LIVE STATS | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College baseball team will play in its third straight Empire 8 Conference Tournament this Thursday to Saturday, May 11-14 at St. John Fisher College's Dugan Yard in Pittsford, N.Y. Ithaca has won the previous two tournaments, but this year, the conference winner earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship.

Ithaca earned the No. 2 seed for the second consecutive season after posting a regular season record of 25-11 and a 12-4 mark in the Empire 8. The Bombers will play third seeded Elmira College (16-17, 9-9) in the first round at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. St. John Fisher (28-8, 15-1), which is ranked 14th in the country, will take on No. 4 Stevens Institute of Technology (18-21-1, 9-9) at 11 a.m.

The losing teams will meet up at 10 a.m. on Friday, followed by first round winning teams at 1 p.m. The third game of the day on Friday, which is slated for 4 p.m., will also be an elimination game between the winner of Game 3 and the loser of Game 4.

First pitch of the championship round is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday, followed by the "if necessary" contest at 1:30 p.m. If weather happens to have an effect of the weekend's tournament, games could be moved to Sunday.

Live stats will be available for each game. Fans can also access information on the official tournament page provided by St. John Fisher.

Tickets for the weekend are set at $5 general admission, $3 senior citizens and students with ID, and children under two are free.

BOMBERS VS. THE FIELD:
Ithaca went 4-3 against the tournament field this season. The Bombers went 2-1 against Elmira and Stevens, while they dropped their only contest to Fisher (the other two games were cancelled). IC defeated Stevens by scores of 4-2 and 14-5 over the opening weekend of April, and lost the other game, 4-2. Although the games were played at Stevens, the Bombers served as the home team for all three contests. At Elmira on April 8-9, Ithaca won the opener, 14-6, and split the doubleheader with a 9-5 victory and 3-2 loss. At Onondaga Community College on March 26, Fisher prevailed over the Bombers, 5-4.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
The Bombers have won both tournaments since the Empire 8 implemented a postseason championship. The inaugural tournament, which was held at Utica in 2015, was a six-team format. Ithaca won all three games in which it played by a combined score of 40-17. IC defeated Stevens, 9-4, in the final.

Last season, Ithaca topped Fisher, 9-7, in extra innings in a winner-take-all contest at Dugan Yard. The Bombers took their opening round game over Stevens, 9-1, and then topped Utica, 5-4. IC surrendered a 5-2 defeat to the Cardinals in the first championship game, but bounced back to top Fisher in frigid and snowy conditions on May 15.

Since 2000, Ithaca has claimed 14 Empire 8 titles, including the last five. St. John Fisher was the conference champions in 2010 and 2011, while RIT won the inaugural title in 2000.

MORE ABOUT THE BOMBERS:
Ithaca brings a team batting average of .314 into the tournament, which ranks third in the conference. The Bombers lead the Empire 8 with 23 triples this season and walks with 186. IC is also second in runs scored (289), hits (408) and home runs (21). Seven different players in Ithaca's starting lineup are batting over .300 this season.

Sophomore Andrew Bailey leads the team with a .384 average in 99 at bats, while senior Ryan Henchey is second, swinging at a .364 clip. Henchey paces Ithaca in hits with 52 and RBI with 41.

Sophomore Sam Little leads Ithaca with five homers and a team-best 37 runs scored, to go along with 34 RBI and a .344 batting average. Senior Trevor Thompson displays a keen eye at the plate, as he has drawn 34 walks this season and paces Ithaca with 14 doubles and 37 runs.

Junior Domenic Boresta (.327 / 35 hits / 25 runs), and sophomores Webb Little (.324 / 44 hits / 33 runs / 26 RBI) and Adam Gallagher (.308 / 42 hits / 25 RBI) are also .300 hitters for the Bombers.

Senior Josh Savacool has scored 37 runs over 148 at bats with 40 hits, 21 RBI and eight doubles, while sophomore Matt Carey is hitting .285 on the season with 25 RBI.

The pitching staff has found its groove of the second half of the season. Through the first 12 games of 2017, Ithaca's staff ERA was 7.36, but has since dwindled down to 4.86. Ithaca does not boast an overpowering staff, as they have only struck out 188 batters in 309 innings pitched, but they pitch to contact and allow the defense to make plays.

Sophomore transfer Jake Binder has moved to the forefront of the staff with a 7-1 record and a 3.21 ERA. Binder has tossed two complete games over 61.2 innings pitched with 31 strikeouts.

Junior Robby Buffis, another transfer, is 6-2 on the year with a 4.74 ERA in 49.1 innings of work. Buffis has also tossed two complete games. The third transfer on the staff, junior Jack Morello is 2-2 with a 2.64 ERA over 47.2 innings.

Ithaca will rely on multiple arms out of the pen for the tournament. Freshman Tom Cosentino leads the team with 14 appearances, while Bailey and junior Chris Marinaccio have both appeared in 12 games. Bailey has notched three saves on the year, as has W. Little. Cosentino locked down two saves thus far, while senior Logan Barer added another.

SCOUTING FISHER:
From top to bottom, hitting to pitching to defense, the Cardinals are stacked. Fisher has won 22 of its last 25 games, including an 18-game winning streak from April 1 to April 29, after starting the year 6-5.

Fisher's lone loss in the Empire 8 this season came at the hands of Stevens, 4-3, on April 29 on a walk-off walk in the 11th inning to snap the Cardinals' winning streak.

The Cardinals are batting .326 as a team, while their pitching staff holds the opposition to a .260 clip, to go along with a 3.20 ERA and 145 runs allowed. Defensively, Fisher boasts the conference's best fielding percentage at .967.

Ten different players are hitting over .300 for Fisher, and are led by a .408 average by Scott Eisenmenger.

Eisenmenger leads the conference in RBI (53), runs scored (43) and home runs (nine), and is second in average and fourth in hits with 53.

Justin Graham (.368), Jack Trotman (.352), Ryan Fahy (.343), Thomas Pasquale (.339), Evan Ryan (.333), Antony Mantova (.327), Malcolm Kelsey (.322), Ryan Prevost (.309) and Nate Roethel (.308) all hit over .300 for the Cardinals.

On the mound, Fisher garners three unbeaten hurlers. Anthony Brophy leads the way with an 8-0 record in 57 innings pitched with a paltry 1.26 ERA. Brophy has fanned 50 batters over 57 innings pitched and has walked just 11. Jim Dawson is 6-0 on the year with a 3.18 ERA in a team-high 62.1 innings of work, while Dominick Pisciotto is 5-0 with a 2.45 ERA.

The Cardinals' pen is equally impressive as Dillan Wilkinson is 3-0 in 12 appearances and has not allowed a run in 21.1 innings pitched. Kyle Chambers has saved four games for Fisher in 13 appearances with 34 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.

SCOUTING ELMIRA:
The Soaring Eagles punched their ticket to the postseason tournament with a 6-3 win over Utica on May 7. Elmira is in its third year as a collegiate program and has made tremendous strides during that time under head coach Corey Paluga. The Soaring Eagles posted an 8-30 mark in their inaugural season, followed by a 16-24 campaign last year, and will bring a 16-17 mark into the tournament.

Dylan Bellinger is the top bat in the lineup for Elmira with a .368 average, 13 doubles, six home runs and 28 RBI. Bellinger also ranks second on the squad with 24 runs scored.

Conor Bawiec is a two-way player for the Soaring Eagles. Bawiec is hitting .350 in 2017 with 42 hits in 120 at bats, to go along with a team-best 25 runs scored. On the mound, he has tossed 42 innings with 46 strikeouts to just eight walks, and is 4-2 with a 4.50 ERA in seven appearances with three complete games.

Tommy Fogarty ranks third on the team with a .302 average with 19 runs and seven doubles. Six other batters are hitting between .281 and .286 on the year – Dennis Rudolph, Eddie O'Donnell IV, Cameron Heggie, Jansen Crossley, Hayden Rothenberg and Joey Florio.

Nick Sampogna anchors Elmira's staff with 51.1 innings pitched, a 3-3 record, and a 4.73 ERA. Andy Reed is 5-3 on the bump with a 4.14 ERA over 41.1 innings of work.

SCOUTING STEVENS:
The Ducks found their way into the tournament on the final day of the regular season. Stevens needed Utica to drop both games to Elmira and Canton, and that exactly what happened on May 7. Stevens is 18-21-1 on the year with a 9-9 mark in conference play.

Stevens has belted 26 home runs this season, but is batting just .267 as a team in 40 games. The Ducks' strong point is their pitching, as they hold opponents to a .258 average and have fanned 339 batters in 339.1 innings pitched.

Harrison Kaye and Alex Detweiler boast .400-plus average offensively. Kaye is hitting .403 in 62 at bats with 13 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. Detweiler has smacked five homers, to go along with 24 RBI and 19 runs scored.

Michael Mule', Zeph Walters and Shaye Bartnick are also top bats in the lineup. Mule' is batting .346 with a team-best 54 hits and 30 runs scored, while Walters has driven in 30 runs with six round trippers. Bartnick has drawn 30 walks and is swinging at a .307 clip.

On the mound, Danny Poidomani leads the conference with 87 strikeouts in 74.1 innings pitched, and is 5-4 with a 2.91 ERA. Quinn DiPasquale (3-3 / 3.86 ERA / 55 K) and Andrew Hamel (0-3 / 4.50 ERA / 38 K) will likely earn starting nods this weekend.

Charlie Ruegger locks down the bullpen for Stevens with seven saves in 30.1 innings pitched over 17 appearances.