ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University softball team continues to roll, earning its 10^th consecutive win after sweeping Nazareth by 9-1 and 9-2 scores in Empire 8 action from Flyer Field on a warm but windy Friday afternoon.
 
The Saxons (20-5, 11-3 Empire 8), receiving votes in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association national poll, have reached the 20-win plateau for the eighth consecutive completed season. AU has also won 10 straight games for the first time since running 14 games in a row during the 2016 season. Nazareth drops to 2-14 overall and 2-12 in conference. The Saxons take the regular season series versus the Golden Flyers with the doubleheader sweep, winning all four contests.
 
Junior infielder Ashley Lugo (Hesperia, CA/Oak Hills) swiped five bases in the doubleheader, bringing her total to 38 for the season, tying an Empire 8 record. She shares the record with Houghton's Bailey Shattell, who set the record in the 2017 season.
 
The Saxons pounded out 30 hits in the doubleheader, led by junior outfielder Alyssa Guitron's (San Bernardino, CA/Cajon) six hits. Seven Saxons tallied multi-hit games, including Lugo, junior infielder Tatiana Mejia (North Hills, CA/John F. Kennedy), first year infielder Mya Wells (San Ramon, CA/California), sophomore infielder Molly Lawson (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Trabuco), senior outfielder Sydney Saucedo (Whittier, CA/La Serna), and junior utility Allison O'Toole (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley).
 
"I love the resiliency and fight that these ladies continue to show," said head coach Luke Wesneski. "There were no let downs today and they got the job done when they needed to. We are excited for a tough conference doubleheader tomorrow at home and will be up for the challenge!"
 
GAME ONE
The Saxons began the game with two quick outs, before revving up for a two-run first inning. Mejia singled up the middle, leading to a Wells RBI double in the right-center gap, scoring Mejia for the 1-0 lead. The next batter, graduate infielder Elena Ceja (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Beach Union), reached base safely thanks to an error by the Nazareth shortstop, scoring Wells from second for the 2-0 lead.
 
Nazareth answered in the bottom of the opening frame with solid two-out hitting of their own. With a runner at scoring position, Sarah Simmons knocked in a run with a single through the right side, cutting the lead in half at 2-1.
 
The Saxons regained the two-run lead in the second inning, with two-out hitting once again playing a big role. This time, it was Guitron who came through with a double down the right field line, scoring Lugo from second for the 3-1 lead. They then began to pull away in the final innings. In the fourth, consecutive hits by Guitron and Mejia gave the Saxons a 5-1 lead, before ending the frame with a Lawson run-scoring double to left field. In the fifth, Lugo drove in a run with a two-out infield single for the 7-1 lead. In the sixth, Mejia led the inning with a single up the middle, before scoring from first base for the second time in the game, via a Wells double to right center. Saucedo joined the party to finish the scoring, driving in a run for a 9-1 lead.
 
 After giving up the first inning run, graduate pitcher Jessica Wilcox (Forestville, NY/Pine Valley) settled, allowing just two more hits in the final five innings to shut the door on the Golden Flyers in six innings. Wilcox (10-2) won her fourth consecutive decision, allowing one earned run on four hits in the complete game effort, striking out six Nazareth batters.
 
Mejia and Lugo went 3-for-4 in the game one victory, with Mejia scoring thrice and Lugo stealing three bases for the sixth time this season.
 
GAME TWO
After a rare scoreless first inning, the Saxons went back to work offensively in the second. With runners on second and third with one out, sophomore outfielder Isabella Carrillo (Van Nuys, CA/Birmingham Community Charter) drove in the game's first run, scoring O'Toole from third. The next batter, Lugo, scored Saucedo with a sacrifice fly, before Guitron doubled to center field, scoring Carrillo for the 3-0 lead.
 
A bloop and a blast got AU on the board in the fourth inning. A one-out single by Guitron set the stage for Mejia, who blasted a two-run home run to left center field. The home run, her second of the season, gave the Saxons a 5-0 lead. Later in the inning, O'Toole singled up the middle, scoring Wells for a 6-0 Saxon lead.
 
The Golden Flyers got one back in the bottom of the fourth due to a Saxon error in the infield. In the sixth, it was Nazareth which tallied the error, as two AU runs crossed the plate for the 8-1 lead. The Saxons added a final run in the seventh thanks to Guitron's fourth RBI of the afternoon. Nazareth scored a run in the bottom of the frame, but sophomore pitcher Arden Hatch (Orangevale, CA/St. Francis) struck out Aubrin Smith to limit the damage, earning a three-inning save, the first of her career.
 
First year pitcher Megan Bennett (Athens, PA/Athens Area) earned the start and got the win (7-1), allowing one run on four hits, striking out three batters in four innings. Hatch added a pair of strikeouts in three innings pitched for the save.
 
Guitron and O'Toole each went 4-for-5, setting a career high for hits in the process. For Guitron, it was the second four-hit game of her career, as she tallied four against RIT on March 25. Lugo and Guitron each tallied two stolen bases, as the Saxons swiped eight bags as a team.
 
WHATS NEXT
The Saxons prepare for a rematch against 13^th-ranked St. John Fisher College on Saturday. AU will host the doubleheader this time, from Harrington Field beginning at 1 p.m.