Softball | 5/8/2026 7:44:59 PM
Alfred University, SUNY Genese and St. John Fisher University remain in the hunt for the 2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship Tournament after advancing on Friday, May 8. No. 3 seed Alfred is the lone undefeated team and have advanced to the championship round after defeating No. 2 St. John Fisher, 7-5 and top-seed SUNY Geneseo, 5-3 on day two. The Knights began the day with a 6-2 win over No. 4 Nazareth University, eliminating the Golden Flyers on Friday morning, while St. John Fisher moved into Saturday’s action after eliminating No. 6 Russell Sage, 2-0 on Friday afternoon.
SUNY Geneseo (30-10) and St. John Fisher (29-12) will meet in the game nine of the tournament at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 9. The winner advances to face Alfred (28-13) in game 10 at 1:30 p.m., while the losing team is eliminated. Alfred, who is unbeaten in the tournament, would claim the Empire 8 Championship with a win in game 10. If the winner of SUNY Geneseo/St. John Fisher wins game 10, that would set up a winner-take-all game 11, which would be played at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 10.
Alfred is looking to win its second straight E8 Championship, fourth in the last six seasons and fifth overall. St. John Fisher is looking to claim its third league title in the last four seasons and tenth overall, while the Knights are looking to win their first E8 title. The Cardinals and Pioneers have combined to win the last eight E8 titles dating back to 2017.
GAME 5 – NO. 1 SUNY GENESEO 6, NO. 4 NAZARETH 2
Nazareth mounted one final push in the seventh when Kaijah Alexander doubled to right-center with one out, but the rally ended on a popup and a strikeout as Geneseo closed out the game with a 6-2 win.
Alexis Brown and Bryanna Moroughan capped off their first collegiate seasons with team-best 2-for-3 days at the plate. Brown added her 25th RBI of the season in the seventh inning to round out an impressive rookie campaign.
Nazareth finished 2026 with a program-best 25 overall wins and 17 in Empire 8 action. The Golden Flyers topped their previous record of 21-15, 14-8 from last season.
GAME 6 – NO. 3 ALFRED 7, NO. 2 ST. JOHN FISHER 5
The Saxons got on the board first as the designated visitors against Fisher.
Bella Mistretta (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield Secondary) hit a sacrificed flyout to center field that gave
Samantha Vidal (Lake Worth, FL/Forest Hill) the chance to tag up and scurry home for the 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning.
Paris Guzman (Santa Fe Springs, CA/Santa Fe) scored in the top of the second when
Brielle Wark (East Amherst, NY/Williamsville East) singled through the right side, making it a 2-0 game.
Taylor Carlson (Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach) singled through the left side during the top of the fourth inning to send
Ally Boulger (Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak) home for the 3-0 advantage. Fisher responded in the bottom half og the inning.
Taylor Shackleton opened the frame with a single to center field, and
Isabella Mahar drew a walk to put two runner on base. After one out,
Maddy Schubach doubled to right field to drive in the Cardinals' fist run and cut the deficit to 3-1.
Hallie Lorimer then produced an RBI groundout to make it a one-run game before Julis Hollister tied the contest at 3-3 with an RBI double to right-center field.
AU regained its advantage when
Molly Whitmyer (Enola, PA/Trinity) singled to center field to score Mistretta in the top of the fifth inning.
Vidal scored again in the top of the seventh inning when Mistretta doubled to left center field. Mistretta eventually found herself reaching home in the inning when
Kendall Steward (Kennedy, NY/Randolph) doubled to right center for what would go on to be the game-winning run. Boulger drove in an insurance run when she singled to left field to bring home Steward.
Facing its final at bat in the bottom of the seventh, Fisher mounted a two-out rally. Alya Terpening and
Madi Rose drew consecutive walks to put two runners on base before
Sarah Gross lined an RBI single down the right-field line to cut the deficit to three runs. Shackleton followed with an RBI single through the left side to bring home another run and cap the scoring at 7-5.
