The 2023 Empire 8 Baseball Championship tournament kicks off May 11 at St. John Fisher University. The #3 Houghton Highlanders will take on the #2 Utica Pioneers at 3:30 p.m.
This marks the fourth time the Highlanders have earned an Empire 8 postseason berth since the conference tournament format began in *2015.
The winner of the four-team, double-elimination tournament earns the Empire 8's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship
*The conference did not host a tournament in 2020 due to the Covid-19 response.
Tournament Schedule
Thursday, May 11
Game #1 No. 4 Russell Sage vs No. 1 St. John Fisher, 12 pm
Game #2 No. 3 Houghton vs No. 2 Utica, 3:30 pm
Friday, May 12
Game #3 Loser Game #1 vs Loser Game #2, 9:30 am (elimination game)
Game #4 Winner Game #1 vs Winner Game #2, 1 pm
Game #5 Winner Game #3 vs Loser Game #4, 4:30pm (elimination game)
Saturday, May 13
Game #6 Winner Game #4 vs Winner Game #5, 12 pm
Game #7 (If Necessary), 3:30 pm
Sunday, May 13 – Rain Date as needed
Visit the tournament website
Game Coverage for all games LIVE STATS |
WATCH
About (#1) St. John Fisher Cardinals:
SJF Roster |
SJF Schedule |
SJF Stats
- Overall Record: 27-12
- Conference Record: 18-0
- Last E8 Tournament Appearance: 2022
- Last Time as #1 Seed: 2022
- Last Conference Championship: 2022
- Total Conference Championships (since 2000):
About (#2) Utica Pioneers:
Utica Roster |
Utica Schedule |
Utica Stats
- Overall Record: 23-13
- Conference Record: 13-5
- Last E8 Tournament Appearance: 2022
- Last Conference Championship: None
About (#3) Houghton Highlanders:
Houghton Roster |
Houghton Schedule |
Houghton Stats
- Overall Record: 19-20
- Conference Record: 11-7
- Last E8 Tournament Appearance: 2021
- Last Conference Championship: None
About (#4) Russell Sage Gators:
Sage Roster |
Sage Schedule |
Sage Stats
- Overall Record: 16-23
- Conference Record: 9-9
- Last E8 Tournament Appearance: 2022
- Last Conference Championship: None
Coach's Corner:
"I'm incredibly proud of our guys and the season they put together. This team has put in a tremendous amount of work to get to this point and we're all excited for the opportunity.
"The Empire 8 has a rich tradition of baseball success and the other three teams in the tournament have each had proven that they can compete at very high levels.
"We had a slow start this year, and were forced to overcome some adversity, but after we came back from Florida we had some time to reestablish our identity. Once we did that we started playing some very good baseball.
"One of the greatest things about this team is their ability find balance between intensity and relaxation. I tend to lean a bit more toward the intense side, but our guys do a good job helping each other enjoy the game while still playing it the right way.
"Ultimately we want to play for an audience of One. Our goal is to win baseball games, but our purpose is much, much greater. We play to win, but we want our efforts—on and off the field—to exemplify, honor and glorify God. We are grateful for this opportunity." –Houghton Head Baseball Coach,
Brian Reitnour
