UTICA, NY - The Utica University softball team captured its fifth and sixth consecutive wins with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Union College on Wednesday. The Pioneers topped the Garnet Chargers 5-4 on a walk-off in game one before winning game two, 3-1. 

Game 1: Utica 5, Union 4
Jennifer Rodriguez (Sylmar, CA/John F. Kennedy) extended her hitting streak to 14 straight games as the freshman went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and two runs driven in. Frankie Luster (Granada Hills, CA/Granada Hills Charter) (3B), Maddie Zulager (Moorpark, CA/Moorpark) (3B), Taylor Kraft (Loudonville, NY/Shaker), Cassidy Doiron (Beacon Falls, CT/Woodland Regional) (HR) and Lauren Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) (2B) each had one hit. 

In the circle, Kelly Thornton (Stanhope, NJ/Lenape Valley Regional) made the start and went 4.1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits and five walks while striking out eight en route to the no decision. Jordyn Conte (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley High School) earned her fifth win of the season after tossing 2.2 innings in relief. She allowed just one run on one hit and two walks with three strikeouts. 

Utica jumped on the board in the bottom of the 1st following a scoreless frame by Thornton. After reaching on a fielder's choice, Luster came around to score on a Rodriguez double. The 1-0 lead would last until the bottom of the 3rd when the Pioneers added three more runs. 

Luster opened the home half of the 3rd on a triple while the following batter, Zulager, also tripled down the left field line to make it 2-0. Rodriguez stepped up next and doubled Zulager home with still none away. Later in the inning with two outs and no one on, Doiron smashed her third home run of the season to extend Utica's lead to 4-0. 

Thornton escaped a bases loaded jam in the top of the 4th before the Garnet Chargers began to chip away at their deficit in the 5th. The first three Union batters reached base which resulted in a run to make it 4-1. Later, a bases loaded walk drove in the team's second run to make it 4-2. 

Conte came in to pitch and allowed one more to score on a wild pitch before getting out of the frame with the Pioneer lead still intact at 4-3. 

In the 7th, Union was down to its final out with the bases loaded and trailing by a run. On an 0-2 count, Maddy Ewald singled through the right side of the infield to tie the game at 4-4. Conte fielded a groundout on the next at-bat to get out of the inning. 

It didn't take long for the Pioneers to win the game in the home half, however. Zulager worked a walk to open the 7th and was subbed out for pinch runner Courtney Robinson (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro). Alyssa Barbato (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck) laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Robinson however, the Union second baseman that covered first on the bunt, Ellie Wintringer, looked to double up Robinson rounding second. Wintringer's throw sailed wide of the shortstop and rolled all the way to left field, allowing the speedy Robinson to make her way home for the game-winning run. 

Game 2: Utica 3, Union 1 
Lucia Gargiulo (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) tossed a gem for the Pioneers in game two en route to her third victory of the season. The junior went the distance giving up just one run, which came on a home run, on five hits and one walk while striking out three. 

Abigail Sacks (Colonie, NY/Colonie) was the lone Pioneer to finish with a multi-hit performance as the junior went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Cassidy Doiron (Beacon Falls, CT/Woodland Regional) had the line extra-base hit by way of a double while Emily Joss (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls), Maddie Zulager (Moorpark, CA/Moorpark), Lauren Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) and Alyssa Barbato (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck) each singled. Barbato had the team's lone RBI as well. 

Both teams went down in order in the 1st before the Garnet Chargers took the lead in the top of the 2nd on a leadoff home run to left center field off the bat of Maddy Wintringer. However, Gargiulo shook it off and retired the next three batters to hold Union to a 1-0 edge. 

The Pioneers responded right away in the bottom of the 2nd thanks to clutch two-out hitting by Barbato. With runners on the corners and two gone, the junior distributed the first pitch she saw through the right side to send Doiron home from third and advance Sacks to third base. During Erica Sanford's (Boonville, NY/Adirondack) at-bat, a wild pitch allowed Sacks to come home for a 2-1 Utica lead. 

Gargiulo cruises through the middle innings with just two hits allowed between the 3rd and 6th. The Pioneers added an insurance run in the bottom of the 6th that made it a 3-1 game. With two outs and Zulager on second, Paul reached on a bang-bang infield single. The first baseman misplayed the ball on the transfer while Zulager's long turn at third base gave her a good jump home for the team's third run of the game. 

Union wouldn't go quietly in the top of the 7th. A leadoff single gave the visitors a spark while a one-out base knock gave them runners on first and second before a wild pitch advanced them both one base. Gargiulo fielded a ground ball back to herself for the second out of the frame while holding the runners. The next batter walked to load the bases before Gargiulo induced a game-ending groundout to Frankie Luster (Granada Hills, CA/Granada Hills Charter) at shortstop. 

Utica (11-5, 2-0 Empire 8) will return to league play this weekend with a trip to Rochester, NY on Saturday and Sunday. The Pioneers will take on Nazareth University at 1/3 p.m. on Saturday before playing St. John Fisher University at 1/3 p.m. on Sunday.