PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College softball team came out ahead in the opening game of a doubleheader with Clarkson University at the Softball Complex on Wednesday before falling in the nightcap to close out the day at 6-7 overall.
FISHER 6, CLARKSON 3
After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first following a two-run shot by the Golden Knights, the Cardinals got on the board in the home half of the inning when
Rachel Evans lifted a sacrifice fly to center that plated
Julia Sortisio to make it 2-1.
Trailing by one run in the third inning, Fisher would jump ahead as Evans cracked a two-run home run over the center field fence to make it 3-2 in the home team's favor.
The Cardinals would tack on another run in the bottom of the fifth as
Emily Trotman singled to left and stole second. The sophomore would move to third when Evans singled and eventually came around to score as
Ashley Prince lifted a sacrifice fly to left that made it a two-run game heading into the sixth.
Trailing 4-2 with six outs left in play, Clarkson clubbed a leadoff home run to pull to within one run, but was unable to hold Fisher at bay in the home half of the sixth as Trotman helped her own cause with a two-run double that plated both
Sam Schermerhorn and
Marissa Kirker to make it 6-3.
Trotman moved to 4-3 on the season after pitching a complete game. She allowed three runs on five hits and finished with three strikeouts in the win.
At the plate, Evans was 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBI and a run scored while Trotman had two hits in two at-bats with a double and two runs driven in.
CLARKSON 6, FISHER 3
In the back end of the non-conference doubleheader, Clarkson struck first with three runs in the first following an RBI-single and a two-run home run that made it 3-0.
Trailing by three, the Cardinals got one back with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Prince to make it 3-1, but Clarkson countered with a run of its own in the top of the second to hold a three-run cushion heading to the third.
In the home half of the third,
Maddy Pepke led off with a single through the left side and moved to third as Sortisio dropped down a bunt single. With runners at the corners and no outs, Kirker groundout out to the right side as Pepke flashed her speed and crossed home plate to make it 4-2.
Both teams traded zeroes over the next two innings until the top of the sixth when the Golden Knights took advantage of a wild pitch with the bases loaded to open up a 5-2 advantage.
Facing a three-run gap in the bottom of the sixth,
Abby Flakus stepped in and ripped a two-out solo home run to cut the deficit to two runs, but Clarkson pushed a run across in the top of the seventh before shutting the door in the home half of the inning to seal the win.
Allison Rogowski (2-3) was tagged with the loss after going 5.2 innings and surrendering five runs on eight hits. Trotman pitched the final four outs and allowed one run on one hit.
Sortisio had a big game at the dish as the senior went 4-for-4 overall and now sits at 175 career hits.
Up next, Fisher will travel to Ithaca at 3 p.m. on Friday to take one on of its biggest rivals as the Cardinals are set to play a pair against the No. 10 Bombers at Doris Kostrinsky Field. The two programs met last season in the NCAA Super Regional round and faced each other often as members of the Empire 8 Conference before Ithaca departed for the Liberty League last year.
