SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College baseball scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning on Sunday as the No. 23 Cardinals picked up a win in their conference opener with a 5-4 decision over host Ithaca College.  The game was played at Onondaga Community College due to unplayable field conditions at Ithaca's Freeman Field.  The win moved Fisher's record to 7-5 overall and 1-0 in the Empire 8 standings while the Bombers fell to 6-5, 0-1, respectively.

Ithaca jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after coming away with two RBI-singles off Fisher's starting pitcher, Jim Dawson.  The Bombers tacked on another run in the third inning after a leadoff triple came around to score to make it 3-0 in Ithaca's favor. 

The Cardinals answered in the top of the fourth frame when Scott Eisenmenger got ahead in the count before blasting a solo home run over the leftfield fence to pull Fisher to within two runs, 3-1.

After a scoreless fifth inning of play, Fisher tied the game in the top of the sixth with three hits and an Ithaca error.  After a groundout, Eisenmenger stepped to the dish and lined a single to left.  The next batter, Allen Murphy, clubbed a double down the leftfield line that plated Eisenmenger all the way from first.  Murphy would eventually come around to score the tying run as Thomas Pasquale collected an RBI-single to center to knot things up at 3-3.

Neither team was able to plate a run in the seventh and eighth innings as the game remained deadlocked heading into the ninth.  In the top of the ninth, Evan Ryan worked a four-pitch walk and moved to second two batters later when Nate Roethel drew a base on balls.  With two on and two outs, Eisenmenger delivered the go-ahead RBI after singling down the right field to score Ryan and give Fisher its first lead of the game, 4-3.  The Cardinals added another run when Murphy followed suit with a single through the right side of the infield that scored Roethel to make it a two-run game heading into the bottom of the inning.

In the home half of the ninth, Fisher induced two quick groundouts, but the Bombers cut the deficit to one run with a solo homer before the Cardinals could notch the third out.

Dawson went 7.0 innings but did not factor in the decision.  He gave up nine hits and three runs in all and tallied seven strikeouts.  Jason Wasilnak pitched a third of an inning before being lifted for Kevin Berge who was credited with the win and moved to 1-2 on the season.  Berge tossed 1.2 innings and scattered two hits while allowing one run. 

Fisher will open up play at Dugan yard at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday when it welcomes Rochester Institute of Technology to campus for a non-conference nine-inning game.