UC will take on Washington College at 4 p.m. in the first game of the tournament
Utica, NY (5/7/13)- The Utica College softball team is set for its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance as it travels to the regional championships at Ithaca College this weekend. UC will face Washington College in the opening game Thursday at 4 p.m.
E8 Tournament Recap: The Pioneers fell in the championship game to rival St. John Fisher College, 5-1…
Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville),
Dominique Carcone (Frankfort, NY/New Hartford),
Bridgette Plummer (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville),
Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown),
Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central), and
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) combined for Utica's six hits… Fitzgerald helped put up the lone run as she drove in
Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) for her school record 43rd RBI of the season… Freshman
Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) gave up five runs in 1.1 innings of work before classmate
Erica Colucci (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) came in and shutout the Cardinals in the final 5.2 innings.
Making History: UC (33-12) has set a new record for wins in a season with 33, while winning the conference regular season and hosting the Empire 8 Tournament for the first time in program history… This will be the first time the Pioneers have made it to the NCAA tournament, as they earned the No. 2 seed in the Ithaca Regional… This year's version of the Pioneers has the highest batting average (.359) and highest slugging percentage (.518) in school history… They also have the most runs (308), hits (451), home runs (45), and RBI (275) than any other team before them.
Game Coverage: Ithaca College will be providing
live stats and video for every contest this weekend… Utica College's WPNR radio station (90.7 FM) will also be providing live audio for Thursdays contest, with other coverage to be determined… For more information, about the tournament and game coverage, please visit the tournament webpage at
http://bombers.ithaca.edu/sports/2013/5/6/SB_0506131357.aspx?id=2695
Stealing the Show: Senior
Dominique Carcone (Frankfort, NY/New Hartford) and sophomore
Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) rank first and second in the conference in steals, respectively… Carcone has 15 stolen bases and needs just three more to tie classmate
Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) for the single-season steals record… She was recently named to the first team All-Conference for the first time in her career… Traglia has 14 stolen bases on the year and is a perfect 26-for-26 on steal attempts in her career… She was also an honorable mention All-Conference selection.
Top Honors: Three Pioneers earned the Conference's top four yearly awards… Junior
Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) was named Player of the year and first team All-Conference after batting .372 on the year… She also ranks first in the Empire 8 and tied the College's single season home run record (10), and is third on the team with 35 RBI…
Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) was named Rookie of the Year as she ranks fifth in the conference with a 4.09 batting average, and leads the E8 in hits (56)... She is third in assists, has racked up 88 put outs, and added six home runs on the year…
Pat Mineo has led the Pioneers to a school record, 33 wins as well as the program's first regular season Empire 8 title on his way to being voted Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
Fitzgerald Breaking Out: Sophomore
Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) is having an amazing sophomore campaign as she is tied with
Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) for the conference lead, and UC's single season home run record, with 10 shots over the fence… She also set new school single season records for RBI (43) and total bases (96) on her way to being named second team All-Conference for the second year in a row.
All-Conference Teams: Utica had a record 11 players named to all-conference teams Monday… Apart form the previously mentioned,
Bridgette Plummer (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville) and
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) were named to the Conference's first team, while
Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) and
Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) joined Fitzgerald and Russell on the second team… Freshman
Taylor Ellis (Willet, NY/Greene) was an honorable mention, and sophomore
Cassidy Thompson (Bend, OR/West Valley) was named Utica's Sportswoman of the Year.
Helping Out: Senior
Mallory Ingalls (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) has a career-high seven home runs this season as well as a .329 batting average and ranks second on the squad and fourth in the conference with 36 RBI… Freshman
Erica Colucci (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) has a team-best 1.81 ERA, which is also third in the conference… Colucci ranks first in the league with three saves and is also fifth in strikeouts (62)… Sophomore
Briona Enny (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) has compiled a 9-1 record with 41 strikeouts, and
Sarah Kinney (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer),
Alex Deyo (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central), and
Allie Jennings (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) have also contributed to the Pioneer offense when called upon.
Scouting the Competition: Out of the seven other teams at the Ithaca regional, top seeded St. John Fisher is the only team UC has played this year (Utica is 3-2 in five meetings vs. Fisher this season)… The first game pits the Pioneers against Washington College out of Chestertown, Maryland… The Shorewomen of Washington College (26-17) are also making their first NCAA tournament appearance as they captured the Centennial Conference Championship… They are led by junior first baseman Lauren Dockrill who has a .388 batting average and a .982 fielding percentage… In the circle, sophomores Kristin Cooper and Christine Anderson have split time this season, as each has played 26 games… Cooper has a team-best 2.65 ERA with 107 strikeouts, while Anderson has a 3.10 ERA and 75 strikeouts.
Looking Ahead: The tournament is double-elimination… The Pioneers will either take on Lebanon Valley or Penn State-Berks on Friday at either 12 p.m. or 4 p.m… Check ucpioneers.com or the tournament website for updated information.
--- www.ucpioneers.com ---
