Utica, NY - The Utica College softball team is set to play three doubleheaders this week. The Pioneers will host Keuka College on Wednesday while also hosting Nazareth College on Saturday. UC will turn around and travel to Rochester on Sunday to play St. John Fisher. Game one against Keuka is scheduled for 3 p.m. while game one against Nazareth and Fisher will both be at 1 p.m. 
 
Follow Along: Fans can use https://bit.ly/2wtxUV5 on Wednesday and Saturday to follow the live stats when UC takes on Keuka and Nazareth. On Sunday, Fisher will have a live stream of the game and live stats which can be found using https://bit.ly/2HB1Fes. 
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers split with Alfred University on Saturday. The Saxons took game one 6-0 while holding UC to two hits. The Pioneers bounced back for a 9-6 win in game two to secure its first E8 win of the season. Bailey McElwain (Baldwinsville, NY/Charles W. Baker High School) had a huge day at the plate in both games as she went 4-for-8 overall while also driving in a run in game two. 
 
Joss Sayin': Emily Joss (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) has been a consistent presence at the plate so far this season. The infielder finds herself seventh in the E8 with a .441 batting average and also fifth with eight RBIs. Even when she can't reach on a hit, Joss finds ways to get on base as she owns a .537 on base percentage which comes in large part thanks to her conference leading seven walks worked. 
 
Don't let her get hot: After her big weekend at the plate, Bailey McElwain (Baldwinsville, NY/Charles W. Baker High School) is looking to keep her momentum going this week. Since April 3 she is 8-for-22 at the plate with three RBIs and a run scored. She also has just one error committed in the field over that stretch. McElwain owns a .344 batting average on the season with five total RBIs. She has not only shown she is trending upwards after this weekend alone, but since the calendar flipped to April. 
 
Scouting Keuka: The Wolves are 1-3 (1-3 Empire 8) on the season and are currently tied with UC for fifth in the E8 standings. Keuka has struggled at the plate as the team holds a .189 batting average through four games while none of the team's 18 hits have gone for extra bases. Jordan Cole leads qualified hitters on the team with a .273 average with two RBIs. The pitching staff ranks in the middle of the E8 with a 4.38 ERA while allowing a .318 batting average to opponents. Whitney Tyler is the ace of the staff as she's tossed 16 innings and holds an ERA of 1.31 while striking out 5.69 over seven innings. 
 
A Look at Nazareth: The Golden Flyers are also 1-5 (1-3 Empire 8) while its 1-3 conference mark also has them tied with Utica and Keuka. Like the Wolves, Nazareth ranks near the bottom of the conference with a team batting average of .205. They too struggle to log extra base hits as they have one double out of 23 total hits to go with no triples or home runs. Janelle Walters has been the bright spot of the offense as she's 9-for-20 at the plate with an RBI and five runs scored. The team owns the worst ERA in the Empire 8 (5.71) while only striking out 14 over 30.2 defensive innings. 
 
Fisher's Report: The Cardinals have come out rolling this season as the team is 9-1 (4-0 Empire 8) early on. They not only have one of the best offenses in the conference with a .368 team batting average to go with a conference high eight home runs, the pitching staff has done no wrong in 10 games. Fisher leads the E8 with a 0.90 ERA, has won four games via shutout while also owning a team 2/1 K/BB ratio. Emily Trotman has been a superhero for the team. She ranks first in the conference with a 0.45 ERA to go with her 4-1 record. She has 15 strikeouts to five walks and has given up 20 hits in 31 innings of work. She also finds herself third in the conference with a .552 batting average and has driven in four runs four the Cardinals.