UTICA, NY- The Utica College softball program will open up the 2019 season in Kissimmee, Florida from March 10-15 for its annual spring training trip. This will be the 11th straight year in which the Pioneers will begin their season in Florida.
 
2018 Season Recap: The Pioneers capped off the 2018 season with a 20-18 overall record and a 10-4 mark in Empire 8 Conference play... Utica made it all the way to the E8 championship game before falling to St. John Fisher College... After a slow start to the season, the Pioneers finished the year red-hot, having won 12 of their final 14 regular season games to help lift them into the conference tournament.
 
The Spring Games: The Pioneers will play their first 10 games of the season in Florida against 10 different teams... Their first games will be played on Sunday against Mount St. Joseph University at 12 p.m. and Stockton University at 4:15 p.m. Utica has seen a few of its Florida opponents in the past having played Franklin and Marshall College in 2017 and 2016 (won 5-0 in 2017, lost 1-4 in 2016) as well as the University of Dubuque in 2016 (won 3-0).
 
Back to the 315: Following the trip down south, UC will return home for a pair of doubleheaders on March 23 and 24. Utica will face Ithaca College on March 23 and Skidmore College on March 24.
 
Empire 8 Play: Conference play begins for the Pioneers on March 29 as they hit the road to take on Houghton College for a doubleheader... They will face a quick turnaround thereafter as they play at Alfred University on March 30... The Pioneers will have their first home conference games on April 6 against Nazareth College… Utica will look to avenge its 2018 conference title loss the next day, April 7, when St. John Fisher comes to town for a doubleheader.
 
Senior Class: The Pioneers enter the 2019 season with three seniors on the roster: Renee DeResh (Wappingers Falls, NY/Roy C. Ketcham), Hayley Fredericks (Suffern, NY/Suffern), and Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South)... Upon transferring to UC, DeResh was sidelined for the 2018 season due to injury, but remained a strong presence on the team... Fredericks hit .480 (12-25) with two home runs and seven RBIs in 10 games last season before going down with an injury... Rice has played in 112 games in three years for the Pioneers while starting in 109 of them... She owns a career .420 batting average (155-369) to go along with 27 doubles, two home runs, 69 RBIs and just 23 career strikeouts (five last season)… Last season she was named Co-Player of the Year for the Empire 8 and she was also honored as a first team All-Region selection.
 
Who to Look Out For: Utica returns five All-Conference selections from last year… Apart from Rice, junior Jacqueline Aronin (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck High School) was a first team All-Empire 8 honoree last season after she finished fourth on the team with a .367 average…  She was third on the squad with 21 RBIs and was a perfect 6-for-6 on stolen bases… Madison Akots (Wynantskill, NY/Emma Willard School) was also a first team All-Conference selection as she finished second on the squad with a .431 batting average overall and she batted .429 in conference play…  As a designated hitter, she totaled 18 RBIs and she was second on the squad with eight doubles… Jamie Miller (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) earned second team nods after she finished second on the team and fifth in the Empire 8 with a .440 batting average...  Miller led the Pioneers with 13 walks and nine steals and she was second in runs scored (26)… Gabriella Caccamo (Suffern, NY/Suffern) was an honorable mention for All-Conference as she totaled a 2.41 ERA in 10 conference games...  Overall, she led UC with 34 strikeouts, 113.1 innings pitched, and 11 wins, and she was one of only four freshmen to earn All-Conference distinction. 
 
Other Notable Returners: Junior Alyssa Samborin (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) is back to help lead the way in the circle… Samborin finished 6-4 with a  4.69 ERA and 29 strikeouts last season… Sophomore Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) will provide depth in the outfield with a season of collegiate experience under her belt… Johndrow batted .242 last year with four steals and she also had a .976 fielding percentage… Junior utility player Sadie Evans (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) hit for .283 and was one of only three players to appear in all 38 games last season… Shortstop Madison Judge (Albany, NY/Colonie) batted .312 and is one of only three returners to hit a home run last year and Sara Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) recorded a .208 batting average in 48 at bats. 
 
Coaching Staff: Pat Mineo will return for his 15^th season as the head coach of the Pioneers with assistants Danielle Alpi, Vaughn Saville and pitching coach Kari Beane… Mineo is 275-244 in his tenure…He has finished above .500 in seven of the last eight seasons, and has collected at least 20 wins in five of the last seven years… Mineo is a two-time Empire 8 Coach of the Year, and he has guided four players to the Conference's top honors (Rookie of the Year 2006, 2013; Player of the Year 2013, 2018).
 
Fresh Faces: The Pioneers will welcome seven new faces to the squad this year, including freshmen Jane Field (Waterford, NY/Catholic Central), Kaitlyn Paul (Albany, NY/Guilderland), Emily Joss (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls), Megan O'Keefe (Albany, NY/Bethlehem Central), and Emma Rousseau (Litchfield, NH/Campbell), as well as junior transfers Rachel Caswell (Utica, NY/Notre Dame) and Mikayla Blumenstock (Poland, NY/Poland).