Score: Utica College 4, Elmira College 3 (11 inn.)
Score: Elmira College 10, Utica College 4
Records: Elmira (8-29, 4-14 E8), Utica (15-22, 9-9 E8)
Location: Dunn Field -- Elmira, N.Y.

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- After finishing the suspended contest from April 19, the Elmira College baseball team concluded the 2019 regular season on a high note, as the Soaring Eagles scored early and often in a 10-4 Empire 8 Conference win against Utica College.

Before the regularly-scheduled nine-inning game, the Soaring Eagles and Pioneers picked up where they left off in the second game of the series, which was halted due to heavy rain after 10 innings. Only one inning was needed to decide a winner, as Utica plated one run in the top of the 11th, prevailing by a 4-3 final score.

Game One
In the second half of a doubleheader on Friday, April 19, Elmira knotted the score at 3-all when Jansen Crossley '20 drew a bases-loaded walk. However, with the precipitation turning into a downpour, EC left the bases loaded, and officials were forced to halt the game.

Senior lefty Andy Reed '19, who was on the mound when the contest was postponed, looked strong when he returned to the rubber on Sunday. He retired UC's best batter, Tim Quinlan, with a fly out for the first out of the 11th, before fanning Christopher Ramsundar. With two away, Matthew Leviton put the eventual game-winning run in scoring position with a loud two-base knock. In the next at-bat, Thomas Giglio rolled a ground ball through the right side, and Crossley's throw from right field was off target, allowing Leviton to score with ease.

Utica then turned to its ace, Griffin Baur, who shut the door by retiring the side in order.

Game Two
The Soaring Eagles quickly shook off the extra-inning defeat and came out swinging in the 2019 finale. Elmira lit up the scoreboard with runs in each of the first five innings, resulting in 10 runs on 18 hits, just one shy of tying the single-game season high. Elmira also took advantage of the seven errors committed by Utica defense.

The first three EC batters logged hits in the bottom of the first against Baur, who returned to throw an inning after saving the first contest. Lead-off man Mason Ryan '22, who went 3-for-5 with three doubles, won an eight-pitch battle with his first two-bagger of the afternoon. He then scored the first run for the Purple and Gold on a Sam Plaugher '20 RBI single, and Plaugher doubled Elmira's advantage to 2-0 when he scored on a Joey Florio '20 sac fly.

Second-year catcher Jourdan Plaisted '20 got a lot of a 1-0 pitch from reliever Jonathan Hardy and drove the ball to deep center field for a run-scoring double in the second inning. He would later come around to score on an error by the Utica catcher, widening the gap to 4-0. Angus Adams '22 made it a five-run cushion in the third with an RBI single.

After James Delaney '22 reached on an error to lead-off the fourth, Ryan earned an RBI by slugging his second double of the game. A bunt base hit dropped by Plaugher, and a wild throw from the Utica third baseman plated Elmira's seventh run. Crossley poked an RBI single back up the middle to make it an 8-0 contest and chase Hardy from the mound.

The fifth inning featured a pair of RBI doubles, one each from Plaisted and Ryan, as the Purple and Gold turned the game into a rout at 10-0.

Fourth-year right-hander Nick Cottone '19 made his final collegiate start against the Pioneers and capped off what has been one of the best seasons by an Elmira pitcher in the program's young history with another win. Cottone improved to 3-3 after surrendering three runs (two earned) in 7.0 innings with 10 strikeouts, adding to his already record-setting total by becoming the first Soaring Eagle to reach 70 strikeouts in a single season.

The Toms River, New Jersey, native worked in-and-out of trouble in the second, inducing a fly ball to a diving Crossley along the foul line to strand the bases load. Cottone struck out two in the third and fourth innings, retired the side in order in the fifth, and stranded a runner in scoring position in his seventh and final inning.

An all-senior pitching performance included one inning from Blake Phelps '19 and a scoreless ninth from Reed.

In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Corey Paluga on ending the season with a win and getting all five seniors involved…
"There's a lot of bigger things in life than baseball. The guys have dedicated so much of their time to being a part of the baseball program over four years that it only felt right to give them an opportunity to finish their careers on the field. And to end the season on a win in a season that certainly had its trials, it allows us to go into the offseason with a better taste in our mouths."

Coach Paluga when asked about another strong pitching performance from Nick Cottone…
"Nick Cottone did Nick Cottone things. He's been our horse all season long. He proved to us and to everybody who was watching that he is one of the best pitchers in a conference that has a lot of very good pitchers. I think when it's all said and done, he will be recognized for that."

Coach Paluga on the team breaking out the lumber early and getting a big lead in the first few innings…
"In the last third of the season, one of the things that continues to come up is being resilient. It can be very challenging when the season's not going the way that you want to change how you play the game. Losing the first suspended game the way it was, it stings a little, so to be able to come out in the first few innings and be able to take a comfortable lead was certainly a very resilient effort."

News and Notes

• Elmira's fifth varsity season ended with an 8-29 overall record.
• EC won four of its last seven games, counting the suspended game from April 19 that was finished on Sunday, to end the 2019 campaign on a positive note.
• In the 2019 finale, the Soaring Eagles recorded 18 hits, their second-highest total of the year, and scored 10 runs, third-most in a game this season.
• Every starter had a hit in the win, led by Ryan, Plaugher, and Adams with three apiece.
• For Adams, those three hits are the first of his freshman season.
• Ryan set a new single-game record by smacking three doubles, while Plaisted tied the old record with two.
• Harrison Zambarano '19 had one hit and finished tied for the team lead with Crossley with 39 hits this season.
• Cottone lowered his season ERA to 3.96, tied with Taber Carter '21 for the third-lowest by a pitcher in program history (minimum 20 innings pitched).
• Cottone struck out to against 10 Pioneers and will graduate with a single-season program record of 70 strikeouts in 2019.
• Seniors Cottone, Phelps, Reed, Zambarano, and Jack Donnelly '19 appeared in their final game in a Purple and Gold uniform on Sunday.