ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College baseball team will travel to Pittsford, N.Y. for the Empire 8 Conference Championship hosted by St. John Fisher College at Dugan Yard this Thursday to Saturday. Ithaca was one of four teams in the conference to qualify for the double-elimination tournament.

The third-seeded Bombers (24-14) will take on No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology (26-13) tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Host and top-seeded St. John Fisher (31-9) opens the tournament against No. 4 Utica College (8-23-1) at 11 a.m.

The losers on Thursday will play at 10 a.m. on Friday the 13th, while the winners take the field at 1 p.m. A third game will be played on Friday at 4 p.m. between the winner of Game 3 and loser of Game 4.

First pitch of the championship round will be thrown at 10 a.m. on Saturday and the "if necessary" contest is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

Live stats for each game can be viewed here.

BOMBERS VS. THE FIELD:
Ithaca went 4-4 this season against the other three conference foes. The Bombers took 2-of-3 from Stevens on April 2-3 with winning scores of 13-4 and 4-3 (10 innings). Ithaca dropped the April 16 doubleheader at Utica, 7-5 and 9-8, before claiming the third game, 20-6. On April 30, Ithaca fell, 7-5 and 9-3, at Fisher, but the Bombers held a four-run lead in the opener heading into the sixth inning. Ithaca bounced back with a 16-1 victory over the Cardinals to wrap up the regular season on May 8.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
The Bombers claimed the inaugural tournament last spring at Utica with a perfect 3-0 record. Ithaca won its first game against SUNY Canton, 19-9, and then defeated Utica, 9-4, in extra innings. In the final, the Bombers prevailed over Stevens, 12-4.

Before last season's tournament, a regular season champion was crowned dating back to 2000. Ithaca finished first on 12 different occasions, including nine straight from 2001-09. RIT, now a member of the Liberty League, won the first conference title in 2000, while Fisher took top honors in 2010 and 2011.

BREAKING DOWN THE BOMBERS:
The Bombers are batting .292 on the season as a team and lead the conference with 27 homeruns. Ithaca takes a patient approach at the plate as well; drawing 187 walks and reaching base via 43 hit by pitches, to just 181 strikeouts.

Junior Trevor Thompson paces the offense with a .338 average, 45 hits, 33 runs scored, 32 RBI, 16 doubles and six homers.

Four other starters are hitting over .300 this season for Ithaca – junior Ryan Henchey (.333), freshman Webb Little (.323), freshman Sam Little (.310) and freshman Matt Carey (.300). Freshmen Jake Generali (.333) and Adam Gallagher (.316) are also over .300 in nearly 40 at bats.

On the mound, Ithaca has an ERA of 4.71 with 202 strikeouts in 322.2 innings pitched. Senior Benji Parkes leads the staff in wins (seven), innings pitched (81.1), appearances and starts (16/12), and strikeouts (56). Sophomore Tyler Hill ranks first on the team in ERA at 3.20 in 76 innings of work and is 5-6 on the season. Senior John Prendergast is 4-0 with a 3.56 ERA in six appearances after coming back from Tommy John surgery a year ago.

Senior Ryan Contegni, junior Logan Barer and freshman Zach Zottola are the top arms out of the bullpen.

SCOUTING FISHER:
The Cardinals possess and all-around solid team this season with a 31-9 record. Fisher leads the conference in runs scored (316) and hits (420), while its pitching staff ranks first nationally in ERA at 2.53 and have tossed two no-hitters this season.

Eight Cardinals are hitting above .300 at the plate, while six have notched more than 10 doubles on the season. Scott Eisenmenger has driven in 50 runs with 19 doubles and nine homeruns. Mike Roman is batting .365 with 62 hits, 19 doubles and 41 runs scored, while Cody Wiktorski has scored 37 runs with 15 doubles, seven round-trippers and four triples.

Two of Fisher's top hurlers, Stephen Lewis and Jim Dawson, are a combined 14-0 with a 1.18 ERA. Marc Iseneker has fanned 69 hitters in 63.1 innings for a 5-2 record and a no-hitter, while Terry Engels also has a no-hitter and is 5-1 mark on the hill. Loukas Brigham (1.02 ERA and seven saves) and Kevin Berge (21 appearances and three saves) are the go-to guys out of the pen for the Cardinals.

SCOUTING STEVENS:
The Ducks have played the third-toughest strength of schedule in the New York Region this season and have produced 26 victories. Stevens is another well-rounded team in the tournament as five batters have collected more than 43 hits, while the team as a whole has stolen 101 bases.

Jayson Yano is the catalyst on the team at the plate and on the mound. Yano is hitting .396 on the year with 61 hits, 45 runs scored, 32 stolen bases, 26 walks and 14 doubles. As the staff ace, he is 5-2 on the year with 67 strikeouts in 78.2 innings pitched and boasts a 2.06 ERA.

Zeph Walters is also a two-way player for Stevens. Walters is hitting .369 at the plate and leads the team with 32 RBI and five homers. He is also 6-1 as a pitcher with a pair of complete games and a 1.69 ERA.

Nick Sieber, Michael Mulé and Nolan Bennet have all gone deep three times this season and are all batting over .300.

Robert Robbins is another strong arm on the mound for the Ducks with a 5-1 record and a team-leading 69 strikeouts in 67.1 innings pitched.

SCOUTING UTICA:
The Pioneers are swinging at a .293 clip this season in 32 games played at the plate, but their staff has given up an opponent's average of .346.

Tim Quinlan is the lone player in this year's tournament batting over .400, with a .432 average with 38 hits in 88 at bats. Quinlan leads Utica in doubles (8), triples (three), homeruns (three) and RBI (27). JT Ross is next in line with a .341 average, 44 hits, 21 runs scored and 24 RBI.

Joshua Webb anchors the pitching staff with 45 innings pitched and a 4.60 ERA in 10 appearances. Dom Caccioppoli, Gavin McCann and William Winsman have all appeared in 11 games this season.