ALFRED. N.Y. – After a hard-fought 5-1 loss against the top seeded Saxons, the St. John Fisher College softball team bounced back and defeated Nazareth College 5-3 on Saturday, sending the No. 2 seeded Cardinals to the Empire 8 Championship round in a rematch against Alfred. 
 
FISHER 1, ALFRED 5
 
Following a scoreless first inning, Alfred, which was the designated road team, put the first run on the board after a walk sacrifice bunt, and RBI single. Fisher's Mari Spitz produced a two-out single in the bottom of the inning, but the Cardinals were unable to bring the catcher home as the game remained 1-0. 
 
One of the best pitchers in the conference, Jess Patterson, found her rhythm on the mound as she pitched a scoreless top of the third inning to bring the Cardinals back on offense. Becca Irizarry shot a one-out single up the middle to bring up freshman Amalia DeMartino with a chance to do some damage. Just as she has done all season long, the shortstop came through with a double down the left field line to put runners on second and third with one out. 
 
With a chance to tie or take the lead, Maddie Donlin stepped up to the plate and grounded out to the shortstop, scoring Irizarry for an RBI and tying the game up 1-1. 
 
In the fourth inning, Alfred bunted over a runner to second before a two-out double scored the go-ahead run for the Saxons to take a 2-1 edge in the contest. 
 
As the game wore on, Fisher's offense struggled against Alfred's pitching as they went down in order in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. 
 
With one inning left in the game, the Saxons managed to score three more runs to make it a four-run game as the Cardinals entered the bottom of the seventh. 
 
The lead would be too much as Fisher was unable to score a run in the inning and lose to Alfred 5-1.
 
Patterson went all seven innings and earned the loss (2-6) after allowing five runs (three earned) with six walks and four strikeouts.
 
FISHER 5, NAZARETH 3
 
Following the first loss of the tournament, the Cardinals matched up against rival Nazareth in a win or go home game to determine who will face the Saxons in the Championship round. 
 
The Cardinals, who were the designated road team, lead off the top of the first with a Spitz RBI single up the middle, scoring Allie Klonowski for the game's first run.
 
Leading by one run, Cassidy Ormond took the mound for Fisher and worked her way in and out of trouble as the Golden Flyers found two hits but were unable to score a run.
 
From there, the Cardinals extended their lead as Donlin poked a single to right allowing Irizarry to sprint around third and score the team's second run. A 1-2-3 inning by Ormond brought the Cardinals back up to the plate with a chance to pour it on the top of the third. 
 
Looking for her pitch to drive, designated hitter Allison Rogowski led of the third inning with a bang, driving the ball deep over the left field wall for a homerun and giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
 
In the bottom of the inning, Nazareth would produce two runs on three hits and one error to put them right back in the game. 
 
The very next inning, Klonowski, who is one of the most dangerous hitters in the Empire 8 stepped up and delivered a two-RBI double to left field, scoring Donlin and Kelly Cournoyer to push the lead back to three runs.
 
As the game wore on, the Golden Flyers clawed their way back into the game with an RBI groundout in the sixth inning to close the gap to two runs. 
 
Entering the seventh inning with a two-run lead, Fisher's offense was unable to score a run, forcing Ormond to produce three outs to keep the season alive. The freshman found two quick outs from the Golden Flyers before a single brought the tying run to the plate. 
 
With a spot in the championship on the line, Ormond delivered the pitch and forced a fly out to center, giving the Cardinals a 5-3 win to keep the season alive.
 
Donlin delivered for the Cardinals with three hits, one run and one RBI, followed by Klonowski with two hits and two RBI. Ormond pitched seven innings and picked up the win (7-7) allowing three runs (one earned) with six strikeouts. 
 
Fisher will be back in action on Saturday as the Cardinals will need to win two-straight over Alfred to bring the trophy back to Pittsford. Game one will be at 12 p.m. and game two (if necessary) will be played at 2:30 p.m.