UTICA, NY - Pioneer Baseball is back on the diamond this week, heading to Keuka on Tuesday before returning home on Wednesday for their first game on home soil in 10 outings. The Pioneers will look to keep pace in the Empire 8 this week, with the team currently holding the four spot in the conference standings. The team will then be off this weekend, with a momentary break in the action before hopping back in for the final stretch of regular season play the following week.
 
Here is the schedule for this upcoming week:
 
Tuesday, April 22nd
1:00 PM - at Keuka College (Game 1)
4:00 PM - at Keuka College (Game 2)
 
Wednesday, April 23rd
3:00 PM - vs Keuka College
 
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.
 
Keuka stream link (Tuesday): https://www.empire8network.com/keuka/
 
Utica stream link (Wednesday): https://www.empire8network.com/utica/
 
Follow Along with Live Stats: Follow the links below to view live statistics for this week's slate!
 
Keuka live stat link (Tuesday): https://keukaathletics.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
 
Utica live stat link (Wednesday): https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
 
Empire 8 Outlook: The Empire 8 playoff picture is beginning to set in after a month of conference play. With the puzzle pieces beginning to fall, it's time to take a look at where everyone stands entering the final stretch of the regular season. Here are the Empire 8 standings as of April 21st.
 
1: Brockport - 30 pts - 26-3-1 (15-1 E8)
2: Russell Sage - 26 pts - 19-9 (13-2 E8)
3: St. John Fisher - 24 pts - 17-13 (12-4 E8)
4: Utica - 16 pts - 13-12-1 (8-8 E8)
5: SUNY Poly - 14 pts - 11-17 (7-10 E8)
6: Houghton - 14 pts - 15-15 (7-11 E8)
 
7: Keuka - 8 pts - 10-16 (4-10 E8)
8: Elmira - 8 pts - 10-19 (4-11 E8)
9: Alfred - 2 pts - 3-24 (1-14 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)
 
The top three of Brockport, Russell Sage, and Fisher have created a sizeable gap between themselves and the rest of the Empire 8. Should this hold, those three teams will advance directly to the final, double elimination portion of the tournament which will be held at the site of the number one seed. The Pioneers have potentially eight league games remaining in the regular season, meaning they could capture 16 points at the most. This means that Brockport would have to lose seven of their remaining eight league games, while the Pioneers would have to win out and defeat the Golden Eagles in the final series of the regular season to hop them in the standings. With two Brockport wins, they will clinch a top three spot in the postseason.
 
Russell Sage has nine Empire 8 games left and St. John Fisher has eight, with the two teams even squaring off in a three game series this weekend. This series could potentially leave one of those two teams pointless during the weekend, which would give the Pioneers an opportunity to jump up and grab the three spot. Regardless, the orange and blue will need a solid two weeks to have a shot at the top three spots.
 
Should the Pioneers finish fourth, they will head to the site of the number one overall seed and play in an elimination game against the winner of the 5 vs 6 matchup that would occur earlier in the week. In this case, Houghton would visit SUNY Poly on Wednesday, May 6 for an elimination game. The winner of that game would travel to Brockport and play the Pioneers on the morning of Friday, April 8th in an elimination game. The winner of that second game would advance to the four team, double elimination portion of the tournament, which would then play out as regular from the past few seasons.
 
With all the discussion about the Empire 8, it's time to take a look at where the Pioneers stand among the top statistical showings in the conference this season.
 
Empire 8 Excellence: The Pioneers place highly amongst the Empire 8 ranks in many different categories.
 
As a whole, the team presents above average plate discipline and patience, drawing 130 total walks on the season to place fourth among the nine teams.
 
On the mound, the team excels at not allowing dynamic contact, with the Pioneer pitching staff giving up the least amount of home runs in the entire Empire 8 at just seven total this season.
 
At the forefront of that minimal power movement is ace Kooper Knabe (Cortland, NY/Cortland), who still ranks highly among all qualified pitchers for ERA, placing eighth with a 4.10. Knabe also creates outs at an efficient pace, limiting opposing batters to the fifth worst batting average among all other pitchers with just a .261. The Cortland native has also been a workhorse for the team, gathering the 10th most innings in the Empire 8 at 37.1, an astounding total after missing most of last year due to injury. To top it off, Knabe is tied for the third most wins in the Empire 8, with a spotless record of 5-0 on the year. Not far behind Knabe in the win column is a surprise entry, not because of his sudden skill, but because of the role that he occupies on the team.
 
