UTICA, NY - The Utica University softball team is set to travel to Saratoga Springs, NY on Saturday for a doubleheader against Skidmore College. Game one is set to begin at 1 p.m.
Follow Along: Live video for Saturday's pair can be found through
https://livestream.com/skidmoreathletics.
Last Seven Innings: The Utica Women's Softball team just got back from their spring break Florida trip going 4-6 on the week. The Pioneers picked up a nice pair of victories in the final two games of the week winning 5-2 against Plattsburgh and 8-5 against Stockton. Against Plattsburgh,
Jordyn Conte (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley High School) allowed two runs on six hits and struck out three hitters in her complete game win. At the plate,
Alyssa Barbato (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck ) and
Brooke Catlin (Brewerton, NY/Central Square High School) had two hits each, combining for four of the team's five hits. Against Stockton,
Kylie Murray (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester ) tossed a complete game allowing three earned runs on 12 hits. Phelps and
Kaitlyn Paul (Albany, NY/Guilderland) led the team with three hits each, Paul doing so going 3-for-3. Paul also drove in three runs while Barbato brought home two on two hits.
Spring Break with the Paul's: Kaitlyn Paul (Albany, NY/Guilderland) had an incredible Florida trip earning Empire 8 co-player of the week during this time. Through this first week of the season Paul is batting .382, has driven in 14 runs, and crushed three homers. Paul ranks first in the Empire 8 in home runs and second in RBI's thus far.
Lauren Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) also had a nice start to her Utica career down in Florida. Over nine games the freshman went 10-for-31 at the dish while driving in a pair of runs and scoring nine times herself.
Coming in Hot: Along with
Lauren Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland),
Abigail Sacks (Colonie, NY/Colonie) made an impact in her first set of games with the Pioneers. Sacks is currently second on the team with a .355 batting average, 14 RBIs, 11 hits and a home run.
Perfect Pitch: The Pioneers have been fueled by the pitching of
Jordyn Conte (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley High School) and
Kylie Murray (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester ). Conte is 1-1 with a 2.94 ERA and has gone the distance twice while sitting down a total of 18 batters thus far. Conte's best outing was against Plattsburgh where she threw a complete game, only allowing two runs on six hits and threw clean fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to secure the Pioneer victory. Murray is 3-3 with a 2.31 ERA, throwing three complete games and striking out 21 batters. Murray was lights out against Oswego on Mar. 14, fanning eight and allowing just three hits in 10 innings of work in the 4-1 Utica victory. The impressive outing also happened to be Murray's first career win as a Pioneer.
Scouting Skidmore: Skidmore is off to an impressive 9-3 start to their season. The Thoroughbreds are led by Hannah Davis who is batting .487 with a .897 slugging percentage through the first 12 games. Davis also pitches and is leading the liberty league conference with four complete games. The Thoroughbreds are a defensively sound softball team ranking first in the conference and nineteenth in the country in fielding percentage, making very few errors this season. Utica has an all-time record of 21-7 against Skidmore and won the previous matchup between the two.
Batter Up: After this weekend's doubleheaders the Pioneers will host Morrisville State on Tuesday, Mar. 29. Game one of the team's home opener will be at 3:30 p.m.
