PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College baseball team clinched the Empire 8 Regular Season Championship and home field advantage throughout the conference playoffs after sweeping both ends of a doubleheader against Utica College on Saturday afternoon at Dugan Yard.  With the wins, the Cardinals, who are receiving votes in the most recent D3baseball.com national poll, improved to 24-5 on the year and 15-1 in the Empire 8 standings while the Pioneers fell to 13-13, 6-7, respectively.

FISHER 16, UTICA 1

Anthony Brophy took the ball for game one of the doubleheader and moved to 6-0 on the mound this season after the lefty let in just one run over seven innings.  The North Tonawanda native scattered five hits and struck out five overall.

Fisher pounded out 16 hits in the win with James Murphy going 3-for-4 with four RBI and a run scored.  Noah Campanelli was 2-for-4 out of the leadoff spot while Ryan Simmons had two hits on the day along with two RBI and three runs scored.   Luke Duffy had two hits in four at-bats while James Ward, Jr., who was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's National Rookie of the Week on Wednesday, collected two hits, two RBI and three runs scored.

After plating a run in the top of the first, Utica was unable to hold its lead. The Cardinals sent 12 hitters to the dish and scored nine runs on nine hits as Fisher never looked back.

FISHER 9, UTICA 4

After falling behind by two runs in the top of the fourth, Fisher evened the score at 2-2 after Adam Zebrowski crushed a two-run shot into the Cardinals bullpen in the bottom of the fourth.  As the inning continued, Duffy beat out an infield single before Ward singled to third to put two on with no outs.  Two batters later, Murphy stepped in and launched a three-run shot to left to make it a 5-2 lead heading to the fifth.

The Cardinals tacked on four more runs on five hits and a Pioneers' error in the bottom of the seventh with Michael Beimel, Zebrowski and Simmons each driving in a run to make it 9-2.

Leading by seven runs late in the game, Fisher gave one back in the top of the eighth and again in the top of the ninth, but buckled down and ended the threat with a pop up to second base to close out the win.

RJ Kuruts, who was named the Empire 8 Pitcher of the Week on Monday, moved to 8-1 with the win after the senior went five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits to go along with five Ks.  Alec Teska pitched the final four innings and yielded two runs on four hits.  Teska fanned two in all.

The Cardinals and Pioneers will meet again beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday as they play another Empire 8 twin billing in Utica.