UTICA, NY - The Utica University baseball team will look to keep up their recent momentum this week as they engage in a five-game set over the coming days. After putting up 23 runs in a hard-fought series against St. John Fisher this past weekend, the Pioneers will look to capitalize on their offensive success while also producing some solid performances on the mound as they travel to Russell Sage and Houghton with the goal of planting themselves firmly within the playoff picture.
 
Here is the schedule for this upcoming week:
 
Wednesday, April 16th
3:00 PM - at Russell Sage (Finishing the 4/2/25 game, will be restarted with the score tied 7-7 entering the top of the fifth)
5:00 PM - at Russell Sage (Game 2)
 
Friday, April 18th
5:00 PM - at Houghton University
 
Saturday, April 19th
1:00 PM - at Houghton University (Game 1)
4:00 PM - at Houghton University (Game 2)
 
Please note that dates and times are subject to change depending on weather and other restrictions. Keep an eye on our social media for updates relating to such occurrences.
 
Streaming Details for this Week's Matchups: You can catch all the action by heading to the "Watch" tab under each matchup on the baseball schedule section of our athletics website or by heading to the links below.
 
Russell Sage series stream link: https://www.empire8network.com/russellsage/
 
Houghton series stream link: https://empire8network.com/houghton/
 
Follow Along with Live Stats: Follow the links below to view live statistics for this week's slate!
 
Russell Sage series live stat link: https://www.sagegators.com/sports/bsb/2024-25/boxscores/20250416_ojyk.xml
 
Houghton series live stat link: https://athletics.houghton.edu/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
 
Wrapping up the Weekend War with Fisher: The Pioneers rode out to Rochester this past weekend for a three-game set against last year's league champion in St. John Fisher. The series pitted both of last year's finalists against each other, with the two teams putting on one of the closest three game sets in the Empire 8 this season. In all three games, the Cardinals sped out of the gates, taking major leads in the opening few innings of all three games. Every time though, the Pioneers battled back and played amazing from behind as they'd done all season up until that point.
 
In game one, Utica fell behind by a 7-1 margin after four innings, but five runs in the latter half of the outing allowed them to bring the gap to a respectable 10-6 final. In game two, the team once again faced an early multi-run disadvantage before a huge five-run third inning saw the team speed ahead by a 6-4 score. A Ty Montrose (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) homer in the fourth tacked on another run to the lead, an advantage that the team would hold onto despite a late rally by the Cardinals. Peyton Newton (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) came in and managed to get the win with some excellent late-game heroics which have become commonplace to the Pioneer pitcher. With the series tied at one win apiece, the trio was set for a superb conclusion with a rubber match approaching in a pivotal game for postseason placing purposes. In the all-important game three, Fisher wasted no time once again, getting out to a 4-0 lead after two innings. The Pioneers responded immediately with a pair of runs but fell behind again after Fisher found one run each in the fourth and fifth inning. A huge Pioneer rally gave them six unanswered runs towards the end of the contest, setting them up for the victory with an 8-7 advantage. However, Fisher utilized their status as the home team to notch a late comeback and steal a 10-9 win to narrowly take the series.
 
The battle between two heated foes had massive implications for the Empire 8 playoff picture…
 
Empire 8 Outlook: After the results from this past weekend, the Empire 8 playoff race has begun to take shape. With just a few weeks left in the regular season, the battle for positioning and entry into the league's postseason tournament is starting to heat up rapidly. Here's where things stand heading into this week:


1: Brockport - 22 pts - 22-2-1 (11-0 E8)
2: Russell Sage - 20 pts - 16-7 (10-0 E8)
3: St. John Fisher - 18 pts - 14-12 (9-4 E8)
4: Utica - 14 pts - 12-8-1 (7-4 E8)
5: Houghton - 10 pts - 13-12 (5-8 E8)
6: SUNY Poly - 10 pts - 9-16 (5-9 E8)
 
7: Keuka - 8 pts - 10-16 (4-11 E8)
8: Elmira - 4 pts - 8-17 (2-9 E8)
9: Alfred - 2 pts - 3-20 (1-10 E8)
 
(The top six teams will advance to the Empire 8 postseason tournament, the top three teams will advance directly into the double-elimination portion of the bracket)
 
Fisher gained an edge in the race for the final bye spot that is handed out to the top three finishers in the conference standings come season's end. Although, with two games this week against Russell Sage, the Pioneers could certainly make up some solid ground on the top three spots in the standings. Wins against Houghton later in the week could establish some distance between Utica and their closest conference competition, meaning that all five games this week pose an incredible opportunity for the team to set themselves up for success as the Empire 8 Tournament approaches.
 
