Fisher Moves on to E8 Championship After Downing Elmira and Stevens
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked and top-seeded St. John Fisher College baseball needed two wins to stay alive in the Empire 8 Championship on Saturday, but head coach
Brandon Potter's team was up to the task as the No. 14 Cardinals bested Elmira College before earning a walk-off win against Stevens Institute of Technology at Dugan Yard. With the wins, Fisher improved to 30-9 on the season and advanced to Saturday's championship game against the Ithaca College Bombers who earned their spot in the finale after beating Stevens earlier in the day.
FISHER 5, ELMIRA 3
After both team swapped zeroes over the first three innings, Fisher, which played as the visitor, put up two runs on four hits in the top of the fourth to jump out to a two-run lead. After the Soaring Eagles notched two quick outs, senior
Malcolm Kelsey stepped in the box and jacked a solo home run to left-center to give the Cardinals a 1-0 edge. After
Jack Trotman kept the inning going with an infield single,
Thomas Pasquale followed suit with a single to left to put two on with two away. Both runners moved up a bag after a balk with Trotman scoring the game's second run when
Ryan Prevost dropped down a well-placed RBI-bunt.
An inning later, the Cardinals struck again, this time scoring two runs on two hits and an error to open up a four-run advantage.
Justin Graham got things started with a single up the middle and moved to second as
Ryan Fahy singled through the hole on the right side of the infield. With two on and just one down, both runners moved up a base after a failed pickoff attempt. Graham would eventually score on a passed ball before Kelsey lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Fahy.
Fisher rounded out its scoring in the top of the sixth as
Evan Ryan singled to left and drove in Pasquale in the process as the freshman had walked to lead off the frame.
Elmira made things interesting in the home half of the sixth with two runs along with another run in the seventh, but
Kyle Chambers notched his fifth save of the season after throwing the final three innings.
Anthony Brophy was on point all day as the freshman moved to 9-0 with the win after allowing three runs on nine hits over six innings. Brophy tallied two strikeouts overall. Chambers surrendered just one hit in three scoreless innings of work and added a pair of Ks.
FISHER 7, STEVENS 6
The Cardinals plated a run in the bottom of the first after Graham led off with a double and came around to score on an RBI-ground out from Fahy. After the Ducks tied things up in the top of the second, Fisher continued to pour it on in the second with four runs on four hits to take a 5-1 lead.
Allen Murphy and Kelsey led off with back-to-back singles before being moved over by Pasquale on a sacrifice bunt. The pair wouldn't be on base for long, however, as Prevost delivered a two-run single to left to make it 3-1 in Fisher's favor.
Victor Konstantinovsky reached base on a throwing error by the Ducks' catcher, which allowed Prevost to motor home from third. As the inning continued, Graham singled back to the pitcher who proceeded to throw the ball away as Konstantinovsky crossed the plate to give Fisher a 5-1 advantage.
Stevens would battle back, though and tied the game in the fifth inning before Fahy blasted a shot over the right field wall to put the Cardinals back on top, 6-5.
After a scoreless sixth inning, Stevens answered with a solo homer of its own to tie things at 6-6 and had the winning run on base before Murphy notched three straight outs to bring Fisher to the dish in the bottom of the ninth.
Pasquale quickly turned the tides in the bottom of the inning with a long double to right center to put the winning run in scoring position with no outs. After a single by Prevost, Stevens tried to pick off Pasquale but threw the ball into center as the runners moved up. The Ducks' throwing woes continued as they tried to intentionally walk Trotman, but on what would have been ball four, their pitcher sent one to the backstop as Pasquale came home to score and lift Fisher to Saturday's title game.
Murphy was the pitcher of record and nailed down his first collegiate win (1-0) after throwing two hitless innings.
Ryan Felske tossed a pair of innings and allowed one run on two hits while Dominick Piscioto started and went five inning. Pisciotto yielded five runs (four earned) on eight hits.