ALFRED, NY –- Alfred University junior Jasmine Picini (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac) blasted a fifth-inning homerun to break a 1-1 and AU went on to defeat St. John Fisher, 3-1, at the Empire 8 Conference softball championships Saturday afternoon.
 
With the win, Alfred (34-4), the tournament's top seed, sets up a rematch with fourth-seeded Fisher (28-13) in a winner-take-all title game at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Empire 8 tournament champion earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.
 

Earlier on Saturday, Alfred topped second-seeded Ithaca, 1-0, in an elimination game, as Saxon freshman Kerri Keeler (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) tossed a three-hit shutout. The win over Ithaca was the 250^th in head Gino Olivieri's career at AU.
 
Against Fisher on Saturday, Alfred took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third when sophomore first baseman Sophia Chiavatti (Tustin, CA/Foothill) led off with a double. A batter later, senior Samantha Jo Muller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis), running for Chiavatti, came home on an error.
 
Fisher knotted the game at 1-1 an inning later when Emma Savas singled with two outs and came in to score on a double by Danielle Ventrone.
 
Picini's blast just inside the left field foul pole off Fisher starter Lindsey Thayer leading off the fifth restored the lead for Alfred. The Saxons added an insurance run later in the inning when junior catcher Nora Passuite (Lockport, NY/Lockport) doubled and scored on an error with two outs.
 
Alfred senior pitcher Alison Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda), squaring off against Thayer for the second time in two days, got the win. Wickwire, allowed a run on five hits while striking out two. Thayer, who tossed a shutout in beating Wickwire and the Saxons, 2-0, on Friday's opening day of action, took the loss. She allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits and struck out seven.
 
Wickwire (double), Picini, Chiavatti and Passuite had Alfred's four hits. Meghan Burns (double), Ventrone, Katie Mazierski, Savas and Kate Disbrow had hits for Fisher.
 
 

In the victory over Ithaca, Keeler earned her second shutout of the tournament. She struck out two and walked two and allowed just three singles to move to 14-0 on the season. Keeler also blanked third-seeded Stevens, 9-0, in an elimination game Friday afternoon.
 
AU scored the lone run of the game in the top of the first. Sophomore third baseman Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) doubled with one out off Ithaca starter Laura Quicker and one batter later scored on a two-out Wickwire single. Quicker allowed an earned run on seven hits and struck out seven for Ithaca (21-14).
 
Thompson finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles to lead Alfred's seven-hit attack. Junior outfielder Samantha Jauregui (Lindsay, CA/Lindsay), Wickwire, Chiavatti and Passuite had Alfred's other hits.
 
Kelly Robichaud and Nicole Ciricillo had base hits (both singles) for Ithaca.