UTICA, NY - It will be a busy week for the Utica Baseball team as they celebrate Division III Week by welcoming in both the Keuka College Wolves and St. John Fisher Cardinals to Utica for Empire 8 matchups on home grounds. The Pioneers will be set to face off the Wolves on Wednesday, April 8th, starting at 2:00 PM, and the Cardinals on Saturday, April 11th, at 12:00 PM & 3:00 PM, and on Sunday, April 12th, at 1:00 PM. Wednesday's contest is set to be played at Murnane Field, whilst the weekend's Fisher series will be played at the Pioneer Baseball Field.

This is an important stretch for the squad, as Utica will have eight home games in the upcoming 11 days while looking to gain momentum and solidify its spot in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. You can check out the schedule for more information about upcoming contests: https://uticapioneers.com/sports/baseball/schedule

You can stream this week's games by heading to the "Watch" link on our athletics website, or by heading to this link: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/

Interested spectators can follow along with live stats by heading to this link: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Offensive Outburst - At just about the midway point of the season, the Pioneers have been tearing the cover off the baseball. They are all over the top of the Empire 8 leaderboards for offensive numbers, and here is how it all breaks down. The Pioneers have the top three players in the Empire 8 for slugging percentage, as well as the top two players in OPS, with a third player also inside the top five for OPS.

Mike Rockwell (Liverpool, NY/Cicero) is leading the charge, as the senior is third in the Empire 8 for batting average with a .433, second in the conference with a 1.256 OPS, and sixth in hits with 29. His five home runs are also tied for the Empire 8 lead.

Ryan Smith (Wappingers Falls, NY/Beacon High School) continues his stellar freshman year, as the Wappingers Falls native is leading the Empire 8 with a 1.260 OPS and a .782 SLG%. His four home runs are tied for third in the conference, and his .400 average is among the top ten.

Luca Logan (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peters Prep) continued his recent hot stretch and is now third in the conference with a .714 SLG%, as well as having the fifth-highest OPS with a 1.176. The Bayonne, NJ native is tied with Smith at third in the Empire 8 with four home runs, and his .357 average is amongst the top 20.

Matthew Paolucci (Toronto, Ontario/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute) has been incredible for the Pioneers all season long, as the Toronto native is tied for fourth in the conference with 31 RBIs, and his .385 average and 1.140 OPS are both tied for tenth in the Empire 8 as well. Paolucci also has hit four home runs, tying Smith and Logan for third place.

As a team, the Pioneers are leading the conference in slugging percentage with a .516 mark, and are third in average at .310. They lead the Empire 8 in home runs by a wide margin with 24, and are amongst the top three in every major offensive statistic. All this offensive success, alongside leading the conference with a .964 fielding percentage, has led the Pioneers to a hot start to the season, which they hope to continue upon entering an upcoming big stretch of home games.

Recapping Last Weekend - Utica traveled over to Alfred, NY to face the Saxons for three games and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 47-12, including scoring 20 in game two of the series. You can find each of the individual game recaps by following the links below:

4/3: 11-4 Win - https://uticapioneers.com/news/2026/4/3/baseball-smith-fiorello-each-tally-a-trio-of-hits-in-11-4-series-opening-victory-over-saxons.aspx 

4/4: 20-5 Win and 16-3 Win - https://uticapioneers.com/news/2026/4/4/baseball-pioneers-pile-up-36-runs-in-saturday-sweep-of-saxons.aspx 

Scouting Keuka - The Keuka Wolves come into the contest against Utica with a 5-15 record, including a 1-9 record in Empire 8 play. The team lost in sweeping fashion against the powerful trio of SUNY Brockport, Russell Sage, and St. John Fisher, with their lone conference win coming in a 10-inning 9-8 win over Elmira College. Offensively, the Wolves are led by senior Derek Novicki, whose .431 average and 1.063 OPS are amongst the conference leaders. On the mound for Keuka, Luis Rivera has been throwing the ball well, as the first year out of Miami, FL, has pitched to a 3.27 ERA and 1.50 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 22 innings.

You can see Keuka's stats by heading to this link: https://keukaathletics.com/sports/baseball/stats

Scouting St. John Fisher - The St. John Fisher Cardinals currently sit with a 17-5 record, including a 6-1 mark in Empire 8 play. Offensively, the Cardinals are led by the duo of Jordan Perry and Jack Griffin. Perry, the reigning Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, is amongst the conference leaders in average and OPS with marks of .433 and 1.105. Perry is also leading the conference in hits with 42. Griffin, a senior Clifton Park, NY native, is right behind him with average and OPS marks of .422 and 1.241. On the mound for Fisher, sophomore Nathan Benjamin has pitched to a team-leading 2.82 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 17 strikeouts in 22.1 innings. Junior hurler Robert Leach has thrown the most innings at 31, with 30 strikeouts and a 3.48 ERA.

Up Next - Following the Keuka game and Fisher series, the Pioneers will travel to Saratoga Springs, NY, to face the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds on Tuesday, April 14th, at 3:00 before returning home to face Russell Sage College on Wednesday, April 15th, at 3:00 PM. After the midweek games, the Pioneers welcome Houghton for a weekend series with the first game set to start on Friday, April 17th, at 3:00 PM, with the following games on Saturday, April 18th, at 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM. 

After that series, the squad will travel to Keuka Park, NY, to face the Wolves in a midweek contest on Tuesday, April 21st, at 3:00 PM before traveling to Oswego, NY, to face the Lakers in a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 25th, at 12:00 PM & 2:00 PM.

The Utica Baseball team will honor its seniors on Senior Day before game one on Saturday, April 18th against Houghton, so make sure to get there early to show support. Be sure to pay attention to the Utica University Athletics social media pages for any last-minute scheduling updates!