Utica, NY (4/9/15)- The Utica College Softball team opens up Empire 8 Conference play on the road this weekend as it travels to Houghton College and Alfred University.  The Pioneers face Houghton Friday at 3:30 p.m. and will then travel to Alfred on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start.

LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers (8-6) won back-to-back games against local rival Hamilton College on Tuesday…Utica won the first game against the Continentals in thrilling fashion, with a walk-off sacrifice fly in extra innings, before taking the second game 3-2… Freshman Alaina Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda) won her second game to move to 2-0 for the Pioneers after relieving Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) after 6.1 innings… Senior Stephanie Siriano (Sauquoit, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) drove in the winning run with a sac fly to foul territory in left field… Siriano finished the day going 3-for-6 with six RBIs, two runs scored, and one home run… Junior Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) went 4-for-7 with four runs scored on the day while freshman pitcher Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) picked up her first collegiate win, pitching a complete game, and allowing just two runs in the game two victory… Freshman Dominique Soto (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) added a 2-for-5 day at the plate with one run scored for Utica.

IN THE CIRCLE: Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) continues to lead the team in strikeouts with 33, and wins with a 4-2 record... Monroe is aided by Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park), Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place), and Alaina Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda)…Meka has a 1-2 record so far this season, with 16 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.33…Stansky has a 1-2 record, two strikeouts, and an era of 3.59 …Wickwire has a 2-0 record, four strikeouts, and a team-best 2.90 earned run average. 

AT THE PLATE: Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) leads the Empire 8 Conference in batting average (.618), and on base percentage (0.683) while she is second in slugging percentage (.971) and fourth in hits (21)…  She is also in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak to open the season… Stephanie Siriano (Sauquoit, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) is sixth in the conference in batting average (.476), and fifth in the E8 in slugging percentage (.786), and hits (20)…Freshman Samantha Husak (Jackson, MI/Grass Lake) has driven in a team-best 14 runs.

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 RBIs, 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 HOUGHTON: The Highlanders are 2-13 overall and currently hold a 2-0 record at home this season… Houghton is coming off a pair of wins against SUNY Canton on April 2… Houghton is led by freshman Georgianna Stoj, who has a .283 batting average and seven RBIs… Utica is 4-0 all-time against the Highlanders… The Pioneers earned a pair of shutout victories in their meeting last season. 

SCOUTING ALFRED: The Saxons are currently receiving votes in the national poll as they own a 14-2 record on the year… Alfred has two players batting over .600 on the year… Sophomores Sophia Chiavatti and Liz Thompson lead the team with .667 and .614 batting averages, respectively… Chiavatti also has a team-best 1.05 ERA… Utica looks to avenge a 9-8 loss at the hands of the Saxons last season in the Empire 8 Tournament semifinal… The Pioneers are 3-8 against Alfred in the last five years, including splitting the regular season series in each of the last two years. 

LOOKING AHEAD: Utica returns home Tuesday to take on Ithaca College… First pitch of the double-header is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.