Saxon Plays of the Year - #2

WEEHAWKEN, NJ – The Alfred University softball team forced a game five after beating #2 seeded St. John Fisher College on Sunday morning but fell in the nightcap, finishing second in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology.
 
The Saxons (23-20, 9-5 Empire 8) first topped Fisher, 13-8 on the cold, rainy and windy city morning behind a six-run first inning, two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings and an insurance three-run sixth inning. It was a rough third and seventh innings in the championship finale that propelled Fisher to the title and the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
"If you would have asked me on Friday if I thought we could play five games and score 17 runs on Championship Sunday, I may have said you were a little crazy. AUSB had grit and resillency this weekend after a slow start on Friday," Head Coach Luke Wesneski said. "Coaching this team was a blast this weekend and all year. I am super proud of all of them and the seniors are going out with a bang as we will all miss them. I want to give a big shout out to Kelley [Staub] for hitting her first college bomb. I can't say enough about our lineup from top to bottom and we are excited about what the future holds."
 
Game One Recap – vs. #2 seeded St. John Fisher College – Win: 13-8
 
The Saxons strung together 14 hits in the morning as Moreta Dyke (Milesburg, PA/Bald Eagle Area) picked up the win in the pitcher's circle.
 
On the very first pitch of the morning, Jillian Murray (Eden, NY/Eden) smashed the ball to centerfield for the 1-0, homerun start.
 
Fisher's starting pitcher then hit Lu Krawczyk (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West) on the second pitch before Ashley Lugo (Hesperia, CA/Oak Hills) sacrificed bunted her to second. Delaney Kelly (San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch) singled to left field to have Alfred runners at first and second. Allison O'Toole (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) watched four pitches as she walked to first, loading the bases. The Fisher pitcher misfired to Tati Mejia (North Hills, CA/John F. Kennedy) and hit her to score AU's second run.
 
Kelley Staub (Eden, NY/Eden), Becca Alexander (Middletown, DE/Middletown) and Sydney Saucedo (Whittier, CA/La Serna) all hit RBI singles to lift the Saxons to a 5-0, first inning lead. With the three hits, Murray was back at plate as she was walked to first base, advancing another run in for AU and the 6-0 advantage.
 
In the top of the fourth inning, Lugo stole third base and advanced home on a throwing error by the Cardinal catcher, making it a 7-0 Saxon lead. With Mejia and O'Toole on first and second base just two bats later, Fisher threw a wild pitch to allow both to advance but O'Toole reach home on yet another throwing error by the Fisher catcher, making it 8-0 in favor of the Saxons going into the bottom of the inning.
 
Fisher responded with two early-inning doubles and a three-RBI homer to bring it to an 8-5 Saxon lead. A couple of plays later, Fisher scored on a single, a fielding error and a sacrificed fly to tie it up at eight each.
 
In the top of the fifth inning, Lugo drove in what would become the game-winning run as she doubled to left field to score Murray and make it 9-8. The next play, Kelly flied out to centerfield for the sacrifice as Krawczyk tagged up and scored before the throw could make it home.
 
The Saxon bats stayed hot as they added three more runs in the sixth inning for good measure. First, Saucedo doubled to left field to bring home Staub. Murray hit a single to centerfield to score Saucedo and Kelly wrapped up the morning scoring with a single to send Murray to third base as she rounded to home on the throw in from centerfield.
 
Murray, Kelly and Saucedo all were 3-for-4 in the first game as Murray had three RBI's and both Kelly and Saucedo totaled two each. Murray crossed home plate three times while Krawczyk, O'Toole and Staub got home two times each.
 
Jessica Wilcox (Forestville, NY/Pine Valley) started in the circle for the Saxons as she struck out five batters in 3.1 innings before Dyke came in relief, taking care of the last two outs. Murray finished the game with the last 3.0 innings.
 
Game Two Recap – vs. #2 seeded St. John Fisher College – Loss: 4-11
 
St. John Fisher got out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning during the nightcap off of a two-run homer. The Saxons cut the lead in half during the opening inning as O'Toole singled to left field to bring Krawczyk home. Both Fisher and AU exchanged runs in the second inning as Staub hit her first collegiate homerun to centerfield on a five pitch, full count, keeping the score close, 3-2 in favor of the Cardinals.
 
Fisher went on a scoring spree in the top of the third inning, totaling five runs off of a fielding error, a sacrificed flyball and a three-RBI homer. AU chipped back in the bottom of the third when a run was walked in and again in the bottom of the sixth inning as Mejia reached base on a fielder's choice, allowing Lugo to sprint home, and making the score, 8-4 for Fisher. The Cardinals kept the scoring gap as they drove in three runs on a triple to left field in the top of the seventh.
 
O'Toole led the Saxons' offense with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate, recording an RBI and a run while being walked once. Wilcox picked up the loss as she sat three batters while Murray come in for 4.2 innings and struck on batter out. The Saxons had 11 hits while the Cardinals combined for 14 during the nightcap.