UTICA, NY - The Utica University softball team is set for its final full week of regular season play this week with three matchups. The team will host Empire 8 Conference newcomer SUNY Poly on Tuesday, April 22 in a doubleheader with the first pitch of game one on Greenman Field set for 3pm. The team then heads west to take on Nazareth University in a doubleheader on Friday, April 25 beginning at 3pm, before taking on a rematch of last season's conference title game against St. John Fisher on Saturday April 26, beginning at 1pm. 
 
Follow Along: Live video for Tuesday's matchups can be found here, and live stats can be found here. Live video for Friday's matchup can be found here, and live stats can be found here. Live video for Saturday's matchups can be found here, and live stats can be found here. 
 
Last Time Out: The team collected its fifth series sweep of the season over the Houghton University Highlanders as the team honored its seniors last Saturday. The Pioneers took game one in a decisive 10-1 fashion, and then secured a come from behind victory in game two 5-4. Leading the way for the Pioneers in a decisive game one was Brooke Beleza (Amherstview, Ontario/Jefferson Community College) and Meghan Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) who each went a perfect 3-3, with each scoring three runs, and Beleza adding an RBI. Taylor Kraft (Loudonville, NY/Shaker) and Kylie Murray (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester) each went 2-3 on the afternoon with Kraft adding three RBIs and Murray with two. Abigail Sacks (Colonie, NY/Colonie) added two RBIs to her outing, while Rachel Little (Burbank, CA/John Burroughs) and Alexis Scott (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) each added one. Kylie Murray (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester) collected her seventh win of the season, pitching all five innings, giving up six hits with two strikeouts. Utica was led by a strong all-around performance from several key players in their 5–4 comeback win over Houghton. Sacks delivered the game's biggest hit with a clutch two-run double in the sixth inning that gave Utica the lead for good. Beleza set the tone at the top of the lineup, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Meghan Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) also contributed with an RBI single and a run scored, while Kelly Thornton (Stanhope, NJ/Lenape Valley Regional) shut the door in the circle, throwing four scoreless innings in relief to earn the win, allowing just one hit and striking out two.
 
Where We Stand: With one full week of play remaining in the conference schedule for the Pioneers, Utica currently sits in the top of the conference, only two points behind St. John Fisher, who currently holds the top spot with 26 points. To lock up the one seed, and home field advantage through the Empire 8 Conference tournament, the Pioneers would need to win the remaining six games around the Fisher series. During the Fisher series, the Pioneers can split the series, and still lock up the one seed heading into the tournament since the Cardinals have one more conference loss than the Pioneers after splitting with conference foe SUNY Geneseo last Saturday. 
 
Batting Barrage: Brooke Beleza (Amherstview, Ontario/Jefferson Community College) and Abigail Sacks (Colonie, NY/Colonie) were stellar for the Pioneers in the team's eight game slate this past week. Beleza went a team high 17-29 across all eight games, averaging .586 at the plate through her 33 plate appearances. Beleza was able to reach base over 63 percent of the time, exercising patience at the plate with three walks. Beleza was able to contribute a total of nine RBIs to the team's 52 in eight games. In game one against Hartwick, Beleza was a perfect 4-4 at the plate, with four RBIs, a double, and two runs scored. In game one against Houghton, Beleza put together another perfect outing, going 3-3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Sacks went 11-28 across the eight game slate, with two home runs, a clutch double late in game two against Houghton that would bring runners across for the lead, and a team high 15 RBIs. Sacks also crossed the plate six times after securing an on base percentage of over 41 percent in eight games. Sacks is currently one hit away from joining the 100 career hit club. 
 
Pitching Pleasantries: The Pioneer pitching staff put together solid outings for Utica last week. Kylie Murray (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester) went 3-1 in her four complete games, including a nine inning showdown with Alfred at home, posting an impressive 1.75 ERA. Through her 28 innings pitched, Murray only recorded seven earned runs, with 14 total strikeouts and only five walks in over 100 batters faced. Lucia Gargiulo (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) put together a trio of quality starts last week, pitching 14 innings with seven strikeouts. Maggie Habernig (Kingston, NY/Kingston) collected her third start of the season, pitching a complete seven innings, allowing only two runs with six strikeouts. 
 