Pioneer closer Peyton Newton (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) places right behind his fellow premier pitcher in the Empire 8 win ranks, tying for fifth in the league with four victories to his name. His 4-0 record stands as a testament to his ability late in games, as well as his talent for taking his team to the finish line in tied or losing situations. Newton has also tacked on three saves this season, tied for tops in the entire Empire 8. His clutch demeanor will prove invaluable come postseason play, with the Junior hoping to replicate these steady showings in the highest pressure scenario he can face. Newton has not pitched enough innings to qualify for the major stat categories, with the closer only tossing 15.2 innings so far. However, if he did qualify, he would have the fourth lowest opposing batting average in the conference with .211 and the second lowest ERA with a 1.72.
 
On offense, Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) slots in as the Pioneers most steady bat, slashing well with a .361 average (13th in league), a .453 OBP(16th in league) and a .514 slugging percentage (17th in league). He also places quite high in the sacrifice bunt category, moving over runners at a great rate while normally batting at the tail end of the Pioneer lineup.
 
Along with Czternastek, Pioneer rookie Ty Montrose (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) has had himself quite a debut season, with the local product being scattered across the Empire 8 leaderboards. The newcomer from nearby Whitesboro has the 14th best OBP at .458, the 20th most RBIs with 21, and has drawn the ninth most walks with 17 total base on balls this year. That last stat is a key one, as it shows the type of patience and discipline that Montrose brings despite playing his first season of collegiate ball. In addition to these statistics, Montrose has also brought home the Empire 8 Rookie of the Week Award twice, and is a prime candidate to make it three in a row for the Pioneers when it comes to the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Award. Jacob Scalise (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) secured the honor in 2024 and Knabe brought it home in 2023. Montrose has the chance to complete the trifecta this season if he keeps up his stellar run.
 
Knowing Keuka: The Pioneers will battle Keuka this week, with the first two games being on the road and game three taking place in Utica this Wednesday. Interestingly enough, tomorrow's pair of games will serve as Keuka's home-opener, as the Western New York weather has finally moved into the Spring season. The Wolves are 10-16 overall and 4-10 in conference play, splitting their last two games with a 12-5 win over Houghton and a 10-11 loss against Hobart. The Wolves have combined for a .295 batting average as a team and a total of 163 runs in 26 games played. Kyle Wood currently leads the team with a .398 batting average through 88 at-bats. Wood has 35 hits and 20 RBIs. Alex Evans follows Wood with a .366 batting average through 82 at-bats. Evans has 30 hits and 14 RBIs. Hunter Corkran has appeared eight times on four starts on the bump this season for the Wolves, posting a 5.13 ERA with 17 strikeouts and a 3-2 record. Keegan Ferris has started eight games for Keuka, posting a 5.72 ERA with 26 strikeouts and a 3-3 record. Last season, the Wolves squared off against the Pioneers three times, dropping all three games 2-3, 7-8, and the last matchup 8-11. However, this is a Wolves team which finds itself under new leadership thanks to head coach Matt Michalski who is leading the squad in his first season as the head man after moving over from perennial powerhouse SUNY Cortland. The Wolves will enter this series with a much different look than last year.
 
After the Keuka Series: The Pioneers will get a well-deserved break this weekend, receiving a few days off before returning to battle right at the beginning of next week. Starting next Monday, the Pioneers will play six games in five days, including their annual Jackie Robinson Game against Hamilton and a high-profile series with the Brockport Golden Eagles to cap off the regular season. The team will play five of those six games on home soil. Here is the schedule for next week.
 
Monday, April 28
4:00 PM vs SUNY Poly
 
Tuesday, April 29
7:00 PM vs Hamilton (Delutis Field - Rome, NY)
 
Wednesday, April 30
4:00 PM vs SUNY Cobleskill
 
Friday, May 2
3:00 PM vs SUNY Brockport
 
Saturday, May 3rd (Senior Day)
12:00 PM vs SUNY Brockport (Game 1)
3:00 PM vs SUNY Brockport (Game 2)
 
Tune is as the Pioneers enter the home stretch!