Utica, NY – The Utica College softball team opens up Empire 8 Conference play this weekend with doubleheaders against Houghton College (Saturday) and Alfred University (Sunday). The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Florida Recap: The Pioneers wrapped up their spring training trip to Florida with a 4-6 record… Two of UC's losses came by just two runs… Utica has two players batting .400 or above, as sophomore
Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) holds a .433 batting average through the first ten games… Freshman
Madison Akots (Wynantskill, NY/Emma Willard School) also has a .400 average at the plate… Rice leads the team with 13 hits, including for doubles, five walks, and 17 stolen bases… Senior
Kassidy Ogren (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) has a team-best seven RBIs… Freshman
Jacqueline Aronin (Naugatuck, Connecticut/Naugatuck High School) has a .321 average in nine games and holds Utica's only home run.
In the Circle: Junior
Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) leads the team with a 1.34 ERA… she holds a 2-1 record, one save, and a team-best 23 strikeouts… Classmate
Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) has a 1.66 ERA in four appearances.
Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders enter this weekend on a six-game winning streak and they are 6-10 record overall… Tanya Hatton leads Houghton with an average of .375... Taylor Sile leads the Highlanders with 15 runs batted in... Kaylee Jentsch leads the pitching staff with three victories and an earned run average of 2.91.
Against Houghton: The Pioneers are 8-0 against Houghton since 2013... They have outscored the Highlanders 73-9 in those eight contests… Last year, UC defeated the Highlanders 12-2 and 9-1.
Scouting Alfred: The Saxons enter the weekend with an 8-6 record... They split a doubleheader against Clarkson on Wednesday… Liz Thompson leads the Saxons with .383 average and 18 runs batted in... She also has added five home runs… Shannon Schaefer leads the Alfred pitching staff with a 3-1 record and a 1.47 earned run average.
Against Alfred: Utica is 5-8 against Alfred in the last five years… Five of those losses were by just one run… Last year, the Pioneers swept the Saxons during the regular season, but Alfred knocked UC out of the conference tournament for the second time in three seasons.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will return to action on Tuesday with a doubleheader against Hamilton College at Greenman Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