Two for Ty: Ty Montrose (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) captured his second Empire 8 Rookie of the Week nod after a few outstanding offensive performances against a strong St. John Fisher side this past weekend.
 
Montrose added yet another signature week to his miraculous rookie run with an excellent showing in the Pioneers' most important series of the season. The Pioneer newcomer posted great all-around totals at the plate, providing some power and precision to grab solid totals of four hits, four RBIs, and four runs scored in the three-game set. Montrose launched a solo-shot in the middle matchup of the series, giving the Pioneers a slight edge as they pulled away for a massive win. The rookie also prioritized patience, nabbing two walks as he posted an on base percentage of .429. To top it all off, he was crucial in the clutch, logging a slugging percentage of .583 during his three-game stretch.
 
The newcomer from nearby Whitesboro has announced his arrival in emphatic fashion this year, batting .311 while gathering 19 hits, 18 RBI, and 19 runs scored in an all-around excellent debut season so far. He's also played very smart at the plate, logging a team-high 11 walks to push his on base percentage to a stellar mark of .427. Montrose will look to make even more noise as his first year draws to a close with the final stretch of conference play and the Empire 8 Tournament looming large in the near future.
 
Midweek Madness - Game 1 vs. Russell Sage: Despite how it looks, the Pioneers won't truly be playing five full games this week. Instead, they're slated for four and a half contests due to the situation that they'll encounter on Wednesday. Earlier in the year, the Gators visited Utica in order to complete a two-game midweek meeting with the Pioneers. The two teams managed to finish game one and a significant portion of game two before the skies opened up and ended the second matchup just before the fifth inning. Because of this, the two teams will conclude the latter half of that last matchup to begin Wednesday's events. The game is tied at 7-7 heading into the top of the fifth after worsening conditions caused both teams to struggle with accuracy on the mound. The lineups can change however each skipper sees fit, so it will more or less be a five-inning affair between the two teams to start off the two-game series. The second game on Wednesday will be conducted as normal and will conclude the season series between the two teams.
 
Scouting Sage: Since the last time the Pioneers played the Gators, Sage has been playing winning baseball, sitting at 10-0 in conference play. Senior Evan Grimes has continued to lead the team offensively. He now has a total of 30 hits with a .361 batting average. Joe DeGroot is currently the team's leading pitcher with four wins and one loss, with a 2.68 ERA. The last time Utica faced off against the Gators was April 2 of this year, where Sage came out on top 8-2. Grimes was the man on the mound that game allowing two runs and striking out 9 Pioneer hitters. It remains to be seen if Grimes will be in play for the midweek matchups or if the team decides to reserve his services for the weekend.
 
Hearing About Houghton: The Highlanders are currently 13-12 overall and 5-8 in conference play. In their last outing, they faced off against Keuka College in a double header affair. In the first match, Houghton came out on top 9-8 only to fall to Keuka in the next game, by a score of 12-5. Junior Kanta Ueno leads the team at the plate with a 4.69 batting average, 38 hits and 27 RBIs. On the mound, junior Aiden Talcott is currently the top performing pitcher with a record of 4-1 and an ERA of 2.55. Talcott has only allowed 35 hits in 42 innings. The last time the Highlanders faced off against the Pioneers, Houghton won both games, with Talcott and Ueno leading the team in their respective positions.
 
After the Five Game Gauntlet This Week: The Pioneers will travel to Keuka next Tuesday for a two-game set with the Wolves. The team will finally return home after 10-straight road games next Wednesday when the Wolves head up to Utica to complete the regular season series. As of right now, the Pioneers are scheduled to have the weekend off, with their next game after the Keuka series being a Monday meeting with SUNY Poly on April 28th.