ALFRED, NY – Junior infielder Ashley Lugo (Hesperia, CA/Oak Hills) set the Empire 8 record for single-season stolen bases, leading the Alfred University softball team as it dropped a doubleheader with No. 13 St. John Fisher College in Empire 8 action from Harrington Field Saturday afternoon.
 
The Saxons (20-7, 11-5 Empire 8), receiving votes in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association rankings, dropped 2-1 and 6-0 decisions to stay in third place in the Empire 8 standings with four conference games to go in the regular season. The Cardinals (20-2, 14-1 Empire 8), ranked 13^th in the latest NFCA poll, remains in first place in the conference standings and clinches a first-round bye with the sweep.
 
Lugo tallied her 39^th stolen base of the season in the third inning of game one, breaking a conference mark set by Houghton's Bailey Shattell in 2017. She entered the weekend third in all of Division III in total stolen bases, and second with 1.52 stolen bases per contest. Earlier this week, the junior also set the Empire 8 and Alfred University career stolen bases record, as she ends the weekend with 39 this season and 76 in her career.

"If we want to be mentioned in the same sentence as other elite teams, then we need to be elite and perform at an extremely high level every inning of every game," said head coach Luke Wesneski. "We can't make costly mistakes and we need to be better in-game adjustments. We took it on the chin today and that's part of the game, but we need to learn from it and get better as we hope to see them again in the near future. Jess had a great performance in game one and gave us an opportunity to win but we just couldn't get the bats rolling consistently. Megan didn't have her best stuff today but I was super proud of Arden for coming in and giving us four scoreless innings and an opportunity, and that's all we ask. We need to be better for next week as we still have four conference games remaining. Our team is resilient, so I expect them to come back and have a great upcoming week."
 
GAME ONE
Alfred starter, graduate pitcher Jessica Wilcox (Forestville, NY/Pine Valley) and Fisher starter Emily Trotman traded scoreless innings early in game one. The Cardinals broke through in the top of the third, as Allison Rogowski led the inning with a home run to left center field, giving Fisher a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals would double the lead in the fourth, as Rogowski struck again, this time with an RBI single to center field.
 
The Saxons struck back in the bottom of the frame. With one out and the bases empty, graduate infielder Elena Ceja (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Beach Union) went yard, launching a shot about 230 feet to left center for her first home run of the season, and sixth of her career.
 
Fisher threatened in the sixth and seventh innings. Fisher took advance of a Saxon miscue, putting runners on second and third with two outs. Wilcox reached back and struck out Rogowski to end the sixth-inning threat. The Cardinals once again had runners at second and third base with two away, but once again, Wilcox struck out a Fisher batter to end the inning.
 
The Saxons best chance to tie things up came in the sixth inning. Ceja led the inning off with a single, before senior outfielder Gillian Flint (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford) came on to pinch run for her. Senior outfielder Sydney Saucedo (Whittier, CA/La Serna) then moved Flint over to scoring position with two outs. Saxon pinch-hitter, first year Raygan Wescott (Taft, CA/Taft Union) battled with Trotman, but eventually grounded out to second base to end the threat. Trotman then set the Saxons down in order in the seventh to earn her 10^th victory of the season (10-1).
 
The Saxons tallied five hits in game one, led by a 2-for-3 performance by Ceja. Lugo, junior outfielder Alyssa Guitron (San Bernardino, CA/Cajon), and junior infielder Allison O'Toole (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) each tallied one hit.
 
Wilcox (10-3) was solid despite the loss, allowing two earned on six hits, striking out 11 Cardinal batters in a complete game effort.
 
GAME TWO
The Saxons fell down early in game two, as a wild pitch led to a first-inning FIsher run. In the bottom of the inning, Guitron and Mejia tallied one-out singles to get runners on, but the Saxons were unable to score.
 
The Cardinals turned it on from there, taking advantage of a pair of Saxon miscues for a two run second inning. In the third, St. John Fisher plated three more, as Rogowski and Maddie Klidonas tallied RBI singles to take a 6-0 lead.
 
The Saxons, the highest scoring offense in the Empire 8 entering the weekend, tallied four hits in game two, as Guitron, Mejia, O'Toole, and Flint tallied hits. The Saxons were also shut out for the first time since a 1-0 loss to then-No. 25 Manhattanville College on March 10, 2020. Fisher starting pitcher Jess Patterson pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 11 Saxon batters for her 10^th victory of the season (10-1).
 
First year pitcher Megan Bennett (Athens, NY/Athens Area) took the loss (10-2), allowing three earned runs in 2 2/3 innings pitched. Sophomore pitcher Arden Hatch (Orangevale, CA/St. Francis) pitched well in relief, throwing 4 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out two Cardinals.
 
The Saxons will look to get back on track Tuesday, as they make the short trip to Houghton for an evening doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m.