PITTSFORD, N.Y. - The St. John Fisher College baseball team kept the Utica University batters quiet in the first half of Saturday's Empire 8 Conference doubleheader, but the Pioneers rallied in the second contest to split the afternoon series.

Fisher (13-10, 5-1 Empire 8) held the Utica (11-8, 4-2 Empire 8) offense without a run for the first time in 2022 in a 3-0 victory. Despite the strong start, the Cardinals couldn't contain the opposition in the nightcap, as the Pioneers won by an 11-4 final score.

St. John Fisher 3, Utica 0
Alec Teska and Ben Lavery guided the Cardinals to a three-run victory in the early matchup against the Pioneers. Teska spun his second consecutive complete-game shutout on the mound as the Cato product scattered four hits across 7.0 innings. Teska didn't issue any walks and struck out four.

Lavery gave Fisher the lead for good in the bottom of the second inning. After Nick Lemire led off with a base knock, Lavery smacked his team-leading fourth home run with a little help from the wind gusts that blew out to left field during the matinee game.

The game's only other run was scored in the third inning. Utica southpaw James Roeschlaub issued a base on balls to Luke Duffy before Noah Campanelli put runners on the corners with a single. Patrick Kravitz laid down a bunt in the ensuing at-bat, earning an RBI on a sacrifice he nearly beat to first base.

Utica 11, St. John Fisher 4
The Pioneers only held a slight advantage in hits, 12-to-10, but the Cardinal hitters struggled in key moments and stranded 11 runners on base. Utica also had more extra-base hits, 8-to-3, which included a pair of home runs from Dom Fasolo. 

Utica jumped out to a 6-0 lead with a trio of runs in the second and third innings. All three in the third trotted home on Fasolo's second homer, as the left fielder was 3-for-4 with three runs and five RBIs for the Pioneers.

Fisher cut the deficit in half, 6-3, with one run in the fourth and two in the fifth. James Murphy plated the team's first run on an RBI single, and the two runs in the fifth were both scored thanks in part to shaky defense by the Pioneers. But just when it looked as if Fisher was ready for a comeback, the Pioneers put the game out of reach with a combined five runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

Murphy, Lemire, and Patrick Kravitz each produced multiple hits in the nightcap with two apiece.

The 2022 E8 series with Utica concludes on Monday, April 11, when the Cardinals visit the Pioneers for a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m.