PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Headlined by four home runs, the No. 12 St. John Fisher College softball team took a pair of exciting Empire 8 Conference wins against Alfred University on Tuesday afternoon at the Softball Complex, 4-1 and 5-4. With the sweep, the Cardinals improved to 11-1 overall and remained a perfect 6-0 in the conference, while the Saxons fell to 10-5 on the year and 1-3 in the Empire 8.
FISHER 4, ALFRED 1
Despite both teams bringing in the top scoring offenses in the Empire 8 Conference, the pitching matchup spoke for itself as it posed Fisher starting pitcher,
Emily Trotman (pregame ERA 0.45, 15 strikeouts), against the Saxons ace, Jessica Wilcox (pregame ERA 1.24, conference leading 82 strikeouts).
The opponent put an unearned run on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning that was unmatched for the first two innings of play.
In the bottom of the third inning and facing the one-run deficit,
Maddie Klidonas found herself on first after she poked a single to shallow right center field. The next batter and top of the Cardinals' order, Trotman, adjusted her swing from the first go-around to rock the hard-thrown pitch over the left field wall, giving Fisher a one-score lead.
Two-and-a-half short innings later, the home squad put another runner on base with just one out as
Allie Klonowski sent a base hit through the middle infielders.
Rachel Evans followed her teammate up with a towering smash of her own to deep left center field. The 2-run shot extended the Cardinals' lead to 4-1 and remained that way through the next half inning of play to secure Fisher's 3-score victory.
Evans led the offensive push for the Cardinals as she went 2-for-3 with her 2-RBI homer, while
Sammie Torlish, Trotman, Klonowski, and Klidonas rounded out the hitting with one apiece.
Trotman was awarded the W in the circle as she threw the complete game, tallied five strikeouts, and brought her season ERA to 0.37.
FISHER 5, ALFRED 4 (10 INNINGS)
The Cardinals found themselves in defensive jams in both of the first two innings, but the Fisher pitcher,
Jess Patterson, used her big arm to find a way out. The sophomore struck out the last two in the first inning after allowing a runner to reach third, and fanned the last two batters in the second with a strike out and ground out.
Alfred sent a one-out solo shot over the center field wall in the following frame, but Fisher battled back to match the opponent's run in the bottom of the fifth inning. After
Abby Flakus reached base on a fielder's choice and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch,
Allison Rogowski sent her home on an RBI double hit off the centerfield fence. The equalizer forced Alfred to bring their ace in to attempt to save the game.
The score would remain knotted until the next inning when Klonowski ripped a homer to right center field, putting the Cardinals up a run with just a half inning to play out. However, an Alfred unearned run crossed the plate to tie it up yet again, and sent the game into extra innings.
The squads' defenses squared off for the next two innings as just two hits were recorded between them.
As the game entered the tenth inning, a runner was placed on second base for both teams. First up was Alfred, who made use of the runner and scored two runs to take a 4-2 lead over the Cardinals.
Fisher got the same runner in scoring position in their half of the inning and a Torlish single put runners at the corners. With two outs, Klonowski took to the batter's box again, where she took the Alfred ace deep for the second time on the day and plated the game-winning run with her three-run walk-off shot.
Klonowski had a game-high four RBI with two hits in the contest, while Torlish and Rogowski had two hits each, and Evans recorded one base knock.
Patterson extended her unbeaten streak in the circle to 6-0 after striking out a season-high eight batters.
The Cardinals have a day off before they return to the diamond at the Softball Complex for a non-conference doubleheader with crosstown rival, RIT, on Thursday, April 15, beginning at 3 P.M.
