UTICA, NY - The Utica University baseball team gears up for a five-game homestand with four home contests this week. The team will take on SUNY Poly at 4 p.m. on Wednesday before welcoming Russell Sage College for a three-game series this weekend. Game one of Saturday's twin bill is set for 1 p.m. while Sunday's single game will be played at noon.
Follow Along: Those unable to attend can keep up with live video and/or stats through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
Last Time Out: The Utica University baseball team completed its series sweep of Alfred University with a 16-0 win in seven innings from Houghton University's baseball field on Monday.
Jack Krug (Rotterdam Junction, NY/Canajoharie) hurled his second-straight complete game, this time doing so in shutout fashion. The junior limited the Saxons to just two hits and three walks while striking out a career high 14 batters. Krug was efficient throughout the mid-afternoon contest with 100 pitches thrown over 26 batters faced. At the plate,
Jacob Scalise (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) went 4-for-5 with a two-bagger, two runs driven in and a run scored.
Josh Duval (Utica, NY/Proctor) (2-4, 2BB, RBI, R, SB),
Jack Scanlon (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) (2-5, 3B, BB, 2R),
Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) (2-4, 2RBI, 2R) and
Antonio Martinez (Sunrise, FL/Western) (2-2, 2BB, 3RBI, 3R) all had multi-hit games as well. The Pioneers scored their runs in bunches, starting with four in the top of the 1st inning. Crossley and
Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) each brought one home while
Antonio Martinez (Sunrise, FL/Western) scored a pair on a base hit through the left side.
Andrew Salbinski (Essex, CT/Valley Regional) and
Tanner Warren (Mohawk, NY/Central Valley Academy) notched RBI's in the top of the 3rd before Martinez, Scalise and Salbinski had one each in the top of the 4th to make it a 9-0 game. In the meantime, Krug retired the first 11 Alfred batters before a two-out double occurred in the bottom of the 4th. Following a walk, Krug induced an inning-ending groundout to get out of the frame. Utica went on to put a five-spot up in the top of the 5th before adding two more in the top of the 7th to cap off a game three win and a series sweep.
Rhodes Closed: Austin Rhodes' (Wappingers Falls, NY/Kennedy Catholic) rookie campaign reached a new high this past week as he was named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Week. He earned his first career victory in Utica's game two win over Alfred University on Sunday. The freshman tossed a seven inning complete game shutout over just 76 pitches and two batters over the minimum faced. Rhodes gave up just one hit and walked a pair of batters while striking out nine. Over 20.2 innings pitched this year, the southpaw is 1-2 with a 3.48 ERA and a .176 opponent batting average - the lowest on the team for anyone with 10-plus innings pitched.
Sizzling Scalise: Freshman catcher
Jacob Scalise (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) has had a productive bat over his first 12 career games. He's batting .444 (12-27) with three doubles and 11 runs scored. Scalise has hit safely in four straight games and has gone 8-for-14 with two doubles, two RBI and five runs scored. Behind the plate he owns a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 65 putouts, six assists and three runners caught stealing.
No Slowing Down: Another outing, another complete game for junior
Jack Krug (Rotterdam Junction, NY/Canajoharie). The third year pitcher has now gone back-to-back games going the distance with a combined 16 innings and just one run allowed. Over his last two starts and 16 innings, Krug has given up just 5.5 hits per game with five total walks and 11 strikeouts per outing. On the season he is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA, a .219 opponent batting average and 24 K's to six walks. He's three strikeouts away from setting a new single season best while his 2.00 ERA is six runs lower than his previous career single season best.
About Poly: The SUNY Poly Wildcats enter Wednesday 9-12 overall and 1-2 in Northeast Athletic Conference play. The team is fresh off of a three-game series with Russell Sage, having won one of the trio with each game being decided by one run. Poly is averaging just about 6.5 runs per game on a collective .300/.412/.397 slash line. Five qualified hitters are sporting a .300-plus batting average with Kurt Johnson leading the way at .407 (24-59, 7 XBH, 12 RBI). Ryan Pelton is also hovering .400 at the dish with a .392 average (29-74, 9 XBH, 20 RBI). The pitching staff owns a 6.89 ERA over 147.2 innings. Primary starters Aaron Kifer (3-1, 5.14 ERA) and Jack Montanye (3-2, 9.38 ERA) have commanded the staff with 59 combined innings. Utica is 22-12 all-time against the Wildcats and have won each of the last 10 meetings dating back to the 2013 season.
Scouting Sage: The Russell Sage College Gators come into the week 11-10 overall and 4-1 in league play. Sage will travel to SUNY Brockport on Wednesday prior to taking on the Pioneers this upcoming weekend. Through 21 games, the Gators have slashed .308/.444/.452 as a unit while posting 8.81 runs per outing. Brendan Espinal has impressed with a .473 batting average (35-74) with seven doubles, three triples and three home runs with 23 RBI. Jeff Stearnes (.389/.516/.514), James Lubanski (.333/.361/.517) and Dom Caminitti (.352/.516/.423) have also powered the offense thus far. Sage's pitching staff has posted a 6.92 ERA through 156 collective innings. Matthew Denatale and Liam Doyle have started six games each, Denatale doing so with a 1-4 record and a 7.86 ERA while Doyle is 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA. Joe Degroot (3-0, 5.48 ERA) and Nolan Sniffen (1-0, 5.23 ERA) are the only other two pitchers on the team to have 20-plus innings pitched, along with Denatale and Doyle. The Pioneers hold a 7-4 edge all-time against the Gators since Sage became a program in the 2022 season.
Up Next: Utica will remain home to host Hamilton College for the Jackie Robinson Game at 4 p.m. on April 16.
