SCHENECTADY, NY – The Utica University baseball team battled through an emotional and hard-fought weekend at the 2026 Empire 8 Championship Tournament, earning a dramatic extra-inning victory over Keuka College to advance to the final four, before seeing its postseason run come to an end against Russell Sage and SUNY Brockport. Across the three tournament games, the Pioneers totaled 21 runs and 35 hits, fighting hard but ultimately coming up short.
Game One – Utica 12, Keuka 11 (12 Innings)
The Pioneers opened tournament play with an instant classic, outlasting Keuka College in a 12-inning thriller behind clutch late-game heroics and relentless offense.
Keuka struck first with a three-run opening inning, but Utica answered quickly. Matthew Paolucci (Toronto, Ontario/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute) doubled home Mike Rockwell (Liverpool, NY/Cicero) in the first before Lance Berger (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony's) tied the game an inning later with a two-run single.
Utica surged ahead in the fourth inning as Berger launched a two-run homer to left field before Paolucci followed with a two-run blast of his own, giving the Pioneers a 7-3 lead.
Keuka responded with six runs in the sixth inning and another two-run homer in the seventh to take an 11-7 advantage, but the Pioneers refused to go away. Eric Schulteisz (North Babylon, NY/North Babylon) and Luca Logan (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peters Prep) opened the bottom of the seventh with singles before Micah Fiorello (Brooktondale, NY/Ithaca) crushed a game-tying grand slam to left field, electrifying the Utica dugout and tying the game at 11-11.
The game remained scoreless into the 12th thanks to dominant relief pitching. Connor Ford (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) tossed 2.1 scoreless innings before Ty Montrose (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) worked the final 2.2 innings, striking out three and earning the victory.
In the bottom of the 12th, Paolucci drew a leadoff walk and Montrose followed with a single before Alex Renner (Schuylerville, NY/Schuylerville High School) delivered a walk-off RBI single to secure the dramatic 12-11 win.
Utica finished with 19 hits in the contest. Paolucci went 4-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs, Berger drove in four runs, and Fiorello's grand slam highlighted a four-RBI performance. Rockwell and Schulteisz each added three-hit games in the victory.
Game Two – Russell Sage 14, Utica 3
Following the emotional marathon victory earlier in the day, the Pioneers ran into a powerful Russell Sage offense in the opening winner's bracket matchup.
Sage grabbed control early with six runs over the first three innings while keeping the Utica offense quiet through the middle portion of the game. The Gators continued to add on late, as the Empire 8 Regular Season Champion padded their early lead with a few well-timed base hits.
The Pioneers still stood strong though, as they broke through in the ninth inning. Rockwell and Paolucci each worked walks before Logan was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run. Jacob Scalise (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) later reached on an error that allowed two additional runs to cross as the Pioneers trimmed the deficit to 14-3. Unfortunately, the rally was cut short, with the game ending by that final 14-3 total.
Berger reached base twice and recorded a hit, while Schulteisz and Logan each added hits of their own. Brady Leichtman (Bay Shore, NY/St. John the Baptist Diocesan) started on the mound before Brendan Berry (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) handled relief duties as, despite the loss, Utica stayed alive in the double-elimination bracket heading into Friday.
Game Three – Brockport 5, Utica 1
Facing elimination on Friday morning, the Pioneers battled throughout, but were unable to solve Brockport starter Camden Schaffer in a 5-1 loss that ended the team's postseason run.
After taking two out of three games against the Golden Eagles the prior weekend, the Pioneers were looking to continue rolling on offense, as they'd done mightily in that three-game series. However, the green and gold would take an early lead.
Brockport plated a run in the first inning before adding three more in the fourth on a two-run single and a wild pitch to build a 4-0 advantage. The Golden Eagles added another run in the fifth on a solo home run.
The blue and orange generated scoring chances throughout the game, collecting eight hits, but came up just short in key moments. The Pioneers stranded runners in scoring position in the fourth inning after consecutive singles from Lance Berger (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony's) and Mike Rockwell (Liverpool, NY/Cicero), and later put runners aboard in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Rockwell finally broke through in the sixth inning, launching a solo home run to left field for Utica's lone run of the contest. The Pioneer senior finished 2-for-4 with the home run, while Berger also collected two hits. Montrose, Berry, Ogata, and Fiorello each added hits as well.
Michael Flint (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) took the loss after allowing five runs over five innings while striking out four. Tyler Brown (Sayville, NY/Sayville High School) was excellent in relief, tossing three scoreless innings and striking out two to keep the Pioneers within reach late.
The loss would halt the Pioneers' Empire 8 Championship bid, giving them their second loss of the bracket.
Across the three tournament games, Paolucci led the Pioneers offensively with five hits, including a home run and multiple extra-base hits, while Berger totaled seven RBIs and consistently produced in the middle of the lineup. Rockwell added six hits across the weekend, highlighted by the solo homer against Brockport and multiple multi-hit performances.
The Pioneers wrap up their season with a 23-17 record, while setting program records in a variety of different offensive categories such as runs scored (367), base hits (420), doubles (89), home runs (37), and RBIs (319).
