ROCHESTER, N.Y. – When the 2020 season was cut short for the Alfred University softball team last March, an emotional Saxon group lamented the fact that the pandemic robbed them of a chance to compete for an Empire 8 Conference title.
 
That arduous 14-month journey concluded Saturday afternoon, and it was only fitting that the two members of the class of 2020 that returned, pitcher Jessica Wilcox (Forestville, N.Y./Pine Valley) and infielder Elena Ceja (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Beach Union) combined to put the finishing touches on the long-awaited title.
 
The Saxon bats came alive at the right time, while Wilcox and starter Arden Hatch (Orangevale, Calif./St. Francis) kept St. John Fisher College at bay in the deciding game, as AU outlasted top seed and No. 14^th ranked St. John Fisher College by a 7-5 score from the Softball Complex. The Saxons claim the program's second Empire 8 Championship title and first since the 2015 season.
 
AU (31-9) earns the Empire 8's automatic bid into the upcoming NCAA Division III Softball Tournament. Date, time, and location of the NCAA Regional Championships will be announced during the NCAA Selection show on Monday at 1 p.m. St. John Fisher (28-5), 14^th in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association national poll, will await a potential at-large bid.
 
After the victory, Wilcox was named the Empire 8 Tournament MVP, after going 3-1 in five appearances, allowing just four earned runs in 28 innings pitched, striking out 43 batters and earning a save in the deciding game. She also picked up three hits, driving in two runs.
 
Alfred came into Saturday needing just one win to capture the title and held a 3-1 lead in game one, but the Cardinals struck with two fifth inning runs and a go-ahead solo home run by Allie Klonowski in the sixth, as they held on to a 4-3 victory to force a winner-take-all game two.
 
The Saxons shook off the tough loss and came out of the gates fast in game two, exploding for a five-run first inning highlighted by a three-run home run by first year infielder Mya Wells (San Ramon, Calif./California). In the second inning, junior infielder Tatiana Mejia (North Hills, Calif./John F. Kennedy) hit a solo home run down the left field line, her third of the year, giving the Saxons a 6-0 advantage.
 
Undeterred, the Cardinals mounted a comeback. With one on and one out in the bottom of the second inning, Allison Rogowski hit an RBI double to left center as Fisher got on the board. In the fourth, Klonowski led the inning with a home run to left center, her second home run of the afternoon, as the Cardinals trailed 6-2.
 
The Saxons responded in the top of the fifth, as Ceja drove in a run on an infield single with two outs, giving the Saxons a 7-2 lead.
 
Hatch held her own in the pressure cooker of a game two, as the sophomore pitched five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Fisher took advantage of Hatch's exit, as Klonowski hit her second home run of the game and third of the afternoon, a two-run shot to left center off Saxon reliever, first year Megan Bennett (Athens, Pa./Athens Area), with the Saxons lead cut to 7-4. Wilcox came on in a save situation, and limited the damage, forcing a pair of ground outs to end the inning.
 
With the Saxons needing just three outs to lift the trophy, Fisher made one final push, as Emily Trotman hit a solo home run to left field with one out, cutting the deficit to two. Wilcox recovered, forcing Megan Kreger to hit weakly back to the circle, as the graduate students combined on the final out of the contest.
 
Hatch improved to 7-2 with the win, while Wilcox earns her first save of the season and second in her career. Guitron, Mejia, and Wells each tallied two of the Saxons' six hits.
 
For the Cardinals, Klonowski led the way with a 3-for-3 performance, hitting two home runs and driving in three runs. Trotman (14-3) took the loss, allowing four unearned runs to the first four batters she faced in the first inning. Jess Patterson came on in relief, allowing three earned runs in seven innings pitched, striking out four.
 
 
GAME ONE
A pair of errors put the Saxons out in front in game one. Junior infielder Allison O'Toole (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley) led the second inning off with a single, then senior outfielder Sydney Saucedo (Whittier, Calif./La Serna) reached on an error to put runners on the corners with one out. Wilcox then brought O'Toole home with a deep fly ball to center field, that the fielder mishandled for the second error of the frame.
 
Fisher struck back in the third with a two out, RBI double by Sam Torlish into right center field. It was the first run the Saxons have given up all tournament long, breaking a shutout streak of 24 consecutive innings.
 
The Saxons would retake the lead in the fourth. With two runners on, Lugo knocked an RBI single to left field, scoring Wilcox from second base. A Trotman wild pitch a few pitches later would score sophomore outfielder Isabella Carrillo (Van Nuys, Calif./Birmingham Community Charter) as the Saxons held a 3-1 lead.
 
The Cardinals continued to fight back, tacking two runs of their own to begin the fifth. Trotman helped her own case with a run-scoring single to left field, then scored on a one-out groundout to tie the game at three. They then took the lead for the first time in the very next inning on a leadoff home run by Klonowski, which proved to be the game-winner.
 
The Saxons tallied eight hits in game one, led by a 3-for-4 performance by O'Toole. Lugo added two hits with an RBI.