HOUGHTON, NY – The Alfred University softball team got a couple of crucial hits late, sweeping Houghton in Empire 8 action from the Softball Field Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Saxons (22-7, 13-5 Empire 8) defeated the Highlanders (5-21, 4-14 Empire 8) by a 4-1 eight-inning affair score game one, then completed the sweep with a six-inning, 8-0 victory in game two.
 
The sweep keeps AU in third place in the Empire 8 Conference standings with just a pair of games to go in the league regular season. The Saxons, having already clinched a postseason berth, sit three games in the loss column behind second-place Sage, who will take on Utica on Wednesday and Elmira on Friday, before the Saxons and Gators finish the league season with a Sunday doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m.
 
GAME ONE
The Saxons jumped out to an early lead against the Highlanders, thanks to a suicide squeeze in the first inning. Junior infielder Ashley Lugo (Hesperia, CA/Oak Hills) led off the game with a double, before stealing third with junior outfielder Alyssa Guitron (San Bernardino, CA/Cajon) at the plate. Guitron then laid down a well-placed bunt with Lugo charging toward the plate, reaching successfully for the 1-0 lead.
 
Game one was a pitcher's duel between Houghton starter Kayla Loomis and Saxon starter, graduate Jessica Wilcox (Forestville, NY/Pine Valley). The two traded zeros for much of the game, with Loomis allowing five hits through seven innings and Wilcox shutting Houghton out through five innings. In the bottom of the sixth, Hannah Haskell hit a two-out, RBI single into center field, tying the game at one.
 
With the game eventually moving into extra innings, the Saxons struck. Sophomore outfielder Isabella Carrillo (Van Nuys, CA/Birmingham Community Charter) led the eighth inning with a walk, eventually moving to third base. Guitron then brought Carrillo home with an RBI single up the middle, giving AU a 2-1 lead. Two batters later, first year infielder Mya Wells (San Ramon, CA/California) rewarded Guitron with an RBI triple, the first of her collegiate career, doubling the lead to 3-1. Junior utility Allison O'Toole (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) capped the inning with a run-scoring single to right field, as the Saxons led 4-1.
 
The runs were more than enough support for Wilcox, as she set down the Highlanders in order to secure the victory. Wilcox pitched a complete-game, allowing just one unearned run in eight innings pitched, striking out 11 for her 11^th victory of the season.
 
The Saxons tallied eight hits in the game one victory, led by a 3-for-4 performance by O'Toole. Wells and Guitron added two hits each.
 
GAME TWO
Once again, the Saxons got on the board early. In the first inning, O'Toole singled home Guitron with one out, as AU took a 1-0 lead. Both teams were held in check until the top of the fourth inning, when Carrillo groundout brought home Wells as the Saxons led, 2-0. Two batters later, Alfred starting pitcher, sophomore Arden Hatch (Orangevale, CA/St. Francis) helped her own cause with an RBI single up the middle with two outs.
 
Hatch (4-1) was brilliant in the circle in game two, weaving a six-inning, two hit performance. She stifled the Houghton batters to the tune of seven strikeouts, walking just one.
 
With Hatch keeping the Highlander bats in check, the Saxons got offensive, finishing the game early with a five-run barrage in the fifth and sixth innings combined. In the fifth, Lugo led the inning with a single, advancing to second on a passed ball. Guitron then brought Lugo home with an RBI double for a 4-0 lead. O'Toole would make it 5-0 on the next at-bat, grooving an RBI single between the shortstop and third baseman. O'Toole would then steal home a few batters later, as the Saxons held a 6-0 lead. In the sixth, O'Toole struck again, as she brought in two more runners with a one-out single, giving AU an 8-0 lead.
 
In the bottom of the frame, with Houghton facing the run rule, the Highlanders found some life thanks to a one-out error, but Hatch forced a fly out to center field and a groundout to third base to end the threat and complete the sweep.
 
O'Toole once again led the way with a 3-for-4 performance, driving in four runs and scoring once. Lugo and graduate infielder Elena Ceja (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Beach Union) each added two hits.
 
UP NEXT
The Saxons will wrap up the home portion of their schedule with a Wednesday doubleheader against Penn State-Behrend, beginning at 3 p.m.