ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University softball team opened its Empire 8 Conference schedule with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Utica College Sunday afternoon at Harrington Field.
 
The Saxons rallied to win the opener, 14-6 in six innings, as senior third baseman Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) broke the school record for career home runs, and rode solid pitching to claim a 6-2 decision in the nightcap. With the sweep, the Saxons improve to 10-6 overall (2-0 Empire 8).
 
Utica took an early lead in the opener with an unearned run in the first. Thompson's solo home run leading off the bottom of the frame tied it. It was Thompson's 27^th career round-tripper, breaking the record of 26 she had shared with Alison Wickwire (2012-15). Junior shortstop Haley Powers (Newark, DE/St. Georges Tech) gave AU a 2-1 advantage with a solo shot of her own an inning later.
 
The Saxons' lead was short-lived, as Utica plated three unearned runs in the third and another in the fourth to go up 5-2. Alfred responded in a big way in the bottom of the fourth, batting around and scoring seven times to take a 9-5 lead heading into the fifth. Senior outfielder Brooke Hockeborn (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) had a two-run double in the inning, while senior outfielder Hannah Lawrence (Spencer, NY/Spencer-Van Etten), first-year second baseman Jillian Murray (Eden, NY/Eden) and senior Sophia Chiavatti (Tustin, CA/Foothill) each hit run-scoring singles.
 
After Utica scored a run in the fifth to make it 9-6, the Saxons pulled away with four runs in the fifth, with two scoring on Powers' two-run double, to lead 13-6. Alfred scored an unearned run in the sixth to claim the eight-run rule victory.
 
Thompson was 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and three runs scored and Hockeborn was 3-for-4 with two runs scored a three driven in. Powers was 2-for-2 with a home run and a double, a run scored and two RBIs; Murray had two hits, scored twice and drove in two; and sophomore outfielder Becca Alexander (Middletown, DE/Middletown) and Lawrence (run scored) each went 2-for-3.
 
Junior Shannon Schaefer (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) got the complete-game pitching win for the Saxons, allowing six runs (five unearned) on nine hits and striking out two to improve to 4-1.
 
In the nightcap, AU jumped on Utica early, scoring three times in the first. First-year second baseman Elena Ceja (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Beach Union) hit a bases-loaded double that drove in Powers and Chiavatti, with sophomore pitcher Dominique D'Andrea (Waterford, NJ/St. Joseph) coming in on an outfield error.
 
After Utica scored a run in the second, the Saxons answered with two in the bottom of the frame. Powers was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Thompson scored from third on a wild pitch. Sophomore catcher Lea Georgatos (Emerson, NJ/Immaculate Conception) hit an RBI double in the third to give AU a 6-1 lead before Utica closed out the game's scoring with a run in the fifth.
 
Georgatos finished with two doubles in three at-bats, scoring once and driving in a run, and Ceja had a pair of runs batted in.
 
D'Andrea and Murray combined to allow just three hits for the Saxons. D'Andrea started and went five innings, allowing two runs on two hits and striking out three to improve to 3-0 on the year. Murray tossed two innings of one-hit shutout ball to earn the save, her second of the season.
 
AU is in action next on Friday, April 7, at 3 p.m., when the Saxons play an Empire 8 doubleheader at Stevens.