UTICA, NY - The Pioneers are back in the Empire 8 Tournament, and it couldn't be a better time for the team to battle it out in postseason play.
 
The Pioneers are riding high after a 5-1 week, which saw them climb all the way back up to the #4 seed in the final Empire 8 standings, securing a spot in the upcoming Wild Card matchup. In doing so, the team took two out of three from a tough Brockport side that enters the tournament as the #2 seed, giving them much momentum heading into the dance. The Pioneers wrapped up the regular season by winning eight of their final 10 Empire 8 contests, sending them into the tournament with high hopes to make a deep run in this year's bracket.
 
The Empire 8 Baseball Tournament begins this Thursday, kicking off with the Pioneers taking on Keuka in a win-or-go-home Wild Card matchup, with the winner heading to the final four. Get caught up ahead of this weekend's postseason action below!
 
The 2026 Empire 8 Baseball Tournament
 
This year's Empire 8 Baseball Tournament will be hosted by the regular-season champion Russell Sage Gators, with all games being played at Schenectady Central Park's "A" Diamond in Schenectady, New York. Games will be played from Thursday to Saturday, with the potential for games on Sunday depending on the weather.
 
Here is the field for this season's tournament:
 
#1 Russell Sage (33-5, 21-1 E8)
#2 SUNY Brockport (21-19, 17-5 E8)
#3 St. John Fisher (27-10, 16-6 E8)
#4 Utica University (22-15, 13-9 E8)
*#5 SUNY Poly (15-16, 11-11 E8)
#6 Keuka College (14-19, 10-12 E8)
 
*SUNY Poly was eliminated by Keuka in the Play-In game on Monday, May 4th.
 
The schedule for this weekend is as follows:
 
Thursday, May 7
11:00 AM | Wild Card - #4 Utica vs #6 Keuka - (elimination game) - Live Stats | Live Video
2:30 PM | Game 1 - #2 SUNY Brockport vs #3 St. John Fisher - Live Stats | Live Video
6:00 PM | Game 2 - #1 Russell Sage vs Winner of Wild Card - Live Stats | Live Video
 
Friday, May 8
11:00 AM | Game 3 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - (elimination game) – Live Video
2:30 PM | Game 4 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 -  Live Video
6:00 PM | Game 5 - Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 - (elimination game) – Live Video
 
Saturday, May 9
12:00 PM | Game 6 - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 Game 6 – Live Video
(if necessary) 3:30 PM | Game 7 - Winner-Take-All Championship Game - Live Video
 
Tickets: Admission will be cash-only each day. Here are the prices:
$10 - Adults
$2 - Students and Seniors with Valid ID
Free - Children under 12
 
Stream: All games will be streamed on the Russell Sage section of the Empire 8 Network. You can view all streams by heading to this link: https://empire8network.com/russellsage/
 
Live Stats: Live stat links for each game will be added to the Utica Baseball schedule page as the team moves through the tournament. You can view stats for the Wild Card contest by heading to this link: https://www.d3baseball.com/seasons/2026/boxscores/20260507_70io.xml
 
Tournament Structure: The tournament is a standard four-team double-elimination bracket, preceded by a pair of elimination games to determine the #4 seed.
 
This year, the #5 seed (SUNY Poly) hosted the #6 seed (Keuka) in the play-in. More information about this game can be found down below; however, the Wolves managed to pull away and snare a 6-3 win to advance to Thursday's Wild Card round.
 
Now, the #4-seeded Pioneers will face Keuka at the site of the Championships on Thursday morning, with the winner completing the four-team double-elimination bracket. From there, the tournament is a standard double-elimination format, with each team needing two losses to be eliminated.
 
Blue and Orange Archive - Empire 8 Tournament: This is the Pioneers' seventh-straight trip to the Empire 8 Tournament, and their second consecutive year taking part in the Wild Card game as the #4 overall seed. Last season, the Pioneers fell to Houghton by a 23-9 final in the Wild Card round, seeing their season end in a rainy affair played at Brockport.
 
Since the 2019 iteration of the tournament, the Pioneers are 7-13 in postseason play, with seven of those losses coming at the hands of St. John Fisher. In their last six tournament appearances, the Pioneers have reached the Empire 8 Championship three times and finished third once.
 
The team is seeking it's first appearance in the double elimination portion of the bracket since 2024, the last year in which they made the Empire 8 Championship.
 
Here is how the Pioneers fared against each opponent this season:
 
Pioneer Primer:
 
Vs #1 Russell Sage (0-2, 18 RS, 29 RA)
The Pioneers battled Russell Sage twice, falling in both games, with game two being a close affair throughout. The Gators' constant pressure on the basepaths was too much for the orange and blue on both occasions, as the Empire 8 Regular Season Champions stole 20 bases across the two-game series. In the second matchup alone, the Gators were also able to rack up 20 hits and 18 runs, taking advantage of seven Pioneer errors to push past the eventual #4 seed. However, the Gator pitchers showed some weakness, allowing 14 hits and 14 runs scored to the Pioneers in that second contest.
 
The Pioneers will need to take advantage of the Russell Sage pitching this weekend, should the two teams meet, and will look for big outings out of Micah Fiorello (Brooktondale, NY/Ithaca) and Jacob Scalise (Utica, NY/Whitesboro) to help limit the Gators on the basepaths.
 
In addition, the defense will need to be in top form, as the Pioneers were plagued by errors in both meetings against Russell Sage this season.
 
Some players to watch against Russell Sage:
 
Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) - the Pioneers' leadoff batter managed six hits, four runs, and two RBIs against the Gators during the season, only failing to reach base in four of his 11 plate appearances.
 
