Monroe and Stefanon Gather Empire 8 Honors
Utica junior Chelsea Monroe and St. John Fisher senior Sarah Stefanon have been named the Empire 8 Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the week of April 15-21.
Monroe had another impressive week where she batted .474 (9-of-19) to help the Pioneers go 5-1, including sweeps over Ithaca and Stevens. With the wins Utica clinched its first ever Empire 8 Conference regular season title and will host the conference tournament for the first time in program history. Monroe hit three home runs, including two grand slams and racked up 11 RBI. On Saturday, she had grand slams in back-to-back wins over then E8 leader Ithaca College. She followed that up with a three-run shot in Utica’s 10-2 win over Stevens on Sunday. On the week, she scored six runs and drew five walks for an on-base percentage of .583 and a slugging percentage of 1.000.
On the season, she is tied for the Empire 8 lead with nine home runs and ranks first in the league with an incredible 1.019 slugging percentage. She sits in fourth in the conference with a .434 average, fifth in stolen bases (seven), and sixth in RBI (26).
The Pioneers return to action Wednesday as they host RPI in non-conference action. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The Empire 8 Conference Tournament kicks off Friday, May 3 as UC opens up play against Alfred University at 12 p.m. at Utica’s Greenman Field.
Stefanon appeared in seven of the Cardinals' eight wins during the week, earning wins in six of those contests. The senior threw 41 innings, striking out 66, allowing just one earned run on 15 hits for a weekly ERA of 0.17.
She threw two one-hitters in the week, and he most impressive date of action came in a doubleheader against The College at Brockport. Stefanon earned the game one win after the game went into an extra inning. In eight innings of work, the Perry native struck out 16 batters and allowed no earned runs for a 2-1 win. She followed that up with 10 strikeouts in the 3-0 nightcap victory.
Fisher will return to action at 3 p.m. on Friday against D'Youville College. The game will be played at the Amherst Pepsi Arena.