Elmira, NY -- Joe Kidd '18 of the Elmira College baseball team pitched six-plus innings, throwing a season-high 133 pitches while striking out a season-high six batters, as the Soaring Eagles dropped an Empire 8 Conference tilt at home to the Pioneers of Utica College, 6-3. With the win Utica improves to 9-3 on the season and 3-1 in E8 play while the Purple and Gold drop to 0-9 and 0-2 in conference play.
After allowing opponents to average 13.4 runs per game in their first five outings, the Soaring Eagles look like they are finding themselves out on the diamond, especially home at Dunn Field, as EC has cut their runs allowed to 6.25 over their last four games.
The Soaring Eagles were led at the plate this evening by
Jack Thistle '18 and
Brian Wehmeyer '17, who each went 2-for-4. One of Thistle's hits drove in a run while one of Wehmeyer's was a double.
Elmira played two innings of scoreless ball before Utica got on the board in the top of third inning, scoring on an EC error with two outs to take a 1-0 lead. The Pioneers added two more runs in the top of the fourth on a two-out double by Andrew Pexton, increasing the Utica lead to 3-0.
The Soaring Eagles would get one back in the bottom of the fourth, as an error by the Utica shortstop allowed
Mike Burghardt '18 to score, trimming the Pioneer lead to 3-1.
Fast-forward to the top of the seventh inning, with the game still at 3-1, Kidd looked to continue his strong outing despite a high pitch count. The Utica batters would take advantage of seeing so many of Kidd's pitches, as the first four Pioneer batters reached safely on three hits and an error, scoring two runs in that time to take a 5-1 lead. The two runs scored would force a pitching change, as Nick Sompagna '18 entered the game for relief duty.
Sompagna took the mound with runners on the corners and would limit the damage, allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly before retiring the side, as the Soaring Eagles entered the bottom of the seventh trailing, 6-1.
Rey Colon '18 led-off the bottom of the seventh inning with a four-pitch walk and Elmira's next batter,
Jordan Marquez '18, would advance Colon to second base, putting EC in scoring position.
Jack Thistle '18 stepped to the plate next and would bring Colon home as he drove the first pitch he saw through the middle of the infield for an RBI single, Elmira's only run of the inning.
Trailing 6-2, Elmira elected to put
Davis Salzman '18 on the mound in the top of the eighth inning. After allowing the first batter of the inning to reach on an infield single, Salzman settled-in and retired the next three batters, two of which came in the form of strikeouts, as EC entered the bottom half of the inning still down by four.
In the bottom of the eighth,
Dylan Bellinger '18 reached safely on a one-out single and advanced to second thanks to a
Brian Wehmeyer '17 single that put a pair of runners on with just one out. Elmira's next batter,
Bryce Plante '18, would also reach safely on a fielder's choice as Wehmeyer was forced out at second, but an errant throw by the Utica second baseman allowed Bellinger to score, cutting the lead to 6-3.
EC's mini rally looked like it was going to continue on the next at-bat, as Colon rocketed one on a 1-1 count but his hard hit ball was lined directly to the Utica shortstop, who caught it for the third out of the inning.
Mike Ladka '18 came in to pitch the ninth inning and would do his part in keeping it a three-run game, allowing one hit while striking out one batter en route to getting his three outs.
Elmira eyed a ninth-inning comeback as Thistle delivered a one-out single. EC would eventually put runners on the corners, with Thistle at third and
Hayden Rothenberg '17 at first, but the Soaring Eagles were unable to bring in any runs in the inning as Utica escaped with a 6-3 win.
EC will be back in action tomorrow, April 4th, as the Soaring Eagles host Utica for an Empire 8 Conference doubleheader. The first of two games is slated for 12:00 p.m. at Dunn Field.
