UTICA, NY - Familiar faces met at Greenman Softball Field on Tuesday evening as Head Softball Coach
Rinae Olsen, and Assistant Coach
Megan White, faced their former team in the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds. The Pioneers did not disappoint as the team took both games from Skidmore, 4-3 and 11-3 (5 Inn.).
Utica 4, Skidmore 3
Cassidy Doiron (Beacon Falls, CT/Woodland Regional) came through with a big two-out, two-run go ahead home run in the 3rd as she went 1-for-3 with two RBI in the game.
Maddie Zulager (Moorpark, CA/Moorpark) led the Pioneers with a pair of hits while three others had one hit.
Jordyn Conte (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley High School) delivered a complete game for her fifth win of the year. Over her seven innings, Conte allowed three runs on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
Skidmore got to Conte early with a three run 1st inning. However, the senior stood strong to limit the damage.
Conte kept Skidmore off the board through the 3rd inning while the Utica offense came through in the bottom half for its pitcher. With two outs and runners on second and third,
Lauren Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) delivered a two-RBI single up the middle to cut the team's deficit to 3-2.
The next batter, Doiron, turned on a pitch and sent the ball over the center field wall for her second homer of the season for a 4-3 Utica lead.
From there, it was all Conte. The senior struck out the side in the 4th before retiring three out of four batters faced in the 5th. In the 6h, she worked out of a no out, runners on second and third jam to keep Skidmore off the board. She went on to finish the job in the 7th by setting down the side in order to preserve the Utica win.
Utica 11, Skdimore 3 (5 Inn.)
Lauren Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland),
Maddie Zulager (Moorpark, CA/Moorpark) and
Cassidy Doiron (Beacon Falls, CT/Woodland Regional) each led the team with two hits as well as with one home run each. Paul and Doiron went back-to-back in the 3rd while Zulager blasted a grand slam for four of her five RBIs.
In the circle,
Kylie Murray (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester) earned her fourth win after going five innings allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits with three strikeouts and one walk.
After a clean top of the 1st by Murray, the Pioneers put a pair on the board in the bottom half. Doiron singled home Murray before Zulager produced an RBI groundout to give Utica a 2-0 lead entering the 2nd.
Skidmore would, however, come back with one run in the 2nd and two in the 3rd to claim its first lead of game two, 3-2.
From there, Utica rattled off nine consecutive runs to pull away.
Paul kicked off the 3rd with a solo home run to left center, her second of the day, while the next batter, Doiron, connected for her second long ball of the day for a 4-3 Pioneer lead.
Alyssa Barbato (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck) pushed the team's lead to 5-3 with an RBI single to shortstop.
Later with the bases loaded in the 4th, Zulager sent one opposite field to left and watched as the ball hit off the top of the fence and over for a grand slam as well as a 9-3 lead.
Abriana Wadley (Utica, NY/Proctor) drove in two more with a base knock up the middle to put Utica three outs away from a sweep.
And it was a sweep Murray would ensure. The sophomore set the side down to finish off Utica's 14th win of the season, which was also the team's win total through the full 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Utica (14-6, 3-1 Empire 8) will remain home to host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on April 12. Game one is set to begin at 3 p.m.
