CORTLAND, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College softball team saw its season come to an end on Saturday as the Cardinals fell to nationally-ranked Williams College and No. 24 Cortland in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship at Dragon Field.  With the losses, Fisher closed out the 2019 season with a 27-17 overall mark while the Red Dragons will take on the Ephs on Sunday with the winner advancing to the NCAA Super Regional.

WILLIAMS 12, FISHER 10 (Eight Innings)

For the second day in a row, the Cardinals were locked in an extra-inning battle after Fisher stormed back from down four runs late in the game with three players eclipsing major milestones in the effort.

It didn't take long for Fisher to showcase its power as senior Ashley Prince, who became the fifth player in program history to notch 200 career hits, pushed a two-out double to right before classmate Sarah Kubik launched a two-run home run to break the Empire 8 and program record for home runs.  Kubik, who surpassed Fisher's Leanne Merchant's former record of 35 home runs with the blast, is now the conference's all-time leader in both homers and RBI.

Leading by two runs as the inning turned over, the Ephs answered with two runs of their own in the top of the second with a two-run single up the gut to knot things back up.

Williams, which entered the weekend ranked fourth in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, found a rhythm as the game wore on and plated two runs in the top of the third with a two-run jack and struck again in the fourth with a pair of runs to open up a 6-2 cushion.

The lead was safe until the bottom of the fifth when the Cardinals' bats came to life in a big way with six runs on four hits and an error as Fisher reclaimed the advantage, 8-6.  Julia Sortisio led off the inning with a single to short and matched her teammate's accomplishment as the base hit made her the sixth player in program history with at least 200 career hits.  With Sortisio at first, Maddy Pepke moved her to third with a double before Prince worked a walk to load the bases.  With a home run already to her credit in the game, Kubik came to bat and uncorked a monster grand slam that turned a four-run gap into a tie game, 6-6.  As the inning continued, the Ephs retired the next two hitters, but couldn't escape the inning as Jessica Sardina reached on a fielding error before Mary Claire Grosvenor took advantage of an extra opportunity and boomed a two-run shot over the left field fence to stake head coach Bari Mance's squad to a two-run lead.

The advantage, however, was short-lived as Williams answered back in the top of the sixth with three runs on three hits to forge ahead, 9-8. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Pepke lined a one-out single down the left field line and moved into scoring position when Kubik kept the frame alive with a two-out walk.  With two on and a one-run deficit to work around, Sammie Torlish tied the game up with a single to right before Sam Schermerhorn staked Fisher to a 10-9 lead with a single to right.

Ahead 10-9 in the top of the seventh and needing just three outs to clinch the win, Fisher was unable to get out of the inning without incident as Williams cracked a one-out solo home run to force extra innings with the game even at 10-10.

In the top of the eighth, Williams led off with a double and eventually came away with back-to-back RBI hits as the Ephs jumped ahead, 12-10. 

The Cardinals had the tying run come to bat in the home half of the inning, but were unable to get anything going as Williams forced three straight outs to move on to Sunday's finale.

CORTLAND 9, FISHER 1

The Red Dragons were first to crack the scoreless tie as Cortland plated a run in the top of the first.  The lead remained in the Red Dragons' hands until the bottom of the third when Pepke singled up the middle to drive in Grosvenor who had led off the inning with a single through the left side.

With the game knotted up at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, Cortland broke the game wide open with five runs on four hits including back-to-back doubles to hold a five-run edge, 6-1.  From there, the Red Dragons finished the game off in the top of the sixth with three more runs on three hits with the big blow coming in the form of a two-run double to win it, 9-1.

Emily Trotman finished her sophomore campaign at 23-11 on the season after she went four innings and allowed six runs on eight hits.  Her 23 wins in the circle marked the fourth highest total in a single season in team history.  Allison Rogowski pitched the final two innings as the freshman was tagged for three runs on four hits in all.