Freshman pitcher Justin D'Amato tossed a complete-game three-hitter with eight strikeouts to lift the nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College baseball program to a 5-0 win over host Ithaca College in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday afternoon.
With the win, Fisher, ranked 24th in the latest national coaches poll, improves to 25-7 overall and 13-3 in the Empire 8 Conference. The Cardinals, who lost 9-6 to Ithaca in game one, already clinched the Empire 8 title for the second straight year with four wins over Rochester Institute of Technology last weekend.
Fisher returns to action at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Hamilton College.
Game One: Ithaca 9, Fisher 6
Steve Karnyski and Leo Fusilli each went 3-for-4 in the loss, while Sean Osterman hit a two-run homer. The Cardinals led 1-0 after the first half-inning, but Ithaca took the lead with two runs in the first and never trailed again. Ben Bostick scored two runs, while Matt Klock went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Ross Langevin was 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Game Two: Fisher 5, Ithaca 0
D'Amato, who fanned seven of the first nine batters he faced and had a one-hitter going into the final inning, improved his overall record to 9-1 on the year, tying the College-record for wins in a season. The win marked his third shutout of the season as well.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the third inning after Peter Krysztof singled and scored two batters later on a passed ball. Fisher pushed its lead to 3-0 in the fifth on a two-run double by Karnyski, who drove in a run in the seventh. Karnyski and Langevin each finished with two hits, while Bostick scored two runs. Fusilli and Ward each went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
