TUSCON, AZ – The Alfred University softball team swept two games Tuesday on the Saxons' second day of action in their 12-game Spring Break trip in Tuscon, AZ.
 
In the opener, AU (3-1) defeated Cedar Crest, 10-2, in a game that ended after five innings due to the eight-run rule. The Saxons then defeated Baldwin Wallace, 8-0 in a six-inning shortened game, to avenge a loss to the Yellowjackets on Monday.
 
In Tuesday's game against Baldwin Wallace, AU jumped out to an early lead, just as they had Monday, plating a pair of runs in the top of the second and three more in the third. Sophomore Sophia Chiavatti (Austin, CA/Foothills) had an RBI single and sophomore outfielder Hannah Lawrence (Spencer, NY/Spencer-Van Etten) drove in a run with a fielder's choice to give Alfred a 2-0 second-inning lead.
 
In the third, sophomore third baseman Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by junior second baseman Dana Torchia (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Twp.) Junior Nora Passuite (Lockport, NY/Lockport) hit a run scoring single and came around to score on a Chiavatti double to give AU the 5-0 lead in the third.
 
Unlike Monday, when AU allowed Baldwin Wallace to come back and win, the Saxons held firm, thanks to solid pitching from freshman Kyra Nadzam (New Smyrna Beach, FL/New Smyrna Beach). She went the distance for the shutout, allowing six hits over six innings and striking out one. AU gave Nadzam some insurance in the sixth, scoring three times to put the game out of reach. Torchia hit an RBI single and the final two runs scored when junior shortstop Nicole Maher (Newark, DE/Caravel Academy) reached on an error.
 
Chiavatti finished 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and Maher hit two doubles and scored twice to lead the Saxon bats.
 
Torchia drove in two runs; Passuite scored twice and had an RBI; and senior first baseman Alison Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda) hit a double and scored a run. Thompson and senior outfielder Alyson Hampton (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) each scored once for the Saxons.
 
In the earlier win against Cedar Crest, Torchia had two hits, scored three runs and drove in one, and Maher was 2-for-3 with a homerun and four RBIs for the Saxons.
 
Junior outfielder Samantha Jauregui (Lindsay, CA/Lindsay) was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI; Hampton and Wickwire each scored twice; junior catcher Jasmine Picini (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac) went 2-for-2 with a run-scoring double; and freshman Haley Powers (Newark, DE/St. Georges Tech) had a hit and drove in a run.
 
Freshman pitcher Shannon Schaefer (Neptune, NJ/Westfield) got her second win in two appearances, going five innings and allowing two runs on two hits while striking out six.
 
 
AU plays a pair of games Wednesday: at 1:30 p.m. against College of Staten Island and at 3:30 p.m. against Division II Nyack College.