ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 25/23 Ithaca College baseball team will play host to the Empire 8 Conference Championships this weekend, May 9-11, at Freeman Field for the first time in program history. Despite winning each of the first four Empire 8 Tournaments, and 16 overall E8 titles, the Bombers have never been the No. 1 seed in the postseason championship.

The top-seeded Bombers (28-7, 16-2) will take on No. 4 Utica College (15-22, 9-9) at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 9 to open the tournament. No. 2 Stevens Institute of Technology (17-19, 13-5) and No. 3 St. John Fisher College (27-12, 13-5) conclude Day One at 2:30 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Day One: Thursday, May 9
Game 1: 9:00 a.m. - #1 Ithaca vs. #4 Utica
Game 2: 12:30 p.m. - #2 Stevens vs. #3 St. John Fisher
Game 3: 4:00 p.m. (Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2)

Day Two: Friday, May 10
Game 4: 1:00 p.m. (Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2)
Game 5: 4:00 p.m. (Winner Game #3 vs. Loser Game #4)
 
Day Three: Saturday, May 11
Game 6: 10:00 a.m. (Winner Game #4 vs. Winner Game #5)
Game 7: 1:30 p.m. (if necessary)
 
Sunday, May 12
Rain Date

There will be no charge for admission to the championship.

LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

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

Ithaca has won all four tournaments and has posted an overall record of 12-2 in those games. The Bombers have played Fisher three times in the final and Stevens once - in the inaugural tournament in 2015.

BOMBERS VS. THE E8 FIELD:

Ithaca went 7-2 against the tournament field this season. IC won all three series in 2019, including a sweep of Utica. The Bombers took two-of-three games against Stevens and Fisher.

BREAKING DOWN THE BOMBERS: ROSTER | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | STATISTICS

Ithaca started the season 5-3 after its annual trip to California from March 9-16, and since returning to New York, have gone 23-4, including eight-straight wins to end the regular season. For the past three weeks, the Bombers have been ranked within the Top 30 of the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division III Poll and are currently No. 23. For the first time all season, the Bombers cracked the Top 25 of the D3baseball.com rankings at No. 25 on Monday evening, May 6.

The Bombers are batting .314 as a team this season and eight of their nine regular starters are above the .300-mark. IC is also one of the top home run hitting teams in Division III as the Bombers rank 13th in home runs per game (.91) and 21st in total home runs (32).

The pitching staff is also one of the best in the nation with a 3.44 ERA, which ranks 27th, while their 2.8 walks-per-nine innings is 18th, and strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.38 sits at 35th. The defense has been a huge asset to the staff as the Bombers are fourth nationally in double plays per game at 1.09 and 14th in total double plays turned with 38.

Offensively, Buzz Shirley leads IC in batting average (.393) and doubles (13), while Adam Gallagher paces the team in hits (45), RBI (33) and home runs (6). Cam Fuoti and Webb Little have also collected 44 hits each this season and are both batting over .360.

Garrett Callaghan (.347, 32 R, 20 walks, 35 hits), Sam Little (.337, 30 hits, 9 doubles, 4 home runs, 25 RBI), Garrett Snyder (.320, 32 hits, 11 doubles, 24 runs) and Matt Carey (.302, 29 hits, 22 runs, 22 RBI) and Jack Lynch (.234, 26 hits, 25 runs, 13 RBI) will be in the starting lineup this weekend.

IC's staff will be anchored by four legitimate starters and the Bombers can turn to any of them to eat up innings in the tournament. Emmett Dunn (1.98 ERA, 6-2, 59 IP, 54 K), Jake Binder (2.97 ERA, 6-3, 57.2 IP, 31 K, 4 CG, 1 no-hitter), Tyler Hill (3.70 ERA, 6-0, 56 IP, 48 K, 3 CG) and Tom Cosentino (2.76 ERA, 5-1, 42.1 IP, 29 K to 8 BB) will all be in action this weekend for the Bombers.

Out of the bullpen, Matt Eiel has shutdown opposition all season with a 2.80 ERA over 22.1 innings in 14 appearances. Eiel has struck out 17 batters with a 3-0 record and two saves, and has not allowed a run in 15 innings. Christian LaLomia (2.25 ERA, nine appearances, 12 IP) and Andrew Bailey (4.80 ERA, 15 IP) could see some time in relief roles this weekend.

SCOUTING STEVENS: ROSTER | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | STATISTICS

The Stevens Ducks are back in the Empire 8 Tournament as the two-seed after hosting the championship last season. The Ducks have compiled a conference record of 13-5 with an overall record of 17-19.
 
As a team, Stevens is hitting .264 with 22 home runs. The Ducks have three players hitting over .300 and are led by A.J. Falconite, who is hitting .331 with four home runs in 118 at bats.
 
Donny Gherardi leads the team in runs scored (29) and doubles (7), and is second in hits (35), behind Falconite (39). Ryan Finegan has burst onto the scene as of late for the Ducks and is hitting .381 in 63 at bats with 24 hits and 12 RBI. Matthew Pasko is hitting .287 on the season with 29 hits and 22 RBI, while Tommy Baronner has scored 27 times and driven in 15 more.
 
