UTICA, NY- The Utica University softball team split with Cazenovia College in non-conference action Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers won the first game of the double-header 9-6 before Cazenovia earned a 5-4 walkoff win in game two.
Utica 9, Caz 6- Game One Final
Cazenovia, the designated home team for the day, opened the scoring in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run homer by Caitlin Kelleher. The Pioneers responded in the top of the second with a pair of runs of their own.
Brooke Catlin (Brewerton, NY/Central Square High School) got things going as she drove in
Emily Joss (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls). The next batter, freshman
Abigail Sacks (Colonie, NY/Colonie) hit a solo home run for her second homer of the year.
Utica doubled its score in the third thanks to RBIs from
Alyssa Barbato (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck ) and
Abbigayle Finch (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz). The Pioneers added one run in the fourth and broke the game open in the fifth with four runs. Barbato,
Julia Phelps (Waterford, NY/Shenendehowa High School),
Lauren Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland), and
Kaitlyn Paul (Albany, NY/Guilderland) each had RBIs to give Utica a 9-2 lead.
Caz got one back in the bottom of the sixth and added three more in the seventh but it was too little, too late as the Pioneers held on for the victory.
Lauren Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) was 3-for-3 in the game with two runs scored to lead Utica. Barbato was 2-for-3 and
Erica Sanford (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) was 2-for-4. Phelps, Joss, Finch, and Sacks each finished with one hit.
Freshman
Kylie Murray (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester ) struck out three as she earned the complete-game victory. Morgan Marl and Sarah Penny combined for seven strikeouts for the Wildcats.
Utica 4, Caz 5- Game Two Final
Utica plated one run in each of the first two innings and added two in the third to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Caz responded with a four-run fourth inning to even the score. The Pioneers threatened in the top of the seventh as they had runners on first and second, but the Caz defense held strong. The Wildcats put the game away in the bottom of the inning as Madison Cieslak hit a lead-off home run to send Caz home with the walk off win.
Kaitlyn Paul (Albany, NY/Guilderland) and
Abbigayle Finch (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz) were each 3-for-4 in game two with three RBIs combined between the two of them. Freshman
Taylor Kraft (Loudonville, NY/Shaker ) was 2-for-3, while
Julia Phelps (Waterford, NY/Shenendehowa High School) also had a hit.
Jordyn Conte (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley High School) struck out four in three innings of work, while freshman
Lucia Gargiulo (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa ) shouldered the loss. Serafina French also fanned four as she earned the win for Caz.
The Pioneers open Empire 8 Conference play on Sunday as they travel to Alfred University. Game one is set to begin at 3 p.m.
