Softball | 4/28/2023 9:33:00 PM
UTICA, NY – The Alfred University softball team (23-11-1, 13-1 Empire 8) upped its win streak to 10 with a pair of conference wins at Utica University on Friday evening, claiming a part of the Empire 8 Regular Season Championship title.
With Alfred moving to 13-1, the only other E8 team that can get to 13 wins is Russell Sage College, who is currently 7-3 in league play. The two teams are scheduled to play on Sunday but with inclement weather in the forecast, that game will be played sometime next week. The only way Alfred does not earn the No. 1 seed is if Russell Sage wins its final six games, which would include a sweep of Alfred.
The Saxons had their longest game of the season, going 10 innings in game one, with the Saxons coming out on top, 5-2 after a three-run top of the 10th. The Pioneers (17-16, 6-8 Empire 8) had the early, first-inning lead, 2-0 but AU scored in each of the last four innings to put the series away with the 8-3 victory.
"We battled hard today and walked away with two great conference wins," Assistant Coach
Cassie Reed said. "Our bats were a little slow to start, but came alive nonetheless. Our pitchers had a great outing and we were able to utilize almost our whole staff! Looking forward to playing Sage next weekend. Go Saxons!"
Game One (10 Innings)
Alfred University – 5 | Utica – 2
AU got on the board in the first inning with
Abigail Gatza (Burlington, ON, Canada/Assumption Catholic) singling to left field to push
Mya Wells (San Ramon, CA/California) home for the 1-0 lead.
Ashley Lugo (Hesperia, CA/Oak Hills) scored in the top of the third, crossing home after an
Allison O'Toole (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) single to left center.
Utica, went five innings without registering a single hit against
Arden Hatch (Orangevale, CA/St. Francis). Hatch was already up on the batters, striking out six before the sixth inning. After a double and a homerun, Utica was tied with AU after six innings of play, 2-2.
Megan Bennett (Athens, PA/Athens Area) came in for relief in the top of the seventh, striking out four batters and giving up no hits in the final four innings with only one Pioneer reaching base on a walk. Utica went through five different pitchers in the opening game, totaling 12 hits given up to the Saxon bats.
After two extra innings and initiating the tiebreaker rule, putting a runner on second base to start the inning, AU was able to capitalize and pick up the win.
Darby McEnery (Corona, CA/Norco) was the Saxon runner placed on second base to start the top of the 10
th.
Bella Orozco (Burbank, CA/Village Christian) doubled down the left field line, allowing McEnery the time to round third and cross home for the ultimate, game-winning run.
The Saxons tacked on two insurance runs in the inning to put the game away. With Bennett at second base, pinch running for Orozco,
Vanessa Reed (San Pedro, CA/San Pedro) singled to center field to bring home the pitcher.
Isabella Carrillo (Van Nuys, CA/Birmingham Community Charter) reentered as the pinch runner for Reed. She then got to second and advanced to third when Wells reached first on an error by the Utica first base player, getting to second on an error by the Pioneer pitcher.
Carrillo then scored when Lugo put down a sacrificed bunt to make it a 5-2 game. UU, just like AU, started the inning with a runner on second, but due to Bennett's pitching and O'Toole's glove and arm, would not see third base. Bennett made the first two Pioneer batters swing and miss for the third strike. O'Toole gathered a ground ball, tossed it to Wells at first base to retire the inning and the game.
Wells, Lugo, O'Toole and Orozco all had two hits as Lugo was the only one who had both a run and an RBI. Lugo needed one hit to surpass
Liz Thompson '17 as the AU all-time hits leader, having tied her while at Medaille University on Wednesday. Lugo and Thompson were tied at 192 career hits and Lugo now has the record, finishing game one with 194 career hits.
Hatch also moved up in the record books after game one, becoming just the fourth Saxon in school history to surpass 300 career strikeouts.
Game Two
Alfred University – 8 | Utica – 3
After double and a sacrificed fly in the bottom of the welcome inning, the score remained like that until the top of the fourth.
O'Toole doubled down the left field line to send Remm home from second base.
Meghan Neto (Miami, FL/Doral Academy Charter) followed the double with a double of her own, taking the lead as she sent O'Toole and pinch runner,
Gillian Flint (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford) home for the 3-2 advantage, a lead that they would not surrender for the remaining innings.
In the next inning, O'Toole hit a sacrificed flyball to right field that allowed Remm to advance to third base and Lugo to score, for what would go on to be the game-winning run. Orozco drove home the insurance run in that inning with a single up the middle to send Remm home.
Utica fought back with a double down the right field line that scored a run in the bottom of the fifth.
Mikaela Perez (Pomona, CA/Diamond Ranch) picked up the win in the circle, but was pulled in the bottom of the sixth as Utica was pressing with bases loaded, down 7-3 with one of their top hitters in the box. Bennett came in for a battling at-bat, but a ground out to Wells at first base prevented any runs from scoring, leaving three on base.
In the top of the sixth, Remm reached first on an error by Utica's second base as she had a difficult time picking up the hard-hit ball. Before the bobble, Carrillo crossed home plate to make it 6-3. The bobble lasted so long that Wells was able to round third on the play and take a huge, helmet first slide across home, before the throw could come in, making it a 7-3 ball game.
Wells ended the scoring when she flew out to center field, giving Orozco time to scamper home for the 8-3 advantage.
The Pioneers stayed persistent in the bottom of the rally inning, putting two runners on base with a walk and a single up the middle. Hatch got into the circle for Bennett and the Saxon defense closed the game down. The runners advanced to second and third on a ground out to Hatch, throwing the batter out at first to Wells. The final out was a hard-hit grounder trying to find the 3-4 gap to right field, but
Molly Lawson (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Trabuco Hills) made a diving snag and toss to Wells to close the game and the series.
Orozco was the only batter on the day to have more than two hits in a game, totaling a 3-for-4 performance with one RBI and one run. O'Toole and Neto both recorded two RBI. Remm was the only Saxon to score twice in the nightcap.
AU totaled 13 hits compared to the nine from Utica. On the bags, AU's speed continues to dominate as they had four more stolen bases. Alfred has 82 stolen bases on the year, compared to its opponents' 26 total steals, ranking in the Top-40 in the nation. Lugo leads the team with 25 stolen bases with Carrillo adding 17.
Perez was credited with the win, making her 4-0 on the season.
The Saxons will next look at the forecast as they need to find the make-up day for their double-header with Russell Sage College. The twin bill will be played at Harrington Field with a day and time still to be determined.
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