Softball | 3/12/2021 1:27:12 PM
St. John Fisher will look for its fourth straight Empire 8 title, as eight teams will battle for the 2021 E8 Championship. The upcoming season is set to get underway in mid-March with league play beginning on April 1. Six teams will advance to the Empire 8 Championship Tournament with first round play on May 8-9. From there, four teams will advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament, which will take place at the home of the regular season champion and top-seed from May 11-15. The Empire 8 Champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
Fans can watch the action all season long, free of charge on
Empire 8 TV.
Team Capsules (Sorted by 2019 Standings)
St. John Fisher
St. John Fisher will look to win its fourth straight Empire 8 Championship and eighth league title overall in 2021. Senior Emily Trotman, a 2019 All-E8 first team pick, will look to continue her success after winning 23 games on the mound with seven shutouts, while also hitting .324 in 2019. She was off to a torrid start in 2020, hitting .457 through 10 games, while going 4-2 on the mound against some of the best competition in Division III. Senior shortstop Sammie Torlish hit .394 in 2019 to earn All-Empire 8 first team honors. She has a .361 batting average with six home runs and 56 RBIs in her Fisher career. Junior Abby Flakus (2019 All-Empire 8 first team selection) hit .364 in abbreviated play in 2020 and will be counted on to play an even greater role in 2021. Sophomore Allie Klonowski hit .429 with a homer and nine RBIs during her first season in 2020.
Alfred
The Saxons found themselves one win away from the 2019 Empire 8 Championship. Alfred will look to get back to the E8 Championship and win its first league title since 2015. The Saxons won 23 games in 2019 and seven during the shortened 2020 season. Alfred has a veteran-laden roster, including 2019 All-Empire 8 selections Jessica Wilcox Tatiana Mejia, Alyssa Guitron and Ashley Lugo. Wilcox, a 2019 All-Empire 8 second team selection, went 17-10 on the mound with 16 complete games, eight shutouts and 154 strikeouts in 166 innings pitched. She threw the program’s first perfect game in 2020 and holds Alfred’s record with 396 career strikeouts. Lugo hit .441 in 12 games during the 2020 season and has 37 stolen bases in two years with Alfred. Guitron hit .387 with seven RBI in 2020.
Nazareth
Nazareth will look for a return trip to the Empire 8 Tournament in 2021. Senior outfielder Janelle Walters is back after hitting .371 with eight runs scored and four stolen bases in 10 games last season. Senior third baseman Katherine Ruoff tied for the team lead in RBIs during the abbreviated 2020 season. Senior Kylie Smith along with junior Maddie Funk and sophomore hurlers Emily Daciw and Justine Brooks will vie for time in the pitching circle.
Utica
The Pioneers return several players from the 2019 squad that won 18 contests and tied for fourth in the Empire 8 standings. Utica will look to earn a postseason berth in 2021. Senior third baseman Sara Stransky batted .337 and earned All-Empire 8 first team honors in 2019. Junior catcher/first baseman Kaitlyn Paul made an immediate impact for Utica in 2019, hitting .346 overall and .447 in conference play with two homers and 30 RBIs to earn All-Empire 8 second team accolades. Senior hurler Gabriella Caccamo was an All-Empire 8 honorable mention selection for the second straight season in 2019 and has 18 career wins in two years. Sophomore Jordyn Conte will be expected to see time in the pitching circle.
Houghton
The Highlanders return 13 players from the 2020 squad that appeared in 10 games. Junior shortstop Hannah Haskell, an All-Empire 8 second team selection in 2019, is a career .364 hitter with 35 RBIs and 16 stolen bases, while appearing in 44 games over the last two years. Sisters Caitlyn and Hannah Cybart are back for their senior seasons. Both exceled in 2020, as Caitlyn Cybart hit .393, while Hannah batted .300. Sophomore Kayla Loomis is back in the pitcher’s circle after a solid start in 2020, in which she went 3-2 with a 2.48 earned run average in 42 innings.
Elmira
Head coach Randie Torgalski will coach his first games for the Soaring Eagles in 2021. He takes over for Rhonda Faunce, who won 401 games in 31 seasons with the Soaring Eagles. Senior Ally Barr looks to record the majority of innings in the pitcher’s circle. In her first season with the Purple and Gold in 2019, Barr started and finished all 12 games as EC’s pitcher. The Elmira native led the Soaring Eagles with a 2.92 ERA and logged 41 strikeouts, while batting .250 with six RBIs and five walks. Sophomore outfielder Madison Brown-Bloom and utility standout Jillian Cortez will see plenty of time in 2020.
Sage
The Gators look to make their ascent in the Empire 8 standings this season, as 10 players return from last season’s squad that won seven games in Florida before COVID-19 hit. Sophomore infielder Katelyn Rice returns after an impressive debut in which she hit .357 with a home run and nine RBI in 42 at-bats. Junior Emily Agate also got off to a torrid start in 2020, hitting .382 with a homer and eight RBI. Junior Taylor Dicranian, sophomore Makayla Lindsay and freshman Sabrina Appell will look to the lead the Gators in the picher’s circle in 2021.
Keuka
Keuka played just four games in Florida last season before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. The Wolves will rely on senior Whitney Tyler in the circle to guide the team. She has a perfect game and a no-hitter on her record and ranks in the top-10 in program history in career earned run average, strikeouts, complete games, shutouts, and wins amongst other categories, all while recording just two starts and 12.2 innings last season. Head Coach Jamie Burke will enter her 16th season as head coach at Keuka College. She sits just eight wins shy of 300 for her career. Her 292 wins are the most by any coach in any sport in Keuka College history.
Final 2019 Empire 8 Softball Standings
Stevens (22-18, 12-2 Empire 8) *
St. John Fisher (27-17, 12-2 Empire 8) – League Champions – 7-3 in 2020
Alfred (23-20, 9-5 E8) – 7-4 in 2020
Nazareth (14-22, 6-8 E8) – 1-9 in 2020
Utica (17-19, 6-8 E8) – 0-0 in 2020
Houghton (13-21, 5-9 E8) – 4-6 in 2020
Elmira (9-15, 3-11 E8) – 0-0 in 2020
Sage (11-25, 3-11 E8) – 7-5 in 2020
*Stevens moved to the MAC Freedom Conference effective for the 2020 season
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram