UTICA, NY – The Utica University baseball team welcomed a tough St. John Fisher squad to town on Saturday afternoon, dropping both ends of the Saturday doubleheader to a powerful Cardinals team that is receiving votes in the ABCA Division III poll. The Pioneers fell 18-5 in game one before dropping Saturday's second matchup by a score of 8-1.
Game One
In the opener, the Pioneers would fall in an early hole that proved too large to overcome, as St. John Fisher used a massive second inning to power an 18-5 victory, despite a strong push in the middle of the matchup by a scrappy Pioneer lineup.
After surrendering a run in the first, the Pioneers were dealt a big blow in the second inning, where Fisher erupted for eight runs on six hits, including a pair of home runs to quickly build a 9-0 advantage.
Utica responded in the bottom half of the second inning, showing resilience at the plate.
Lance Berger (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony's) doubled to left field, and
Luca Logan (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peters Prep) followed with an RBI single to get the Pioneers on the board. Later in the inning, Berger came around to score to cut the deficit to 9-2. This began a strong midgame run where the Pioneers chipped away, scoring in four consecutive frames.
The Pioneers continued to close the gap over the next few innings.
Mike Rockwell (Liverpool, NY/Cicero) tripled and scored in the third inning, while
Eric Schulteisz (North Babylon, NY/North Babylon) added a run in the fourth. The orange and blue plated another in the fifth, taking advantage of Fisher miscues to make it 9-5.
Despite the offensive push, Fisher continued to add on, scoring two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh before breaking the game open with a four-run eighth inning.
Rockwell led the offense in game one with two hits, including a triple, while Berger added a pair of hits and scored a run. Logan drove in a run as part of Utica's early rally.
On the mound,
Kooper Knabe (Cortland, NY/Cortland) took the loss after allowing nine runs over two innings.
Connor Ford (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) provided length in relief, tossing over five innings, while
Jordan Henkel (Melville, NY/Walt Whitman) finished the game out, completing the eighth frame.
Game Two
In game two, the Pioneer pitching would hold strong in the early going. However, a standout performance by the Cardinal pitching staff gave them an important advantage, and they eventually tacked on a few insurance runs to win 8-1.
The Pioneer pitching staff kept the game within reach early, as
Dean Ennis (Middle Island, NY/Longwood) battled through 5.2 innings, allowing just two runs despite working around traffic on the bases. The Pioneers' defense also turned a pair of double plays to keep things tight through the middle innings.
However, Fisher broke things open in the seventh inning. Capitalizing on a pair of Utica errors and timely hitting, the Cardinals scored four runs in the frame, highlighted by a three-run home run that extended the lead to 6-0.
The blue and orange got on the board in the bottom of the seventh.
Eric Schulteisz (North Babylon, NY/North Babylon) singled and later scored on an RBI base hit from
Wyatt Beadle (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls), cutting the deficit to 6-1.
Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) continued his strong season at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk to lead the Pioneers offensively.
Despite those outstanding lines, the Pioneers would eventually fall after a few late runs by the Cardinals.
Ennis was charged with the loss, while
Tyler Brown (Sayville, NY/Sayville High School) and
Brendan Berry (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) combined to finish the game in relief.
The Pioneers fell to 13-10 and 5-5 in conference, but will have an immediate chance to avenge the losses, as they take on Fisher tomorrow afternoon to complete the series. Game three begins at 12:00 tomorrow, Sunday, April 12th, from Pioneer Field.
