ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University softball team claimed a pair of wins over visiting Rochester Institute of Technology on Tuesday night from Harrington Field.
 
The Saxons (20-10, 8-2 Empire 8) walked away with a 4-0 shutout win in game one behind Megan Bennett (Athens, PA/Athens Area) and her career-high 11 strikeouts. The Saxons then earned a walk-off win over the Tigers (10-17-1, 4-6 Liberty League), 7-6.
 
Game One
Alfred University – 4 | RIT – 0
 
The Saxons scored two runs in the first inning and that proved to be more than enough for the win as Bennett and her defense kept the Tigers to only three hits, no walks or hit-by-pitches. Out of the 24 batters faced and the 11 times they struck out, six were fly outs and three more were ground outs with only one error on the defense. All three hits given up were singles.
 
Mya Wells (San Ramon, CA/California) was the first runner to cross home plate for the win when Samantha Vidal (Lake Worth, FL/Forest Hill) got to first on a single bunt that opened up the defense for Wells to score. Vidal scored next when Jessica Remm (Carmel, IN/Carmel) singled to center field for the 2-0 lead.
 
Wells hit a home run in the bottom of the second to make it a 3-0 Saxon lead. Delaney Prather (North East, PA/North East) recorded her first collegiate hit, double and RBI in the bottom of sixth inning when she drove home Kody Watson (Flagstaff, AZ/Coconino) for the fourth run of the game.
 
Meghan Neto (Miami, FL/Doral Academy Charter) joined Wells and Prather as batters that hit doubles in game one. Vidal, Remm and Watson all had stolen bases. The Saxons totaled nine hits compared to the Tigers' three.
 
Game Two
Alfred University – 7 | RIT – 6
 
RIT got out to the early lead with a home run and a two-RBI double in the top of the second inning. Watson recorded a sacrificed fly in the bottom of the inning when Abigail Gatza (Burlington, ON, Canada/Assumption Catholic) tagged at second and rounded third to score.
 
The Saxons tied the game with a pair of unearned runs from Remm and Neto in the bottom of the third, 3-3. The Tigers re-established their lead in the top of the fifth with a pair of single-RBI hits, making it 5-3 in favor of the visitors.
 
Remm doubled in the bottom of the fifth to bring home Wells and Vidal, tying the game at 5-5. Neto hit a sacrificed flyball to center field that brought home Remm for the first Saxons lead of the game, 6-5.
 
An RIT double in the top of the sixth tied the game at 6-6. Bennett came back inside of the pitcher's circle in the top of the seventh to strikeout three of the four batters she faced, ending the Tigers' offensive hopes.
 
Vidal singled through the right side to get on first before stealing second. Remm walked to put Saxon runners on first and second before a passed ball gave them each another base. Neto walked to load the bases up. With no outs and bases loaded, Gatza came up to bat and drove a shot back to the Tiger short stop who struggled to pick up the rolling ball, allowing Gatza to be safe at first but despite the error, speedy Vidal was already home and celebrating with her dugout.
 
Kendall Steward (Kennedy, NY/Randolph) added three strikeouts in the win while Mikaela Perez (Pomona, CA/Diamond Ranch) tacked on one.
 
Prather, Gatza and Remm all registered doubles in the game. Prather, Remm and Vidal all had stolen bases.
 
The Saxons were scheduled to host University of Rochester on Wednesday, April 24 but due to weather, they have pushed the non-conference doubleheader to Thursday, April 25 with the first game slotted to start at 3:00pm.