ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University softball team blasted five homeruns in a doubleheader sweep of visiting Empire 8 Conference rival  Ithaca Sunday afternoon at Harrington Field.
 
AU won the opener, 11-3 in five innings, then took the second game, 10-5,  to run its winning streak to 12 games and complete the first-ever doubleheader sweep of  Ithaca in program history.  AU improves to 18-2 overall. With a 4-0 Empire 8 mark, Alfred moves to the top of the league standings.
 
In the opener, Alfred took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third when sophomore shortstop Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) tripled to score junior outfielder Samantha Jauregui (Lindsay, CA/Lindsay) then scored on a wild pitch.
 
Ithaca (8-10, 4-2 E8) scored three off Saxon senior starter Alison Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda) in the top of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead, but AU responded in a big way in the bottom of the frame. With the bases loaded and two outs, junior second baseman Dana Torchia (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Twp.) was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run. Wickwire followed with a grand slam, her fourth homerun in three games, and the Saxons led 7-3. Junior catcher Nora Passuite (Lockport, NY/Lockport) was hit by a pitch and sophomore Sophia Chiavatti (Austin, CA/Foothills) brought her home with a double to put Alfred up 8-3.
 
After holding Ithaca scoreless in the top of the fifth, AU plated three in the bottom of the frame to go up 11-3 and give the Saxons the eight-run rule win. Freshman outfielder Shannon Schaefer (Neptune, NJ/Westfield) led off with a homerun and two batters later, Thompson blasted a homerun to dead center to give AU the walk-off win.
 
Thompson finished 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs and Wickwire was 1-for-2 with a run scored and four driven in. Chiavatti and Schaefer each had two hits and an RBI.
 
Wickwire improved to 7-1 the year, allowing three earned runs on three hits and striking out four.
 
In the second game, AU jumped on the Bombers early, scoring four in the first on a one-out grand slam by junior catcher Jasmine Picini (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac). In the third, AU scored on an error before Passuite hit a two-out RBI single to give the Saxons a 6-0 lead and Torchia followed with a three-run homerun to left-center and the Saxons led 9-9.
 
Ithaca scored a run in the fourth to make it 9-1 but AU got the run back in the bottom of the frame when Passuite walked with the bases loaded. Ithaca tallied a pair of unearned runs in the fifth and sixth innings to close out the scoring.
 
Freshman pitcher Kerri Keeler (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt)got the complete-game win for AU, improving to 5-0 on the season. She allowed five runs (four unearned) on nine hits while striking out three.
 
Torchia was 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs and Picini scored a run and drove in four. Jauregui finished with two hits and scored a pair of runs; Passuite scored a run and drove in two; Passuite had two RBIs, and senior outfielder Alyson Hampton (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) drove in a run.
 
AU plays next on Monday, April 13, in a non-league doubleheader against visiting Hilbert College at 3 p.m.