UTICA, NY --- The Utica College softball team split a pair of games against visiting Hamilton College on Thursday night at Greenman Field. The Pioneers dropped game one 3-1 and came back with a hard working 5-2 victory in game two over the regionally-ranked Continentals.
The Pioneers record moved to 15-19 overall and they have won five of their last eight contests.
Utica's
Jamie Miller (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) posted two hits and two RBIs on the day, while
Jacqueline Aronin (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck High School) tallied two hits and one run scored.
Sadie Evans (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and
Emily Joss (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) were both 2-for-3 over the course of two games.
Alyssa Samborin (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) allowed just three runs over the course of 7.1 innings of work in two games, while adding four strikeouts.
Hamilton 3, Utica 1 - Game One Final
Hamilton (26-9) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the third inning and never looked back on its way to a 3-1 victory in the opener. The Continentals used 12 hits and two UC errors to plate three runs. Hamilton's Kendall Searcy led the way for the Continentals with a 3-for-4 effort and one RBI.
Utica's
Emily Joss (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) sparked a late Pioneer rally with an RBI double in the fifth to score
Jacqueline Aronin (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck High School), but the Pioneer comeback fell short in the two run loss.
Jamie Miller (Boonville, NY/Adirondack),
Sadie Evans (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), Joss and Aronin each registered one hit for the Pioneers.
Morgan Hartranft struck out five in the complete game victory for the visitors. UC's Gabby Caccamo started game one and worked through three innings, striking out two.
Alyssa Samborin (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) came on in relief and kept the contest close as she did not allow an earned run while striking out five in four innings of work.
Utica 5, Hamilton 2 – Game Two Final
Eight different Pioneers registered one hit as the Pioneers worked a 5-2 victory in the nightcap.
UC got on the board first in game two when
Megan O'Keefe (Albany, NY/Bethlehem Central) scored on a wild pitch. The Pioneers took a 2-0 lead in the second after
Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) reached on a fielder's choice. Pinch runner
Mikayla Blumenstock (Poland, NY/Poland) then wreaked havoc on the base paths as she stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch to give UC an early 2-0 lead.
Jamie Miller's (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) clutch two-RBI single to right field scored
Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) and
Megan O'Keefe (Albany, NY/Bethlehem Central) to give the Pioneers a commanding 4-0 lead in the fourth inning.
Hamilton plated two runs in the sixth to threaten the Pioneer lead, but the
Sara Stransky's (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) RBI single to center field in the bottom half of the inning helped UC secure the three run victory.
Samborin earned her sixth win of the season in the circle, while
Jane Field (Waterford, NY/Catholic Central) came on in relief and closed the door. Field struck out one and allowed just one earned run in 2.2 innings of relief work.
Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South),
Kaitlyn Paul (Albany, NY/Guilderland), and
Emily Joss (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) each posted one hit in the win.
Megan O'Keefe (Albany, NY/Bethlehem Central) got the start at second base and posted a 1-for-2 effort at the plate with one walk and two runs scored.
The Pioneers return to the diamond on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they travel to Elmira College for Empire 8 Conference action at 1 p.m. They return home on Sunday when they host Nazareth College on Senior Day at Greenman. First pitch on Sunday is set for 1 p.m.
