Softball Set For Empire 8 Tournament

No. 2-Seeded St. John Fisher (27-11, 18-4 Empire 8)

Head Coach: Bari Mance '02 (13th season)

Career Record: 476-222

• Roster
• Schedule
• Season Stats

First Opponent: No. 5-Seeded SUNY Brockport (18-17, 13-9 Empire 8)

Head Coach: Mary Karen Wheat (3rd season)

• Roster
• Schedule
• Season Stats

How They Got Here

No. 2-Seeded St. John Fisher: The Cardinals closed the regular season 27-11 overall and 18-4 in Empire 8 Conference play, earning the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. Fisher opened conference play with seven straight wins, sweeping Houghton, Russell Sage and Hartwick. After four conference doubleheader splits, the Cardinals finished strong with two additional sweeps to secure the No. 2 seed.

Fisher and Alfred both finished 18-4 in conference play, but the Cardinals claimed the No. 2 seed via tiebreaker procedure. The teams split their regular-season series, and the subsequent tiebreaker moved to results against the next-highest conference opponents. Both teams split doubleheaders with SUNY Geneseo and Nazareth and swept SUNY Brockport. The deciding factor came against Russell Sage, where Alfred split its series while Fisher recorded a sweep to earn the higher seed.

Offensively, the Cardinals have been among the conference's best, leading the Empire 8 with 397 hits. Fisher boasts three players batting above .400, all ranking among the top 10 in the conference in batting average – the most of any team. As a team, the Cardinals are batting .350 with a .592 slugging percentage and .412 on-base percentage, all of which rank third in the conference.

Players To Watch

Taylor Shackleton (Jr., 1B) – Shackleton has powered the Cardinals' offense all season, posting a .440 batting average with an .836 slugging percentage and a .490 on-base percentage. In 134 at-bats, she has struck out just nine times. Shackleton leads the team in runs (44), doubles (20), home runs (11), and RBIs (54), while also topping the conference in RBIs, home runs, and doubles. She has set the program's single-season records for both RBIs and doubles.

Molly Kuhn (Jr., P) – Kuhn has been a dominant presence in the circle for the Cardinals, compiling a 16-4 record, including a 12-1 mark against Empire 8 opponents. She owns a 2.88 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP with four shutouts on the season. In 126.1 innings pitched, Kuhn has struck out 117 batters – the second-most in the conference – while issuing just 12 walks, also ranking second. Opponents are batting .265 against her, the fourth-lowest mark in the Empire 8. 

Sarah Gross (Fr., 3B) –  Gross has been a key contributor to the Cardinals' offense, batting .430 with a .447 on-base percentage. The rookie leads both the team and the conference with 61 hits on the season. In 142 at-bats, she has struck out just 10 times and has driven in 31 runs, the third-most on the team. 

Empire 8 Tournament Central 

The 2026 Empire 8 Conference Softball Tournament will feature the conference's top eight teams from regular season play. The No. 5 seed will host the No. 8 seed and No. 6 seed will host the No. 7 seed in a single game on Tuesday, May 5. The winner of that game advances to the double elimination six-team tournament, which will begin on Thursday, May 7 at the home of the top seed. The Empire 8 Champion earns an automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.

Site: Higher Seed (First Round No. 5 vs. No. 8 and No. 6 vs. No. 7) - Top-seed SUNY Geneseo for six-team double elimiination tournament

2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship Tournament Participants
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. 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. 6 Russell Sage (A) at No. 1 SUNY Geneseo (H) – 9 a.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Game 2 – No. 5 SUNY Brockport (A) vs. No. 2 St. John Fisher University (H) – 11:30 a.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Game 3 – No. 4 Nazareth University (A) vs. No. 3 Alfred University (H) – 2 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Game 4 – Losing Team from Game 1 vs. Losing Team from Game 2 (Elimination game) – 4:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
 
Friday, May 8
Game 5 – Winning Team from Game 1 vs. Losing Team from Game 3 – 9 a.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Game 6 – Winning Team from Game 2 vs. Winning Team from Game 3 – 11:30 a.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Game 7 – TBD – 2 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Game 8 – TBD – 4:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
 
Saturday, May 9
Game 9 – TBD – 11 a.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Game 10 – TBD – 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 
 

The 2026 Season In Photos….