UTICA, NY - The St. John Fisher baseball team took both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon against Empire 8 rival Utica University. The Cardinals improved to 19-6 (8-2 Empire 8) with the pair of victories. 

Game 1: St. John Fisher 18, Utica 5

How It Happened

Fisher jumped out front immediately in the first as Jack Griffin ripped an RBI double driving in Austin Droge. The offense continued humming in the second, as Hunter Fales stayed scorching hot at the plate, ripping his third long ball of the season to start off a seven-run outburst. The big second inning was capped off by another roundtripper by Jackson Frey, his second of the campaign.

The Pioneers would not go down without a fight, as they scored in the bottom of the second, third, fourth, and fifth to cut the Fisher advantage to 9-5. 

That would be all the scoring the Cardinals would allow, however, as they drove across nine unanswered runs across the next three innings. Fales, Frey, and Jacob Penafeather each knocked multiple RBI hits in the stretch to continue the Fisher onslaught. The Cardinals extended their lead to 18-5 when Fales scored on a wild pitch to complete a 4-run eighth inning.

Robert Leach got the start on the bump for Fisher, earning his fifth win of the season. He went six competitive innings, allowing only two earned runs on six hits and striking out six. Nathan Benjamin shut the door on the run-rule shortened game, pitching two clean innings allowing two hits and striking out one.

Game Notes

• Droge, Griffin, Fales, and Penafeather each collected three hits in the contest. Penafeather drove in four runs, a career high.

• Mario Cubello stole four bases, tying his career high.

Game 2: St. John Fisher 8, Utica 1

How It Happened

The first three innings were scoreless, as Fisher starting pitcher Justin Christensen was dominant on the mound. Scott Sleurs broke the stalemate for the Cardinals in the fourth, as he put the ball in play and drove in Frey with an RBI groundout. Penafeather then drove in Cubello with a run-scoring single to push the lead to 2-0. 

Another three scoreless innings later, the Cardinals broke the ice again as a Utica error allowed Noah Pohrte to score. The miscue left the door open for Griffin to rip a home run, and Cubello followed later in the frame with an RBI knock, extending the Fisher lead to 6-0 in the seventh. 

Utica responded with one run in the bottom of the frame, but it would be all their scoring for the game. Jordan Perry scampered home on a wild pitch in the 8th and Cubello put the exclamation mark on the day with a loud RBI triple in the ninth, driving in Frey and extending the Fisher lead to the final score of 8-1. 

The freshman Christensen was incredible on the mound, pitching six strong innings allowing only three hits and two walks and striking out a career-high 13 batters. Luke Horton and Dylan Becker finished off the game for the Cardinals, combining for four strikeouts over three innings.

Game Notes

• The Cardinals improved their record on the road to a perfect 10-0 on the season.

• Fisher's pitching staff combined for 17 strikeouts in the second game, their most on the season. The Cardinals hurlers only allowed six hits.

• Cubello went 4-5 at the plate, driving in two runs and scoring once.