Alfred Clinches Top Seed; Nazareth Gains Sweep
ALFRED v ST. JOHN FISHER
The Alfred University softball team swept a doubleheader from host St. John Fisher College Thursday afternoon, ensuring the Saxons will be the top seed and host of next weekend's conference championship tournament.
Alfred (29-3) won the opener, 4-2, rallying from an early one-run deficit behind a pair of solo home runs from junior catcher
Jamine Picini and sophomore third baseman
Liz Thompson. In the second game, the Saxons again used a pair of homeruns, including a first-inning grand slam by junior shortstop
Nicole Maher, on their way to a 10-8 victory.
The sweep improved the Saxons' league record to 11-1. Regardless of the outcome of Monday's games with Houghton, Alfred will be the number one seed in the four-team Empire 8 championship tournament May 1-2, the winner of which earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III championships.
The first game was a battle of standout freshmen pitchers, with Alfred's
Kerri Keeler outdueling the Cardinals' Lindsay Thayer. Fisher scored a run in third to take the early lead and Thayer held the Saxon bats in check through four, striking out seven.
AU got to Thayer in the fifth, when Picini led off the inning with a homerun to center, her third of the year, to tie the game at 1-1. Thompson gave the Saxons the lead for good with her 10
th homerun of the season, a solo blast to center leading off the sixth.
The Saxons added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh. Picini singled leading off and one out later junior pinch runner
Mackenzie Miller moved to third on a double by freshman outfielder
Shannon Schaefer. Miller scored on an error before Schaefer came in on an RBI single by junior outfielder
Samantha Jauregui.
Keeler allowed two earned runs on seven hits over seven innings, striking out seven and walking one to improve to 10-0 on the season.
Megan Burns and Kristina Balsano (homerun) each had a hit and scored a run for Fisher (24-12, 7-5 E8).
In the nightcap, Maher got things going early, drilling a grand slam with one out. Fisher responded with three off AU sophomore starter
Sophia Chiavatti in the bottom of the frame, but Alfred got two of the runs right back in the second, when Thompson blasted a two-run homer with two outs to make it 6-3.
AU added a pair of runs in the third and another in the fourth to take a 9-4 lead. Fisher scored three times in the fifth to draw within two, at 9-7, but Alfred scored a run in top of the seventh to make it 10-7, then survived a late rally by the Cardinals, who loaded the bases with two outs but could only push across one run.
Keeler (11-0) got the win after replacing Chiavatti to start the second. She allowed four earned runs on eight hits over 3 2/2 innings, striking out two. Schaefer allowed a run on three hits in 2 1/3 innings to earn her fourth save of the year.
Emma Savas went 2-for-4 with a homerun, two runs and two RBIs to pace the Cardinal offense. Thayer took the pitching loss, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits over three innings.
Alfred travels to Keuka College Sunday, April 26, for a 1 p.m. non-conference doubleheader. The Saxons entertain Houghton in an E8 twinbill beginning at 5 p.m. Monday.
Alfred will be hosting its second-ever E8 championship tournament next weekend. In 2010, when the Saxons finished tied with Ithaca atop the league standings, AU won a coin toss for the right to host the tournament.
NAZARETH v Alfred State
Junior
Maureen Rogers doubled home the game-winning run in the bottom half of the seventh inning Thursday to lift host Nazareth to a 2-1 victory over Alfred State in the second game of a softball doubleheader at Flyer Field. The victory gave the Golden Flyers a sweep over the Pioneers as Nazareth won the first game, 11-10. Nazareth is 12-16 overall, while Alfred State dropped to 7-21.
Freshman
Natalie Johns was pinch running at second base when Rogers drove a line drive into the left-center field gap for the winning hit. Rogers had two of Nazareth's nine hits in the game. Johns was running for
Meghan Barry, who had reached base on a fielder's choice.
The hit also enabled sophomore
Nicole White to gain the pitching win. She pitched all seven innings and allowed six hits while striking out eight. Nazareth scored its first run in the fourth when Barry drew a bases-loaded walk. Alfred State tied it with a run in the sixth to set the stage for Rogers' walk-off hit.
In the first game, Nazareth banged out a season-high 17 hits, including three for junior
Morgan Ross, who slugged a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Barry also hit a solo home run as part of a five-run third inning.
After Ross' homer, Alfred State scored six times in the first two innings, before Nazareth rallied to tie the score with five runs in the third. Junior
Carly Pike hit a one-out triple and scored on a single by
Sophia Rhoades. Freshman
Stephanie Mongelli singled and both runners advanced on a wild pitch.
Cydney Luke followed with an infield single to score Rhoades. Mongelli later scored on a passed ball and Luke came home on an infield grounder by
Jenna Donald. Barry then homered to center field to tie the game.
Nazareth went ahead for good with two runs in the fourth. Singles by Rogers, Pike and Rhoades loaded the bases with one out. Two runs scored when the Pioneers mishandled a ground ball back to the pitcher. Three more runs scored in the fifth consecutive singles by Barry, Ross and Graham started the inning. Barry scored on Graham's hit, then Ross came home on a single by Rogers. Grham later scored on an infield grounder.
Nazareth led 11-6 after five innings, but Alfred State came back with four runs in the top of the sixth. The Pioneers had the tying run on base in the seventh, but Nazareth reliever
Danae Wetherbee earned a save by getting the last three outs -- two on foul pop-ups and last on an infield grounder.
Senior
Nicole Bayona gained the pitching win despite allowing 10 runs (only three were earned).
Nazareth is off Friday, then travels to Houghton Saturday and RIT Sunday for doubleheaders. Both start at 1 p.m.