PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked and top-seeded St. John Fisher College baseball team fell in its opening game of the 2017 Empire 8 Championship on Thursday morning at Dugan Yard to fourth-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology, 7-3. With the loss, Fisher moved to 28-9 overall and will face third-seeded Elmira College, which fell to second-seeded Ithaca College, 4-3, at 9 a.m. on Friday.  Stevens improved to 19-21-1 and advanced to face the the Bombers, who with their win, improved to 26-11.  First pitch for that game is scheduled to be 40 minutes after the conclusion of Fisher's contest.

Jim Dawson took the loss on the hill after surrendering three runs (two earned) on six hits over four innings.  Dillan Wilkinson pitched three innings and allowed a pair of runs on two hits and five walks while Matt Toohey tossed the final two innings and yielded two runs (one earned) on two hits.

Stevens took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning on three hits and added three more in the fifth on three more hits.  The Ducks padded their advantage in the top of the ninth with a pair of runs to take a seven-read lead into the bottom of the ninth.

Facing a steep climb with just three outs left, Fisher's offense came to life as Ryan Fahy launched a solo home run over the fence in right-center to make it a 7-1 game.  Scott Eisenmenger stepped in the box and ripped a single up the middle before Malcolm Kelsey kept the momentum going with a single through the right side to put two on with no outs.

As the inning continued, the runners moved up a base after a wild pitch before Allen Murphy smacked a two-run double to left to pull the Cardinals to within four runs, 7-3.  That was as close as the home team would come, however, as the Ducks called on their closer who notched the final two outs to preserve the win.

Fisher managed seven hits in the loss led by Kelsey and Eisenmenger who each came away with two hits overall.  Fahy, Murphy and Justin Graham each collected one hit on the day.