PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Freshman
Alec Teska pitched a gem on Friday and earned his first collegiate win as the St. John Fisher College baseball team shutout Rochester Institute of Technology, 3-0, in a non-conference tilt at Dugan Yard. With the win, Fisher improved to 18-9 overall while the Tigers dipped below .500 at 8-9.
Teska, who nearly cut his season earned run average in half, went 7.1 shutout innings and surrendered just four hits. The Cato native fanned four in the win and gave up just two walks in all before being relieved by
Jack Delaney in the eighth. Delaney, who notched his first-career save, went 1.2 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit.
Fisher came away with eight hits overall including two from
Justin Graham and
Ryan Simmons.
Jake Hewitt,
Scott Eisenmenger,
Thomas Pasquale and
Ryan Fahy rounded out the offense with one hit apiece.
After holding the Tigers at bay through two innings, Fisher got on the board in the home half of the second courtesy of a pair of sacrifice flies. Hewitt got the inning going after beating out an infield single and moved to third when Simmons doubled to left.
Ryan Brown plated what turned out to be the only run Fisher would need with a sac fly to left before
Jack Vivinetto followed suit with a run-producing fly out to center to make it 2-0 in the home team's favor.
In the bottom of the fifth, Fisher tacked on another run as Fahy led off with a walk before moving to third when Eisenmenger smacked a single to center. Hewitt followed with a walk to load the bases for Simmons who ripped a hit to third that plated Fahy and made it a three-run contest.
From there, Fisher's pitching allowed just two base hits over the final four innings. In the top of the ninth, RIT was able to extend the game after a two-out error by the Cardinals, but Delaney got the next hitter to fly out to left to seal the win.
Up next, the Cardinals will begin an all-important Empire 8 series at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Utica against the Pioneers. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday before closing out the weekend with a nine-inning bout at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
