UTICA, NY- The Utica College softball team looks to build off its eight-game winning streak as it travels to Troy, NY on Wednesday for a match up against RPI. The non-conference double-header is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: UC clinched a spot in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for the third time in four years as it downed visiting Elmira College, 9-7 and 7-2, in E8 action on Saturday... Senior
Stephanie Siriano (Sauquoit, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) led the way for UC as she was 6-for-8, including one home run, two RBIs, and one steal… Classmate
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) was also an impressive 6-for-9 with three runs scored… Freshman
Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) hit a clutch two-run home run, her first career homer, in the bottom of the eighth to bring Utica within one, before sophomore
Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) hit a three-run walk off homer to end the game.
LEADING THE WAY: Senior
Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) leads the team with a .398 batting average… She is first in the E8 with 33 runs scored and 25 steals… She recently became the first player in program history to record 50 stolen bases in her career… Russell also owns three other career records including runs scored (134), triples (eight), and total bases (318),
300 CLUB: Four other players are batting over .300 so far on the season… Freshman
Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) is second with a .345 average… She also is tied for second in the conference with 11 doubles… Seniors
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central),
Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown), and
Stephanie Siriano (Sauquoit, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) rank third through fifth, with .321, .318, and .309 averages, respectively.
IN THE CIRCLE: Senior
Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) is second in the conference in ERA (1.33) and strikeouts (108)… She recently became just the fourth player in program history to record over 100 strikeouts in a season… Sophomore
Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) is tenth in the conference with a 3.08 ERA and she has compiled an 8-2 record… Sophomore
Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) has a 2.86 ERA, while freshman
Shannon Cool (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer) ranks fourth nationally with four saves.
REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Pioneers were ranked eighth in the Northeast Region in the first public release of the NCAA regional rankings, released last Thursday… Ithaca College took the top spot in the region, followed by RPI, and St. John Fisher, who the Pioneers split with earlier this season.
SCOUTING RPI: The Engineers are currently 25-7 on the year and they are coming off a pair of 3-0 victories over Union College on Sunday… RPI has two players batting over .400 on the season, including pitcher Stephanie Caudle (.465) and Devan Puhl (.425)… Caudle also leads the squad with a 1.79 ERA and 105 strikeouts.
AGAINST THE ENGINEERS: The Pioneers are 5-5 against RPI over the last five years six… The teams have an 8-8 overall record since they started facing each other in 2007… Utica has won three of the last four games against the Engineers.