UTICA, NY- The Utica College softball team is set for a pair of big Empire 8 Conference games this weekend. The Pioneers will host Sage on Saturday before traveling to St. John Fisher College on Sunday.  The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. both days.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers are coming off a sweep of Nazareth College on Thursday… UC took the first game 4-1 before scoring five runs in the top of the seventh to earn a 9-7 come-from-behind win in game two… Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) was 6-for-8 with a home run to led the way… Sara Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) was 2-for-3 in game one, while Samantha Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) was 2-for-3 and Madison Akots (Wynantskill, NY/Emma Willard School) was 2-for-4 in game two… Gabriella Caccamo (Suffern, NY/Suffern) picked up the win in both games. 
 
PLAYOFF PUSH: Utica has won 10 straight games, eight of which were Empire 8 Conference contests… UC is currently second in the E8 standings with an 8-2 mark in league play and it needs to win just one of its four remaining games to secure a spot in the post season… If the Pioneers win their four remaining games, they will earn the top seed and host the conference tournament for the first time since 2013.
 
BACK ON TOP: Amongst players with at least two plate appearances per game, junior Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) leads the team and ranks third in the conference with a .461 batting average… Rice has finished in the top two in batting average in each of her three seasons as a Pioneer… Last year she led the squad with a .480 average…As a freshman, she was second on the team, batting .323, behind senior Alysa Russell… Rice also leads the E8 with 47 hits and she is second in runs scored (27).
 
400 CLUB: Apart from Rice, three other players are batting over .400 on the season… Jamie Miller (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) is second with a .425 average… She also has five doubles and one triple… Senior Sabrina Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) has a .406 average and a team-high six home runs and eight doubles… Her 27 RBIs leads the Empire 8… Madison Akots (Wynantskill, NY/Emma Willard School) has a .489 average with 23 hits and 47 at bats… She is right behind Stransky with seven doubles.
 
SCOUTING SAGE: The Gators, who are in their first season competing in the Empire 8 Conference, are 8-11 overall and 2-6 in E8 play… Sage will take on Elmira Colelge Friday afternoon before traveling to Utica on Saturday… Alexa Silk has a .441 average in 59 at bats… She also has two doubles and a team-high four triples.
 
SCOUTING FISHER: The Cardinals are ranked No. 9 in the latest NFCA national polls… Fisher is 23-7 overall and sits atop the conference standings with a 10-0 mark in league play… Sammie Torlish leads the squad with a .394 batting average, while senior All-American Lindsey Thayer has a 1.11 ERA and 15 wins on the season.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers will return to action Tuesday as they travel to Oswego State… Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.