Mance Earns 100th Win
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College softball team swept Clarkson in a double header at the Fisher Softball Complex on Thursday afternoon. The No. 5 Cardinals downed the Golden Knights, 2-1, in game one, before shutting them out 8-0 (five innings) in game two.
With the wins, Fisher improves to 12-2 on the year. The day's first victory also marked the 100th career win for head coach
Bari Mance who has accumulated a career record of 101-40 since taking over in 2014.
FISHER 2, CLARKSON 1
Clarkson got on the board quick in game one, homering into left center in the opening inning. Fisher nearly got the run back in the bottom of the frame but was unable to plate
Julia Sortisio from third.
From then on out it was a pitchers' dual, with neither team giving up any runs.
Fisher was able to finally crack the score sheet in the sixth inning beginning with
Katie Mazierski singling with two outs. She advanced to second moments later on a passed ball to put her in scoring position.
Ashley Prince then hit a hard grounder that caused a close play at first base. While discussing whether she was safe or not, Clarkson forgot about Mazierski at third, who started down the third baseline towards home. Before anyone noticed she was over halfway home and the Golden Knights weren't able to get the ball to the plate in time, thus allowing Fisher to tie it up, 1-1.
Entering the bottom of the seventh, with the score still tied,
Genevieve Paeglow worked some magic. With
Sarah Kubik and
Karlie Neale on base due to a single and hit-by-pitch, respectively, all Paeglow had to do was get the ball into the outfield. The senior did exactly that, sending a liner into center field that allowed the game-winning run to cross homeplate.
Monica Moses had a solid day in the pitcher's circle, only allowing the single run in the first. Through her 7.0 innings pitched, the sophomore punched out five en route to her fifth win of the season.
FISHER 8, CLARKSON 0 (5 innings)
After the first 3.5 innings went scoreless, the Cardinals blew it open with a six-hit bottom of the third. With one out,
Kristina Balsano cracked her second home run of the year as she boomed one over the center field fence to put up Fisher 1-0. Sortisio would then double in the next at-bat, followed by a Mazierski single. Prince kept the hit streak going as she singled down the left field line, scoring Sortisio from second.
With the score now 2-0 and runners on first and second, Kubik stepped to the plate. The Orchard Park, N.Y. native made no mistake as she cracked one over the left field fence to give Fisher a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Cardinals would score again in the following frame as
Emma Savas and Sortisio started off the inning with a pair of singles. They would then both be brought in as Prince hit a long double into right field.
Fisher's final tally came in the fifth as Paeglow earned her second RBI of the day with a single that scored Kubik from third.
Lindsey Thayer toed the rubber for the Cardinals, striking out 10 while only allowing a single hit.