ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Coming off of an extra-inning heartbreaker in the season opener, the Elmira College baseball team will continue its spring road trip this weekend with a visit to Fayetteville, North Carolina, for the Armstrong Invitational, hosted by Methodist University.

WEEKEND OVERVIEW
The Soaring Eagles will play a trio of non-conference games at this weekend's Armstrong Invitational, beginning with a 4:00 p.m. bout on Friday, February 24th, against the host Monarchs. At the same time on Saturday, the Purple and Gold will face the Scarlet Raptors of Rutgers University-Camden, before concluding the invite on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. with a matinee against Mitchell College. Live stats will be provided for all three games, in addition to a video broadcast of the weekend opener versus the Monarchs.

LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles kicked off 2017 with their longest game in the program's brief history – a 6-5 11-inning loss to the Captains of Christopher Newport University on the road on Tuesday afternoon. CNU opened the game with a four-spot in the first, but EC pitcher Nick Sampogna '18 settled in and hurled six straight shutout innings after the shaky start. In the sixth and seventh innings, the Elmira offense exploded for five runs, allowing the Soaring Eagles grabbed a 5-4 lead. An RBI single from Conor Bawiec '18 and one-run double by Matt van Muelken '18 highlighted the sixth. In the seventh, Hayden Rothenberg '18 came around to score on a base hit from Dylan Bellinger '17, but Tommy Fogarty '20 was gunned down at the plate trying to score from second on the play. The Captains knotted the game in the home half of the eighth with Keith Roberts' fourth RBI of the day, and went on to secure the victory in the 11th on a bases-loaded walk, which forced in the winning run from third.

"PUT ME IN COACH"
While he didn't man centerfield, Tommy Fogarty '20 was "ready to play," as are the words from John Fogerty's 1985 classic. The Elmira freshman had an impressive debut while batting second in the lineup as the designated hitter. In the first inning he swatted a double to join Alexander Taulien '17 as one of two Soaring Eagles to hit an extra-base hit in their first at collegiate at-bat. Fogarty also drew a free pass and scored a run in the sixth inning, before being thrown out on a bang-bang play at the plate in the seventh.

METHODIST AT A GLANCE
Two years removed from a USA South Conference Title and NCAA regional berth, the Monarchs enter their home invite with a 5-4 overall record, this after sweeping all three contests at last weekend's Diamond Invitational. Methodist will host the Armstrong Invitational on their home diamond, Armstrong-Shelley Field, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Through the first nine games of the season, sophomore Brennan Brown leads the squad with a .407 batting average and 12 runs scored, while as a team, Methodist is hitting at a .305 clip. On the mound, Tyler Hardee has already accumulated four starts and is 2-0 with a 3.14 ERA.

RUTGERS-CAMDEN AT A GLANCE
The Scarlet Raptors will begin their season on Friday at the Armstrong Invitational with a 12:00 p.m. bout against Mitchell College. In 2016, Rutgers-Camden finished with a 23-14 overall record and a 9-9 mark against New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) competition. The Scarlet Raptors missed out on a berth in the NJAC Tournament by losing a tiebreaker to William Paterson University, this after winning the regular-season conference title in both 2014 and 2015. NJAC Rookie of the Year Chris Jones is back for his sophomore season; the shortstop hit .348 with 28 RBIs as a freshman. Fellow returning All-Conference Honorable Mention senior outfielder Doug Carter, Jr. led the team in average (.388), slugging percentage (.525), and RBIs (33) a year ago.

MITCHELL AT A GLANCE
Mitchell College, a Division III institution located in New London, Connecticut, has witnesses great success under the helm of sixth-year Head Coach Travis Beausoleil. The Mariners have captured three consecutive New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) titles and have appeared in the NCAA New England Regional in each of the past three seasons. In 2016, Mitchell went 28-11, and was eliminated from the regional tournament in a 3-2 12-inning affair by Salem State. Senior Tyler Pina is back after earning ABCA/Rawlings All-New England Region honors as a junior, when he batted a career-high .372 and led the club in runs scored (35), doubles (12), and homers (2). Pina was also named the NECC Tournament MVP after hitting .563 with eight runs and six RBIs in three postseason contests.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Soaring Eagles will enjoy a two-week break before returning to action in the Empire State on Saturday, March 11th. Elmira will travel to New Rochelle, New York, for a doubleheader against the Beavers of The City College of New York (CCNY).