Brockport, NY – The Golden Eagles came up short in a pair of competitive E8 games at home against Alfred University on Thursday to close the regular season. At 17-17 overall and 13-9 in the Empire 8, Brockport finishes at .500 or better for the first time since 2016 and will make the postseason for the first time since 2015.
The Golden Eagles end the regular season at 13-9 in conference play to earn the fifth seed for the Empire 8 Championships, earning a home game for the opening round of play. 3rd-year Head Coach
Mary Karen Wheat has postseason softball coming to the Clark V. Whited Complex for the first time since 2013. This will also mark the program's first ever postseason appearance in the Empire 8.
Brockport 8, Alfred 15 – Game 1 Final
In a game that saw a lot of action, Brockport got the party started with five runs in the fifth. After a pair of runs already crossed,
Caitlyn Dailey added three more with one swing. Dailey hit a 3-run homer, the first home run of her career.
Alfred got two runs back in the second, pushing the game to the bottom of two with a 5-2 score.
Julia Hill then got hold of a pitch for a solo shot, her third homer of the year. The game headed to the third inning, with the Golden Eagles up 6-2.
A dangerous Saxons batting lineup got hot in the middle innings. They scored five in the third, one in the fourth, and four more in the fifth. They entered the seventh with a 12-6 lead, and added three more in the top of seven. Brockport was able to manufacture two in the final at bat, but came up short 15-8 in game one.
Colleen Davis (L, 6-4) pitched the full 7.0 innings for the Golden Eagles. At the plate,
Caitlyn Dailey was 2-for-4 with a 3-run homer.
Julia Hill was also 2-for-4, hitting a solo homer and a double.
Erin Dougherty (1-4),
Natalie Faas (1-4),
Liana DeValder (1-2, 2 walks), and
Emily Harrington (1-1, 2 walks) all registered hits in the contest.
Brockport 5, Alfred 7 – Game 2 Final
The Golden Eagles struck first again in game two, looking to bounce back to close out the doubleheader.
Liana DeValder connected for an RBI double, before coming home to score from a
Caitlyn Dailey RBI single. Brockport held a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
In the top of the second, Alfred got on the board with a solo home run to cut the lead to 2-1. The Saxons then added six more runs in the third to jump out to a 7-2 advantage over Brockport.
Following a few scoreless at bats, Brockport brought another run home in the fifth to chip away at the deficit. With runners on base,
Julia Hill hit an RBI single to make it a 7-3 score.
In the top of the sixth,
Aubrey Ennis made it 7-4 on the scoreboard with her first career home run at Brockport. Trying to capitalize on the momentum from the homer, Brockport looked to rally in the sixth.
Natalie Faas hit an RBI single to score a run and load the bases. However, 7-5 was as close as the Golden Eagles would get.
Makenna Hart (L, 2-5) pitched well despite the loss, going the full 7.0 innings and holding Alfred scoreless through the final four.
Caitlyn Dailey and
Julia Hill were both 2-for-4 again in game two, with Hill adding a double.
Aubrey Ennis (1-3, HR),
Erin Dougherty (1-3),
Liana DeValder (1-4, 2B), and
Natalie Faas (2-4, 1 RBI) all had hits.
The Golden Eagles are now preparing to host the No. 8 seeded Elmira Soaring Eagles on Tuesday, May 5
th for the Empire 8 Championships 1
st Round matchup. No. 5 Brockport hosts its first postseason softball since 2013, ready for a 4pm start at the Clark V. Whited Complex next week.
