UTICA, NY- The Utica College softball team wraps up Empire 8 Conference play as it travels to Nazareth College on Tuesday.  First pitch of the double-header is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers are coming off a huge split with RPI last Wednesday…  The teams combined to score 30 runs in the twin bill… RPI plated five unanswered runs in the final inning and a half to win the first game 5-4, before the Pioneers bounced back to earn a 12-9 victory in game two… Senior Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) led the way, as she was 4-for-6, with one home run and six RBIs on the day… Classmate Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) was 3-for-4, including a solo home run, and totaled four runs scored in game two, while Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
 
EMPIRE 8 TOURNAMENT FIELD SET: The Pioneers clinched a spot in the Empire 8 Tournament for the third time in the last four years… This year's tournament will be at No. 1 seed Ithaca College this weekend… If the Pioneers take both games from Naz, they will earn the No. 2 seed...  Utica will take on St. John Fisher College in the opening game of the double-elimination tournament on Friday at 10 a.m. … Ithaca will take on fourth seeded Alfred University at noon on Friday. 
 
LEADING THE WAY: Senior Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) leads the team and is tied for fifth in the Empire 8 with a .403 batting average… She leads the conference and ranks 24th nationally with a career-high 25 stolen bases…  She is also fifth in the E8 with five home runs and she has now totaled 50 hits in a season for the third time in her career… Russell also leads the E8 with 37 runs scored.
 
KEEP SWINGING: Three other players have 30 or more hits so far this season … Freshman Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) is second with 41 hits and is tied for second in the conference with 11 doubles … Senior Cassie Smith (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) is third with 39 hits and is second on the team with 24 RBI's … Senior Stephanie Siriano (Sauquoit, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) is fourth with 31 hits and is second on the team with 21 runs scored.
 
IN THE CIRCLE: Senior Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) is second in the conference in strikeouts (112) and third in ERA (1.67) … Monroe pitched 5.1 innings with four strikeouts and earned her 11th win of the season in game two against RPI last Wednesday … Sophomore Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) is tenth in the conference in strikeouts (51) and in ERA (3.18) and she holds an 8-2 record this season … Freshman Shannon Cool (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer) leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally with four saves on the season.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Pioneers (22-14) moved up one spot in this week's NCAA Regional Rankings, released Thursday… Utica is now seventh in the northeast region… Ithaca maintains the top spot in the region, followed by St. John Fisher College and RPI...  Utica split with Fisher earlier this season and most recently took a game from RPI on Wednesday, which was not considered in this week's rankings...  SUNY Cortland, Plattsburgh State, and SUNY Oneonta round out the top six. 
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN FLYERS: The Golden Flyers are currently 17-19 overall and 1-9 in the Empire 8 … Nazareth has two players batting over .350 on the season, Maureen Rogers (.377) and Meghan Barry (.364) … Pitcher Rachel Mertens is fifth in the conference in ERA (2.36) and has 55 strikeouts on the season.
 
AGAINST NAZARETH: The Pioneers are 10-8 against the Golden Flyers since 2007 … Utica has swept Nazareth twice in the last four meetings… Last year, Utica won 3-0 and 15-1… Sophomore Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) allowed just two hits in the complete game shutout in game one, while Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville), Samantha Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich), and Dominique Soto (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) were each 3-for-3 in game two, with Whitehouse driving in a game-high three runs.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Utica will travel to the Empire 8 Conference tournament this weekend… The Pioneers will play St. John Fisher in the opening game at 10 a.m. on Friday.