PLANT CITY, Fla. – The St. John Fisher College softball team held on to win in the ninth inning as the Cardinals outlasted Simmons University, 5-4, on Monday as part of the Sunkissed Classic.  With the win, the Cardinals improved to 2-1 on the season while the Sharks slipped to 1-2.

Emily Trotman earned the win in the circle after the sophomore pitched 8.1 innings and surrendered two runs (one earned) on eight hits.  Trotman also posted six strikeouts before Allison Rogowski got the final two outs.

At the dish, Fisher accounted for eight hits with Mary Claire Grosvenor going 2-for-3 with an RBI.  Sarah Kubik had one hit and an RBI in the win while Sam Schermerhorn, Julia Sortisio, Ashley Prince, Sammie Torlish and Trotman each had one hit.

Fisher struck first in the bottom of the first after Prince smacked a double before scoring on a Simmons' error to make it 1-0.

The Cardinals added two more runs in the third inning as Kubik drove home Trotman with an RBI-single to center before Torlish crushed a double that plated Kubik to make it a three-run contest.

Simmons got on the board in the top of the sixth with a pair of runs on one hit and a Fisher error before tying the game in the seventh after crossing home plate on a double steal to knot things up at 3-3.

In the eighth inning, Simmons came up with an RBI-single to hold a 4-3 edge before the Cardinals came to bat in the home half of the inning.  With a runner at second, Grosvenor singled to second base while Maddy Pepke scurried home to level the game at four runs apiece.

After a scoreless top of the ninth, Fisher took advantage of a throwing error by the Sharks' pitcher as Trotman reached while Schermerhorn scampered home from second to score the game-winning run.

Fisher will return to action at 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday when they take on Emerson College in Plant City followed by a 3:30 p.m. showdown with Heidelberg.