Danny Poidomani has thrown a team-high 54.2 innings this season, posting an ERA of 4.94 in 12 appearances. The senior hurler has struck out 72 while only walking 30 and holding opposing hitters to a .234 batting average.

Chandler Brierley is a strikeout machine for the Ducks as he has fanned 63 batters in 41.2 innings of work, while Ryan Larsen has recorded 57 strikeouts in 54 innings. Those two, along with Poidomani, are the reason why Stevens has 305 strikeouts as a staff this season.
 
Alex Smith leads the Ducks in ERA with a 2.59 in 31.1 innings pitched and 17 appearances. Michael Frissora owns a 2.94 ERA in 14 appearances with 30 strikeouts in 33.2 innings of relief, while Roy Iversen is another solid option out of the pen with 38.2 innings of work and a 3-1 record.

SCOUTING FISHER: ROSTER | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | STATISTICS
- Preview used from St. John Fisher Sports Information

The Cardinals possess the most potent offense by far in this year's championship. Fisher leads the E8 in batting average (.329), hits (445), runs (338), RBI (302), doubles (111) and triples (15). In 17 games this season, Fisher has scored 10 or more runs, and in six others, have plated more than eight runs.

In fact, Fisher ranks second nationally in doubles per game and third in total doubles. The Cardinals are also 13th in slugging percentage (.497), 18th in scoring (8.7), 23rd in batting average and 24th in runs scored.

Allen Murphy is the catalyst for the offense as he has produced monster numbers all season. Murphy leads the Empire 8 with nine home runs and a .396 batting average.  Murphy, who is slugging a ridiculous .679 over 39 games, has 14 doubles, two triples, and 42 RBI this season.

Antony Mantova (.379, 55 hits, 43 runs, 40 RBI), Thomas Pasquale (.367, 58 hits, 19 doubles, 43 RBI, 47 runs), Justin Graham (.356), 57 hits, 13 doubles, 32 runs, 21 RBI, 24 walks) and Ryan Simmons (.350, 50 hits, 15 doubles, 41 RBI and 32 runs) make it a nightmare for any pitching staff to maneuver through that lineup unscathed.

Ryan Brown (.339, 37 hits, 29 runs), Stephen Edgett (.319, 46 hits, 31 runs, 19 doubles) and Michael Beimel (.290, 36 hits, 26 runs, 25 RBI) round out the Cardinals' starting nine.

On the mound, the Cardinals use a three-man rotation for the most part. RJ Kuruts is the ace of the staff with 68.2 innings pitched and 61 strikeouts, while Kenneth Westbrook has emerged as the best freshman in the conference with a 6-0 record and a 3.38 ERA in 45.1 innings pitched. Matthew Raudelunas has fanned 47 batters over 34.1 innings of work in nine appearances.

Murphy has also started for the Cardinals with six appearances to his credit, while Anthony Brophy has moved into a starting role as the year progressed. Brophy is 5-1 on the season with a 3.10 ERA in nine appearances with three starts.

Fisher has a deep bullpen as well, and are led by Tim Geissel, who has appeared in 15 games with five saves and a 2.64 ERA. Geissel has thrown 30.2 innings with 24 strikeouts on the season. Brandon Roberts (1.80 ERA, 20 IP, 22 K) and Jack Delaney (14 appearances, 14.2 IP, 10 K) are the next options for the Cardinals.

SCOUTING UTICA: ROSTER | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | STATISTICS
- Preview provided by Utica Sports Information

Utica rounds out the championship as the No. 4 seed and will be making its third appearance in the postseason tournament.

As a club, the Pioneers are hitting .258 this season. Two every day players are hitting north of the .300 mark as Tim Quinlan sets the pace with a .378 average, and shortstop Christian Tiffin is hitting .315. Utica is toting the fourth-best team batting average in the conference heading into the postseason, and have scored 176 runs to also rank fourth. They have mashed the third most doubles in the conference.

Quinlan leads the team in batting average (.378), runs scored (23), hits (54), doubles (18), triples (2), home runs (2), RBI (27), and total bases (82). Tiffin is second on the club in batting average at .315. He has started 26 games and has slapped eight doubles along with one home run.

Griffin Baur is the likely game one starter for Utica as the ace of the team's staff. The New York Mills native is 4-5 this season with an ERA of 3.48 in eleven starts, and opponents are struggling to hit the ball against him at .227. He is seventh in the Empire 8 in ERA, and is ranked ninth in the conference with 43 strikeouts. His four wins also rank ninth.

Jonathan Hardy is third in the conference when it comes to striking out batters looking. Hardy has landed the knockout blow on 18 hitters this season with a called third strike. Joe Palmieri has fit in nicely in the closer role this season as he leads the Empire 8 with six saves. He has set a new school record for career saves in this season alone, as the previous career mark stood at five. He has an ERA of 1.38 and has allowed an opponent to score in just one outing the entire year. He has struck out sixteen and walked just two.

AJ Farina, Mark Spina and Sean Morris are the leading candidates to start games this weekend. Morris is a perfect 3-0 this season when he has been part of the decision.