Utica, NY (4/11/14) – The Utica College softball team (11-4, 0-0 E8) opens up Empire 8 Conference play on the road for games against Ithaca College and Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The first game of each double-header is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers took two games on Thursday night against Hamilton College 11-6 and 9-2 … In the first game, senior Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) led the way for the Pioneers going 2-for-4 with a home run, scoring three runs and driving in three RBIs … Erica Colucci (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) picked up the win for UC after pitching all seven innings, giving up nine hits and striking out two … In the second game, five different players had multiple hits in the game … Meriah Beauvais (Stockbridge, NY/Stockbridge) went 3-for-4 with her first career home run and drove in two runs … Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) stayed hot as she went 4-for-7 at the plate on the day… Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) tallied another win while giving up six hits in seven innings and registering four strikeouts.
 
Dynamic Duo: The Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) and teammate Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) are each on a tear this season ... The two are tied with the highest batting average on the team (.500) and are tied for fifth-best in the conference … Their seven homeruns combined are the highest total between teammates in the E8 … After both struggled to find a hit in the first three games of the season, Matan and Russell are each on a 12-game hitting streak.
 
Start of E8 Play: The Pioneers are looking to build on last season's success in the conference … Last season, UC finished first in the regular season in the conference after going 9-3 and hosted the Empire 8 Tournament for the first time in program history… Utica lost to St. John Fisher in the conference title game, but still moved onto the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid … The Pioneers will play Elmira and Alfred at home and Ithaca, Stevens, St. John Fisher, and Nazareth on the road.
 
Scouting Ithaca: The Bombers (13-5, 2-0 E8) are coming off two wins against Houghton 6-0 and 9-1 … Ithaca is 5-3 since going 8-2 on a trip to Clermont, FL to begin the season … The Bombers have six players batting over .300 but do not have a player batting over .400 … The top run producer is Sydney Folk who has four home runs on the year and has driven in 21 runs … Last season, Utica went 2-0 against Ithaca at home 8-7 and 12-8 behind two grand slams from Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown)… It was the first time ever that Utica defeated Ithaca.
 
Scouting Stevens: The Ducks (19-5, 3-1 E8) are coming off two wins Tuesday at home against St. Joseph's-LI 9-0 and 11-3 … The team is 13-1 since going 6-4 on a trip to Fort Myers, FL to begin the season … Stevens has three players batting over .400 on the year … Jessica Rees and Jamie DeGennaro are leading the team in RBIs with 25 each … The Ducks top pitcher, Kayla Berardi, has a 0.90 era in 85.1 innings pitched and has a 9-3 record … Last season, UC went 2-0 against the Ducks winning 10-2 and 15-0 … The Pioneers are 7-1 against Stevens since the two teams started playing each other in 2010.

Looking Ahead: The Pioneers travel to Skidmore College next Tuesday for a non-conference double-header … The first game is set for 4 p.m.


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