HORSEHEADS, NY - The Pioneers hit the road on Saturday to engage in another Empire 8 series, this time with the Soaring Eagles of Elmira. The orange and blue looked to stay unbeaten in Empire 8 play, a feat they would accomplish despite some late danger courtesy of a seventh-inning rally by Elmira. In the end, the Pioneers would escape and clip the comeback as they secured a 5-4 victory in the series opener.
 
Utica steadily gained runs over the latter half of the contest, crossing the plate once each in the third, fourth, and fifth inning before capping off their five-run outing with two runs in the sixth.
 
This steady lead was held by Pioneer ace Kooper Knabe (Cortland, NY/Cortland) who had a scorching start on the mound in the series-opener. Knabe, who has put together an awesome string of starts this year after missing most of last season, added another win to his resume. The junior threw six innings in the outing, holding the Soaring Eagles scoreless for the first five frames. Knabe was adept at producing groundouts in the game, prompting soft contact to produce 10 outs within the infield. Knabe allowed a few runs late in the matchup but held the dam just enough to pick up yet another win, running his record to 4-0 in the 2025 campaign.
 
Knabe gave way to Pioneer closer Peyton Newton (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) in the seventh inning, with Newton doing his duty to seal the deal. The powerful righty from Weedsport entered into a bases loaded jam in the seventh and final inning. He proceeded to hold the line and induce two quick outs before a failed double steal produced the third out of the inning. Newton grabbed his second save of the season in the action.
 
The five-run cushion was created via a team effort on offense by the away side. Utica produced six total hits in the game but used some discipline to produce even more runners thanks to three walks. Ty Montrose (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), DaShawn Hutchinson (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Josh Duval (Utica, NY/Proctor), and Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) logged one hit each, with Duval and Czternastek each adding an RBI in the action. Monday's hero, Steve Sclafani (North Massapequa, NY/Farmingdale), continued to remain hot at the plate, grabbing a team-high two hits and adding a run. Mike Rockwell (Liverpool, NY/Cicero) rounded out the offensive standouts by cashing in the first run of the game from the leadoff spot.
 
In the end, the Pioneers did just enough to hold off Elmira and improve to 8-4-1 on the year and 3-0 in Empire 8 play. Game two of the doubleheader was postponed until tomorrow. The Pioneers will play games two and three as part of a Sunday doubleheader with game two of the series starting at 12:00 PM in Horseheads.