Fisher Advances to E8 Championship Round

Fisher Advances to E8 Championship Round

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The St. John Fisher College baseball team advanced to the Empire 8 Conference Championship round with a 6-5 win over Utica College this afternoon at Dugan Yard.  With the victory, Fisher will face Ithaca at 3 p.m. today.

Fisher improves to 33-10 on the season and Utica finishes the season with a 9-25-1 mark.

Together senior Cody Wiktorski and junior Nate Roethel went 5-for-7 with three RBIs, three runs, a home run and double for the contest.

The Cardinals opened up the scoring in their half of the first as Wiktorski singled through the left side then stole second. Back-to-back wild pitches would allow him to score and put Fisher up 1-0 after the first inning.

In the bottom of the third, Fisher used three hits and a hit by pitch to push three runs across the plate.  With one out, Wiktorski was plunked on the first pitch he saw and then repeated the same sequence to put himself on third as he did back in the first inning. He later scored on Jack Trotman's single to left field.  Mike Roman's single through the left side put runners on first and second with one out. Roethel's two-run double down the right field line scored both runners to put the Cardinals up 4-0.

Utica clawed back into the game in the top of the fourth as it scored three runs on three hits and error to make it a 4-3 game. First, JT Ross  scored on a fielding error by the second baseman.  Then, a pair of RBI singles by Bryce Patterson and Christian Tiffin drove in a pair of runs to bring Utica within one. 

Wiktorski helped Fisher get one of the three runs back in the sixth frame as he sent one over the left field fence to make it 5-3. That home run was his second in back-to-back days.

Fisher tacked on its final run of the game in the bottom of the eighth, but Utica threaten in their half of the ninth as the Pioneers plated two runs. With runners on second and third and one out, freshman Matthew Fitzgerald was able to score on a wild pitch.  Then, Tiffin was able to drive in Patterson on a ground out to bring the Pioneers within one.  With two outs, Cardinal pitcher Marc Iseneker was able to strikeout senior Adam Pexton to get the final out and hang on for the victory.

Fisher's starting pitcher Marc Iseneker threw his second complete game of the season to improve to 6-2.  He scattered eight hits allowed two earn runs and fanned seven.