Softball | 4/19/2024 8:44:00 PM
CLIFTON PARK, NY – The Alfred University softball team celebrated a pair of Empire 8 road wins against Russell Sage College on Friday. The Saxons shut out the Gators 4-0 in the first leg of the double-header, while winning the second game in 5-2 fashion. With the wins, Head Coach
Luke Wesneski has now eclipsed 200 career coaching wins with Alfred University, becoming just the second head coach in program history to do so.
"We didn't string a whole lot together today, but had a great performance from our pitching staff, and that gave us an opportunity to win both games," Wesneski said. "We came up with some key hits when we needed them and played very sound defense. Hats off to Russell Sage as they battled right to the very end. We're looking forward to getting back to Alfred for an important E8 matchup with Utica tomorrow! 200 wins is cool, but that just means I have been here a long time. I have been fortunate to be surrounded by great players, coaches, and administrators whose goals align with mine and that just makes it fun to come to work every day! Go Saxons!"
Game One
Alfred University relied on
Megan Bennett (Athens, PA/Athens Area) to start the first game. Bennett put together a stellar performance for the Saxons, pitching a complete game while striking out nine batters.
Both sides played well defensively across the first four innings of action, but AU got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning thanks to an RBI double from
Jessica Remm (Carmel, IN/Carmel) that brought in
Mya Wells (San Ramon, CA/California) and
Samantha Vidal (Lake Worth, FL/Forest Hill). In the following at-bat,
Abigail Gatza (Burlington, ON, Canada/Assumption Catholic) recorded an RBI double of her own to allow Remm to cross home plate. Later in the inning, a sacrifice fly from
Paris Guzman (Santa Fe Springs, CA/Santa Fe) brought in
Brielle Wark (East Amherst, NY/Williamsville East).
Bennett closed out the game with three strikeouts across the final two innings, as Alfred University hung on for the win.
Game Two
Kendall Steward (Kennedy, NY/Randolph) received the initial nod for the Saxons to begin the second game. Steward lasted 6.1 innings in the circle, striking out four batters.
The offense for AU stayed hot to begin the second game, as a pair of stolen bases from Wells were followed by an RBI single by Remm to give the Saxons the initial lead. Remm stole second base to put herself into scoring position before Gatza recorded an RBI single.
Kody Watson (Flagstaff, AZ/Coconino) extended the lead for Alfred University thanks to a sacrifice fly.
The Saxons relied on home run swings from Gatza and
Meghan Neto (Miami, FL/Doral Academy Charter) in the sixth inning to make the score 5-0 with one inning to play. The Gators responded with two runs of their own in the early stages of the seventh inning, but a relief appearance from
Delaney Prather (North East, PA/North East) resulted in her first save of the spring season.
Alfred University will next host Utica University on Saturday in a double-header beginning at 1:00 PM.
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.
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