Saxons take two to improve to 5-1 in Arizona
TUSCON, AZ – The Alfred University softball team won two games Wednesday on the third day of the Saxons' 12-game Spring Break slate in Tuscon, AZ.
In the opener, AU scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie then held on for a 7-6 victory over the College of Staten Island. AU then defeated Nyack College, 4-0, behind a one-hit shutout by freshman pitcher
Kerri Keeler (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt).
Keeler allowed just a second inning double against Division II Nyack, striking out two and walking two. Her shutout was the second by a freshman hurler in as many days for the Saxons, who improved to 5-1 with the two victories Wednesday. On Tuesday,
Kyra Nadzam (New Smyrna Beach, FL/New Smyrna Beach) scattered six hits over six innings in an 8-0 blanking of Baldwin Wallace.
Against Nyack, sophomore
Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) was 2-for-4 with an RBI triple and freshman
Haley Powers (Newark, DE/St. Georges Tech) was 2-for-2 with a stolen base and a run scored to help pace the Saxon bats. Senior
Alyson Hampton (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) scored twice and sophomore
Hannah Lawrence (Spencer, NY/Spencer-Van Etten) drove in a pair of runs.
In Alfred's earlier game against Staten Island, the Saxons led 4-1 after the top half of the fifth, but allowed three runs to score over the next two innings. In the seventh, AU took a 7-4 lead and gave up two to the Dolphins in the bottom of the frame before securing the one-run win.
Senior
Alison Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda) got the pitching start for the Saxons, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out nine over six innings. Freshman
Shannon Schaefer (Neptune, NJ/Westfield) came on in the seventh and earned the win, allowing two runs on two hits.
Wickwire blasted a solo homerun and junior
Samantha Jauregui (Lindsay, CA/Lindsay) was 2-for-4 with two runs scored to help lead the AU offense. Junior
Dana Torchia (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Twp.) was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and junior
Jasmine Picini (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac) drove in a pair of runs.
Junior
Mackenzie Miller (Newport, OR/Newport) stroked an RBI triple and scored a run; senior
Samantha Jo Muller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) was 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored and one driven in; and sophomore
Sophia Chiavatti (Austin, CA/Foothills) had two hits in three at-bats.
AU is back in action Thursday with a pair of games: at 11 a.m. against Crown College and at 1:30 p.m. for a rematch with Staten Island.