Softball | 5/22/2021 7:31:00 PM
ERIE, PA – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College softball team split a pair of games on Saturday after eliminating Penn State Behrend and falling to the University of Rochester in the winner's bracket of the NCAA Regional Championship in Pennsylvania. With the split, Fisher, which is ranked 16th in the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, moved to 30-6 on the season.
GAME 1 - FISHER 1, PENN ST. BEHREND 0
The Cardinals and Lions were locked in a pitchers' duel as Penn St. Behrend looked to keep its tournament hopes alive.
The game remained deadlocked over the first five innings until Maddie Klidonas led off the top of the sixth with a single to center before moving into scoring position when Emily Trotman helped her own cause with a double off the left field wall.
With runners at second and third, shortstop Sammie Torlish drove in the game's only run after belting a sacrifice fly to left that scored Klidonas and staked the Cardinals to a 1-0 lead.
Trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh with their season on the line, the Lions came up with a two-out single to center, but were unable to push the tying run across the plate as Trotman capped off the game with a strikeout in a 1-0 win.
Trotman moved to 15-3 following the complete-game shutout. The East Amherst native allowed just four hits and finished with four strikeouts.
GAME 2 - ROCHESTER 7, FISHER 3
The Cardinals struck first in the bottom of the second after Allison Rogowski doubled in Rachel Evans who had drawn a walk earlier in the inning. Leading by one heading to the third, Rochester's bats came alive with four runs on four hits including a three-run blast to deep left field to claim a three-run advantage.
Down 4-1 in the third, Fisher chipped away as Torlish lifted a two-out double to left before scoring on an infield error by the Yellowjackets to make it 4-2. As the inning continued, Allie Klonowski smacked a double off the left field fence to chase Rochester's starter, but the visitors would work out of the jam and retired the side with the lead intact.
Holding a two-run cushion with the top of the fourth on the horizon, Rochester took advantage of two Fisher errors and plated three runs on just one hit to open up a 7-2 edge.
Trailing by five in the sixth, Abby Flakus kept the inning alive with a two-out single before Rogowski belted a double that split the outfielders and plated a run to make it 7-3.
In the seventh inning, Fisher put a runner on after Maria Marcera singled through the left side, but was unable to get anything going at the plate as Rochester retired the side without incident to remain unbeaten in the regional.
Jess Patterson (15-3) was tagged with the loss after allowing seven runs (five earned) over five innings. Trotman pitched the final two innings and yielded just two hits overall.
The Cardinals will look to keep their World Series hopes alive tomorrow at 10 a.m. when they take on York in an elimination contest.