PITTSFORD, N.Y. – A three-run home run by Jessica Remm in the top of the seventh lifted No. 2-seeded Alfred to a 5-2 victory over top-seeded St. John Fisher in the Empire 8 Conference Softball Championship on Saturday afternoon at the SJF Softball Complex.
The Saxons clinched their fourth E8 title and punched their ticket to the NCAA Division III Tournament with four straight wins this week. Fisher, which lost a pair of heartbreakers to Alfred in the tournament, went 2-2 in the tournament and finished its season 29-15.
The Cardinals, after losing 6-4 to the Saxons in the fourth and final game of Friday's slate, staved off elimination and secured a rematch against Alfred with a 9-1 win over Utica on Saturday morning.
The Cardinals had won three straight conference championships.
Game 1: St. John Fisher 9, Utica 1
Seniors Mari Spitz and Amalia DeMartino each drove in three runs as the Cardinals pounded No. 4-seeded Utica 9-1 in five innings in Saturday morning's elimination game.
The Cardinals plated two runs in the first, as Spitz drew a bases-loaded walk before DeMartino brought home sophomore Taylor Shackleton on a single through the left side.
Spitz and DeMartino did more damage in the Cardinals' five-run second inning that extended their lead to 7-0. After Shackleton drove in one on a fielder's choice, Spitz ripped drove in two with a single through the right side, and DeMartino drove in two with a double to center field.
In the fourth, senior Katie Mannis doubled home DeMartino with a double down the left field line to give the Cardinals an 8-0 lead. She later scored on a wild pitch.
Senior pitcher Cassidy Ormond, who earned her 13th win of the season, allowed one run on four hits and one walk. She struck out four batters.
DeMartino had three hits in the ballgame to push her season total to a career-high 42.
Game 2: Alfred 5, St. John Fisher 2
The Cardinals went ahead 1-0 on a bases-loaded walk by Mannis in the bottom of the fourth and 2-0 on sophomore Emily McManus's sacrifice fly that brought home junior Madi Rose in the fifth inning.
But just like Friday's clash of the tournament's top seeds, Alfred responded in the next half inning, tying the game on Meghan Neto's two-run double through the right-center gap.
In the top of the seventh, Alexis Martinez singled, and Samantha Vidal walked before Remm blasted the decisive three-run home run to center field.
The Cardinals had seven hits and drew four walks in the ballgame. They left eight runners on base.
Rose, McManus and senior Maddie Donlin each had two hits.
