Empire 8 Softball Takes on Florida
The St. John Fisher College softball team opened its season with a pair of wins on Monday in Ft. Myers, Fla.
Fisher 5, Newbury 0
The Cardinals chipped away, scoring their five runs over four innings to defeat the Nighthawks. Jessie Smyrski went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI to pace the offense. Meghan Burns added two hits with a walk.
Kristina Balsano recorded her first collegiate hit, going 1-for-2.
Halie Scoff earned the win from the mound, striking out seven while limiting Newbury to three hits. Lauren Wesolowski pitched 1.1 innings of relief, scattering two hits with two strikeouts.
Fisher 5, Franklin 2
Lindsey Thayer struck out seven while scattering eight hits in her first collegiate start and complete game as Fisher took the 5-2 win.
The Cardinals immediately took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, as Smyrski brought in Burns, who reached on a single to right field.
Fisher didn’t look back, adding four runs in the top of the fourth. With one out, Genevieve Paeglow walked. Jennifer Knaak singled to advance pinch runner Katie Mazierski. Kayla DePara walked to load the bases. Karlie Neale singled to right field to bring in two runs, then the sophomore catcher stole second to put more runners in scoring position for Fisher. Kate Disbrow brought in two more runs on a single, then advanced to second base.
The Cardinals take on Wartburg College and Clark University at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively, Tuesday to continue their spring break trip.
Houghton College concluded its spring break on Saturday with an 11-0 loss to Augustana College. Morgan York recorded the lone hit for the Highlanders in the loss. Houghton’s final game in Florida was cancelled due to weather.