UTICA, NY- The Utica College softball team is set for a big home weekend as it has four Empire 8 Conference contests on the slate. UC will take on defending conference champion Alfred University in a double-header on Friday (3:30 p.m.) before facing Houghton College on Saturday (1 p.m.). All contests will be at Utica's Greenman Field.
LAST TIME OUT: UC is coming off a split against U of R on Wednesday… Senior
Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) was 4-for-7 with three steals and two runs scored on the day… Sophomore
Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) was 2-for-4 in game one, while senior
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) was 2-for-3 and
Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) was 2-for-4 in game two... Freshman
Shannon Cool (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer) led the way in the circle as she had five strikeouts in four innings of work over the two games, while
Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) and
Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) each had four strikeouts.
STEALING THE SHOW: With three steals against Rochester, senior
Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) now has 42 career stolen bases, surpassing Laura Meagher '06 for second on the College's all-time list... Russell needs just five more steals to tie 2015 graduate
Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) for first on the list... Russell is also two shy of the single-season steals record (18), held by All-American Meghan Matan '14… Russell is currently second on the team with a .344 batting average and she is also second in the conference with 20 runs scored.
LEADING THE WAY: Freshman
Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) leads the team in batting average (.345) and RBIs (17)… She is third in the conference in RBIs and tied for seventh in steals (five)… Rice is currently in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak, in which she has totaled 11 hits in that span.
COMING IN CLUTCH: Senior
Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) has stepped up when called upon at the plate… In 29 at bats this season, she has compiled a .310 average and eight RBIs… Monroe is also second in the conference with a 1.61 ERA and 77 strikeouts.
HELPING OUT: Senior
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) and sophomore
Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) round out the top five in batting average… Smith has a .288 average, while Stransky is batting .239… Smith is second on the team with 14 RBIs, while Stransky is tied for third on the squad with 10 runs scored.
SCOUTING ALFRED: The Saxons are 14-6 overall and 5-1 in the E8… They are coming off a split against RIT on Wednesday, winning 5-4 in eight innings, before dropping the second game 4-1… Senior Samantha Jauregui has a .418 batting average, while Shannon Shaefer leads the team with a 2.56 ERA in 52 innings of work.
AGAINST THE SAXONS: Utica is 4-8 against Alfred in the last five years… Last year, UC dropped a pair of one-run extra inning games, 6-5 and 8-7 at Alfred, marking the third straight time the Pioneers fell to the Saxons by just one run… Senior
Taylor Ellis (Kannapolis, NC/Greene) was Utica's top performer at the plate as she was 4-for-8 on the day with one run scored… Junior
Kassidy Ogren (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) was 3-for-4 in the first game, while
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) and
Stephanie Siriano (Sauquoit, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) were each 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.
SCOUTING HOUGHTON: The Highlanders are currently 5-17 on the season and 0-6 in E8 play… They are coming off a pair of shutout losses to Alfred on Tuesday… Houghton has five players batting over .300, led by freshman Taylor Sile.
AGAINST THE HIGHLANDERS: Utica is 6-0 all-time against Houghton… Last year, the Pioneers downed the Highlanders 2-1 and 7-0…
Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) was 4-for-7 at the plate, including two triples, with three runs scored and one RBI on the day.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers will hit the road on Wednesday for a non-conference double-header at Hamilton… Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
