Elmira College (6-11, 0-4 Empire 8) vs. Stevens Institute of Technology (14-10, 6-2 Empire 8)
Friday, April 8, 2016 | 2:00 & 4:30 P.M. | Dunn Field – Elmira, NY
Sunday, April 10, 2016 | 12:00 P.M. | Dunn Field – Elmira, NY
 
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles
 
Elmira, NY -- After its mid-week contests were postponed due to inclement weather, the Elmira College baseball team will finally jump back into action this weekend when it welcomes the Stevens Institute of Technology for a three-game series at Dunn Field this weekend. The Soaring Eagles face the Ducks in a twin-bill beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 8th, while the teams conclude the series with a single game at noon on Sunday, April 10th.
 
Last Time Out
The Elmira College baseball team suffered a heart-breaker in its last full contest over the weekend. Leading Utica College 10-6 heading into the final inning, the Pioneers took advantage of some erratic pitching and defense by the Soaring Eagles to stage a comeback. Utica scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh in a walk-off 11-10 win in the opening game of the scheduled doubleheader. EC got off to a quick start in the second game of the twin-bill, scoring six times in the first inning and tacking on two more in the second. Unfortunately, the game was unable to be finished due to darkness. Through five innings of the second game, Elmira leads 10-5, with the game set to be finished at a later date.
 
Bellinger Continues Hitting Tear
EC first baseman Dylan Bellinger '17 has been swinging a hot bat since the team began the northern portion of its schedule. Excluding that first hitless week in Florida, Bellinger has gone 28-for-57 (.491) since returning north. Of those 26 hits, 11 of them have gone for extra-bases with 10 doubles and one homer on the season. He has whacked five doubles over his last three completed games. His 10 two-baggers are second-most in the Empire 8, while he ranks third in the conference in RBIs (18) and fourth in batting average (.412).
 
Bawiec Streak Reaches 28 Straight Games
Conor Bawiec '18 continued his assault on the base paths for Elmira with another huge weekend up in Utica. He slugged one hit in the opening game and two more in game two, before the contest was paused. The Lebanon, PA, native has collected hits in four straight contests since his career-long 22 game hitting streak came to an end. With the three-hit effort, Bawiec's on-base streak stretched to 28 consecutive contests dating back to last season. His .500 on-base percentage leads the Empire 8 Conference this season as well.
 
Dodgy Defense
Elmira's defense has been a major determinate to the team's overall success through the first half of the season. During the Soaring Eagles' program-record five-game winning streak earlier this season the team committed just two errors, while four of those wins were aided by error-free performances. However, things have taken a stark turn in that area during the team's latest seven-game swoon. The Soaring Eagles have committed 24 errors over that stretch, an average of over three per game. Consequently, the team has only won a single game during the stretch. Unsurprisingly, in that lone victory EC committed just one error. Elmira has posted a 6-3 record this season when committing two-or-less errors, while it is 0-8 when making three-or-more defensive mistakes.
 
Aggressive Baserunning
One of the things that Head Coach Corey Paluga stressed during the preseason was the team's ability to put pressure on opponents with its base running. Although EC has witnessed some ebbs and flows when it has come to being aggressive on the base paths this season, it certainly looks as though Paluga has been making a concerted effort to put runners in motion over recent contests. The Soaring Eagles stole six bases in the lone completed game with Utica College over the weekend, marking a season high for the team. Over their last three games the team has swiped 11 bases overall, going 11-for-12 in attempted steals over that stretch. That was in a stark contrast to the opening weekend of Empire 8 play, in which Elmira did not attempt a single stolen base in the series against St. John Fisher College. EC's 24 stolen bases on the season are tied with Ithaca College for third in the E8.
 
Patience at the Plate
While Coach Paluga encourages his hitters to be aggressive in attacking quality pitches to hit within the strike zone, the second-year manager may implore his hitters to take a more patient approach to their at-bats in this weekend's series against the Ducks. EC drew 44 free passes in the first 11 games of the season, an average of four per game; however, the walks have dried up as of late. The Soaring Eagles have only drawn nine bases on balls over its last six contests. A keen eye is imperative for EC if it hopes to have success against this weekend's opponent. While Stevens' pitching staff leads the conference in strikeouts with 186, the staff thrives on being able to get batters to chase pitches out of the zone. The Ducks have been susceptible to wildness, as their 97 walks rank second-most in the E8. A patient approach could go a long way in helping to spark the EC offense this weekend.
 
Sampogna Continues Strong Run
EC starter Nick Sampogna '18 continued his strong run of starts since becoming a fixture in the Elmira rotation. Although Utica was able to scratch across six runs in Saturday's opener, only one of those runs was earned, as errors contributed to the Pioneers' run-scoring success. Sampogna was in line to pick up his second victory of 2016, but unfortunately things slipped away from the bullpen, as Utica roared back to take the win. Although the win elluded him, Sampogna did pick up his third consecutive quality start with his 6.0 innings of work with only one earned run allowed.
 
All-Time Series
Elmira went 0-3 against the Stevens Institute of Technology during its inaugural season in 2015. The Soaring Eagles welcomed the Ducks for a three-game set at Dunn Field, but the home confines did little to help EC against the perrenial E8 juggernaut. The Purple and Gold dropped the first-ever meeting between the two programs by a 6-1 final.  The other two contests were not nearly as close, as Stevens won in lopsided 14-4 and 22-4 games.
 
Scouting Stevens
The Ducks enter this weekend's series with a 14-10 overall record and a 6-2 mark within Empire 8 play. It has been the offense that has buoyed the team to its strong start to the 2016 campaign. Stevens leads the Empire 8 in runs scored (131) and homeruns (19). Leading the way is reigning Empire 8 Player and Pitcher of the Year Jayson Yano. The do-it-all senior has gotten off to a fantastic start with a team-best .380 batting average, 26 runs scored, and 21 stolen bases. He leads the conference in the latter two categories, while he also has six doubles, two round-trippers, and 11 RBIs to his credit this season. While Yano is the engine that drives the Stevens Institute of Technology, the lineup goes far deeper than just the senior standout. Four other Duck hitters carry batting averages above .300 heading into the weekend. Senior Nick Sieber and junior Zeph Walters are a dangerous one-two punch in the middle of the Stevens order. Sieber is batting .370 with five doubles, a team-leading two triples and three homers this year. Walters has been equally scary, batting .351 with a team-leading five round-trippers and tied for the team lead with six doubles. Both players sit atop the E8 statistical charts with 23 RBIs apiece. The pitching staff has also been impressive for the Ducks. Stevens ranks second in the conference in team earned-run average with a 4.19 staff ERA.  They thrive on strikeouts, as the team leads the conference by a wide margin with 186 whiffed batters. Yano leads the staff with a 2.24 ERA mark, while his 44 strikeouts are tops in the conference. Zeph Walters and Robert Robbins fill out the weekend rotation, carrying 3.21 and 3.48 ERAs, respectively. Bret Viola paces the bullpen with a 2.65 earned run mark, while Ryan Patterson leads the team with three saves.
 
Looking Ahead
Elmira continues its homestand when it kicks off a three-game series with Houghton on Friday, April 15th, starting at 6:00 p.m.