Fisher Downs Manhattanville; Will Play for Regional Title

Fisher Downs Manhattanville; Will Play for Regional Title

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PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College softball team advanced to Saturday's championship game after the No. 8 Cardinals downed Manhattanville, 8-3, in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship at the Softball Complex.  With the win, Fisher improved to 38-6 on the season and will face the winner of Penn State Behrend and William Paterson at 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Lindsey Thayer moved to 25-5 in the circle with the win after throwing five shutout innings with four hits and 13 strikeouts.  Monica Moses pitched the final two innings and allowed three runs on six hits.

Fisher scored three in the top of the first on just one hit and a pair of Valiant errors.  Julia Sortisio led off with a single before Katie Mazierski followed suit with a walk to put two on with no outs.  Ashley Prince reached on an infield error that advanced both runners to load the bases before Sarah Kubik walked to force home a run.  Karlie Neale stepped in drove in a run despite grounding out while Genevieve Paeglow lifted a ball to left that was dropped allowing Prince to cross home plate.

The Cardinals tacked on another run in the top of the second when Prince connected with an RBI-single that plated Kristina Balsano who had earned her way on base with a walk.

In the top of the fourth, Balsano pushed Fisher's edge to 5-0 with a solo shot over the right field fence before the Cardinals added two more runs on three hits in the top of the sixth to make it a seven-run contest as both Prince and Neale were credited with an RBI.

Manhattanville got on the board in the bottom of the sixth with a pair of runs, but Fisher responded in the top of the seventh with a run when Sortisio lifted a sacrifice fly to center that scored Jessica Sardina who had singled to center to leadoff the frame.

In all, Fisher had 12 hits in the win led by Sortisio who went 3-for-4 at the dish with an RBI and two runs scored.  Both Mazierski and Prince finished with a pair hits while Balsano, Neale, Paeglow, Sardina and Emma Savas rounded out the hitting for the Cardinals.