ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College baseball team has one final tune-up before this week's Empire 8 Conference Tournament, as the Soaring Eagles will host the Lions of Penn State Behrend at historic Dunn Field for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, May 9. First pitch for the opening game is slated for 3:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: Elmira clinched the third seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Conference Tournament by defeating Utica College, 6-3, in comeback fashion on Sunday afternoon. The Soaring Eagles found themselves down 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, which is where the comeback began. A Conor Bawiec '18 triple plated Elmira's first run, scored by Hayden Rothenberg '17, who led off the fifth with a single. Two batters later, freshman designated hitter Tommy Fogarty '20 smacked a double to the opposite field gap in left center, which allowed Dylan Bellinger '17 to score from first and reduce the deficit to one run at 3-2. EC took the lead for good in the seventh inning, as the Purple and Gold plated four runs in the frame to take a three-run lead. A Bellinger double, Fogarty bunt base hit, and a Jansen Crossley '20 walk loaded the bases with nobody out. Joey Florio '20 leveled the score at 3-all with an RBI single back up the middle. A costly fielding error by the UC second baseman then allowed Crossley and Fogarty to score, and an insurance run was batted in on an RBI single from Rothenberg. Andy Reed '19 picked up the win on the mound by tossing 4.0 scoreless innings. He surrendered just two hits, and with runners in scoring position in the eighth, he induced a key inning-ending double play.
 
SENIOR DAY: Today the Soaring Eagles celebrate Class of 2017 Recognition Day and will honor seniors Dylan Bellinger '17, Hayden Rothenberg '17 and Joe Marigliano '17. These three seniors have contributed countless hours to the advancement of the young Elmira baseball program, and their effort has not gone unnoticed by the EC faithful.

ALS AWARENESS: Due to the postponement of last Friday's home game, the Soaring Eagles have moved their ALS Awareness fundraiser to Tuesday's game. All proceeds raised will go to the family of a Soaring Eagle student-athlete, which has been directly impacted by the fatal disease. A $1.00 admission will be charged at the gate, and concessions will be available to purchase throughout the night. The sale of EC baseball merchandise, as well as a 50/50 raffle, will also be used to help raise additional funds. On the field, the Soaring Eagles will once again wear their special royal blue jerseys.

SCOUTING PENN STATE BEHREND: The Lions enter today's matchup against Elmira with a 21-17 overall record and have secured the second seed in the upcoming Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Tournament by going 11-5 in league play. Penn State Behrend ended the month of April on a strong note, winning six of its last seven games. The only blemish in that span was a 7-2 loss against the AMCC's No. 1 seed, LaRoche College, on April 29; however, PSB came back to win the nightcap in a slim 3-1 contest, handing the Redhawks their only conference loss of the season. Pitching has been the strength of this year's Penn State Behrend squad, which ranks second in the conference in ERA (4.12) in 24th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (8.2). Sophomore southpaw Phil Myers has built off of his exceptional freshman season quite nicely, as he leads the Lions with a six wins and a 1.91 ERA, ranking second in the AMCC in both categories. His teammates hold down the top two spots on the league's strikeout leaderboard. Senior Jack Herzing paces the conference with 67 punch outs and classmate Justin Rohrer sits second in the AMCC with 60 Ks in a team-leading 64.2 innings of work.

SERIES HISTORY: Today's non-conference doubleheader marks the first-ever meeting between Penn State Behrend and the Soaring Eagles.

GOING DANCING: The win over Utica on Sunday sealed Elmira's entry into the 2017 Empire 8 Tournament. Nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College, the league's No. 1 seed, will serve as the tournament host in Rochester, New York. The Soaring Eagles open postseason play against the No. 2-seeded Bombers of Ithaca College, who won last season's tournament, on Thursday, May 11, at 2:30 p.m. at Fisher's Dugan Yard. The other first-round matchup on Thursday will pit the Cardinals against fourth-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology at 11:00 a.m.