Baseball | 5/18/2024 7:13:00 PM
DALLAS, PA – The St. John Fisher University baseball team rallied to force extra innings against Middlebury College in an elimination game on day two of the 2024 Division III NCAA Baseball Regional hosted by Misericordia University before falling by a score of 9-8 in 10 innings. The Cardinals finished the 2024 season with a 26-19 record.
The Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 lead with three in the first and one in the second inning, but the Cardinals fought their way back. In the bottom of the second, Jake Crantz doubled to right center to drive in James Murphy for the teams first run of the game. In the third, Murphy drove in a pair of runs himself to cut the deficit to one. Murphy crossed home plate on a Dominic Guccia single, and then Crantz came up with a clutch, RBI triple to right center to give the team their first lead of the day at 5-4.
Middlebury answered in the top of the fourth, scoring twice and reclaiming the 6-5 advantage. In the sixth inning, Andrew Roman used a sacrifice bunt to score Ethan Fulton and tie the game yet again. The Panthers scored a run in the eighth and ninth inning, and with two outs to go in the ninth, Fisher faced a two-run deficit. With Noah Pohrte on after pinch-running for Ethan Perry, and a Brian Norsen walk to put two on, Murphy singled up the middle to drive in Pohrte and then a wild pitch allowed Norsen to touch home plate to tie the game at 8-8. After Middlebury scored the go-ahead run, the Cardinals were unable to drive in Benjamin Huckans who doubled and later found himself on third-base.
Murphy finished the game 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Crantz also finished with a multi-hit day, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. The Cardinals used four pitchers in the game. Patrick McGuire got the start and completed the first inning. Tanner Frank was the first arm out of the bullpen and tossed 4.0 innings of two run baseball. Hunter Walsh followed, going 3.0 innings and striking out three while giving up two runs. Anthony Lang was the final pitcher the team used, going 2.0 innings and giving up just the one run.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram