ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University softball team, playing its final home games of the season, swept a non-league doubleheader with visiting RIT Wednesday afternoon at Harrington Field. 
 
In the opener, the Saxons used a pair of homeruns to take the early lead and held on for a 4-2 victory. In the second game, AU rallied from three runs down in their last at-bats to send the game into extra innings, then overcame a one-run deficit in the eighth to walk away with a 6-5 win.
 
In the opener, AU (20-16) took a 3-0 lead on the Tigers, courtesy two first-inning round-trippers.  Third baseman Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) led off the bottom of the first with a liner over the fence in left field, her 12^th homerun of the year. Outfielder Jillian Murray (Eden, NY/Eden) followed with a single and shortstop Haley Powers (Newark, DE/St. Georges Tech) brought her in with a blast over the centerfield fence, her fifth homer of the season, to give the Saxons a 3-0 lead.
 
RIT scored a run in the second to make it 3-1, and drew to within one (3-2) with an unearned run in the sixth. AU got an insurance run back in the bottom of the sixth when Powers led off with a double and came in on a two-out double to left-center by outfielder Brooke Hockeborn (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads).
 
RIT put the tying runs on base with two outs in the seventh, but Shannon Schaefer (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) retired the final batter on a groundout to make a winner of starter Kerri Keeler (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt).
 
Keeler went five innings, allowing a run on three hits and striking out two to improve to 5-8. Schaefer pitched the final two innings and allowed an unearned run on three hits, striking out one and earning her second save of the season.
 
Powers (homerun, double) was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two drive in, while Thompson (homerun) and Hockeborn (double) each went 2-for-3.
 
In the second game, Alfred took a 1-0 lead in the first, when Thompson singled, stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice and scored on a wild pitch.
 
AU pitcher Jessica Wilcox (Forestville, NY/Pine Valley) cruised through the first six innings, shutting out RIT on four hits while striking out four. Murray came on in the top of the seventh and allowed four Tiger runs (three unearned) on two hits.
 
With RIT up 4-1, Alfred began their comeback with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Catcher Lu Krawczyk (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West) reached on an error and advanced to second, Thompson walked and Powers was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Second baseman Elena Ceja (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Beach Union) hit a grounder that got past the RIT second baseman for an error, with Krawczyk and Thompson scoring and Powers advancing to third. Outfielder Becca Alexander (Middletown, DE/Middletown) followed with a clutch two-out single to plate Powers and tie the game at 4-4.
 
RIT answered in the eighth after Wilcox re-entered to pitch. The RIT runner placed on second to begin the inning scored an unearned run on a sacrifice and error, putting the Tigers up 5-4. Wilcox escaped further damage with an inning-ending strikeout with RIT runners on first and second.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, pinch-runner Dominique D'Andrea (Waterford, NJ/St. Joseph) was placed on second to begin the frame. With one out, outfielder Hannah Lawrence (Spencer, NY/Spencer-Van Etten) singled, sending D'Andrea to third. Krawczyk then followed with a perfect squeeze bunt to bring in D'Andrea with the tying run, with Krawczyk moving to second and Lawrence to third on an error. Thompson then laid down a bunt single to score Lawrence with the winning run. Thompson's game-winning RBI was the 126th of her career, which ties the school record set by Nicole  Maher (2013-16).
 
Sophia Chiavatti (Tustin, CA/Foothill) and Lawrence (run) each had two hits for the Saxons, while Thompson (two runs, RBI) and Krawczyk (RBI, run) each went 1-for-3. Wilcox got the pitching win to improve to 4-1, allowing an unearned run on four hits and striking out five in seven innings of work.
 
AU is in action next on Sunday, April 30, when the Saxons play a 1 p.m. non-conference doubleheader at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA.