GENESEO, NY – The Alfred University softball team remained undefeated in the Empire 8 Softball Championship Playoffs with a sweep of No. 2 seeded St. John Fisher University and No. 1 seeded SUNY Geneseo on Friday.
The Saxons (28-13) defeated the Cardinals (28-12), 7-5 in the opening game of the day and then after a break, defeated the host Knights (30-10) 5-3 to advance to the E8 Championship round.
Game One
Alfred University – 7 | St. John Fisher University – 5
The Saxons got on the board first as the designated visitors against Fisher.
Bella Mistretta (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield Secondary) hit a sacrificed flyout to center field that gave
Samantha Vidal (Lake Worth, FL/Forest Hill) the chance to tag up and scurry home for the 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning.
Paris Guzman (Santa Fe Springs, CA/Santa Fe) scored in the top of the second when
Brielle Wark (East Amherst, NY/Williamsville East) singled through the right side, making it a 2-0 game.
Taylor Carlson (Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach) singled through the left side during the top of the fourth inning to send
Ally Boulger (Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak) home for the 3-0 advantage. Fisher finally put runs on the board as they tied the game up with three runs in the bottom of the frame.
AU regained its advantage when
Molly Whitmyer (Enola, PA/Trinity) singled to center field to score Mistretta in the top of the fifth inning.
Vidal scored again in the top of the seventh inning when Mistretta doubled to left center field. Mistretta eventually found herself reaching home in the inning when
Kendall Steward (Kennedy, NY/Randolph) doubled to right center for what would go on to be the game-winning run. Boulger drove in an insurance run when she singled to left field to bring home Steward.
Fisher scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh but it was not enough as
Ava Galvan (Santa Fe Springs, CA/Santa Fe) recorded her third pitching save of the season. Steward was credited with the win inside of the circle. Steward recorded four strikeouts.
Game Two
Alfred University – 5 | SUNY Geneseo – 3
The Saxons were first on the board again as Mistretta doubled to right center field to bring home Vidal in the bottom of the first inning as the designated home team. The Knights tied it up in the top of the second.
AU went on a scoring spree in the bottom of the third inning, posting four on the board to put the game out of reach for the Knights. Whitmyer singled through the right side of the Geneseo defense to bring home both Mistretta and Steward. Guzman hit a sacrificed fly to right field to bring home Whitmyer to make it a 4-1 game, earning the game-winning RBI and run. Carlson singled through the left side to bring home Boulger for the insurance run.
Geneseo scored one run in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Steward earned another pitching win and Galvan earned her fourth save of the season. Steward tacked on four more strikeouts while Galvan added one.
The Saxons will next take on the winner of the final elimination game between Geneseo and Fisher on Saturday, May 9 at 1:30pm.
--Swords Forward Saxons--
