WEEHAWKEN, NY – The Utica College softball team posted two late inning victories to earn an Empire 8 Conference sweep over host Stevens Institute of Technology on Friday afternoon. The Pioneers won game one 8-7 in extra innings after
Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) doubled home
Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) in the top of the eighth inning. UC took game two after
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) singled home Russell in the top of the seventh inning to push the Pioneers to a 2-1 victory.
Russell went 6-for-9 with four runs scored and two RBIs on the afternoon, while
Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) went 3-for-8 with three RBIs and two doubles. Sophomore
Dominique Soto (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs, including a three run home run to give the Pioneers a convincing 4-0 lead in the second inning of game one.
Utica senior
Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) pitched all seven innings in game two and struck out four to earn the 2-1 victory for the Pioneers. Monroe has now allowed just one earned run in her last six starts.
UC has now won nine of its last ten games since returning from a demanding Florida schedule and improved to 12-10 overall and more importantly moved its record to 3-1 in the Empire 8. The Pioneers return to action on Sunday when they travel to Ithaca College to take on the Bombers in Empire 8 play at 1 p.m.
Utica 8, Stevens 7 (8 Innings) – Game One Final
The Pioneers jumped out to a convincing 7-0 lead in the first four innings of game one. Utica's
Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) stole home in the first inning, one of her three stolen bases in game one, to give the Pioneers an early 1-0 lead.
Dominique Soto (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) then drilled a three run home run in the second inning to hand the Pioneers a comfortable 4-0 lead. Utica piled it on in the top of the fourth inning when Russell and Rice posted back-to-back RBI doubles to give UC a 7-0 lead. Russell's double scored sophomore
Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place), while Rice's double drove home Soto and Russell.
Stevens answered with four runs in the bottom half of the fourth to make it a three run ball game, 7-4. The Ducks added two solo home runs in the sixth inning to cut their deficit to just one run, 7-6. In the bottom of the seventh, Stevens tacked on one more run to send the contest into extra innings with the score knotted at 7-7.
With two outs in the top of the eighth inning, Russell singled up the middle then stole second base setting up Rice's game-winning double. Freshman
Shannon Cool (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer) shut down the Ducks in the bottom half of the eighth inning to earn the one run victory for the Pioneers. Her record improved to 3-3 overall on the year. Utica's
Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) got the start on the mound and completed five innings while striking out five before being relieved by
Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place).
Russell dominated with a 4-for-5 effort in game one and she also scored three of the Pioneers eight runs. Rice went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central),
Kassidy Ogren (Albany, NY/Colonie Central),
Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place),
Rachel Baker (Schuylerville, NY/Schuylerville) and
Dominique Soto (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) each registered one hit.
Utica 2, Stevens 1 – Game Two Final
Both teams were held scoreless through four full innings in game two before the offensive action picked up. Utica got on the board first in the top of the fifth inning when Russell singled up the middle, scoring Soto, to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead.
Stevens answered in the bottom of the fifth inning when junior Amanda DiLeo roped an RBI double to right field to tie the game at 1-1.
In the top of the seventh inning the Pioneers got runners on second and third and
Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) drove a single up the middle, scoring Russell from third, to give Utica a 2-1 advantage.
Stevens managed a runner on third with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Monroe closed the door with a strike out and two straight ground outs to third base the help the Pioneers earn the one run victory.
