PITTSFORD, N.Y. - The St. John Fisher College baseball team had its nine-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday as the Cardinals suffered their first loss in conference play in an 8-2 decision against visiting Utica College at Dugan Yard.  With the loss, Fisher, which is receiving votes in the latest D3baseball.com national poll, slipped to 21-5 overall and 12-1 in the Empire 8 while the Pioneers climbed to 13-11, 6-5, respectively.

After falling behind by two runs heading into the bottom of the sixth, Fisher cut the gap in half when Adam Zebrowski singled home Justin Graham who led off the frame with a single to right.

Trailing 2-1 in the seventh, Fisher saw the gap widen as Utica plated three runs in each of the next two innings to open up an 8-1 cushion.

The Cardinals looked to make their move in the top of the eighth after Ryan Simmons and Zebrowski reached after being hit by a pitch before Luke Duffy got on base thanks to a Pioneers' error.  With the bases loaded and no outs, Utica came up with a strikeout before giving up a run on a fielder's choice.  With two on and two away, Fisher was unable to get anything going as Utica escaped the inning with an 8-2 lead in hand.

Michael Poirier (1-2) was hit with the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks over three innings.  Tim Geissel came on in relief and yielded two runs (one earned) over 3.2 innings while Marty Williams surrendered a run and recorded one out.  Joseph Tronetti was tagged for three runs in an inning while Rylan Baker tossed a scoreless ninth.

Fisher will look to start a new winning streak at 5 p.m. on Wednesday when the team heads to Elmira to take on the Soaring Eagles in an Empire 8 bout at Dunn Field.