UTICA, NY - The Empire 8 Baseball season is fully underway in New York as of this week. The Pioneers will host a pair of key opponents during this week's slate as they look to sustain their super start to conference play. After a 4-1 record in last week's series against SUNY Poly and Elmira, the Pioneers currently top the Empire 8 standings. They'll look to hold serve with the top teams in the conference as they welcome Russell Sage and Alfred University to town this week for five total games. Utica will host the Gators today, April 2nd for a two-game set while the Saxons will arrive this weekend for a three-game series with two games scheduled for Saturday and one game scheduled for Sunday.
 
Here is the schedule for this week
 
Wednesday, April 2nd
1:00 PM - vs. Russell Sage (Game one)
4:00 PM - vs. Russell Sage (Game two)
 
Saturday, April 5th
1:00 PM - vs. Alfred University (Game one)
4:00 PM - vs. Alfred University (Game two)
 
Sunday, April 6th
12:00 PM - vs. Alfred University (Game three)
 
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 on our athletics homepage or also by following the link below!
 
Utica athletics streaming: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/
 
Follow Along with Live Stats: Follow the link below to view live statistics for this week's slate!
 
Utica baseball live statistics link: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
 
The Sclafani Show: Steve Sclafani (North Massapequa, NY/Farmingdale) had a huge run this past week, performing at an extremely high level to lead the team to their 4-1 start in Empire 8 play. During super Steve's standout week for the Pioneers, He started off his four-game slate with a walkoff single against SUNY Poly. Utica proceeded to go 2-1 during the rest of the week, capturing some well-needed energy courtesy of Sclafani's 4 RBI day against Poly on Monday. The stellar shortstop ended the week with a .467 average, getting 7 hits and 5 RBI over his four games. Sclafani has also pushed the Pioneers to a 4-1 start to the Empire 8 season, putting them first in the conference standings in the early conference season.
 
Heating up: The orange and blue have sustained their winning ways over the first two Empire 8 series of the season, sweeping SUNY Poly in two games and snatching two out of three from Elmira this past weekend to top the E8 standings through the first week of conference play. During conference play so far, The Pioneers have hit well during this recent string of games, cashing in 7.2 runs per game during last week's outings. They've also showcased their power, grabbing 13 extra base hits thanks to nine doubles and four home runs. Sclafani was at the center of the Pioneers' success at the plate, although some other Pioneers also put forth lots of production on offense too during the stretch. Ty Montrose (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) posted averages of .375 and .364 respectively during the past five games, with the rookie Montrose also adding a team-high seven RBIs over that span. Micah Fiorello (Brooktondale, NY/Ithaca) and Josh Duval (Utica, NY/Proctor) supplied some power to the lineup with two doubles each and a quartet of Pioneers' planted homers last week including Montrose, Eric Schulteisz (North Babylon, NY/North Babylon), Luca Logan (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peters Prep), and Max Gambitta (Cortland, NY/Cortland).
 
On the mound, the Pioneers piled up 36 strikeouts during the five-game stretch, evading contact at all costs and holding the line well enough for the team to pull out their four wins. Kooper Knabe (Cortland, NY/Cortland) has already picked up two wins to start conference play, allowing just five earned runs in 10 innings of work. Connor Ford (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) and Peyton Newton (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) each recorded saves during last week's action as well, with Newton topping it off by also grabbing a win. Newton showed out in his four innings of work, not allowing a single earned run as he shut the door on multiple opponents.
 
Scouting Russell Sage: The Gators are currently 9-7 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Senior Evan Grimes leads the team offensively with 18 hits, 11 runs, and 9 RBIs with 59 at bats. James Lubanski has also been a key factor for Sage offensively as he has also registered 18 hits. Lubanski has logged 9 runs, with 15 RBIs on the season. Jaylen Cuevas is currently the Gators's go-to guy on the mound as he has made 6 appearances with a 2-1-2 record. The last time the Pioneers faced off against Sage was last year, where Utica came out on top 17-7. The Pioneers had six different hitters contribute multiple hits to the team's victory.
 
About Alfred University: The Saxons are 3-15 overall and are 1-5 in conference play. In their last outing, they faced off against SUNY Poly in a three-game series where they fell to the Wildcats in all three games. Junior Nolan Pridmore leads the team at the plate a total of 16 hits, 13 runs, 10 RBIs with 49 at bats. Alex Beaird and Derek Vlietstra have been the main pitchers for Alfred as they have both started and appeared in 4 games. Beaird has the better record of the two, currently sitting at 2-2 on the season. Vliestra has logged 24 strikeouts, allowing 23 earned runs this year. Last year, the Pioneers defeated the Saxons in all three games. Pitcher Jack Krug (Rotterdam Junction, NY/Canajoharie) had a standout game where he limited Alfred to just two hits in the last matchup of the series.
 
After this Week's E8 Action: The Pioneers will hit the road for nine straight conference games away from Utica starting next week, heading to Keuka and St. John Fisher for a two-game and three-game set respectively. The Keuka matchups will take place on Tuesday while the Fisher series is slated for Saturday and Sunday.