The Utica baseball season has been off to a hot start this year. While the team is in the middle of the pack in the Empire 8 standings, the team is on pace to have a winning record for the second year in a row.
Coming off a big series sweep against the Alfred Saxons, the Pioneer bats were hot. Freshman Ryan Smith had a standout weekend, recording 8 total hits across the three games. He was able to bring home seven runs in total including a two run home run in game two. As a team the Pioneers took the lead in the first inning of game one on a two run homer from the team’s hit leader Mike Rockwell and from that moment on, there was only one inning in which Utica didn’t have the lead.
Most of the names to watch for the orange and white have been about as expected. Mike Rockwell is currently tied for the home run lead in the Empire 8 conference, Kooper Knabe has still been reliable as the team’s ace, while Kody Czternastek and Lance Berger have both been performing as well. However, a lot of the biggest names have come from a couple of the younger players who are in the midst of having breakout years. Matt Paolucci picked up his third Empire 8 rookie of the week award after noting 8 RBIs in the two game series against Elmira. This year’s freshman class has been off to a strong start as well. Ryan Smith has made himself an everyday player in his freshman campaign along with the 1.45 ERA of Brady Leichtman in his 18.2 innings pitched..
With the big weekend, the positive record and a handful of standout names, the Pioneers are just where they want to be for the rest of the season. With 17 games left in the regular season the Pioneers have a great look at making another appearance in the Empire 8 tournament. The top 6 teams in the conference will make the tournament and Utica currently sits in fifth with a 5-2 record. They are well within reach of the 6-2 SUNY Poly and comfortably above the sixth place Houghton team at 3-6.
The team will have a tough weekend as they invite St. John Fisher to their home diamond. The Cardinals have won four out of the last 5 conference championships and have only lost 5 out of their 22 games played this year. Led by bats Jack Griffin, Jordan Perry, and Austin Droge the Cardinals average almost ten runs a game. Backed by Nathan Benjamin and Robert Leach, the pitching staff is matched with just as much talent
The Pioneers will take the home field this Saturday, April 11 at noon for game one of the three game series against St. John Fisher University.
