Softball | 5/4/2026 9:30:00 AM
Alfred University is looking to repeat as Empire 8 Champions, as eight teams will vie for the 2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship, which begins on Monday, May 4 with No. 5 seed SUNY Brockport hosting No. 8 Elmira College and Tuesday, May 5 with No. 6 Russell Sage College hosting No. 7 Utica University in opening round contests. The winners both advance to the six-team double elimination tournament, which takes place from Thursday, May 7 to Saturday, May 9 (Sunday, May 10 if necessary) from Vic Raschi Field at top-seed SUNY Geneseo with St. John Fisher University and Nazareth University also set to compete. The tournament winner will receive an automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Championship, which begins May 14.
The 2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on X and Instagram (@Empire8).
Final 2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship Seeds
No. 1 – SUNY Geneseo (19-3 E8, 28-9 Overall)
No. 2 – St. John Fisher University (18-4 E8, 27-11 Overall)
No. 3 – Alfred University (18-4 E8, 25-13 Overall)
No. 4 – Nazareth University (17-5 E8, 25-11 Overall)
No. 5 – SUNY Brockport (13-9 E8, 17-17 Overall)
No. 6 – Russell Sage College (12-10 E8, 19-19 Overall
No. 7 – Utica University (11-11 E8, 16-20 Overall)
No. 8 – Elmira College (8-14 E8, 13-22 Overall)
2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship Schedule
Empire 8 First Round (Single Elimination, Hosted by Higher Seeds)
Monday, May 4
No. 8 Elmira College at No. 5 SUNY Brockport – 3 p.m.
Tuesday, May 5
No. 7 Utica University at No. 6 Russell Sage College – 1 p.m.
Empire 8 Double Elimination Championship (Hosted by SUNY Geneseo)
Thursday, May 7
Game 1 – Lowest first round winner seed at No. 1 SUNY Geneseo – 9 a.m.
Game 2 – Second lowest first round winner vs. No. 2 St. John Fisher University – 11:30 a.m.
Game 3 – No. 4 Nazareth University vs. No. 3 Alfred University – 2 p.m.
Game 4 – Losing Team from Game 1 vs. Losing Team from Game 2 (Elimination game) – 4:30 p.m.
Friday, May 8
Game 5 – Winning Team from Game 1 vs. Losing Team from Game 3 – 9 a.m.
Game 6 – Winning Team from Game 2 vs. Winning Team from Game 3 – 11:30 a.m.
Game 7 – TBD – 2 p.m.
Game 8 – TBD – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 9
Game 9 – TBD – 11 a.m.
Game 10 – TBD – 1:30 p.m. (Potential Championship Game)
Sunday, May 10 (If Necessary)
Game 11 – Winning Team from Game 10 vs. Losing Team from Game 10 (if necessary) – 12 p.m.
Single Day Ticket Prices:
Adults: $10
Students/Seniors (age 55+): $2
All Tournament Ticket Pass:
Adults: $20
Students/Seniors (age 55+): $5
Regular season champion and top-seed SUNY Geneseo enters the tournament with a 28-9 overall record, having finished 19-3 in Empire 8 play. Geneseo has six players batting at least .325 on the season. Brooke Fraas leads the Knights with a .441 batting average, 1.111 OPS, 56 hits, 39 runs scored, five triples and 21 RBI to go along with 21 stolen bases. Lauren Babich has a 1.056 OPS and team-high 36 RBI. Molly Griffin has nine home runs and 34 RBI. Ray Schumaker leads Geneseo with 15 doubles and has added three home runs and 27 RBI. Gabriella Petroski is 15-3 on the mound with a 2.59 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with 114 strikeouts in 110 innings. She finished 12-1 in E8 play with a 1.77 ERA and 0.94 WHIP. Neveah Ross is also 10-3 on the mound with a 2.63 ERA.
No. 2 seed St. John Fisher enters the 2026 Championship having finished 18-4 in league play for the second straight year and is attempting to win its 10th Empire 8 Tournament Championship. The Cardinals are 27-11 overall and have six starters batting at least .325 in 2026. Taylor Shackleton has a .440 batting average and 1.326 OPS to go along with 20 doubles, 11 home runs, 54 RBI and 112 total bases. Emily McManus leads the Cardinals with a .519 batting average and 1.708 OPS to go along with eight home runs and 29 RBI in just 79 plate appearances. She has drawn 25 walks and is slugging 1.037. Sarah Gross is hitting .430 with 61 hits and 44 runs scored. On the mound, Molly Kuhn is 16-4 with a 2.88 earned average and a 1.15 WHIP. She has fired 18 complete games to go along with four shutouts and has 117 strikeouts.
