WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The St. John Fisher College baseball team got back on track on Tuesday as the Cardinals earned a 10-6 win over Saint Joseph's College of Maine as part of the RussMatt Tournament at Chain of Lakes Park. With the win, Fisher improved to 2-4 while the Monks evened their season mark at 2-2.
After freshman
RJ Kuruts set the side down in order in the top of the first, Fisher got on the board in the home half of the inning.
Thomas Pasquale ripped a one-out double over the center fielder's head and would come around to score the game's first run when
Ryan Fahy lifted a bloop RBI-single to left field to stake Fisher to a 1-0 edge.
Saint Joseph's knotted things up at 1-1 in the top of the third, but Fisher would plate a pair in the bottom of the frame on two hits. Pasquale led off the inning with a single to center and advanced to second when
Justin Graham walked. With two on and one away, Fahy stepped in and ripped a two-run double over the left fielder's head to make it a 3-1 contest in Fisher's favor.
The Monks would get one back in the fourth, but were once again unable to quiet the Cardinals' bats as
Stephen Edgett led off with a solo shot to left before
Allen Murphy tagged a two-run blast to right that scored
Jack Vivinetto in the process to make it 6-2.
Fisher struck again in the bottom of the fifth as
Ryan Simmons worked a walk and eventually came around to score after stealing third and advancing home on an RBI-single to left from Edgett to lift Fisher to a five-run advantage, 7-2.
After setting down the side in the top of the sixth, the Cardinals went back to work in the bottom half of the inning with
Scott Eisenmenger and
Ryan Brown each driving in a run while Fahy scored on a wild pitch to give Fisher a 10-2 cushion.
Saint Joseph's, however, continued to chip away as the Monks tacked on two runs in the seventh and would go on to score one run in both the eighth and ninth innings before
Dillan Wilkinson shut the door on any comeback bid with a fly ball to Edgett in center.
Kuruts earned his first-career win as the freshman tossed 6.0 innings and allowed just two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.
Alec Teska pitched the seventh inning and surrendered two runs on three hits while
Kyle Chambers gave up one run on three hits in the eighth with two strikeouts. Wilkinson pitched the ninth inning and yielded one run on one hit.
Overall, Fisher collected 12 hits led by Fahy who went 3-for-5 at the dish with a double, three RBI and a run scored. Vivinetto was 2-for-4 with two doubles while Edgett was 2-for-3 with a homer and a pair of runs batted in.
Fisher will enjoy an off day on Wednesday before returning to the mix at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday against Husson University in Auburndale, Fla.
