ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University softball team, despite losing day one to No. 3 Utica University in the opening round of the 2024 Empire 8 Championships, eliminated Russell Sage College on Friday morning before going nine innings with No. 1 St. John Fisher University, unfortunately ending its season.
 
The No.2 Saxons (27-14)  scored a total of 21 runs on the day, defeating the Gators (13-24), 14-4 behind eight runs in the top of the eighth inning, and just narrowly missing the opportunity to face Utica on Saturday with an 8-7 loss to the Cardinals (32-5) in nine innings.
 
"The amount of fight and grit from our team today made the coaching staff extremely proud and the girls should be so proud of themselves," Head Coach Luke Wesneski said. "That last game was an absolute dog fight against a very good team that could have gone either way. We wanted to make sure we had no regrets and these girls will not have any regrets from this season or this tournament. I am so proud of Team 31 and I will miss Megan [Bennett], Alexa [Woluewich], Mya [Wells] and Mikaela [Perez] so very much and can't wait to see what they do next!"
 
Game One
No. 2 Alfred University – 14 | No. 4 Russell Sage – 4
 
AU was first on the board when Jessica Remm (Carmel, IN/Carmel) hit a home run to bring Mya Wells (San Ramon, CA/California) in as well. Wells then made it a four-run lead in the top of the fourth with a single up the middle to bring home Paris Guzman (Santa Fe Springs, CA/Santa Fe) and Kody Watson (Flagstaff, AZ/Coconino).
 
Sage scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to make it, 4-3 in favor of AU. Abigail Gatza (Burlington, ON, Canada/Assumption Catholic) responded with a single up the middle to bring Remm home in the top of the fifth. It would prove to be the game-winning run and make it 5-3, despite RSC scoring one more run in the sixth inning.
 
Just prior to that Gator run, Wells hit a solo homer on the top of the sixth inning. It was her first of two on the day. Guzman started the seventh inning scoring spree with a three-run home run that brought home Meghan Neto (Miami, FL/Doral Academy Charter) and Gatza.
 
Darby McEnery (Corona, CA/Norco) doubled to right center field to bring Watson home, making the score, 10-3. She then crossed home plate herself when Wells doubled to left center. Wells scored the 12^th Saxon run of the game when Samantha Vidal (Lake Worth, FL/Forest Hill) picked up an RBI, getting safe at first on an error by Sage's second base player. Remm hit her second home run of the day just before Guzman drove home Neto for the final run of the game.
 
Megan Bennett (Athens, PA/Athens Area) picked up her 20^th win of the season to break the AU school record, held by Nicole Hedrick '12 and her 2010 season, winning 19 that year. Bennett recorded four strikeouts in the win.
 
Game Two
No. 2 Alfred University – 7 | No. 1 St. John Fisher University – 8
 
Both teams started off with big scoring efforts. Wells hit a home run on the opening at-bat off the second pitch to get AU on the board. Neto then singled to left field to bring Vidal home. Remm scored when Gatza singled to the short stop for the early, 3-0 Alfred lead after the top of the first. A three-run home run by Fisher in the bottom of the inning tied it up.
 
Watson responded with a home run in the top of the third that was going to go over the fence in center field, but the defensive player had the ball in her glove, but the top of the fence forced it out and over, giving AU the 5-3 lead as Gatza scored on the play as well.
 
Fisher hit a grand slam in the bottom of the inning to take a two-run lead, 7-5. The Saxons tied the game in the top of the fourth inning when, with Vidal on first and Wells on third, Vidal stole second, drawing the Cardinal catcher to attempt a throw and allowing Wells to steal home. Both runners were safe on the play. Remm then doubled to left field to bring Vidal home, tying the game, 7-7.
 
Both teams' defenses held each other to five scoreless innings in a row before a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning sent Fisher to the Championship round against Utica and ended Alfred's season.