TROY, N.Y. – For the third time in his last four starts, senior
Alec Teska tossed a complete game shutout as the St. John Fisher College baseball team settled for a split on Friday against the Russell Sage Gators at Joe Bruno Field in what marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs. With the split, Fisher, which has now come out on top in seven of its last eight outings, improved to 20-11 and 12-2 in the Empire 8 standings while the Gators finished the day at 11-21 overall and 7-7 in league play.
FISHER 7, SAGE 0
Teska rolled to his fourth win of the season after limiting Sage to just two hits over seven innings. The Cato native finished with a season-high nine strikeouts and has allowed just one unearned run over his last 26.0 innings of work.
In the top of the first,
Noah Campanelli led off the game with a double and quickly tested Sage's backstop as the junior stole third before scampering home on an errant throw to give Fisher a 1-0 edge.
The Cardinals added to their lead in the next inning with three runs on three hits to open up a four-run cushion. After getting the Cardinals to ground into a double play, Sage proceeded to load the bases with
Luke Duffy and
Jimmy McCardle each walking and
Brian Norsen singling. With the bases full and two down, Campanelli stepped in and ripped a two-run single through the left side that cleared the bases before the Gators could retire the side.
Leading 4-0 in the top of the fourth, Duffy started a quick rally with a walk before moving into scoring position on a wild pitch. With a runner at second, Norsen clubbed a single to score Duffy and make it 5-0 before the visitors tacked on two more runs in the next inning to hold a 7-0 advantage.
The Cardinals came away with eight hits in the win led by Campanelli who went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI, two steals and a run scored. Norsen edged his hitting streak to six games with two hits in three at-bats and an RBI while
Evan Bowers,
Ethan Perry and
Michael Beimel each had one hit in the opener. Duffy drew three walks in the seven hole and scored two runs.
SAGE 9, FISHER 8
The Cardinals made quick work of the Gators' starting pitcher in the nightcap after loading the bases to begin the game before scoring their first run following a balk. With no outs and two runners still in scoring position,
Nick Lemire tagged Sage for a run with a sacrifice fly before
Jack Kelleher hustled out a single and drove in Beimel to make it 3-0 before Russell Sage made a pitching change.
After giving an unearned run back in the bottom of the first, Fisher surrendered another run in the bottom of the third after a two-out double made it 3-2.
Leading by one run in the top of the fourth, Fisher answered with three runs on two hits and a pair of Sage errors to hold a 6-3 edge, but the home team got two runs back with one swing after plating a pair with a single in the fifth.
Both teams swapped zeroes in the sixth inning before the Gators tied the game at six runs apiece with a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh.
In the top of the eighth, Fisher broke the tie as Norsen singled in a run before a wild pitch allowed Duffy to score to make it 8-6 in the Cardinals' favor.
Trailing by two, Sage scored one in the home half of the eighth before coming through with a big two-out walkoff single to hand Fisher's its first loss in nearly two weeks.
Russell Dunlap started, but did not factor in the decision after allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits over four innings.
Christian Maloney was hit for two runs on three hits over three frames before being lifted for
Logan Persse (3-2) who was charged with the loss after letting in three runs on five hits over 1.2 innings of work.
The Cardinals will look to wrap up their second straight Empire 8 Regular Season Championship at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon when Russell Sage comes to Dugan Yard for a pair of conference games.
