Fisher Wins Two to Advance to Empire 8 Title Game; Cardinals Breaks Empire 8 Championship Record With 20 Runs in Nightcap
HOBOKEN, N.J. – For the third consecutive season, the St. John Fisher College baseball team will play for an Empire 8 Championship after the Cardinals staved off elimination twice on Friday by dispatching of fourth-seeded Houghton College before posting an Empire 8 record for runs scored in a championship game with a 20-9 win over top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology at Dobbelaar Field. With the wins, Fisher improved to 28-15 on the season while both Houghton and Stevens had their dreams of winning a conference title dashed.
FISHER 13, HOUGHTON 7
It didn't take long for the Highlanders to get on the board as Houghton plated two runs in the bottom of the first inning on three hits to open up a two-run margin heading to the second inning.
The lead remained at two until the fourth inning when the Cardinals fired back with two runs of their own to knot the game up.
Thomas Pasquale reached first to leadoff the frame after being hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position when
Scott Eisenmenger walked.
Allen Murphy put the first run on the board with a single up the middle that plated Pasquale before
Stephen Edgett legged out an RBI-single to third to tie the game at two runs apiece.
Fisher struck again in the top of the fifth when Murphy plated a run with a single to third and tacked on two more in the seventh when the sophomore went yard before
Justin Graham worked a walk with the bases loaded to make it 5-2 in Fisher's favor.
The Cardinals blew the game open in the top of the eighth with five more runs on five hits to extend their advantage to 10-2. Pasquale once again got the ball rolling with a double down the right field line before the sophomore infielder moved up a base on a wild pitch. Eisenmenger put two up on the scoreboard with a home run to left while Murphy and
Ryan Simmons kept the momentum going with back-to-back walks.
Ryan Fahy, who collected six RBI on Friday, drove in another run with a single to left to make it 8-2. Following a strikeout, Edgett stepped into the box with two on and smacked a single through the left side to plate Simmons. As the inning continued,
Ryan Brown connected for a single to center field that pushed Fahy across home plate to make it an eight-run affair heading to the home half of the eighth.
Facing a deep hole with just six outs left, Houghton came up big in the bottom of the frame and pulled to within three after scoring five runs on just two hits, but the Cardinals closed the door on the comeback bid with three runs in the ninth inning including a two-run double by
Victor Konstantinovsky to stay alive in the championship with a 13-7 win.
Tim Geissel took the ball to start and lasted an inning after giving up two runs on three hits.
RJ Kuruts (5-1) picked up the W after throwing 4.1 scoreless innings in relief. Kuruts tallied a career-high seven strikeouts and scattered just four hits in all.
Caleb Lee allowed five runs in 2.1 innings while
Alec Teska was credited with his first-career save after recording the final four outs.
In all, Fisher mashed 18 hits including five extra base knocks. Murphy was 4-for-5 at the plate with a home run, three RBI, three runs scored and a walk. Brown also had four hits in the win while Eisenmenger, who became the program's all-time leader in career doubles (55) on Saturday, went 2-for-5 at the plate with a double, a home run and two RBI. Edgett had three hits to go along with three RBI while Fahy had two hits to his name.
FISHER 20, STEVENS 9
Head coach
Brandon Potter's squad jumped all over the Ducks' starter in the bottom of the first inning as Eisenmenger and Murphy both drove in a run to take a two-run lead into the second.
After Stevens got one back in the top of the second, Fisher countered with three more runs on three hits in the home half of the frame. After Fahy led off with a double down the right field line, Edgett crushed a towering two-run shot to left center to make it 4-1. Eisenmener plated his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly before the Ducks could retire the side.
Stevens would take its only lead of the game after plating four runs over the third and fourth innings, but Fisher promptly regained the advantage courtesy of a three-run fourth with Brown and Eisenmenger each driving in a run to stake the Cardinals to an 8-6 edge.
Following a scoreless top of the fifth, the wheels fell off for Stevens as Fisher sent 17 hitters to the dish and scored 12 runs on nine hits to open up a 20-6 lead. Six different players tallied an RBI in the inning with the big blow coming as a three-run home run off the bat of Eisenmenger.
Jack Vivinetto plated a pair with a run-scoring double while Brown pushed two runs home with a single to left to cap the scoring.
The scoring explosion marked the second time in the last week that Fisher has scored 12 runs in an inning after plating a dozen in the eighth frame in a win over No. 19 Keystone College last Saturday.
The Ducks scored three runs in the top of the eighth, but the lead was too great to overcome as Fisher punched its ticket into the championship game on Saturday.
Eisenmenger had two more hits in the nightcap and posted six RBI overall in the win. The Hilton native has six hits through three games and needs just four hits to become the Cardinals' all-time leader in hits. Fahy was 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored while Vivinetto was 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored. Edgett had a home run and two RBI as part of a two-hit game and Graham went 3-for-6 with a career-best five runs scored.
Jake Hewitt earned the spot start and allowed six earned runs on nine hits over 3.1 innings before
Pat Galer entered in relief. The freshman earned his first-career win (1-0) and threw 2.2 innings of one-hit ball.
Jason Wasilnak pitched the final three innings and surrendered three runs on three hits with six strikeouts.
The Cardinals will be back in action bright and early at 10 a.m. on Saturday as they face third-seeded Ithaca College in a rematch of Thursday's opening round action. Fisher will need to defeat the Bombers twice after Ithaca bested Stevens earlier in the day to enter Saturday unbeaten in the double elimination tournament.