Fordyce, Cardinals Stay Alive After 13 Inning Showdown
Box Score
The St. John Fisher College softball team stayed alive at the NCAA Regional on Friday, picking up a 6-3 win over The College of New Jersey in a 13-inning marathon game that took three hours to complete. With the win, the Cardinals stave off elimination while TCNJ sees its season come to a close at Ithaca College. The game was the longest game the Cardinals have played since 2011 when they battled Middlebury to a 9-5 win in 14 innings, held on the same Ithaca field.
Tied at 3-3 after seven innings, it took six more before either could break through with Sarah Fordyce’s three-run home run in the top of the 13th proving the be the decisive blow. It was a record shot for Fordyce as she now has 12 on the season, marking the most by a Cardinal in any one season. Fordyce breaks the record of 11 by teammate Leanne Merchant which she set in both 2011 and 2012.
The win was also the 22nd of the year for pitcher Sarah Stefanon, who now sits in first place in the single-season record books, surpassing the 21 set by Amanda Herberger in 2005 and 2006. Earlier this year, Stefanon broke Herberger’s record for strikeouts in a season with her 242nd fan – she now has 256 on the year.
The Lions put up all three of their runs in the first inning after working the bases loaded with one out. A short hit to Fordyce allowed the first run to come across and then two more were scored on a two-out throwing error by Stefanon.
However, the Cardinals answered in the second and third innings to even the game at 3s. In the second, Fordyce led off with her 11th home run of the year on a shot to right field. That hit was followed by a single from Danielle Leone, who was eventually scored on a double from Krista Robarge.
At 3-2, Kayla Goodberlet made it a new game with the Cardinals second home run of the afternoon when she went yard to right center. Goodberlet also came through with some big defensive plays for Fisher, snagging a couple hard line drives in the hot corner that could have been dangerous hits.
After the first inning blunder, the Fisher defense got to work and held TCNJ scoreless for the next 12 innings. Stefanon picked up eight strikeouts and coerced 19 groundouts in the game.
The Cardinals had a number of opportunities to add runs in the additional innings, but couldn’t find the go ahead run. From the eight to 12th inning, the Fisher batters totaled six hits and left eight runners on base before Fordyce’s hit in the 13th.
The defense also worked out of a couple late inning jams, with TCNJ getting a runner on third base in the 11th inning but Fisher allowed nothing from it.
Despite outhitting TCNJ 21-6 in the game, it took nearly two full games for the Cardinals to come away with the win. The 21 Fisher hits sits just two shy from the Division III NCAA Championship record of 23 that was set by Western Connecticut in 2011.
Jessie Smyrski, Goodberlet, Leone and Robarge all had three hits in the game to lead Fisher. Fordyce, Olivia Fusilli, Meghan Burns and Kate Disbrow each had two, while Merchant represented Fisher's 21st hit.
The Cardinals will now face the loser of Lebanon Valley and Washington College in a game scheduled to start at 12 p.m. on Saturday. That time is subject to change, however, as Friday’s games are most likely to be pushed back.
Fisher has one loss already in the double elimination regional and will, again, be playing for survival on Saturday.
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