HOBOKEN, N.J. (May 9, 2019)  – The second-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team will play the third-seeded Cardinals of St. John Fisher College in their first game of the Empire 8 Conference Baseball Championship Tournament Thursday, May 9 at 12:30 P.M. at Freeman Field on the campus of Ithaca College. 

Live Stats | Video | Freeman Field | Championship Central

History
This season marks the fifth consecutive E8 tournament appearance since the league established a postseason tournament in 2015. The Ducks are 3-5 in playoff action, collecting two wins over St. John Fisher and one against Houghton College. 

Offensively Speaking
Junior A.J. Falconite leads the Stevens offense with 39 hits and 28 RBI. The Marlboro, New Jersey native totals four homers, including his most recent two-run blast against NYU. 

Freshman Ryan Finegan leads the Ducks in the batting average column with .381. The Cumming, Georgia native has recorded 24 hits and 12 RBI on the year while adding 14 runs scored and two stolen bases. 

Senior Carlos Leon leads Stevens on the base paths with seven stolen bases, only getting caught stealing once. Graduate student Tommy Baronner has snagged a perfect 6-for-6 as he always slides safely to the next base.

The Bullpen
Senior Danny Poidomani totals 72 strikeouts on the year to lead the Ducks on the mound. Junior Chandler Brierley follows with 63 strikeouts and senior Ryan Larsen trails close behind with 57. First Team All-E8 honoree Alex Smith leads Stevens with his 2.59 ERA.

Scouting St. John Fisher
The third-seeded Cardinals enter the postseason with a conference record of 13-5. E8 Player of the Year Allen Murphy leads Fisher with 63 hits and 42 RBI for a .396 batting average. The conference Rookie of the Year Kenneth Westbrook is a force on the mound for the Cardinals, totaling 37 strikeouts over 45.1 innings pitched. RJ Kuruts leads Fisher in the strikeout column with 61 on the year. 

Scouting Ithaca
The top-seeded Bombers ended conference play with a record 16-2 and the title of regular season champs. Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year Emmett Dunn leads Ithaca on the mound with 54 strikeouts and a 1.98 ERA. In the batter's box, Adam Gallagher leads in both hits and RBI with 45 and 33, respectively. Buzz Shirley posts a team-best .393 batting average with his 42 hits and 26 RBI. 

Scouting Utica
Fourth-seeded Utica ended the regular season with a 9-9 record in conference action. The Pioneers are paced by Tim Quinlan, who leads in hits (54), RBI (27) and batting average (.378). Quinlan adds six stolen bases on the year, trailing Maki Medici's team-high of seven. On the mound, Griffin Baur leads Utica with 43 strikeouts. Baur holds a .227 batting average against and a 3.48 ERA.

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