Utica, NY - The Utica College softball team is set to begin its season on March 24 when the team travels to Morrisville State College for a 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. doubleheader. Those two games will be the first pair of six total games that the Pioneers will play from the 24th to the 28th. This will be the first set of games for the team since April 29, 2019 where they secured an 11-5 win over Nazareth at Greenman Field. 

 

Last Time Out: UC's completed the 2019 season with an overall 18-20 record while finishing fourth in Empire 8 play with a 6-8 mark. The team was unable to complete a game in 2020 as a result of COVID-19. 

 

Holes to Fill: Utica will be without most of a lineup that finished second in the Empire 8 in average, runs and hits. Sadie Evans (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South), Jamie Miller (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) and Jacqueline Aronin (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck High School) were the top four hitters for the Pioneers in 2019, all of whom lost due to graduation. As for the pitching staff, Alyssa Samborin (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen), Rachel Caswell (Utica, NY/Notre Dame) and Jane Field (Waterford, NY/Catholic Central) will not return due to graduation. The trio made up 75 percent of the pitchers used in 2019. 

 

Key Offensive Returners: While the Pioneers lost some big bats, some of the underclassmen from the 2019 season are still here ready to make their marks. Junior Kaitlyn Paul (Albany, NY/Guilderland) hit .346 in 2019 while finishing with 15 of her 37 hits going for extra bases. Senior Sara Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) finished sixth on the team in 2019 with a .337 batting average. With that, the infielder found ways to get on base and set up the offense for success with her team leading .413 on base percentage. Madison Akots (Wynantskill, NY/Emma Willard School) is the longest tenured player on the roster and has a career mark of .319 (44-138) at the dish with 27 RBI in her three full seasons. She will fill a leadership role on a team with a plethora of young players. 

 

New Kids on the Block: The Pioneers will welcome three freshmen to the program this season. Catcher/utility Erica Sanford (Boonvile, NY/Adirondack), outfielder Julia Phelps (Waterford, NY/Shenendehowa High School) and outfielder Abbigayle Finch (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz) will join a roster that lost four of its five seniors from the cancelled 2020 season. Four sophomores will also finally be able to put on a UC uniform as pitchers Jordyn Conte (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley High School) and Makenna Reinold (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent High School) as well as utility players Adrian Duvall (Lisbon, NY/Lisbon Central School) and Bailey McElwain (Baldwinsville, NY/Charles W. Baker High School) saw their first season stop before getting started.

 

Who's Got the Stuff?: Gabriella Caccamo (Suffern, NY/Suffern) was the top arm for the 2019 Pioneers pitching staff and will look to stay to form and continue as the team's ace in 2021. She will be the only returning pitcher from the 2019 staff. Behind her, Conte and Reinold will be the primary ones providing relief for Caccamo while stepping into fairly large roles early on for the unit. 

 

Scouting Morrisville: The Mustangs finished the 2019 season with a 1-29 record and will start its season on March 23 when they take on Cazenovia. Morrisville will present a very young team that includes 12 freshmen, two sophomores, three juniors and no seniors. Chyne Kennedy will be the key returner coming off a 2019 in which she hit .263 with 16 RBI. 

 

A Look at SUNY Poly: The Wildcats will begin its season on March 27 when the Pioneers play host to its crosstown rival. SUNY Poly was able to complete two games in 2020, winning both of them, before the cancellation of the remainder of the season. In 2019 the team finished 14-21and as a team finished the season with a .275 batting average while the pitching staff ended with a 4.13 ERA. 

A Glance at Cazenovia: Another wildcat will find itself at Greenman field this weekend as Cazenovia will travel to take on the Pioneers during a March 28 doubleheader. Unlike SUNY Poly, these Wildcats have a couple games under their belt, losing both to Marywood university on March 17. They are also set to take on Morrisville State on March 23 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Cazenovia played nine games in 2020 while compiling a 1-8 record prior to the season's cancellation.