ALBANY, N.Y. The St. John Fisher baseball team opened the series against Russell Sage with a Friday night victory, 12-3. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 18-14-1 overall and 13-5-1 in Empire 8 play.

St. John Fisher 12, Russell Sage 3

With three straight scoreless innings to begin the match-up, the Cardinals broke the tie with a three-run top of the fourth inning. A leadoff walk from Jordan Perry led to an eventual steal of home to score the game's first run. Jackson Frey and Mario Cubello hit back-to-back RBI singles later in the inning, giving the team a 3-0 lead. Russell Sage came back with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the fourth, before Anthony Lang came in relief and got the Cardinals out of a bases-loaded jam.

The score remained 3-2 Fisher until the sixth inning, when bases loaded walks drawn by Benjamin Huckans and Jordan Perry drove in runs. In the seventh, Perry blew the game open with a three-run, bases-clearing single to make the score 9-2 Fisher. The Cardinals tacked on more runs in the eighth and ninth innings, the final blow coming from a Huckans solo homer in the top of the ninth.

Sean Cleary started on the mound for the Cardinals. He went 3.2 innings, tallied four strikeouts, allowing two hits and two runs. Tanner Frank threw 4 innings of relief, allowing only one run and three hits, with four strikeouts. Patrick McGuire threw a scoreless ninth inning, tallying two strikeouts. 

Up Next

The Cardinals will remain in Albany and play a doubleheader against Russell Sage on Sunday. The first pitch at the Plumeri Sports Complex is set for 12 p.m.