FREDONIA, NY – Graduate pitcher Jessica Wilcox (Forestville, NY/Pine Valley) set the program career wins record, leading the charge as the Alfred University softball team overwhelmed Fredonia State in a doubleheader sweep from Blue Devil Field Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Saxons (7-2) tallied a season-best 17 runs in a 17-1 game one victory, then completed the sweep with a 12-3 victory in game two. Fredonia opens the season at 0-2.
 
Wilcox entered the afternoon tied with Chelsey Cary '11 atop the all-time wins record with 39. After a no-decision in her last contest against Rochester, Wilcox (4-0) went right to work in game one, allowing just one earned run on four hits in a complete game effort, striking out 12 Blue Devils. That effort, combined with the Saxons' highest scoring output since hanging 18 runs on Augsburg on March 15, 2014, set the stage for the 40^th victory of Wilcox's career.
 
"I'm extremely happy with this performance today," said head coach Luke Wesneski. "Our kids showed up to play today and played hard! Hats off to Fredonia, they showed up to play ball and it was their first games of the season, so they were figuring things out and we had a lot of breaks go our way."
 
"Congratulations to Jess Wilcox for breaking the Alfred wins record," Wesneski added. "It was well deserved. She has been the face of Alfred softball for a few years and we're looking for great things for her and all of our pitchers for the remainder of the season. These wins are short-lived, as we are excited to host Ithaca tomorrow."
 
GAME ONE
The Saxons struck early and often, flummoxing the Fredonia pitching and defensive lineups with a pair of seven-run efforts in the second and third inning. After a 1-2-3 first, junior outfielder Alyssa Guitron (San Bernardino, CA/Cajon) and first year infielder Mya Wells (San Ramon, CA/California) were hit to begin the second. After a passed ball and a walk loaded the bases, sophomore infielder Molly Lawson (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Trabuco) brought Guitron home with an RBI single to left field, with Wells scoring on an error at third base. The Saxons manufactured their third and fourth runs with smart baserunning, before graduate infielder Elena Ceja (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Beach Union) ripped a two-out, two-RBI double to left field. Guitron then brought Ceja home with an RBI double into left center, completing the seven-run second.
 
The Saxons began the third with singles by Lawson and junior infielder Mara Moore (Torrance, CA/West). Pinch-running for Lawson, sophomore pitcher Arden Hatch (Orangevale, CA/St. Francis) scored from first via an error at second base, giving AU an 8-0 advantage. The Saxons then went to work on the outfield. Two batters later, senior outfielder Sydney Saucedo (Whittier, CA/La Serna) brought two Saxon runners home with a single to center field. Junior infielder Tatiana Mejia (North Hills, CA/John F. Kennedy) then ripped an RBI double into center. Ceja once again ripped a two-RBI double, giving the Saxons a 13-1 lead. First year infielder Alexa Woulewich (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream) later scored on a wild pitch as the Saxons held a 14-1 lead.
 
In the fifth, Mejia knocked a two-out, RBI single up the middle for the Saxons' 15^th run. Two batters later, Saucedo scored on a wild pitch for the 16^th run. Guitron ended the Saxon scoring in the next at-bat with an RBI single to left center. Wilcox then struck out three Blue Devil batters in the bottom of the frame to finish the job.
 
The Saxons tallied 13 hits in the game one victory, led by a 3-for-4 outing by Mejia. Ceja led the team with four RBIs, while Saucedo scored three runs.
 
Fredonia sent four pitchers to the circle in game one. Katie Yudin (0-1) earned the loss, giving up six runs (five earned) in an inning and a third of work.
 

 
GAME TWO
The Saxon offensive tear rolled over into game two. Junior infielder Ashley Lugo (Hesperia, CA/Oak Hills) led off the game with the Saxons' first triple of the season, then scoring on a fielding error in left. Two batters later, Ceja brought Saucedo home with a sacrifice fly into right field as the Saxons took a 2-0 lead. The Blue Devils would respond with a two-RBI double by Emily Chelius in the bottom of the frame, tying the contest at two after one inning.
 
The Saxons got right back to work in the second. After the first three Saxon runners reached base, Lugo sent a pair home with a two-RBI single, retaking the lead at 4-2. With Saucedo at the plate, the Saxons went with a double steal, sending Lugo to second and sophomore outfielder Isabella Carrillo (Van Nuys, CA/Birmingham Community Charter) home. Mejia and Ceja then sent runners home with RBI knocks to right center, giving AU a 7-2 lead.
 
In the third, Saucedo knocked in her third run of the afternoon with an RBI single as the Saxons took a six-run lead. Fredonia answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame, trailing 8-3. AU added to that lead in the fourth, beginning with a run-scoring double by first year infielder Raygan Wescott (Taft, CA/Taft Union), then culminating with a Wells score after a groundout by Lawson.
 
Alfred finished the scoring in the fifth. After beginning the inning with a groundout, the Saxons tallied four consecutive hits, including run-scoring hits by Guitron and Wells.
 
Four Saxons tallied two hits each in game two, and three knocked in two runs apiece. Hatch (2-1) earned the victory, allowing three earned on three hits in four innings pitched. First year pitcher Megan Bennett (Athens, PA/Athens Area) pitched a scoreless fifth to end the game.
 
The Saxons will return home Wednesday, hosting nationally-ranked Ithaca at Harrington Field in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.