KISSIMMEE, FL – The Utica College softball team dropped a pair of consecutive contests for the first time in The Spring Games on Tuesday as the Pioneers squared off against University of Dubuque (IA) and Geneva College (PA). UC lost game one 9-3 against Dubuque and dropped game two 4-1 against Geneva.
Jacqueline Aronin (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck High School) posted a 2-for-6 effort with one run scored and two RBIs on day three in Florida.
Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and one walk over the course of two games, while
Jamie Miller (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) was 2-for-7 with one RBI on the day.
Utica's record evened out at 3-3 overall and the Pioneers will take a day off on Wednesday to enjoy the Florida sun before returning to the diamond on Thursday to take on Nebraska Wesleyan (11:45 a.m.) and Roger Williams (2 p.m.) at the Minneola Complex Field #2 in Minneola, Florida.
Dubuque 9, Utica 3 – Game One Final
Dubuque jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the course of the first four innings of game one on Tuesday morning. The Pioneers responded with three runs over the course of their final three at-bats, but the Spartans added three runs down the stretch and earned the six run victory, 9-3.
Aronin got the Pioneers going in the top of the fifth inning when she roped a triple to right center field and scored
Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) to make it a 6-1 ball game in favor of the Spartans.
Jamie Miller (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) then singled to the right side, scoring Aronin to make it 6-2.
Dubuque tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning, but the Pioneers would not go down easy as they posted a run in the seventh inning to keep the threat of a comeback alive. Aronin's fly out to centerfield scored Johndrow in the seventh to account for the final run of the game for the Pioneers.
Miller finished game one going 2-for-4 and one RBI at the dish, while Aronin went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Kaitlyn Paul (Albany, NY/Guilderland),
Sadie Evans (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa),
Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) and Renee Deresh each posted one hit for the Pioneers. Johndrow scored two of UC's three runs in the loss.
Rachel Caswell (Utica, NY/Notre Dame) got the start in the circle for the Pioneers as she allowed just three hits and two earned runs in two innings of work.
Alyssa Samborin (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) pitched one inning and struck out one, while
Jane Field (Waterford, NY/Catholic Central) closed things out for the Pioneers and did not allow an earned run in 3.0 innings of work.
Geneva 4, Utica 1 – Game Two Final
The Utica bats were silenced in game two as Geneva pitcher Nicole West forced 15 ground outs to help the Golden tornadoes earn a 4-1 victory over the Pioneers.
Utica's lone run of the contest came in the top of the seventh inning as
Madison Akots (Wynantskill, NY/Emma Willard School) singled to right field and scored
Sara Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) to make it a 4-1 ball game. UC posted three hits in the game from the bats of Aronin, Stransky and Akots.
Gabriella Caccamo (Suffern, NY/Suffern) pitched all seven innings for the Pioneers and struck out four, allowing just one earned run on the day. Geneva scattered eight hits and capitalized on three Utica errors to earn the three run victory.
