Score: Elmira College 6, Utica College 3
Records: Elmira (16-15, 9-9 E8), Utica (18-17, 8-9)
Location: Houghton, New York -- Kerr-Pagula Athletic Complex

HOUGHTON, N.Y. -- The Elmira College baseball team defeated Utica College 6-3 in come-from-behind fashion on Sunday afternoon in a neutral site contest at Houghton College to clinch the third seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Conference Tournament.

The Soaring Eagles had to overcome several obstacles to qualify for the 2017 Empire 8 Tournament, which will be hosted by top-seeded St. John Fisher College from April 11-13. Rainy conditions not only postponed EC's conference finale twice, but forced the game to be relocated to the Highlanders' turf field, where the Pioneers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first four innings.

The comeback started in the fifth inning, when the Soaring Eagles were finally able to break through against UC starter Griffin Baur. The freshman right-hander worked in-and-out of trouble in the first four innings and was able to strand six runners on base in that span. In the bottom of the fifth, however, Elmira trimmed a 3-0 Utica lead down to just one run, 3-2, with a pair of clutch extra-base hits. After a lead-off infield single by Hayden Rothenberg '17, the senior right fielder scored on a triple off the bat of Conor Bawiec '18. Two batters later, Tommy Fogarty '20 plated a run with a one-out double to the opposite field gap in left center.

After chasing Baur from the mound in the sixth, EC took the lead for good in the seventh against reliever Jake Cavanagh. A Dylan Bellinger '17 double, Fogarty bunt single, and a walk issued to Jansen Crossley '20 loaded the bases with nobody out. Joey Florio '20 then drove in the tying run with low liner into center field. It appeared as though the Pioneers might limit the damage to a single run, but a two-out grounder hit by Bryce Plante '18 bounced right past Utica second baseman Ryan Palmer, a costly error that allowed two additional runs to score, giving EC a 5-3 advantage. Rothenberg followed with an insurance RBI on an infield single to the left side in the ensuing at-bat, extending the lead to 6-3.

Utica brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the eighth inning following a JT Ross single and a full-count walk to Tom Carrigan, but the Elmira defense made a pair of fantastic plays to preserve the lead. The speedy Rothenberg ran down a foul ball for the first out, and with runners on second and third, Sam Plaugher '20 snagged a liner at second base hit by UC's Ben Julian and turned a double play by catching Carrigan off the bag.

Reed closed the postseason-clinching game by retiring the side in order in the top of the ninth.

In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Corey Paluga when asked about his emotions postgame…
"It's a priceless feeling. I'm mostly proud for the guys because they're the ones that are out on the field, executing when we ask them to, and accepting roles at various times. When we need them to step up, they're doing the job we ask them to, and that's what you want as a coach. They're ready to play and do the things that they need to."

Coach Paluga on the "win and you're in" mindset…
"To be honest, the perspective we presented to the guys was that it was another nine-inning game like we've been playing all year long. Even being away from Dunn Field and away from our home, both teams are playing on the same field in cool conditions. It was going to come down to which team was going to be able to execute more than the other."

Coach Paluga on the team's ability to overcome a three-run deficit…
"For the first half of the game, their team was executing more in all facets of the game: offensively with runners in scoring position, defensively making plays, and on the mound keeping us off balance. What I was mostly proud of was that, despite being down three runs going into the second half of the game, we were able to keep the same energy and keep the same focus so that we could do the things that we talked about."

Coach Paluga on Andy Reed's shutout performance out of the bullpen…
"It's just another example of why he is extremely efficient out of the bullpen. He comes in and is able to mix all of his pitches right away and keep teams off balance. Andy has done an outstanding job of doing what we've asked him to do in changing his role, and he's embraced it 100-percent."

Turning Point
Cavanagh and the Pioneers could have escaped the bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning with the game tied at 3-all. Although the right-handed sidearm reliever struggled against the lefty bats of Crossley and Fogarty, he did fan the right-handed hitting Dennis Rudolph '18 and Eddie O'Donnell IV '18 for the first two outs of the frame. Plante then grounded a 1-0 pitch towards the hole on the right side, but Palmer misplayed the otherwise routine grounder and extended the inning. As the ball trickled into shallow right field, Fogarty and Crossley came around to score the eventual game-winning runs.

Inside the Box Score

• Elmira scored six runs on 12 hits.
• The Pioneers posted three runs on eight hits.
• Utica's Palmer committed the only error of the contest.
• Each of EC's top four batters in the lineup had two hits.
• Bellinger was 2-for-5 at the plate with two doubles and a team-high two runs scored.
• Both Fogarty and Rothenberg finished the day with two base hits to go along with a RBI and a run scored.
• Bawiec went 2-for-5 with a triple and one RBI.
• Florio had a base hit in his only at-bat and finished with one run and one RBI.
• Nick Sampogna '18 started for Elmira on the mound and struck out two in his 5.0 innings pitched.
• Reed surrendered just two hits 4.0 scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory.
• Jake Ryan and Ross each had two hits for Utica and combined for all three RBIs.
• Cavanagh took the loss for the Pioneers after allowing four runs in his 2.2 innings out of the bullpen.

News and Notes

• With the victory, Elmira improves to 16-15 overall on the season.
• 16 wins tied last year's record (16-24) for the most in a season in Elmira's brief history.
• The Soaring Eagles end the E8 portion of their schedule with an even 9-9 record.
• Nine conference wins are the most in program history.
• Today's win allowed EC to clinch the third seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament.
• After missing the conference tournament last season, EC returns to postseason play for the first time since 2015, when the Purple and Gold lost to SUNY Canton in the E8 Tournament play-in game.
• With its fifth straight win over the Pioneers, Elmira improves to 5-4 in the all-time series.
• Bawiec's triple is his team-leading third of his year.
• Bawiec has reached base safely in 24 straight games.
• With the win, Reed improved to 5-3 and tied the single-season record for wins.
• Bellinger tied a career high with two doubles and produced his team-leading 11th multi-hit game of the season.

Up Next
Elmira returns to action on Tuesday, May 9, with a doubleheader against non-conference foe Keuka College at Dunn Field, beginning at 4:00 p.m. The Soaring Eagles will celebrate Class of 2017 Recognition Day, and due to the rainout of Friday's ALS Awareness Game, the team will hold all of the scheduled fundraisers on Tuesday.