St. John Fisher Successfully Defends Empire 8 Baseball Title
The St. John Fisher College baseball program won the Empire 8 Conference title for the second straight year after sweeping Rochester Institute of Technology on Sunday at Fisher’s Dugan Yard. Fisher’s Chris Roeder’s single with the bases-loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Cardinals a 3-2 win in game one, while Leo Fusilli’s grand slam highlighted Fisher’s 7-2 victory over the Tigers in the night cap.
After starting the season off 3-4 at the RussMatt Invitational in Florida two months ago, the Cardinals have gone 21-2 in games played above the Mason-Dixon Line and are currently 24-6 overall and 12-2 in the Empire 8 Conference. Fisher will play its final two Empire 8 games on Friday at Ithaca College, who won the Empire 8 title each year from 2001-2009. The Cardinals won two games over Ithaca last week.
Fisher, currently ranked 28th in the national coaches poll and fifth in the NCAA Division III New York Region, will return to action on Wednesday at SUNY Oneonta.
Game One: Fisher 3, R.I.T. 2
Fisher trailed 1-0, but took the lead with two runs in the fifth inning. Ross Langevin doubled and scored on an RBI-single by Ben Ward, who scored on a single from Ben Bostick. After the Tigers tied the game in the sixth, Fisher won the game in its final at bat for the second straight game. Fusilli singled to start the inning and advanced to second on an error. Sean Osterman walked to load the bases and pinch-runner Nate Harris scored on a flare to left from the freshman shortstop. Tim Sylvester earned his win in as many days. The junior pitched a scoreless seventh inning to move to 3-0 on the year. Tim Johnson scattered six hits over six innings in a no-decision.
Game Two: Fisher 7, R.I.T. 2
The Cardinals scored all seven runs in the first two innings. Bostick singled in Ward to in the first to give Fisher the lead for good, while Matt Klock doubled in two runs. With two outs in the second inning, Fusilli hit a towering shot to left with the bases full, to give the senior catcher a team-leading 37 RBI on the year and 101 for his career. Ward finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Osterman went 3-for-3 with two runs. Sophomore pitcher Adam Pettinella improved to 2-1 on the year after giving up one earned run over four innings of work.