PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Despite forcing the winner-take-all Empire 8 Conference Championship finale, the No. 12 St. John Fisher College softball team came up just short of the trophy as the Cardinals split with Alfred University on Saturday afternoon at Fisher's Softball Complex, 4-3 and 7-5. The Cardinals moved to 28-5 on the season while the Saxons grabbed their first conference title since 2015 and improved to 31-9 in the 2021 campaign.
 
FISHER 4, ALFRED 3
 
After giving up a run in the bottom of the second inning, Fisher came out swinging in the third as Maria Marcera ripped a two-out single up the middle of the field, just for Sammie Torlish to crack a double to the right field fence and send her home, tying it up at one run apiece.
 
The Saxons took advantage of defensive errors in the fourth and added two more runs to their total, but the Fisher offense wasn't kept quiet for long. In the fifth inning, Emma Smith launched a leadoff double down the left field line and crossed home plate just two batters later as Emily Trotman knocked a RBI single and ended up at third base as the result of a throwing error. Marcera came in clutch again, putting just enough on a ball to the second baseman to score the runner from third and tie the game up at three.
 
Three defensive outs later, Allie Klonowski stepped into the box and cranked her seventh home run of the season to give the Cardinals the go-ahead run. Fisher was able to maintain the one-run lead through the next seven batters, forcing the decisive championship game.
 
Trotman was awarded her 14^th win of the year in the circle in the win. She struck out six and did not allow an earned run in the contest.
 
The Cardinals tallied nine hits as Torlish went 3-for-3 with an RBI at the dish, while Marcera had two hits in four at bats.
 
ALFRED 7, FISHER 5
 
It was all Alfred from the get-go in this one, as the Saxons put up six runs in the first two innings, but the Cardinals were resilient and put up offense of their own to give the Saxons a run for their money.
 
In the bottom of the second inning, Klonowski sent a leadoff single up the middle of the diamond and was sent home two batters later as Allison Rogowski lined an RBI double to the left center field wall, narrowing the deficit to five.
 
A batting rotation and two innings later, Klonowski continued her hot streak as she launched her second homer of the day, a solo shot to left field, which cut to lead to four.
 
Although the Saxons got a run back, their starting pitcher ran out of gas and was replaced after a sixth-inning leadoff single by Megan Kreger. On the new pitcher's first ball thrown, Klonowski crushed it nearly over the trees in left field, scoring another two runs which brought the score to 7-4 and forced the Saxons to bring in their ace. Klonowski's three homers on the day made for an Empire 8-leading nine home runs on the season.
 
Facing the three-run deficit, the Cardinals came to the bottom of the seventh with nothing left to lose. With one out, Trotman made it a four-dinger day for the Cardinals as the Empire 8 Player of the Year went deep to left field for her eighth homer of the 2021 to cut the lead to just two runs. Fisher put another runner on base, but couldn't bring her home on their last-chance effort.
 
In Fisher's 10 hits, Klonowski and Trotman combined for six of them in seven at bats and four RBI.

Trotman was attributed her third L on the mound in 2021 after giving up the game's first four runs in the first inning. Jess Patterson threw seven full innings of relief work, allowing five hits and three runs and striking out four.
 
The No. 14 Cardinals now await their fate and hope to be awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA DIII Softball Tournament, with the selection show taking place on Monday May 17 at 1 P.M.