UC Tops Fisher to Force a Winner Take All Final on Sunday
No. 1 seeded Utica College beat second-seeded St. John Fisher 6-4 on Saturday afternoon to force a winner takes all final on Sunday. Both teams now have one loss in the double-elimination tournament and the winner of the 1 p.m. game Sunday will be named the Empire 8 Conference Champion and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Cardinals gained a 1-0 advantage in the second inning with Krista Robarge singling to left field to score Sarah Fordyce who reached on a fielder's choice. However, that would be the only lead Fisher would hold in the game as Utica responded with two runs in the top of the third to go up 2-1.
Bridgette Plummer hit and RBI single to center field to tie the game as Meghan Matan scored. With Plummer in scoring position, Courtney Fitzgerald doubled down the right field line to score Plummer for the 2-1 lead.
Fisher evened the game at 2-2 in the bottom half of the stanza when Kayla Goodberlet singled in Kate Disbrow from third base. Disbrow picked up her first hit in the inning with a speedy slap single to the second baseman.
But the Pioneers went up for good with a two-run home run in the fourth inning from junior Chelsea Monroe. The Cardinals trimmed the 4-2 lead to one run when Olivia Fusilli hit a single up the middle to score Fordyce, but the team was never able to reclaim the lead.
The Pioneers went up by three with another two-run jack in the next inning from senior Mallory Ingalls, making the score 6-3. Fordyce added her third run of the game with a solo shot in the sixth, but the Cardinals could not make up the difference.
Both teams totaled eight hits in the game.
Freshman Abby Monroe struck out six batters to earn her third win of the tournament and second of the day on Saturday. Freshman Erica Colucci picked up the save as she faced four batters in the final inning.
The loss snapped a 14-game win streak for Fisher. Senior Sarah Stefanon threw a complete game for the Cardinals, striking out nine in the loss.
2013 Softball E8 Tourn - Utica v SJFC_2 Gallery