Softball | 5/8/2021 4:10:20 PM
No. 3 seed Alfred University and No. 5 seed Utica College advanced in the opening round of the 2021 Empire 8 Softball Championship on Saturday, May 8. Alfred (28-8) defeated No. 6 seed Elmira College (6-21), 2-0, while Utica (14-13) defeated No. 4 Keuka College (8-13), 9-1 in five innings.
Alfred and Utica advance to the double-elimination 2021 Empire 8 Softball Championship, which begins Tuesday, May 11 at St. John Fisher College. Utica will begin the tournament by taking on top-seed St. John Fisher at 11 a.m. Tuesday, while Alfred takes on No. 2 seed Russell Sage College at 1:30 p.m. The complete tournament schedule is below, as all games will be played at St. John Fisher.
NO. 3 ALFRED 2, NO. 6 ELMIRA 0
First year infielder
Mya Wells hit a clutch two-run single in the sixth inning and graduate pitcher
Jessica Wilcox pitched a complete-game shutout, leading the way as Alfred advanced in the Empire 8 Tournament, downing sixth-seeded Elmira 2-0 from Harrington Field on a wet Saturday afternoon.
It was a duel between Wilcox and Elmira starting pitcher Ally Barr in this game, as the two hurlers traded zeros all afternoon. The Saxons threatened to score in the bottom of the second inning, as junior infielder
Allison O'Toole hit a one-out double to the center field fence, and Wilcox beat out a throw from the shortstop for an infield single, putting O'Toole at third base. Barr then forced senior outfielder
Sydney Saucedo to ground out to end the threat.
Elmira got its first hit of the game in the fourth inning, on a two-out single up the middle by Alex Brockhuizen. Hannah Flagg then walked, putting a runner in scoring position. Wilcox got out of the jam, striking out Janie Kempf to end the threat.
The Saxons were put in a similar position in the fifth, as two out singles by Barr and Paige Cring put another runner in scoring position. Once again, Wilcox struck out a player to end the inning, with Felicity Brockhuizen going down looking with a well-placed pitch.
AU finally broke through in the sixth. A leadoff single by junior
Ashley Lugo and an infield single by junior outfielder
Alyssa Guitron put runners on with no outs. Junior infielder
Tatiana Mejia advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt, setting the stage for the rookie with runners at second and third base. Wells delivered, with a one-out single up the middle, scoring Lugo and Guitron to give the Saxons a 2-0 lead.
The runs were more than enough for Wilcox, who set down the Elmira batters in order in the top of the seventh inning, ending the game. Wilcox picked up her 14th victory of the season, allowing just three hits over seven innings pitched and striking out 13 batters while walking just one. Barr (6-13) took the loss, but was solid, allowing two earned on five hits, striking out a pair of Saxon batters.
NO. 5 UTICA 9, NO. 4 KEUKA 1 (5 INNINGS)
Utica exploded for seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to come away with a 9-1 run-rule victory over Keuka College in the first round of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament on Saturday.
Utica fell down 1-0 in the first inning as Emily VanDelinder singled through the left side to score Abby Kruse. The score remained the same until the fourth inning when Utica led off the inning with back-to-back triples by
Brooke Catlin (Brewerton, NY/Central Square High School) and
Emily Joss (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) evened the score at one. Senior
Madison Akots (Wynantskill, NY/Emma Willard School) drove in Joss in the next at bat to give the Pioneers their first lead of the game.
Utica pulled away in the fifth inning thanks to hits by Akots,
Julia Phelps (Waterford, NY/Shenendehowa High School), and a three-run triple by freshman
Erica Sanford (Boonvile, NY/Adirondack). Akots led the Pioneers going 2-for-2 with a walk on the day. Sophomore
Jordyn Conte (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley High School) allowed just four hits and struck out one to pick up her ninth win of the season. Nazareth defeated semfinal opponent Utica twice earlier in the season by scores of 13-9 and 15-9, while St. John Fisher downed Hartwick, 18-4 earlier in the regular season on April 17.
St. John Fisher swept Tuesday's opponent by scores of 9-1 and 11-1 on April 18, while Alfred swept Russell Sage by scores of 10-0 and 14-3 on May 2.
2021 Empire 8 Softball Championship Schedule
Empire 8 First Round – Saturday, May 8
#3 Alfred University defeats #6 Elmira College, 2-0 - STATS
#5 Utica College defeats #4 Keuka College, 9-1 (5 innings) - STATS
Empire 8 Double Elimination Championship (Hosted by St. John Fisher College)
Tuesday, May 11
Game 1 – #5 Utica College at #1 St. John Fisher College - 11 a.m.
Game 2 – #3 Alfred University vs. #2 Russell Sage College - 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 – Losing Team of Game 1 vs. Losing Team of Game 2 (elimination game) - 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 13
Game 4 – Winning Team from Game 1 vs. Winning Team of Game 2 - 12 p.m.
Game 5 – Winning Team from Game 3 vs. Losing Team from Game 4 (elimination game) - 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 15
Game 6 – Championship Game 1 (Winner of game 4 vs. winner of Game 5) – possible champion to be crowned - 12 p.m.
Game 7 – Championship Game 2 (if necessary) - 2:30 p.m.