ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College baseball team will be making its fourth consecutive trip to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament this weekend, as the No. 3 Bombers will take on No. 2 St. John Fisher College at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon at the Dobbelaar Field in Hoboken, N.J. Stevens Institute of Technology will serve as the host school for the three-day tournament (May 10-12) after winning the regular season title.

Ithaca is the No.3 seed in this year's tournament after posting an overall record of 25-14 and an 11-7 mark within the Empire 8. Fisher went 13-5 in conference play and 26-14, while top-seeded Stevens was 15-3 amongst conference foes and 25-15 overall. Fourth-seeded Houghton College will be making its second-ever trip to the Empire 8 Tournament after finishing the year with a 16-15 record (9-9 in the Empire 8).

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Thursday, May 10
GAME #1 – No. 4 Houghton vs. No. 1 Stevens – 11 a.m.
GAME #2 - No. 3 Ithaca vs. No. 2 St. John Fisher – 2:30 p.m.

Friday, May 11
GAME #3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 10 a.m.
GAME #4 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 1 p.m.
GAME #5 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 12
GAME #6 – Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 10 a.m.
GAME #7 – If necessary – 1:30 p.m.

Note: Sunday, May 13 is slated for a rain date.

Tickets will be sold at the facility and cost $5 for general admission (Children 12 and under are free) and $3 for students and seniors with a valid ID.

LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

EMPIRE 8 TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
This the fourth year that the Empire 8 has sponsored a postseason tournament for baseball, but just the second time that the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, which takes place next weekend.

Ithaca has won all three tournaments and has posted an overall record of 9-1 in those games. The Bombers have played Fisher twice in the final and Stevens once in the inaugural tournament in 2015.

BOMBERS VS. THE FIELD:

Ithaca went 4-5 against the tournament field this season. IC's only series win came against Houghton, as the Bombers took two-of-three games. Ithaca went 1-2 against Stevens and Fisher this season.

BREAKING DOWN THE BOMBERS:

Ithaca had a slow start to the year, as the team was only 9-9 at the conclusion of the Fisher series on March 31. Since then, the Bombers have gone 16-5. During the 9-9 opening stretch, IC was batting .247 as a team while the pitching staff was allowing opponents to swing at a .254 clip. Over the last 21 contest, IC is hitting .346 and its opposition has been stymied at .228.

Junior Webb Little leads the Bombers offensively with a .346 average and 25 walks, while Senior Domenic Boresta propels the team from his leadoff position with 45 hits and 39 runs scored. Boresta has also reached base safely in 22 straight games.

Juniors Jake Generali (.340, 36 hits, 23 RBI, 20 runs), Cam Fuoti (.331, 40 hits, 24 runs, 20 RBI) and Sam Little (.310, 39 hits, 31 RBI, 23 runs, 12 doubles) are all hitting above .300 on the season.

Junior Andrew Bailey paces IC with 14 doubles, to go along with 40 hits and 20 walks, while fellow junior Adam Gallagher is swinging at a .291 clip.

Freshman Jack Lynch and junior Matt Carey have been hot as of late. Lynch is hitting .358 in his past 20 games played with 24 hits and 15 RBI, while Carey is batting .400 over his last 45 at bats (18 hits, 15 runs, nine RBI).

On the mound, Ithaca has four legitimate starters. Jake Binder (6-2, 2.57 ERA, 73.2 IP, 49 K, 2 CG) has been the ace of the staff all season, while seniors Jack Morell (4-3, 3.74 ERA, 55.1 IP 44 K) and Tyler Hill (3-5, 3.76 ERA, 40.2 IP, 38 K) have been solid No. 2 options. Junior Emmett Dunn (4-1, 5.45 ERA, 33 IP, 28 K, 8 BB) has posted three starts this season with six or more strikeouts with one or fewer walks.

Senior Robby Buffis has spent time as a starter and reliever this season and owns a 3.49 ERA over 28.1 innings pitched with 27 strikeouts and a .239 opponents' batting average.

Junior Matt Eiel is the top arm out of the bullpen as he has appeared in a team-high 15 games. Eiel boasts a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings pitched. Sophomore Tom Cosentino (2-0, 0.89 ERA, 20.1 IP, 12 K), senior Chris Marinaccio (3.44 ERA, 18.1 IP, 16K), sophomore Trevor Rumsey (3.00 ERA, 12 IP) and junior Christian LaLomia (19 IP, 10 APP, 10 K, 5.68 ERA) will also be viable options out of the pen during this weekend's tournament.

SCOUTING STEVENS: STATS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE

The Ducks earned the right to host for the first time since the tournament began. Stevens went 15-3 in Empire 8 tilts, while posting an overall record of 25-15. In the tournament, Stevens is 3-5 overall with two wins coming against Fisher and one against Houghton, and are 0-3 against Ithaca.

The undeniable strength for Stevens this season is its pitching staff. The three-headed (or armed) attack of Charlie Ruegger, Danny Poidomani and Quinn DiPasquale have held hitters at bay all season.