Scouting Poly: The Empire 8 Conference newcomer and cross town rival SUNY Poly Wildcats are 14-7 on the season, and are 6-2 in Empire 8 play. Shelbi Hagues currently leads the Wildcats at the plate, averaging .382 through 68 at-bats. Hagues currently leads the team in hits with 26, two of which have been doubles and a triple. Kimberly Birmingham is the Wildcats' top slugger this season, with a team leading four home runs, with four doubles on 22 hits this season. Birmingham has been patient at the plate, working a team high 15 walks this season. A pair of pitchers have done the dealing for the Wildcats between Trinity Critelli and Annabella Mondello. Critelli, who has started 11 games this season with nine complete games, has posted an impressive 1.26 ERA and leads the conference with that mark. Through her 78 innings, Critellli has allowed 42 hits with only 14 of 21 runs going in the books as earned. With 119 strikeouts, Critelli has allowed the lowest batting average to opponents in the conference this season at .151. Last season, the teams squared off in what was a non-conference doubleheader, with the Pioneers sweeping the Wildcats 3-2 in game one and 12-4 in game two. All time against the Wildcats, the Pioneers are 33-14 and are 19-7 when then games are played on Greenman Field. 
 
A Look at Nazareth: The Nazareth University Golden Flyers have posted a 13-8 record this season and are 7-3 in conference play. A pair of Golden Flyers currently lead the team at the plate, each batting over .500 on the season in Morgan Russo and Kaijah Alexander. Russo was named Empire 8 Player of the Week this week after a monster four home-run outing against Brockport last week. Russo currently leads the team in hits with 36, doubles with 11, and home runs with seven on the season. Alexander leads the team in RBIs with a total of 31, with nine walks on the season. A trio of pitchers have done the dealing for the Golden Flyers in Madison Hicks, Alexander, and Avery Zembek. Hicks leads the Golden Flyers with a 3.77 ERA with 20 total strikeouts this season. Alexander, also a pitcher, has posted a 4.18 ERA this season with only 10 strikeouts. Alexander has allowed the lowest batting average to opponents of the Golden Flyer pitching staff this season at .273. Zembek has the most starts of the Golden Flyers with 10 starts and seven complete games. In her 62 innings, Xembek has given up 79 hits, 50 runs, and has tallied 45 strikeouts. Last season, these two teams clashed in a doubleheader, with Utica taking both games in dominant fashion 10-1 and 10-0. All time against the Golden Flyers, the Pioneers have the edge at 18-16, but are 5-9 when the games are played on the road. 
 
Let The Rematch Commence: The 2024 Empire 8 Conference champion, who was taken to the 'if necessary' championship game by the Pioneers last season, St. John Fisher Cardinals have posted a 21-12 record this season, and are 13-3 in conference play. Emily McManus currently leads the Cardinals at the plate, averaging .456 this season. McManus leads the Cardinals in almost every hitting category. She leads the team in hits with 41, runs scored with 33, and RBIs with 34. In her 90 at-bats, McManus has only struck out 12 times, and has generated 14 walks. Ainsley Evanetski and Cassidy Ormond have done most of the dealing for the Cardinals this season. Evanetski has posted a 2.50 ERA this season, with a total of 14 complete games. Through her 101 innings pitched, Evanetski has only given up 36 earned runs and 28 walks, with over 130 strikeouts. Last season, the Pioneers and Cardinals met in the Empire 8 Championship series, after Utica took down Fisher in the semifinal. Due to the double elimination format of the tournament, even with the Cardinals' loss, the team still advanced to the championship game. The Cardinals would take down the Pioneers, avenging the semifinal loss. Prior to the conference tournament semifinal win over the Cardinals, the Pioneers had not taken them down since 2016. 
 
Up Next: The Pioneers return home for the team's final contest of the regular season against the Keuka College Wolves in a conference doubleheader. First pitch of game one from Greenman Field on Tuesday, April 29 is set for 4pm.