No. 3 seed Alfred, the defending league champions, enters the tournament with a 25-13 overall record, having finished 18-4 in league play. The Saxons are making their 18th appearance in the E8 Tournament and are looking to win their fourth league crown in the last six seasons and sixth overall. Alfred is hitting .356 as a team with four starters batting at least .375. Kendall Steward, the 2025 Empire 8 Championship Most Valuable Player, is hitting .455 with a 1.348 OPS, 14 doubles, three triples and nine home runs to go along with 44 RBI. Molly Whitmeyer has nine homers and 50 RBI, while recording a 1.244 OPS. Samantha Vidal leads the league with 46 stolen bases in 48 attempts and is hitting .394. On the mound, Ana Galvin is 9-2 with seven complete games, while Steward has won 11 games in the circle.
Nazareth is the No. 4 seed in the 2026 E8 Tournament, having finished 17-5 in league play and 25-11 during the 2026 regular season. The Golden Flyers are in the E8 Tourney for the seventh time in program history and fourth time in the last five seasons. Nazareth has seven players batting at least .330 and six with an OPS of at least 1.000. Alexis Brown leads the Golden Flyers with a .490 batting average,38 runs scored and 29 stolen bases in 31 attempts, which is second in the league. Morgan Russo has 10 home runs and 43 RBI, while Bryanna Moroughan is hitting .419 with a 1.119 OPS, a league-high nine triples, 54 hits, 39 runs scored and 42 RBI, while stealing 15 bases. Haleigh Suitor has a team-high 14 doubles, while Kaijah Alexander has seven homers and 36 RBI. Avery Zembek is 10-1 on the mound with a 3.21 earned run average, while Madison Hicks has 11 wins.
SUNY Brockport is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the first time as a league member, having secured the No. 5 seed. The Golden Eagles finished 13-9 in league play. Liana DeValder has excelled at the plate and on the mound for Brockport, recording a 1.019 OPS to go along with 10 doubles, three homers and 23 RBI. On the mound, she is 10-5 with a 2.20 earned run average, 1.11 WHIP, four shutouts and 99 strikeouts in 95.2 innings. Vaitlyn Dailey leads Brockport with a .311 batting average and has 24 RBI to tie Julia Hill for ther team lead.
Russell Sage is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the sixth straight season, having captured the No. 6 seed with a 12-10 record in conference play. The Gators have four regulars batting at least .300 on the season. Annalise Tyler is hitting .410 with a .990 OPS, 36 runs scored, 11 extra-base hits, 16 RBI and 22 stolen bases, third most in the league. Emma Hartquist is hitting .368, while Emily O’Keefe has a team-high 19 RBI. On the mound, Annabella Putnam has seven wins to go along with 12 complete games.
Utica enters the Empire 8 Tournament as the No. 7, having won 11 games in league play. Kari Graziano leads Utica with a .397 batting average, while Mya Strong is hitting .374 with a 1.042 OPS and a league-high nine triples. She also leads Utica with 24 RBI. Graziano also has eight wins on the mound for Utica, who advanced to the E8 Championship series in 2024. The Pioneers are in the E8 Tourney for the third straight season and are looking for their first league crown.
No. 8 seed Elmira won eight games in league play this season. The Soaring Eagles are in the E8 Tourney for the ninth time in program history and third time in the last four seasons. Jocelyn Jean leads Elmira with a .368 batting average and .945 OPS, while Teona Cruz has a .321 batting average, four homers and 27 RBI and Sophia Polzella has six home runs.
Monday’s first round game between SUNY Brockport and Elmira is the third meeting of the season between the two programs. Brockport swept a doubleheader in Elmira on March 29, with the Golden Eagles securing 2-0 and 1-0 wins. Russell Sage and Utica met on April 28 in Utica with a split series, as Russell Sage won game one, 7-3 and Utica coming back to win game two, 9-7.