Those three hurlers have combined for a 13-7 record over 196.2 innings pitched with 238 strikeouts. Opponents have only been able to muster 165 hits off this trio all season in 725 total at bats (.228 average).

Due to those dominant numbers, Stevens ranks second in the country in strikeouts per nine innings (10.5) and 28th in hits allowed per nine (8.24).

Stevens will most likely display five arms out of the bullpen if its opponents can knock one of its three starters out of the game. Drew Hanke leads the team with 17 appearances, while Joseph Dietz has thrown in 16. Roy Iversen and Chandler Brierley have also appeared in double-digit contests this season, while Andrew Hamel can work as a long reliever as he has made five starts.

Offensively, four Ducks have recorded more than 40 hits this season. Alex Detweiler leads the way in almost every offensive category for Stevens – average (.370), hits (57), RBI (46), runs (36), doubles (12) and home runs (four).

Donny Gherardi has accumulated 46 hits on the season in 132 at bats for a .351 average, to go along with 32 runs, 29 RBI and 12 doubles. Tommy Baronner also has 46 hits on the season and has scored 33 runs with a team-best 26 walks. Patrick Rood is hitting .309 for the Ducks with 42 hits, 26 runs and 26 RBI.

SCOUTING FISHER: STATS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE

St. John Fisher began the season ranked in the top 25, and reached as high as No. 22 before falling out of the poll. In the first NCAA Regional Rankings on April 26, the Cardinals were atop of the New York region, but has since slipped to No. 2. Fisher is 13-5 in the Empire 8 and 26-14 overall, but has gone just 2-5 over its last seven games. The Cardinals are 7-5 all-time in the Empire 8 Tournament.

Power is the name of the game for Fisher this season, as the Cardinals have racked up 129 extra base hits, including 37 home runs. More than one-third of Fisher's hits this season have gone for extra bases. Those 37 round-trippers rank 14th in the nation.

Leading that offensive onslaught is Scott Eisenmenger, who has blasted nine homers on the season, to go along with 10 doubles and two triples. Eisenmenger has also driven in 46 runs with a .338 average.

Justin Graham (.360, 63 hits, 34 RBI, 33 runs, 10 doubles) and Thomas Pasquale (.350, 50 hits, 36 runs, 24 RBI, 13 doubles) rank first or second on the team in most of those offensive categories. Ryan Simmons also adds a powerful bat to the lineup with six home runs, to go along with a team-high 41 runs scored, while Stephen Edgett (.318, 41 hits, 30 runs) and Allen Murphy (.301, 34 hits, 11 doubles) are .300 hitters for the Cardinals.

Fisher's go-to pitcher in its rotation is Anthony Brophy. The southpaw leads the team in innings pitched (63.1), strikeouts (53), games started (11), complete games (four) and has only walked seven batters. Brophy is 3-3 on the season.

RJ Kuruts (43 IP, eight starts) and Tim Geissel (38.1 IP, seven starts) will likely be the other starters for Fisher in this tournament.

The Cardinals' bullpen will be locked down by Dylan Wilkinson (14 APP, 2.16 ERA, 25 IP, 23 K), Jack Delaney (14 APP, 3.43 ERA, 21 IP, .151 OPP BA), Kyle Chambers (4-2, 29 IP, 3.41 ERA, 34 K, 2 SV) and Jared Wren (12 APP, 25.2 IP, 21 K).

SCOUTING HOUGHTON: STATS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE

The fourth and final team in this year's championship is Houghton. The Highlanders went 16-15 on the season and 9-9 within the Empire 8. It is the first time that Houghton will compete in the postseason tournament since the inaugural one in 2015. The Highlanders are 1-2 in the championship.

Houghton sports a potent lineup with seven batters hitting over .300, which has led to a team average of .315. Tage Johnson is tops on the team with a .388 average with 38 hits, 31 runs, 28 RBI, 10 doubles and three home runs. David Wessells has posted a .367 average on the year with 37 runs scored, while Ben Closson is hitting .354 with 23 RBI.

Taylor Huntsman has started at 31 games and has produced a .345 average on 39 hits (16 doubles) and 33 RBI. John Zamites (.330), Ethan Duryea (.319) and Jeremy Newswanger (.306) have all eclipsed the .300 plateau this year.

The Highlanders also possess one of the most dominant pitchers in all of Division III. Victor Cavalieri is 5-4 on the season with a 3.00 ERA in 54 innings pitched and 91 strikeouts. Those 91 strikeouts rank 14th in the national, while his 15.17 strikeouts per nine innings tops all of Division III. He has fanned more than 10 batters in five of his last six starts.

Brandon Joslin is 5-1 on the year with a 4.21 ERA in 36.1 innings pitched, while Holden Deres is 3-3 with a 6.14 ERA over 36.2 innings of work.

Caleb Phillips (20 APP, 8.02 ERA, 33.2 IP, 29 K), Griffin Tubbs (10 APP, 32.1 IP), Nick Melchiore (5.79 ERA, 23.1 IP, 21 K) and Stephen Brittin (10 APP, 7.94 ERA, 11.1 IP) will also appear in games this weekend for Houghton.