ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College Softball will look to capture its first Empire 8 Tournament championship when beginning its quest for the title on Tuesday at the No. 4 seeded Golden Flyers from Nazareth College in First Round action. The Soaring Eagles, who last made the Empire 8 Tournament during the 2021 COVID-19 shortened season, have qualified for the first time since 2013, when they made the E8 semifinals.
In its previous two meetings with the Golden Flyers this past weekend which concluded the Empire 8 regular season, the Soaring Eagles would split with the opposition after a 7-4 victory in game two, highlighted by a three-run home run from Madison Brown-Bloom '23 (.340, 33 H, 29 RBI). All-time against Nazareth, the Soaring Eagles have posted a 16-24 record dating back to 1988, but have gone 4-4 against the opposition since the 2021 season.
After going 16-15 a season ago, the Soaring Eagles have secured its second straight season over .500 (19-17), after not reaching such a mark since 2014. More information surrounding the tournament can be found below:
2023 Empire 8 Championship Tournament Participating Teams
Site: Higher Seed (First Round No. 4 vs. No. 5) - Top-seed for four-team double elimination tournament
No. 1 – Alfred
No. 2 – St. John Fisher
No. 3 – Russell Sage
No. 4 – Nazareth
No. 5 – Elmira
2023 Empire 8 Championship Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, May 9 (First Round at Nazareth) - Elmira at Nazareth – 3 pm
Thursday, May 11 (All Games at Alfred University)
Game 1 – No. 3 Russell Sage vs. No. 2 St. John Fisher – 2 pm
Game 2 – Winner of No. 4 Nazareth/No. 5 Elmira at No. 1 Alfred - 4:30 pm
Friday, May 12 (All Games at Alfred University)
Game 3 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 10 am
Game 4 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – (elimination game) - 12:30 pm
Game 5 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 – (elimination game) - 3 pm
Saturday, May 13 (All Games at Alfred University)
Game 6 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 12 pm
Game 7 – Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6 (If Necessary) – 2:30 pm
Admission Information:
$6.00 - Adults
$4.00 - Students and seniors with ID
Free - Children under 12
How The Purple & Gold Got Here:
Paving its way to get to the tournament has not been an easy one for the Soaring Eagles. Having posted a conference record of 8-8, Elmira achieved its first .500 season or above in conference since the 2013 season, while picking up monumental wins along the way.
In its Empire 8 opener against Russell Sage (April 7), the Soaring Eagles found themselves trailing 7-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth before scoring nine runs in its 10-9 victory in extra innings over the Gators. In the contest, a two out, two-run home run from Katie Distefano '24 (.232, 23 H, 14 RBI) in the bottom of the seventh forced extras, before an RBI single from Kaitlyn Belmont '24 (.352, 38 H, 23 RBI) in the eighth secured the win.
The Soaring Eagles picked up its first win over Utica University in its last five attempts just a day later after taking game two, 5-3. After finding themselves down early, the Purple & Gold used a three-run fifth inning, as Amelia Martin '23 (.339, 38 H, 27 RBI) used a 3-for-3 day with a trio of RBI to help lead Elmira offensively. Additionally, Madison Lodowski '26 would pick up her second win of the season after tossing 5.2 innings, before Jillian Cortez '23 recorded her first save of the season.
On April 27, the Soaring Eagles ended an eight-year drought against St. John Fisher University after picking up a 5-4 victory in game one of its doubleheader. With the win, Elmira ended its 14-game drought against the Cardinals which dated back to the 2015 season, while ending St. John Fisher's 10-game win streak. A two-run single in the first inning from Brown-Bloom would prove to be the difference in the game, while Maryann Sobel '25 (12-10, 3.94 ERA, 41 SO) would toss the complete game in the circle.
Record-Breaking Season:
Through the regular season, the Soaring Eagles have had multiple players break into the single-season record marks, including Brown-Bloom setting the single-season RBI mark with 29. Additionally, Martin (27), Belmont (23), and Curkendall (20) have each broken into the top-ten. After a 27-for-27 season on the bases, Curkendall also broke the single-season mark for stolen bases, while Martin broke into the top-ten (11).
Rounding out the offense, Martin currently ranks 7th in single-season slugging percentage (.598), 6th in runs scored (28), and T-4th in home runs (5), and doubles (10). Additionally, Belmont ranks 2nd in single-season runs scored (31), and T-4th in on-base percentage (.470), and doubles (10).
On the pitching side, Sobel ranks T-6th in wins (12), T-3rd in appearances (26), and 10th in innings pitched (119.0). Cortez rounded out the pitching records by recording four saves, which is first in single-season history.
Defensively, Distefano currently ranks 2nd behind herself (2022) in single-season putouts (271), while also ranking 6th in fielding percentage (.993). Belmont ranks 4th in assists (101), while Martin has boasted a fielding percentage of 1.000% on 61 putouts from the outfield, tying her for 1st in the single-season book.
