BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The No. 2-seeded Russell Sage Gators rallied back from a four-run deficit to beat the No. 3-seeded St. John Fisher baseball team 6-5 in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament at SUNY Brockport's Clark V. Whitted Park on Thursday afternoon. 

The Cardinals (21-18-1) will face No. 5 Houghton at 8:30 a.m. on Friday in an elimination game. Houghton took two of three games from Fisher to close the regular season this past weekend. 

Russell Sage (26-13) faces top-seeded SUNY Brockport (34-3-2) at noon Friday. 

How It Happened 

The Cardinals plated two runs in the top of the second inning and two more in the third en route to a 4-0 lead. After Sage put one on the board in the bottom of the third, Jack Griffin pushed Fisher's lead back to four runs with a run-scoring single in the fourth. 

The Gators scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to cut their deficit to 5-4. They tied the game in the eighth inning on Fisher's second fielding error of the ballgame. 

Sage completed the comeback victory on Jeff Stearns' walk-off single to right center field. 

Freshman Austin Droge, who had three hits in four at-bats, led the Cardinals with two RBI. Fellow freshman Ryan Vanderlip had three knocks in five trips to the plate. 

Ethan Fulton started on the mound and allowed four runs on five hits and four walks. He struck out five batters. 

Patrick McGuire worked four innings in relief, allowing a run on five hits while striking out four of the 19 batters he faced.

Up Next

The Cardinals will face Houghton in an elimination game at 8:30 a.m. Friday.