ROCHESTER, NY - The Utica College softball team was swept in a doubleheader on Sunday against No. 12 St. John Fisher. The Pioneers fell to the nationally-ranked Cardinals by scores of 9-1 and 11-1 in a pair of conference games at the St. John Fisher Softball Complex.
The Pioneers drop to 9-7 overall, and 4-6 in the Empire 8 Conference. The Cardinals improve to a record of 14-2 and have three wins in their last four games. They are 9-1 in the Empire 8 Conference.
In game 1, the Cardinals prevailed by a 9-1 score in a five inning game. The Pioneers posted one run on four hits and made one error, while Fisher had nine runs on twelve hits.
For the Pioneer offense in game one,
Julia Phelps (Waterford, NY/Shenendehowa High School),
Brooke Catlin (Brewerton, NY/Central Square High School),
Megan O'Keefe (Albany, NY/Bethlehem Central), and
Adrian Duvall (Lisbon, NY/Lisbon Central School) had hits. In the circle,
Jordyn Conte (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley High School) allowed nine runs on twelve hits over four innings against a very strongly built offensive team.
For the Cardinals, Emily Trotman fired three scoreless innings to take the win. The offense had five players record two hits each, and eight of their nine runs came from the top four spots in the order.
St. John Fisher scored the first nine runs of the game. The lone Pioneer run came in the fourth inning.
Julia Phelps (Waterford, NY/Shenendehowa High School) laid down an infield single to get aboard, then stole second. She advanced to third when
Emily Joss (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) flew out to right field, and
Megan O'Keefe (Albany, NY/Bethlehem Central) drove her home with a single.
In game 2, the Cardinals prevailed again by a score of 11-1 in five innings.
Fisher scored the first eleven runs, and the Pioneers broke up the shutout in the fifth as
Abbigayle Finch (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz) grounded out to score
Erica Sanford (Boonvile, NY/Adirondack).
Utica got hits from
Julia Phelps (Waterford, NY/Shenendehowa High School),
Sara Stransky (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place), and
Madison Akots (Wynantskill, NY/Emma Willard School) in the game two loss. Akots went for extra bases on a double.
Makenna Reinold (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent High School) got the start and pitched two innings, and Conte pitched the remainder of the game.
Trotman had five RBI to lead the Cardinals.
The Pioneers will be back in action on Wednesday as they travel to Elmira College for an Empire 8 doubleheader.
