CLERMONT, FL – The Alfred University softball team split two games Sunday afternoon on the first day of the Saxons' season-opening Spring Break trip to Florida.
 
In the opener, senior third baseman Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) blasted a two-run homerun in the bottom of the seventh to give AU a 6-4 walk-off win over Mount Union. In the second game, AU fell 4-0 to John Carroll.
 
Thompson's round-tripper against Mount Union, her second of the game, came after the Purple Raiders rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh to erase a 4-0 deficit. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, sophomore centerfielder Becca Alexander (Middletown, DE/Middletown) belted a triple and came in to score on Thompson's game-winning blast.
 
AU went up 2-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. Junior pitcher Shannon Schaefer (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) walked and moved to second on a sacrifice before coming around to score on Thompson's first homerun of the contest.
 
The Saxons added two more in the first. Freshman second baseman Jillian Murray (Eden, NY/Eden) reached on a fielder's choice and stole second and third before scoring on a Thompson single. Thompson advanced to second on a single by senior leftfielder Brooke Hockeborn (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) and scored on a single up the middle by junior shortstop Haley Powers (Newark, DE/St. Georges Tech).
 
Mount Union tied the game with four runs off Murray in the top of the seventh. Murray had come on in relief of Shaefer in the sixth inning and allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits with a walk and a strikeout.  Schaefer started and tossed five shutout innings, allowing five hits and striking out two.
 
Thompson finished 3-for-4 with three runs and five RBIs, while Alexander (run scored) and Powers (RBI) each went 1-for-3.
 
In the second game, John Carroll held AU to four hits and scored four runs of the own (two unearned) on just five hits.
 
Sophomore catcher Lea Georgatos (Emerson, NJ/Immaculate Conception) was 1-for-3 with a double for the Saxons. Thompson, sophomore Lu Krawczyk (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West) and Alexander had Alfred's other hits.
 
Junior pitcher Kerri Keeler (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) started for the Saxons and took the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits and striking out one. Schaefer relieved and went two innings, allowing two hits and an earned run while striking out one.
 
AU returns to action with a pair of games Monday (March 6): at 8 a.m. against Sage and 10:30 against Moravian.