Box Score

The St. John Fisher College softball team will have to play another game on Sunday if it wishes to claim the Empire 8 Conference crown, as the No. 1 seeded Utica College Pioneers beat Fisher 6-4 on Saturday afternoon to force a winner takes all final on Sunday.  Both teams now have one loss in the double-elimination tournament and the winner of the 1 p.m. game Sunday will be named the Empire 8 Conference Champion.

The Cardinals gained a 1-0 advantage in the second inning with Krista Robarge singling to left field to score Sarah Fordyce who reached on a fielder's choice.  However, that would be the only lead Fisher would hold in the game as Utica responded with two runs in the top of the third to go up 2-1.

Fisher evened the game at 2-2 in the bottom half of the stanza when Kayla Goodberlet singled in Kate Disbrow from third base.  Disbrow picked up her first hit in the inning with a speedy slap single to the second baseman.

But the No. 1 seeded Pioneers went up for good with a two-run home run in the fourth inning from Chelsea Monroe.  The Cardinals trimmed the 4-2 lead to one run when Olivia Fusilli hit a singled up the middle to score Fordyce, but the team was never able to reclaim the lead.

The Pioneers went up by three with another two-run jack in the next inning from Mallory Ingalls, making the score 6-3.  Fordyce added her third run of the game with a solo shot in the sixth, but the team could not make up the difference.

The loss snapped a 14-game win streak for Fisher.

Both team totaled eight hits in the game, with Fordyce and Disbrow having two each.  Sarah Stefanon threw a complete game, striking out nine in the loss.