ALFRED, NY – Alfred University and the University of Rochester were practically mirror-images of themselves in a Tuesday afternoon softball doubleheader at Harrington Field on the Alfred campus. They both built up a decent first inning lead and they both rallied late. Rochester pulled out the opener, 7-6, in eight innings. Alfred won the nightcap, 6-5, when the Yellowjackets scored one and stranded the tying run on third base.
 
With the split, Rochester is 6-4 overall. Alfred is 6-2. The Yellowjackets head into another Liberty League weekend – against Union College this time. The teams are scheduled to play at Southside Field on Friday afternoon (game times 2 pm and 4 pm). They will head to Schenectady on Saturday.
 
Emily Sharlach went the distance in the opener to get the win. It is her fourth victory of the season (4-1). Abbie Biggs pitched in the nightcap. It is her first loss of the year (2-1).
 
Rochester hit two home runs in the opener – one by Allison Beckwith and another – the gamewinner – by Hunter Gilbreath in the top of the seventh. In game two, Toni Anne Hahn homered in the fourth inning to start a three-run rally that tied the score.
 
Game One:
Sharlach pitched a gutty game to get her fourth win of the season. She had baserunners in seven of the eight innings against an Alfred team that came into the opener with a 5-1 overall record. In eight innings, Sharlach yielded 11 hits, six runs (all earned), walked four, struck out five, and hit two. She stranded 10 runners – five of them in scoring position.
 
The key hit was the Gilbreath solo home run to left with one down in the eighth, Allison Beckwith was the big run producer. She doubled in two runs in the first, then scored on Madi Turner's single for a 3-0 lead., Beckwith homered to center field with two down in the third, extending the lead to 5-0. She added a fifth RBI in the fifth inning as Rochester nudged ahead, 6-4. Sammi Re singled and Alexis Pope bunted her to second. After Toni Anne Hahn flied to center, Beckwith ripped a single up the middle to score Re.
 
Rochester got two aboard in the sixth – singles by pinch-hitter Erin Bevec and Loren Castilloux but Wilcox struck out Jen Carson and retired Re on a fly to center. There was one down in the eighth when Gilbreath connected down the left field line.

In the Alfred seventh, Meja singled. She advanced to second when a pickoff throw sailed off first base. After a flyout, Wells singled down the left field line and advanced to second on the throw. Moore singled through the left side, tying the score. Sharlach retired the next hitter on a lineout to Pope at third. After a pinch-hit single put two runners on base, Sharlach induced Carrillo to ground out to Re at second. Her throw to Turner just beat the runner.
 
In the bottom of the eight, she retired Lugo on a foul fly down the left field line. Guitron singled up the middle. Sharlach struck out Mejia and ended it when Gilbreath made a nice catch on cleanup hitter Ceja's pop behind home plate.

Game Two: Biggs did well after a rocky first inning. She scattered 10 hits, walked four, and fanned four. She allowed four earned runs among the six scored by the Saxons.
 
The Saxons scored three first-inning runs (one unearned) on a combination of two hits, two Rochester errors, and four stolen bases. Lugo singled, stole second, then stole third, and scored on a delayed double steal when Mejia singled and stole second. Lugo came home when the Yellowjackets threw through to try and get Mejia. Two more runs came home after two infield errors by Rochester and a bases-loaded walk.
 
UR was able to short-circuit Alfred rallies when the Saxons had baserunning issues. In the first inning, the bases were loaded with one down (and three runs in). Hatch flied to right field. The runner on third tried a delayed tag-up. The ball came to Alex Pope at third base. She threw home to Gilbreath, catching the runner in a rundown. It ended on a 5-2-6-1 double play with Biggs making the inning-ending tag.
 
In the second, there was one out with runners on first and second. Mejia popped up to Biggs on the mound. Biggs saw the runner too far off second and threw to Re for the double-up force. In the fifth, Marissa Russo made a nice diving catch in right field with one out. She jumped up and fired to Hahn, doubling the runner off second base.
 
Rochester tied it at 3-3 in the fourth. Hahn homered. Beckwith doubled and Loren Castilloux ran for her. A passed ball moved  the runner to third. Gilbreath and Pope drew walks, loading the bases. Madi Turner's grounder forced Castilloux at the plate. Alexis Klee singled home Gilbreath and Russo hit a sac fly to center to make it 3-3.
 
Alfred moved in front in the fourth. Lugo walked, moved up on two groundouts, and scored on a wild pitch. Rochester evened it in the sixth (4-4). Klee singled and stole second. A passed ball moved her to third and Russo's double down the left field line brought her home.
 
A two-run single by Wells scored a pair of unearned runs for Alfred in the bottom of the sixth. Beckwith walked with one down in the seventh and Bevec ran for her. After Gilbreath flied to left, Pope doubled to right. The ball got past the fielder. Bevec scored and Pope took third. The game ended on a pop out.