Mallory Ingalls (left), Heather Kingsbury (center) and Bridgette Plummer (right) have their sights set on a post season run
2012 Schedule
2012 Roster
Utica, NY (2/28/12) – The Utica College softball team is less than two weeks away from boarding a plane and heading down towards palm trees and sunshine for the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Florida.
Opening Day: Utica will play ball for the first time this season at 9 a.m. on March 11, against Springfield
College…Although Springfield is no stranger to Utica's athletic program, the softball team has only faced the Pride once in recent years, and the contest ended in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in last years' Rebel Spring Games…The defensive battle went array for UC when a wild pitch scored the game-winning run for Springfield.
Kick Start: The Pioneers finished last season with an 18-17 overall record and a 5-9 mark in the Empire 8, which is the team's best overall record since 2006...UC finished strong, winning its last three games by a 14 run margin.
Who's Back: UC is returning nine players to the diamond this season after graduating two last spring…Four members returning received E8 all-conference honors last year…
Kristie Jones (Brewerton, NY/Paul V Moore) earned one of the most honorable distinctions when she was named conference's Rookie of the Year…Junior first baseman
Bridgette Plummer (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville) earned her second consecutive first-team selection …Junior catcher
Mallory Ingalls (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) received second-team recognition, while senior shortstop
Jess Anson (Utica, NY/Proctor) was selected as an honorable mention.
On the Mound: Seniors
Haley Butler (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) and
Heather Kingsbury (Williamson, NY/Williamson) are set to take the mound in their final season in the blue and orange…Butler finished last season with a 4-6 record and a 5.04 ERA in 76.1 innings pitched…Kingsbury led the Pioneers in all major pitching categories after finishing 10-7 with a 4.05 ERA, in 109 total innings of work.
Plummer's Numbers: Bridgette Plummer (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville) led the E8 in total bases with 73 and was second in the conference with 13 doubles last year…She led UC with a .598 slugging percentage and 18 extra base hits… She was also third in average (.385), at bats (122), hits (47), and runs (34) for the Pioneers.
Keeping up with 'Jones'es: Sophomore
Kristie Jones (Brewerton, NY/Paul V Moore) looks to replicate her stellar rookie performance as the team nears its Spring trip…Last year, Jones finished second in the E8 with 36 RBI's and was third in homeruns with six…She posted a .355 batting average while recording 38 hits and a respectable 21 runs.
Seniors All In: Among the nine returners, three are playing in the final season of
their collegiate career…
Jess Anson (Utica, NY/Proctor), who spent two years at MVCC before joining the squad last season, will help shore up the middle infield, while Butler and Kingsbury bring tremendous experience to the mound…Anson started as the Pioneers shortstop in all 35 games last season, finishing second in the conference with 82 assists … After the 2012 season, the Pioneers will likely have two consecutive years where they'll only graduate two players each year.
Upperclassmen: Junior
Mallory Ingalls (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) is stepping into the later half of her collegiate career, where she will earn bigger leadership rolls on the team… Ingalls earned second team all-conference honors after leading the conference with six pickoffs and finishing third in runs scored with 35 and fifth in hits with 49…
Kristie Jones (Brewerton, NY/Paul V Moore) and
Allie Jennings (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) are the only sophomores on the team…Jennings is looking to add on to her rookie season statistics…In 11 games played, Jennings scored three runs with three hits on the season.
Young guns: Utica recruited seven freshmen during the offseason in addition to its large unit of returners, in its efforts to reach an E8 championship…The freshman class consists of
Olivia Cunningham (Bethlehem, NH/Profile) (Bethlehem, NH), Meagan Fleming (Gansevoort, NY),
Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) (Albany, NY), Alex Deyo (Schenectady, NY),
Cassidy Thompson (Bend, OR/West Valley) (Cottonwood, CA),
Briona Enny (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) (Queensbury, NY), and
Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) (Mohawk, NY).
Transfers Hope to Make Instant Impact: Joining the young freshman are a pair of junior transfers including New Hartford native
Dominique Carcone (Frankfort, NY/New Hartford) and classmate
Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) … A Division I University of Buffalo transfer, Carcone, played two seasons with the Bulls…In her 82 games played, Carcone finished with a .200 batting average with seven hits and 19 runs scored … Junior
Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) comes to Utica from Hudson Valley Community College where she played in 30 games last season and batted .424 … She also stole a team-best 11 bases and drove in 28 runs for the Vikings.
Coaches Thoughts: Head coach
Pat Mineo wants to rewrite the record books with a hopeful team full of returners…”Although last season was our best since 2006, it could have been even better. We lost some games in the late innings and a few more that we should have won”…”We're striving this year to not only get to the conference championship, but into the next level of the NCAA Tournament.”
The pieces are aligning with a slew of returners, supplemented by a strong group of freshman…The girls are excited and believe the team has the potential to reach those goals and climb to the next step.
