Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College Athletics spring season officially came to an end this past week, as the baseball program wrapped up a busy final week of the regular season. The Purple and Gold put together a strong conclusion to the year, posting a 4-2 record on the week, which included a series sweep of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and a doubleheader sweep of SUNY Canton on the season's final day. Catch up on the past week in the latest edition of Soaring Eagles Weekly!
 
Headlines for the Week Ahead
 
Empire 8 All-Conference Awards to Be Released This Week
With the regular season now in the books for all spring programs, Empire 8 All-Conference honors are slated to be released over this coming week. Stay tuned to the EC Athletics website for more details on Elmira's award winners over the coming days.
 
Purple and Gold Golf Outing to be Held on Saturday, May 21^st
The annual Purple and Gold Golf Outing, which benefits the EC Athletics Department, is slated to be held on Saturday, May 21^st, at Mark Twain Golf Course in Elmira Heights, NY. For more details on the event, please visit the following link to find out more information on this year's event: CLICK HERE.
 
46^th Annual Elmira College Athletics Award Banquet to be Held on Monday, May 23^rd
The 46^th annual Elmira College Athletics Award Banquet has been set for 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 23^rd, in the Campus Center Dining Hall. Stay tuned to the EC Athletics website for more information as the date gets closer.
 
Basketball Announces Dates for Summer Camp Sessions
Elmira College men's basketball head coach, Randie Torgalski, announced the finalized dates for the two upcoming summer camp sessions. The first session will be held from July 11^th-14^th, while the second session is slated for July 25^th-28^th. For more details on the summer camp and how to register, please visit the following link: CLICK HERE.
 
A Look Back at the Week That Was…
 
Chivers Takes Home Second-Team All-American Honors from D3hockey.com
Elmira athletics kicked off the past week with rookie women's ice hockey standout, Kristin Chivers '19, taking home another national honor from D3hockey.com. Just over a week after being a First-Team All-East Region selection by the media outlet, Chivers landed a spot as a Second-Team All-American. For more information, please visit the following link: CLICK HERE.
 
Baseball Sweeps Home-and-Home Series Against Pitt-Bradford
Elmira kicked off the final week of the regular season with a convincing non-conference sweep of Pitt-Bradford in a home-and-home series between the two programs. The Soaring Eagles offense exploded 17 runs in the two contests, while the pitching was also on point, limiting the Panthers to just five runs combined in the two games.
 
EC honored the first graduating class to come through the fledgling program this past Tuesday, recognizing its four senior members in a pregame on-field ceremony. Once the game got underway, it was the graduates that paved the way for EC's victory. All four graduating players recorded at least one hit, while three of them collected RBIs in Elmira's 10-3 victory.
 
On the mound, Nick Sampogna '18 was tremendous in his first of two outings on the week. He carried a perfect game into the fifth inning against the Panthers, retiring the first 14 batters he faced on the evening. The second-year pitcher ended up going seven scoreless innings, while he tied a career best with seven punch outs in picking up the victory.
 
The following day, Elmira and Pitt-Bradford again faced off in the second game of the home-and-home, which was played in Bradford, PA. The Panthers jumped out to an early advantage in the contest, but the EC offense would again prevail in the clutch, as the Soaring Eagles secured the 7-2 victory.
 
Dylan Bellinger '17 and Nate Hanner '18 each collected two RBIs to power the offense, while Blake Phelps '19 and three Elmira relievers locked down the Pitt-Bradford batters. Phelps went five innings to pick up the victory.
 
Baseball Had Conference Tournament Aspirations Dashed by Ithaca on Saturday
Riding the momentum from the non-conference wins over Pitt-Bradford earlier in the week; Elmira had a straight-forward road entering the weekend. Still alive for the fourth and final berth to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament, the Soaring Eagles controlled their own destiny. Unfortunately, it was a challenging path, as EC needed to win its final three games in order to qualify for the postseason. Standing in Elmira's path was rival Ithaca College, who swept both games of a Saturday doubleheader to end the Soaring Eagles postseason aspirations.
 
The opening game of the Saturday twin-bill was competitive throughout. Although the Bombers strung three consecutive hits in the first inning to snag an early 2-0 advantage, Elmira cut the deficit to one run the very next inning when Brian Wehmeyer '16 brought Dennis Rudolph '18 home on a sacrifice fly.
 
Sadly, that was all the scoring Elmira could muster in the opener. A few base running blunders, coupled with strong pitching by Ithaca starter, John Prendergast, powered the home side to a 4-1 win. Conor Bawiec '18 tossed a strong outing against one of the conference's most potent lineups, but the Bombers were able to scratch across just enough offense.
 
The second game of the Saturday doubleheader was not as close. Although the contest started favorable, as EC scored a run in the first inning on a Nate Hanner '18 sacrifice fly, Ithaca starter, Benji Parkes, locked down the Soaring Eagle offense from there.
 
The Bombers showcased their prodigious power in the game as well. Ithaca slugged three homers in the game to pull out a 7-1 victory.
 
Baseball Rebounds to Sweep SUNY Canton on Season's Final Day
If Elmira was still feeling the disappointment from having its postseason hopes dashed by Ithaca a day earlier, the team did not show it in the slightest. Elmira played the spoiler on Sunday, sweeping both ends of a doubleheader against SUNY Canton by lopsided 11-2 and 7-3 scores.
 
Elmira kept the Roos out of the conference tournament with the 11-2 victory in the opener. Nick Sampogna '18 stole the show for EC, limiting the Roos to just two unearned runs over nine innings to notch the first complete game of his collegiate career. At one point, he retired 14 straight SUNY Canton batters and 19-of-21 through the seventh inning.
 
While Sampogna was stifling the bats on one end, the Elmira offense exploded for 11 runs. The lineup was led by Brian Wehmeyer '16 who equaled a career high with three hits and knocked in a career-best four RBIs.
 
The Roos also got off to a quick start in the second game of the day, but Elmira again responded in the middle innings to take control of the contest.
 
Hanner drove in three RBIs, while Blake Phelps '19 and three bullpen arms kept the SUNY Canton bats at bay. The two wins brought Elmira's season total to 16, doubling the amount of victories from the program's inaugural season in 2015.
 
With his outstanding pair of starts, Sampogna was named Empire 8 Pitcher of the Week by the league office on Monday afternoon.
 
For more information on EC Baseball, please visit the following link: CLICK HERE.