WAYNE, NJ – The St. John Fisher University baseball team swept their double-header on Sunday at William Paterson University in New Jersey, winning the first game 11-7 and then winning 8-5 in 11 innings in game two.
 
Game One
Fisher notched its first victory of the season, scoring nine runs in the last four innings en route to an 11-7 win. 
 
The Cardinals got on the board first in the third inning, stringing together three straight singles to start the inning that culminating with a bunt single by graduate student Joe Ruggiero that scored Mario Cubello from third to put the team ahead, 1-0. After a flyout, Ruggiero and Benjamin Huckans stole bases to put two men in scoring position for sophomore Jake Crantz, who reached base on a throwing error by the William Paterson pitcher, scoring Huckans in the process to extend the lead to 2-0. 
 
William Paterson came back in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of a walk and two doubles to tie the game, 2-2. 
 
Fisher soon retook the lead, however, thanks to Crantz. Leading off the top of the sixth with a single, the second baseman moved to second on a balk and then to third with a groundout. He then came home to score on an RBI flyout by senior Ethan Perry to move the Cardinals ahead, 3-2. 
 
That lead proved temporary, however, as the Pioneers answered with four runs in the bottom of the seventh to move ahead, 6-3. The Cardinals got one of those runs back in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by senior James Murphy to score Cubello's second run of the game and make it 6-4, 
 
Then, in the eighth, the Cardinals pulled ahead for good. Brian Norsen led off with a single, and then he moved to third when Nick Lemire followed up with a ground-rule double. Perry drove in Norsen with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-5, and then Dominic Guccia tied it with an RBI single, 6-6. Later in the inning, Huckans struck with the first home run of his collegiate career to give the Cardinals an 8-6 lead.

Fisher scored three insurance runs in the top of the ninth and then withstood a late William Paterson run to bring about the final 11-7 score. 
 
Offensively, Perry led the Cardinals with a 2-for-3 game including a double, four RBI, and two sacrifice flies. Norsen, Cubello, Huckans and Ruggiero also had two hits. Both Huckans and Guccia had two RBI each. 
 
Sophomore Ethan Fulton had his first collegiate start for the Cardinals and went three no-hit innings, striking out five while walking two in the no-decision. Nate Kilburn took the win for the Cardinals for 1.1 innings of scoreless work, including a strikeout. Hunter Walsh earned the save for two innings of work, allowing an earned run while getting a strikeout. 
 
Game Two
Fisher again struck first, opening the game with consecutive doubles by Murphy, Crantz, and Norsen, bringing Murphy and Crantz both in to score for the early 2-0 lead. 
 
While the Pioneers struck back by tying the game with two runs in the bottom of the first, the Cardinals soon retook the lead on a two-run double from Cubello in the top of the third. Fisher extended its lead in the fourth when Jake Meeker stole home during a double-steal, extending the lead to 5-2. 
 
Although William Paterson threatened again in the bottom of the fourth, Fisher escaped unscathed with a double play. 
 
The score would remain the same until the bottom of the seventh, when the Pioneers put up one run to decrease Fisher's lead to 5-3. Paterson added another an inning later to cut the Cardinals' lead to one. 
 
The Cardinals loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, but were unable to add to their lead. With two outs in the ninth, the Pioneers tied the game with a single by Ty Kobylakiewicz to force extras. 
 
Fisher again loaded the bases in the tenth, where they moved ahead when Guccia drew a walk to bring home Crantz to make it 6-5. Later, Junior Jimmy McCardle then added another run the hard way, getting hit by a pitch to bring in another run. A sac fly by Huckans then made it 8-5. 
 
Cam Kingsley got the call out of the bullpen and despite getting into trouble with two outs, he secured the save and victory for the team.
What Comes Next
The Cardinals head south starting next weekend for the RussMatt Invitational in Florida. Their first game is on Saturday, March 2 against Aurora University, with first pitch set for 2:00 P.M. Fisher is scheduled to play seven games in the Sunshine State before returning to New York. 
 
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