No. 6 Fisher Splits to Advance to NCAA Regional Championship; Cardinals to Face SUNY Geneseo on Sunday
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College softball team will play for an NCAA Regional Championship on Sunday as the Cardinals, who are ranked sixth in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, fell to SUNY Geneseo on Saturday afternoon before bouncing back to defeat Mount Saint Mary College at the Softball Complex. With the split, Fisher, which had its 16-game winning streak halted, moved to 32-8 on the season.
The Cardinals will now take on Geneseo beginning at 12 p.m. on Sunday and will need to best the Knights twice to advance in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
GENESEO 3, FISHER 0
In a battle of two of Division III's top pitchers, Geneseo came out on top as
Lindsey Thayer was saddled with her first loss since March 28. Thayer, who became Division III's all-time leader in career strikeouts on Friday, moved to 21-4 and allowed three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts.
Geneseo did most of its damage in the fourth inning courtesy of a two-run home over the right-center field fence before adding an insurance run in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly.
The Knights' ace, Ashlyn Kersch, brought her A-game as the right-hander allowed just one hit overall and finished with four strikeouts on the day.
FISHER 3, MOUNT SAINT MARY 0
Thayer rebounded in the Cardinals' second game and carried a perfect game into the seventh inning before Mount Saint Mary recorded its first hit. That was all the Winthrop native would give up, however, as Thayer moved to 22-4 inside the circle with the win. In all, she pitched seven shutout innings and finished with 15 strikeouts. She did not walk a batter.
Fisher scored what turned out to the game-winning runs in the top of the third as
Katie Mazierski inched closer to the all-time Fisher hit record with an infield single before
Julia Sortisio ripped a two-run blast to right-center that staked Fisher to a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the sixth, Fisher struck again as
Sammie Torlish doubled off the center field fence before advancing home on a single to right by
Emily Trotman.
In all, Fisher accounted for seven hits with Mazierski, Sortisio and Trotman each coming away with two hits while Torlish went 1-for-3 with a double.