PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College baseball team remained unbeaten in Empire 8 Conference play on Saturday as the No. 24 Cardinals scored four runs in the eighth inning en route to a 6-1 win over visiting SUNY Canton at Dugan Yard.  With the win, Fisher improved to 9-6 overall and 2-0 in the conference standings while the Roos slipped to 2-11 overall and 1-0 in the Empire 8.

Both teams will continue play with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. on Sunday at Fisher's Dugan Yard.

Canton managed seven hits and just one run against Anthony Brophy as the freshman lefthander moved to 5-0 after tossing 8.0 innings.  Brophy struck out five in the win against just one walk.

After surrendering a run in the top of the second inning, Fisher took the lead for good in the fifth frame.  Victor Konstantinovsky led off the inning with a triple to right center and scored when Thomas Pasquale lifted a sacrifice fly to right to knot things up at 1-1.  The next hitter, Evan Ryan, stepped in the box and belted a solo home run over the left field fence to put the Cardinals up 2-1 heading into the sixth.

In the top of the sixth, Canton had runners on second and third with just one but could not push the tying run across as Brophy induced a pair of groundouts to preserve the one-run edge.
After setting the side down in order in the top of the eighth, Fisher took the lead in a big way in the home half of the inning with four runs on six hits.  Allen Murphy led off with his first-career homer before Ryan Prevost singled and moved into scoring position after swiping second.  After two quick outs, Pasquale replaced him at second with an RBI-double and came around to score when Ryan doubled him home to make 5-1.  After a pitching change by Canton, Justin Graham singled to center as Ryan scurried home with Fisher's sixth run.

In the top of the ninth, Canton put two runners on with one out, but DJ Mendenhall, who pitched a scoreless inning, got the next batter to ground into a game-ending double play as Fisher picked up the all-important conference win.

In all, Fisher came away with 13 hits, of which six went for extra bases.  Ryan was 2-for-5 with two RBI, two runs scored and a double while Graham went 3-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and three stolen bases.  Pasquale had two hits in three at-bats with a pair of RBI and a run scored.