Rochester, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly softball team kept its championship hopes alive, splitting the second round of the Empire 8 playoffs. The Wildcats were defeated by the Saint John Fisher Cardinals by a score of 11-1 before defeating the Nazareth University Golden Flyers by a score of 10-2 to keep their season going.

GAME ONE: 

The Wildcats showed early patience at the plate, drawing two walks in the first two innings, but couldn't find the timely hit. SUNY Poly's best early chance came in the second, when Jadyn Childers reached base with two outs, but a strikeout ended the frame.

St. John Fisher capitalized quickly in their half of the second. After a leadoff double from Emily McManus, Mari Spitz drove her in with a single to open the scoring. A heads-up baserunning play on a sacrifice fly later in the inning allowed a second run to score, giving the Cardinals a 2–0 edge.

SUNY Poly got one back in the fourth. After a walk and a single put two on with no outs, Kimberly Birmingham advanced to third on a fly out and then came home on a rundown play that ended with Shelbi Hagues caught stealing. Childers followed with a single, but the Wildcats couldn't keep the momentum going.

The Cardinals began to pull away in the bottom of the fifth. After SUNY Poly starter Trinity Critelli exited, St. John Fisher erupted for four runs on four hits, including a two-run double from Spitz and an RBI double from Amalia DeMartino, extending the lead to 6–1.

In the sixth, the Cardinals tacked on four more runs, capped by a three-run homer from McManus. The Cardinals would go on to win the game by a final score of 11-1. 

GAME TWO: 

The Wildcats were quiet in the opening frame, but capitalized on a key error and string of hits in the top of the second. After a leadoff single from Annabella Mondello and another from Shelbi Hagues, SUNY Poly loaded the bases and got on the board with a sacrifice fly from Joely Welpe. An RBI groundout by Jillian O'Connor made it 2–0, and the inning took off from there. Ava Faragon drove in two more with a single, and Kimberly Birmingham and Jadyn Childers followed with back-to-back RBI hits, capping a six-run outburst.

Nazareth answered quickly in the bottom half of the second. After a two-out walk, the Golden Flyers launched a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 6–2. But the Golden Flyers struggled to generate offense beyond that moment, stranding key runners in the third and fifth innings.

SUNY Poly added insurance in the fifth. After a Nazareth error, Childers crushed a two-run homer to center, and Hagues later drove in another with a double down the left-field line. Welpe reached on a misplayed grounder to bring in one more, giving the Wildcats a commanding 10–2 lead.

The Wildcat pitching and defense held firm the rest of the way. Nazareth's best chance to rally came in the bottom of the fifth, but SUNY Poly escaped the jam with a strikeout to end the game.