ITHACA, NY- The Utica College softball team dropped a pair of Empire 8 Conference games to host Ithaca College, 9-8 and 6-3, Sunday afternoon.  Sophomore Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) led the way for Utica as she was 5-for-7 on the day with one home run and four RBI. 
 
The Pioneers, who entered the series as winners of nine of their last ten, dropped to 12-12 on the year (3-3 Empire 8).  UC will look to rebound as it has six home games this week, four of which are E8 contests.  Utica will host University of Rochester on Wednesday (3:30 p.m.) before facing Alfred and Houghton on Friday and Saturday.
 
Utica 8, Ithaca 9- Game One Final
Faced with a four-run deficit in the final inning, the Pioneers rallied to score three runs, however it was not enough as the Bombers took game one 9-8.  Stransky was 3-for-4 in the first game, including a huge grand slam in the third inning to give Utica a one-run lead. Stransky's blast was just her fourth career home run and second career grand slam.
 
Utica opened the scoring in the first inning as senior Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) hit a double to right center to score classmate Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville).  The Bombers responded in the second inning as they plated four runs to take a three-run lead.  Stransky's deep shot to right field put the Pioneers ahead momentarily in the third, before Ithaca once again responded in the bottom half of the inning to take a 6-5 lead. 
 
The home team added three more tallies over the next three innings putting Utica in a 9-5 hole headed into the final inning.  With runners on second and third and no outs, senior Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) made the most of her pinch hitting opportunity with a single to right field to drive in both Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) and Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South).  With two outs and runners on first and second, sophomore Samantha Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) struck out swinging, however she reached first base on an error by the catcher.  Freshman Hayley Fredericks (Suffern, NY/Suffern) scored from second, while Stransky was thrown out at third, ending the game.
 
Rice went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Russell and Smith were each 2-for-4, Kassidy Ogren (Albany, NY/Colonie Central), Dominique Soto (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place), and Rachel Baker (Schuylerville, NY/Schuylerville) also had hits for UC.  Sophomore Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) shouldered the loss as she gave up six runs on five hits in just under three innings of work.
 
Utica 3, Ithaca 6- Game Two Final
After falling down 1-0 in the first inning, Utica scored three runs over the next two innings to take a 3-1 lead.  Ithaca responded with five unanswered runs to improve to 15-5 on the year and 4-0 in E8 play. 
 
Stransky was 2-for-3 with one run scored, while Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Russell, Rice, and Stephanie Siriano (Sauquoit, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) also had one hit each in the loss. 
 
Senior Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) and freshman Shannon Cool (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer) combined for eight strikeouts in the loss, while Ithaca's Allison Macari fanned two and allowed just six hits as she improved to 3-2 on the year.