Ryan Smith (Wappingers Falls, NY/Beacon High School) - The Pioneer rookie had an outstanding second game against the Gators a few weeks ago, going 4-4 with a run scored, an RBI, and a walk. Smith was extremely effective at the plate, but did have two errors at third base, something he will look to correct this weekend.
 
Vs #2 SUNY Brockport (2-1, 25 RS, 21 RA)
The Pioneers are fresh off of a series win against the Golden Eagles, getting the best of the reigning Empire 8 Champion on their home turf as they defeated Brockport 8-6 in game one and 12-7 in game two. The Pioneers scored 25 runs on 38 hits, having their best three-game series of the season at the right time. The Pioneers were explosive at the plate, having seven doubles and two home runs while not hitting into any double plays all weekend. Their .328 batting average and .397 on-base percentage. On the mound, the team saw some solid outings from Mike Flint, Dean Ennis (Middle Island, NY/Longwood), and Justin Notargiacomo (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa), with the former two players picking up pitching wins, and the latter grabbing yet another save.
 
The Pioneers will need even more offense should they match up with the Golden Eagles, as a potential matchup against the reigning champs would be a minimum of three games into the tournament for the blue and orange, and a minimum of two for Brockport, meaning that both teams will already be dipping into their pitching reserves.
 
Some Players to watch against SUNY Brockport:
 
Lance Berger (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony's) - The Pioneers' second baseman had a stellar weekend against Brockport, and throughout the entirety of last week as a whole, as he dominated at the plate to secure the Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week award. Against the Golden Eagles, Berger blasted six hits, two of which were home runs, while tallying four RBIs and six runs scored.
 
Justin Notargiacomo (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) - The Pioneer closer, despite allowing a few hits and runs, was able to recalibrate and shut down the Golden Eagles to secure a big game one win. He will be counted on in any situation in which the team has a lead at the end of the game, especially as the team gets deeper in the Empire 8 Tournament. Notargiacomo will be coming off an excellent week in which he secured two important Empire 8 wins.
 
Vs #3 St. John Fisher (0-3, 11 RS, 42 RA)
The blue and orange had a tough time against the Cardinals during the two teams' three-game set early in April. The Cardinals relied on extra-base hitting and a few powerful pitching performances to take a series sweep over the hosting Pioneers. The hosts batted just .211 over the trio of contests, while the opposition averaged .378. Fisher was explosive at the plate, grabbing four home runs, while also generating 32 strikeouts, an average of over 10 per game for the Pioneers.
 
Utica will need to find more contact should they match up with the Cardinals, and limit the solid contact that the Cardinals are able to generate.
 
Some players to watch against St. John Fisher:
 
Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) - Once again, the Pioneers' leadoff man had a solid series against St. John Fisher, as he was able to reach base on many different occasions, but was unable to reach home due to the Cardinals slamming the door on the following hitters. Czternastek grabbed three hits and managed four walks in his 13 plate appearances, reaching base seven out of 13 times. He also grabbed an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base in the action.
 
Dean Ennis (Middle Island, NY/Longwood) - Ennis was effective against the high-powered Cardinals, starting the middle game and holding Fisher to just two runs during the first 5.2 innings of play. Ennis will most likely be utilized later in the tournament and has the potential to face the Cardinals in a potential game three. He had by far the most success against St. John Fisher this season, and might see innings in a big spot against the Cardinals come this weekend.
 
Vs #6 Keuka College (0-2, 11 RS, 16 RA)
The Pioneers and Wolves met on two separate occasions, with Keuka getting the better of the blue and orange in both games. The Wolves saw solid pitching from all four hurlers in game one, and Mason Smith in game two, only allowing five hits and three runs across those 13.2 innings of work. The Pioneer bats were cold during the entire first matchup, but came to life to begin the second game, as they would take an 8-4 lead by the fifth inning. However, Smith would come in and quiet the Pioneer bats to help Keuka regain control, eventually leading to an 11-8 Wolves win.
 
Keuka advanced to the Wild Card round following a 6-3 win over the #5-seeded and hosting SUNY Poly, thanks to a third-inning grand slam courtesy of Derek Novicki. Novicki's big fly put the Wolves up 4-0, a lead they would never relinquish, as an Oven Garvey RBI single in the sixth and an Ian Ruhmel RBI single in the eighth would give the Wolves some insurance. Lucas Gilbert got the win for Keuka, going seven innings and allowing just one run. Mason Smith and Brandon Wilson each pitched an inning, while Wilson got the save, his fourth of the season.
 
The Pioneers will need to have the bats going on Thursday morning, looking to keep their momentum up from this past week. That will be the overwhelming key to victory for the #4 seed in the bracket, as they look to gather some runs and hold the Wolves in order to advance back to the final four.
 
Some players to watch against Keuka:
 
Kooper Knabe (Cortland, NY/Cortland) - Knabe is coming off a stellar week in which he was named the Empire 8 Player of the Week, thanks to his no-hit win against Elmira. It remains to be seen what pitching strategy the Pioneers choose to employ, but if they come out with their best guy in the Wild Card, Knabe will see the mound for his first appearance against Keuka this season.
 
Mike Rockwell (Liverpool, NY/Cicero) - Rockwell, the Pioneers' most powerful hitter, had an amazing outing against Keuka in the last meeting between the teams. The outstanding outfielder grabbed two hits, three RBIs, and two runs scored, even notching an inside-the-park home run. He will be counted on heavily during Thursday's Wild Card round.
 
After the Empire 8 Tournament: The winner of the Empire 8 Tournament will be granted an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Tune in this weekend for the Empire 8 Tournament, and keep an eye on our athletics social media for score updates!