Utica, NY (4/7/15)- The Utica College softball team is set to open up home play this week as it hosts non-conference opponents Hamilton College and Oswego State.  The Pioneers will battle local rival Hamilton on Tuesday and Oswego on Wednesday.  The first pitch on both days is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Utica (6-6) bested Skidmore in back-to-back games last Wednesday... The Pioneers won 17-2 in five innings, before continuing the impressive offensive display by earning another run-rule victory, 16-3, in the second game... Junior Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) picked up her fourth win in game one, while senior Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) and Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) went 3-for-4 at the plate with one home run each... In game two, Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) struck out six for her first collegiate victory, while Stephanie Siriano (Sauquoit, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) went 3-for-4… Freshman Samantha Husak (Jackson, MI/Grass Lake) led the team with four RBI, and Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) extended her hitting streak to 10 games.
 
IN THE CIRCLE: Junior Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) leads the team with a win/loss record of 4-2... She has an ERA of 4.93 while striking out 27 batters so far this season… Joining her are freshmen Alaina Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda) and Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) who each have a win for the Pioneers... Wickwire has an era of 3.50 and has three strikeouts so far this season… Meka has an era of 4.33 and has 16 strikeouts on the year.
 
EMPIRE 8 HONORS: The Pioneers swept the Empire 8 weekly awards last week as senior transfer Stephanie Siriano (Sauquoit, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) was named the Player of the Week and freshman Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) earned Pitcher of the Week accolades… Siriano was 5-for-7 at the plate with one home run in the series against Skidmore… On the season, she is second on the team with a .472 batting average and is tied with teammate Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) for first in the conference with 17 hits… Meka earned Pitcher of the Week honors after allowing just two earned runs and fanning six to pick up her first collegiate win over Skidmore.
 
AT THE PLATE: Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) leads the Pioneers offensive attack with a .607 batting average… She is also first on the team in runs (13), hits (17), and on base percentage (.676)… Senior Stephanie Siriano (Sauquoit, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) has a .472 average and is second on the team in runs (12) and on base percentage (.525) so far this season… Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) and Samantha Husak (Jackson, MI/Grass Lake) have also contributed to UC's offense… Smith has a batting average of .423 and has 11 hits while Husak has a batting average of .324 and leads the team with 14 RBI.
 
A LOOK AT THE RECORD BOOK: Senior Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) recently tied 2009 graduate Abby Drew for the most career home runs in program history (21)… Fitzgerald also moved into second place on the all-time list with 110 career RBI, just eight shy of Drew's record of 118… Senior Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) recently moved into second place all-time with 37 career stolen bases… She needs just five more to pass Laura Meagher '06 for first on the list… Junior Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) is just two wins shy of tying Erin Hinrichs '02 for the career wins record (37)… Monroe has racked up 35 victories in just over two seasons at Utica, which ties her with Pioneer Hall of Famer Bobbie (McMail) Simon for second all-time…  Monroe is also tied with Simon for the program's single-season win record of 19, which she accomplished as a freshman. 
 
SCOUTING HAMILTON: The Continentals are currently 8-9 overall and 3-2 in the NESCAC… Arguably their biggest win so far this season came against nationally ranked No. 22 William Paterson University, 5-3, in Clermont, FL on March 16… Hamilton is led by junior Olivia Gozdz, who has a .467 batting average to go along with her team-leading 18 RBI… Senior Kelly Leonard has racked up a 7-3 record with a 2.23 ERA… Utica is 9-1 against Hamilton in the last five years, and has won the last nine match ups against the Continentals. 
 
SCOUTING OSWEGO: The Lakers are 3-7 overall and they are coming off a pair of losses at Geneseo on Friday… Freshman Melanie Klauser leads the team with a .452 average at the plate while starting all 10 games so far…  Utica is 6-1 against Oswego since 2010… The teams did not meet last season. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Utica hits the road this weekend for its Empire 8 Conference opener… The Pioneers face Houghton College Friday (3:30 p.m.) and Alfred University on Saturday (1 p.m.).