Baseball | 5/1/2024 6:56:00 AM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University baseball team finishes the regular season this week with a string of home games, hosting SUNY Brockport on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. before playing a three-game series with Alfred over the weekend. 
 
Last Time Out
The Cardinals took two from out-of-conference foe Oneonta State on Saturday, April 27. In game one, Fisher won a close 3-2 contest thanks to a late bases-loaded hit-by-pitch by Jimmy McCardle. Senior James Murphy led the team in game two's 6-1 win, going 4-for-4 with an RBI while senior Andrew Roman hit his first home run of the season.
 
Conference Picture
Fisher currently sits in second place in the Empire 8 standings, behind Russell Sage College. Sage holds the tiebreaker with Fisher due to winning the season series (2-1), but Fisher can still grab the top spot if they sweep Alfred this weekend and Sage loses twice to Houghton or if they win two while Sage gets swept.
 
Fisher could conceivably fall to third in the conference if they are swept this weekend and Houghton sweeps Sage, but even one win or one Houghton loss would ensure the Cardinals are at least second in the conference, as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with Houghton. 
 
The Empire 8 tournament begins Thursday, May 9, on the campus of the top-seeded team. 
 
Know Your Foe: Brockport
The SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles enter the week 18-15 overall. Currently members of the SUNYAC conference, they'll join the Empire 8 starting next season. 
 
Senior Zach Eldred leads the Golden Eagles with a .947 OPS and .533 slugging percentage and is second on the team among qualified batters in batting average (.315). The outfielder has three home runs on the year, also a team high. 
 
On the mound, Justin Delvecchio paces the Brockport staff with a 3.67 ERA and a 4-1 record, while Angelo Agro leads the team in saves, with two. 
 
The Cardinals dropped an earlier meeting this season on Brockport's campus, 3-2, on April 23. 
 
Fun Fact: Longtime NBA coach Stan Van Gundy attended Brockport. 
 
Know Your Foe: Alfred
Alfred is last in the Empire 8 standings and enters the week with a 1-29 record, including a 0-15 mark in conference play. 
 
Offensively, the Saxons are led by freshman Cameron Brought, tops on the team in batting average (.283), and by sophomore Benjamin Weimer, who has the team's best slugging percentage (.453). Pitcher Owen Jennings is tied for fourth in the conference in strikeouts, with 39. 
 
Fun Fact: Alfred is called the "Saxons" in reference to the fact that Alfred the Great was King of the Saxons. 
 
Murphy vs. Conference Opponents? Advantage: Murphy
In the games that matter most- those against conference opponents- James Murphy has been up to the task. He leads Empire 8 hitters in conference games in batting average (.585), slugging percentage (.906), on base percentage (.671), on-base-plus-slugging (1.577), hits (31), and triples (4). He's also tied for the lead in RBI (27), and in the top five for runs scored (27, T-2), stolen bases (15, second-best), and doubles (6, T-3).
 
Relief Workers
The Cardinals have relied on several pitchers this season to close games, but the two that have done it most often have been graduate student Hunter Walsh and sophomore Cam Kingsley, who together account for six of the team's seven saves. Walsh is currently tied with Houghton's Jeremey Wilcox for the conference lead in the category, with four. Tanner Frank, who has also started eight games, has worked in relief as well, although usually in a middle or long relief role. 
 
What Comes Next
The Cardinals will play in the Empire 8 tournament, the only question is where and with what seed. As mentioned earlier, Fisher can still grab the top spot if they sweep Alfred this weekend and Sage loses twice to Houghton or if they win two while Sage gets swept. If that happens, they'd host the Empire 8 on the St. John Fisher Campus. Otherwise, they would be traveling to the campus of Russell Sage. It is also possible, albeit unlikely, that the Cardinals could fall to third place if they are swept by Alfred and Houghton sweeps Sage. 
 
Regardless of where the tournament is, the Empire 8 championship begins Thursday, May 9. 
 
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