CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. -- The Elmira College softball team traded a pair of Empire 8 Conference wins with Russell Sage College on Saturday evening. Sage (12-2, 12-2 E8) earned a 7-1 win in the opening game, but the Soaring Eagles (5-13, 4-8 E8) bounced back in the nightcap and claimed a 7-3 victory.
 
Sage 7, Elmira 1
Elmira suffered a six-run loss in the opening contest, but not because of a lack of offense. The Purple and Gold recorded nine hits, but just one run, as EC was unable to string hits together to produce more runs. Over the course of seven innings, Elmira stranded eight runners on base.
 
On the other hand, Sage produced seven runs on 11 hits. The Gators plated three runs in the first and fifth innings, before adding an insurance run in the seventh.
 
Ally Barr '21 drove in Elmira's lone run of the opener. The Pine City, New York, native laced a two-out single to center field to score Hannah Flagg '24 from second base.
 
Barr was also EC's starting pitcher. She allowed seven runs, three earned, on 11 hits, four walks and one strikeout in 6.0 innings.
 
Sage's Taylor Dicranian picked up the win after tossing 7.0 innings of one-run ball. She fanned six batters en route to the win.
 
Elmira 7, Sage 3
Elmira's offense came alive in the second game of today's doubleheader, but the key was EC's defensive efforts. The Soaring Eagles did not commit a single error in the nightcap, and also just as important, Barr did not walk a single batter over seven complete innings.
 
Sage jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, and following a scoreless second inning, the Soaring Eagles broke through for a six-spot in the top of the third inning to pull ahead, 6-2.
 
In the third inning, Elmira's first eight batters reached safely, setting the stage for the offensive outburst. Elmira loaded the bases behind hits from Janie Kempf '21 and Felicity Brockhuizen '22, as well as a hit by pitch from Barr. Alex Brockhuizen '22, Madison Brown-Bloom '23, Bella DeAmelia '24 and Paige Cringe '21 all produced RBIs to account for EC's six runs.
 
One of the key plays in the six-run inning was a throwing error by Sage's second baseman, one that allowed Barbara Guinto '23, who entered as a pinch runner for Barr, and both Brockhuizens to score.
 
Sage and Elmira were held scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings, but plated one run each in the sixth inning.
 
DeAmelia found the gap in the left center field with one out to score Felicity Brockhuizen, who reached safely by drawing a walk. For Sage, Emily Agate produced an RBI double to cut Elmira's lead down to four runs, 7-3. This was as close as it would get, as the Soaring Eagles closed the door on the Gators in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the E8 victory.
 
Barr got the start in the pitcher's circle and secured her fifth win of the 2021 campaign. She allowed three runs on eight hits, with no walks and one strikeout.
 
News and Notes

• Elmira ended Sage's eight-game win streak.
• EC sits in fifth place in the Empire 8 standings with a 4-8 league record.
• Elmira's 13 hits in game two were a season high.
• DeAmelia logged her first career RBIs (2).
• Flagg is on a four-game hit streak and has reached safely in seven straight.
• Kempf has reached base safely in five consecutive games.
• Barr improved to 5-6 this season.

 
Up Next
Elmira returns to action on Tuesday, April 27, when the Soaring Eagles host Keuka College in a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader at Eldridge Park Stadium.