HOUGHTON, N.Y. — The St. John Fisher baseball team split its final regular-season doubleheader on Saturday night, falling to Houghton 7-6 in the first game before taking the second game 8-5. 

The Cardinals finished the regular season 21-17-1 overall and 15-8-1 in the Empire 8. They will be the No. 3 seed in the upcoming E8 Championship Tournament. 

Game 1: St. John Fisher 6, Houghton 7

The Cardinals led 5-0 through the top of the fourth inning. A lead-off solo homer from Jackson Frey and a wild pitch scored two runs in the opening frame. In the third inning, a Jake Crantz single and a Brendan Bucello double pushed the Cardinals' lead to 5-0. 

Houghton climbed back into the game with a two-run sixth inning and a three-run seventh. 

With the game tied at six, the Highlanders pushed across the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth.

Andrew Roman, Frey and Bucello all had two hits in the ballgame. Ethan Fulton started the game on the mound for the Cardinals, throwing two scoreless and hitless innings. 

Game 2: St. John Fisher 8, Houghton 5

Fisher started hot at the plate again, scoring six runs in the first two innings. 

Jordan Perry hit a sacrifice fly to left to push across a run in the first. Frey, Perry and Matt Culjak drove in runs in the second inning. 

Houghton, down 7-0, scored a run in the third and four runs in the fourth to make it an 8-5 game. Those would be the last runs scored, as Benjamin Huckans came in relief for the Cardinals, throwing three hitless, shutout innings in relief. Huckans struck out seven of the twelve batters he faced.

Robert Leach started the game on the mound for the Cardinals and threw two shutout innings. He allowed just one hit. 

Up Next

The Cardinals will face No. 2-seeded Russell Sage in their first game in the double-elimination E8 Tournament on Thursday at top-seeded SUNY Brockport's baseball complex. Fisher won the regular season series against Sage, winning two out of the three games.