PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College softball team settled for a split on Saturday as the Cardinals played host to the Russell Sage Gators in an Empire 8 doubleheader at the Softball Complex. With the decisions, Fisher, which is ranked 12th in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, moved to 12-2 on the year and 7-1 in the Empire 8 while the Gators finished the day at 5-1 on both fronts.
FISHER 11, RUSSELL SAGE 6
The Cardinals got the scoring started in the top of the first inning as two singles led
Allie Klonowski to a two-out base hit of her own to score the run from third. A batter later,
Rachel Evans sent a shot that ricocheted off the right center field wall for a double, which cleared the bases and put the Cardinals up 3-0.
Abby Flakus followed her teammate with a sharply-hit single to right field that scores Evans from second and gave Fisher an early 4-run lead.
The Gators got a run back in their half of the inning, but not before the Cardinals could put up a five-spot in the following frame. Back-to-back singles set up
Sammie Torlish who sent a base knock towards the opponent's shortstop to score the lead runner,
Maddie Klidonas.
Megan Kreger followed up the score by drawing a walk to load the bases for Klonowski who crushed a ball over the center field wall for a grand slam to extend Fisher's lead to eight.
Sage plated five more runs over the next three innings of work, but Fisher's offense came back in tune in the top of the fifth inning. With runners on first and second base, Klidonas started a two-out rally as she sent a single to right field to score a run. She was followed up by the leadoff hitter,
Emily Trotman, who grabbed a base hit on a ball to the center fielder to score Fisher's 11th and final run of the game.
Trotman went 1-2-3 for the next two innings and allowed just one hit in the bottom half of the seventh to seal the five-run victory. The senior was awarded her sixth win on the mound of the season after pitching her seventh complete game of the year and striking out five of the 34 batters she faced.
Klonowski grabbed a team-high five RBI after she went 2-for-4 at the plate. Flakus and Klidonas also hit .500 and added an RBI apiece, while Trotman went 3-for-5 with a run batted in.
SAGE 9, FISHER 8 (Nine Innings)
Fisher got off to another hot start at the plate in the top of the first with Kreger lifting a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 before Klonowski crushed another home run to give Fisher a 3-0 edge heading to the bottom of the frame.
The lead remained in the Cardinals' hands before the Gators used three hits to score four runs in the bottom of the third and plated another run in the next inning to hold a two-run cushion.
Trailing by two runs, Fisher saw the gap widen as Sage sent eight hitters to the plate in the sixth and pushed three runs across the plate with four hits to open up an 8-3 advantage heading to the top of the seventh.
Facing a five-run gap and with just three outs remaining, Fisher went to work. After Flakus reached on an error,
Allison Rogowski singled before Klidonas walked to load the bases. With no outs and the bases juiced, Trotman drew a walk and collected an RBI before
Maria Marcera lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 8-5. As the inning continued, Fisher came up with three straight hits to score three more runs and knot the game up at eight runs aside before the gators could retire the side.
After a scoreless eighth inning, Fisher was unable to generate anything at the plate in the top of the ninth as Sage came to bat. After the leadoff runner was hit by a pitch, the Gators dropped a sacrifice bunt to move her over before eventually connecting with a walk-off single to win it, 9-8.
Jess Patterson was hit with her first loss of the year to move to 6-1 after the sophomore threw 8.2 innings. She let in nine runs (eight earned) and finished with nine strikeouts.
The Cardinals are right back at it at 1 p.m. on Sunday when they host Utica College in another Empire 8 doubleheader at the Softball Complex.