Ava Galvan (Santa Fe Springs, CA/Santa Fe) recorded her third pitching save of the season. Steward was credited with the win inside of the circle. Steward recorded four strikeouts.
Shackleton and Hollister each recorded two hits for the Cardinals.
GAME 7 – NO. 2 ST. JOHN FISHER 2, NO. 6 RUSSELL SAGE 0
Both St. John Fisher and Russell Sage showcased strong pitching and defense through the first four innings, as neither side was able to break through offensively.
The Cardinals finally broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning. With two outs, Rose singled up the middle to put a runner on base before Gross reach on an error that allowed Rose to score, giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. With a runner on second, Shackleton singled up the middle ot drive in another rune and extend Fisher's advantage to 2-0.
Russell Sage was unable to generate any offense over the final innings as the Cardinals held on for the 2-0 victory.
CC Holmes tossed a complete-game shutout in the circle to earn the win for the Cardinals. She also recorded two hits.
GAME 8 – NO. 3 ALFRED 5, NO. 1 SUNY GENESEO 3
The Saxons were first on the board again as Mistretta doubled to right center field to bring home Vidal in the bottom of the first inning as the designated home team. The Knights tied it up in the top of the second.
AU went on a scoring spree in the bottom of the third inning, posting four on the board to put the game out of reach for the Knights. Whitmyer singled through the right side of the Geneseo defense to bring home both Mistretta and Steward. Guzman hit a sacrificed fly to right field to bring home Whitmyer to make it a 4-1 game, earning the game-winning RBI and run. Carlson singled through the left side to bring home Boulger for the insurance run.
Geneseo scored one run in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Steward earned another pitching win and Galvan earned her fourth save of the season. Steward tacked on four more strikeouts while Galvan added one.
2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship Schedule
Empire 8 First Round (Single Elimination, Hosted by Higher Seeds)
Monday, May 4
No. 5 SUNY Brockport defeated No. 8 Elmira College, 11-3 (5 innings) – BOX SCORE
Tuesday, May 5
No. 6 Russell Sage College defeated No. 7 Utica University, 7-6 (9 innings) – BOX SCORE
Empire 8 Double Elimination Championship (Hosted by SUNY Geneseo)
Thursday, May 7
Game 1 – No. 1 SUNY Geneseo (H) defeated No. 6 Russell Sage (A), 7-6 (8 innings) – BOX SCORE
Game 2 – No. 2 St. John Fisher University (H) defeated No. 5 SUNY Brockport (A), 2-0 (8 Innings) – BOX SCORE
Game 3 – No. 3 Alfred University (H) defeated No. 4 Nazareth University, 3-2 (8 innings) – BOX SCORE
Game 4 – No. 6 Russell Sage (H) defeated No. 5 SUNY Brockport (V), 8-4 (Brockport eliminated) – BOX SCORE
Friday, May 8
Game 5 – No. 1 SUNY Geneseo (V) defeated No. 4 Nazareth University (H), 6-2 (Nazareth eliminated) – BOX SCORE
Game 6 – No. 3 Alfred University (A) defeated No. 2 St. John Fisher University (H), 7-5 – BOX SCORE
Game 7 – No. 2 St. John Fisher University (A) defeated No. 6 Russell Sage College (H), 2-0 (Russell Sage eliminated) – BOX SCORE
Game 8 – No. 3 Alfred University (H) defeated No. 1 SUNY Geneseo (A), 5-3 – BOX SCORE
Saturday, May 9
Game 9 – No. 2 St. John Fisher (V) vs. No. 1 SUNY Geneseo (H) – 11 a.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Game 10 – No. 3 Alfred University vs. Winning Team from Game 9 – 1:30 p.m. (Potential Championship Game) – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Sunday, May 10 (If Necessary)
Game 11 – Winning Team from Game 10 vs. Losing Team from Game 10 (if necessary) – 11 a.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS