Utica, NY (4/12/13)- The Utica College softball team is set for a big Empire 8 weekend as it hosts Nazareth on Saturday and league-leading St. John Fisher College on Sunday. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. both days. 

Last Time Out: UC downed cross-town rival, Hamilton College on Tuesday, 2-0, and 9-1 (five innings)… Junior Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) went 5-for-5… Freshman Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) was 3-for-6, including a homer to score Utica's only two runs in the first game… Freshman Erica Colucci (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) struck out nine batters in the complete-game shutout in game one, while sophomore Briona Enny (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) struck out two in five innings to improve to 5-1 on the season.

Game Coverage: Live Stats will be provided for all home games… Fans can also follow @UCpioneers on Twitter for in game updates… You can also sign up to receive text message updates for all UC softball news and scores. 

Young Guns: Freshmen Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville), Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central), and Taylor Ellis (Willet, NY/Greene) are all making their presence felt in their first year campaigns… Russell has a .375 batting average, five home runs and five stolen bases while starting all 22 games… Smith has a .366 average while appearing in 17 games… Ellis is batting .326 with one home run and three stolen bases.

Monroe Named UC Athlete of the Week: Freshman Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) was named the College's Female Athlete of the Week, Monday after leading UC with two shutout wins last week against Houghton and Alfred… On Friday, she tossed four shutout innings allowing just two hits while fanning seven as UC downed the Highlanders 12-0 in five innings...  The first-year Pioneer followed up with a complete game shutout on Saturday giving UC its first conference win of the season as she allowed five hits, no walks, and striking out another seven to move her overall record to 6-4.

Leading the Way: Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) and Dominique Carcone (Frankfort, NY/New Hartford) lead the team with batting averages of .400… Carcone has also racked up seven stolen bases, while Monroe has six steals… Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) is third on the team with a .394 average… She is also tied for the team lead with 22 RBI.

Hitting the Long Ball: UC has ripped 21 home runs so far… Fitzgerald and Russell lead the team with five homers apiece… Mallory Ingalls (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) has four, followed by Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) with three… Bridgette Plummer (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville) has hit two over the fence and Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) and Taylor Ellis (Willet, NY/Greene) each have one.

Scouting Naz: The Golden Flyers are 5-11 overall and sit right ahead of Utica with a 3-3 record in the Empire 8… They are coming off a 3-1 E8 weekend in which they swept Stevens and split with Elmira… Nazareth is led by junior Sarah Cipperly who has a .453 average… UC is 4-6 against Naz dating back to 2008… The teams have split the last two years… Last season UC won the first game 4-3 before falling 3-2 in the second outing… Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) went 3-for-7 with four RBIs and one run scored on the day, while Bridgette Plummer (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville) went 3-for-6.

Scouting St. John Fisher: The Cardinals are 16-8, and sit atop the conference with a 5-1 mark in E8 play… They are coming off a sweep over Houghton College, winning by a combined score of 15-0… Fisher has two batters hitting at least .400… On the year… Leanne Merchant has a .484 average with three home runs, while Sarah Fordyce is batting .400 and has five homers… Utica is 2-20 against the Cardinals since 2003… The Pioneers fell 7-0 and 13-5 in both contests last year… Mallory Ingalls (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) went 3-for-6 on the day, while classmate Bridgette Plummer (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville) added three hits, one run scored and one RBI...  Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) also totaled two hits and two RBIs for UC.

Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will travel to the University of Rochester on Wednesday for a non-conference match up against the Yellow Jackets… Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.


                                                                --- www.ucpioneers.com ---