 18 hits in the series sweep over Elmira. Fasolo parked two baseballs for his second and third home runs of the season while going 4-for-10 on the weekend with seven RBIs and five runs scored. Andrew Salbinski (Essex, CT/Valley Regional) hit his fifth bomb of the year as a part of his excellent 7-for-13 series with three RBIs and six runs scored. Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton) added seven hits as well, going 7-for-11 with two doubles, five RBIs, five runs scored, and a .733 OBP. He also became the 18th player in program history to reach the career milestone of 100 hits. 
 
Dance with Lance: Lance Berger (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony's) had himself an incredible weekend that led to Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week honors after going 7-for-9 with two home runs, six runs scored and four RB's. The sophomore excelled in his opportunity and made huge contributions to the team's sweep of Elmira. He reached base safely in 11 of 13 plate appearances for a spectacular .846 on-base percentage. Across the three-game series, Berger enjoyed an outstanding 2.70 OPS. 
 
Welcome to the Rhodeo: Austin Rhodes (Wappingers Falls, NY/Kennedy Catholic) contributed another quality start to earn his second win of the season. Rhodes allowed two earned runs on three hits across 5.1 innings of work in Saturday's start vs Elmira. The freshman leads the team in innings thrown with 37.1 and has accumulated a 4.34 ERA thus far in what has been an excellent first season for the lefty. 
 
About Hamilton: The Hamilton Continentals will enter Tuesday's matchup against Utica with a 12-13 record. Jackson Sattinger has been a bonafide star for the team, slashing .459/.524/.800. Sattinger is the NESCAC leader in batting average and is 11th in the nation. Hamilton is hitting an impressive .326 as a team with seven qualified hitters batting above .300. Jack Eshleman is the team's ace, having tossed 50 innings thus far with a remarkable 1.62 ERA. Aidan Regan has been impressive as well, accumulating a 3.46 ERA through 26 innings. The Pioneers and Continentals will meet for the 34th annual Jackie Robinson Classic that began in the late 1980s. 
 
Scouting Keuka: The Keuka College Wolves are 8-24 on the season with a 5-10 slate in conference play. They are hitting .264 as a team, headlined by Carlos Fantauzzi who leads them with 37 hits, including eight doubles, seven triples and three home runs for a .356 average. Keuka's three conference starters have all thrown 30+ innings apiece with Lucas Gilbert headlining the staff with a 5.46 ERA. Tanner Olsen has collected a 6.68 ERA through 33.2 innings, while Anthony Laurinitis has a 10.41 ERA across 32 innings. 

Up Next: If qualified, the Pioneers will take part in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament from May 9-11. The tournament will be hosted by the top-seed which will either be Russell Sage College, St. John Fisher University or Houghton University.