UTICA, NY – The Utica College softball team returns to action with a pair of big Empire 8 Conference doubleheaders this weekend.  On Saturday, Utica will travel to Troy, NY to take on the Sage Colleges before returning home on Sunday to host Stevens Institute of Technology.  Saturday's first pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. while Sunday's will be at 1 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers were swept in a doubleheader by the University of Rochester on Wednesday... Utica  lost 10-2 in the first game and 5-2 in game two...  The second game was tied until the bottom of the sixth inning when the YellowJackets went on a five run spree... Junior Alyssa Samborin (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) was lights out in game two as she allowed just five hits in five innings of work...  Sophomore Sara Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) meanwhile was 3-for-6 on the day with one run scored to lead the way for Utica.
 
Front of the Pack: Five players with at least 40 at bats are batting over .300 for Utica so far this season...  Junior Sadie Evans (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) leads the pioneers with a .356 average and she is tied for the team lead with 12 runs scored… Classmate Jamie Miller (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) is second on the squad with a .339 average and she is one of only three players with at least 10 RBIs on the season… Senior Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) is right behind Miller, batting .338 with a team-best 13 RBIs… Jacqueline Aronin (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck High School) is batting .333 and she is tied with Evans for the team-lead in runs scored (12), while Sara Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) closes out the top five hitters with a .318 average… Stransky is also eighth in the conference with a .434 on base percentage. 
 
Catch Them If You Can: Evans, Miller, and Aronin are tied for the team-lead with five steals each… Sophomore Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) is a perfect 4-for-4 on steal attempts this year, and senior Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) is tied for eighth all-time with 26 steals to her credit.
 
Scouting Sage: The Sage Gators are currently 10-16 and they are coming off a split with Skidmore College on Wednesday... Sage won 3-2 in the first game, and lost 7-2 in the second game... The Gators are led by Amanda Kiriakos, who has a .440 batting average.
 
Against The Gators: The Pioneers are 8-1 against Sage College since the two schools starting playing each other in 2004... In their meeting last season, Utica swept the Gators in the doubleheader, winning the first game 18-4 and the second game 7-0… Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored in game one, while Jami miller was 3-for-4 on the day with a team-best five RBIs.   
 
Scouting Stevens: The Stevens Ducks are currently 11-11... They're coming off a split against DeSales University on Wednesday, with the Ducks losing the first game 1-2 and winning the second game 4-1... The Ducks are led by junior Melissa Alfonso, who is batting .438 so far.
 
Against The Ducks: Utica is 12-8 all-time against Stevens… Last year, UC dropped both games in the regular season series, but rebounded to knock off the Ducks 2-1 in the opening game of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament… Jamie Miller (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) led Utica going 2-for-4 at the plate, while pitcher Gabriella Caccamo (Suffern, NY/Suffern) gave up just five hits and did not allow an earned run in seven full innings of work.
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will travel across town on Wednesday as they take on local rival, SUNY Poly.  Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.