ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University softball team (20-18, Empire 8 9-5) closed out the regular season with a split with Oswego State at home on Thursday afternoon. Junior Jessica Wilcox (Forestville, NY/Pine Valley) moved into second all-time in strikeouts at AU with 314 career strikeouts, surpassing Chelsey Carey '12.
 
Wilcox, who broke the AU single-season record for shutouts in a season (7) yesterday, increased her total with another stellar performance in game two versus Oswego. She recorded her 15^th win of the season, which gives her sole possession of the fifth most wins in a single-season in AU history.
 
Game One
Oswego was the first team on the board before the Saxons bounced back with three runs in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of multiple mistakes by the Lakers. AU closed the inning with a 3-1 lead.
 
However, the Lakers knotted the game up in the third with two runs of their own and eventually took the lead in the fifth inning, 5-3. Junior Jillian Murray (Eden, NY/Eden) brought the Saxons within one when she knocked in first-year Alyssa Guitron (San Bernardino, CA/Cajon) in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Oswego pushed the game to 6-4 in the sixth before senior Lu Krawczyk (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West) bombed a two-run shot over the left field fence, knotting the game up and sending it to extra innings. The Lakers managed to score in the eighth inning and shutout the Saxons to earn the victory.
 
Sophomore Moreta Dyke (Milesburg, PA/Bald Eagle Area) earned the start, going 2.0 innings, striking out one batter and allowing only two earned runs. Murray came in relief, throwing 4.0 innings, striking out five batters and allowing for earned runs. Wilcox took the loss after the Lakers scored via the international tiebreak rule. She threw 2.0 innings and struck out two batters.
 
Game Two
The Saxons scored the lone run of the nightcap in the second inning after loading the bases. Finally, junior Alana Eaton (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post) batted in first-year Tati Mejia (North Hills, CA/John F. Kennedy). The Saxons shutout the Lakers down the stretch to earn their 20^th win of the year.
 
Wilcox threw 7.0 innings, striking out seven batters and allowing only three hits.
 
"It was great playing another good SUNYAC team today," Head Coach Luke Wesneski said. "Thank you to Oswego for squeezing us in between their conference games. This will help us prepare for the E8 tournament next weekend. We saw some really good things today but we also learned that we need to execute better in situations. We will address this and get better and prepare for next weekend.
 
The Saxons will wait to see where they will travel for the Empire 8 Championships. The decision will come down to Sunday when Stevens and St. John Fisher square off in conference play. The Saxons' first game will take place on Friday, May 3 and will continue until May 4.