BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher softball team secured another Empire 8 Conference sweep on Friday, defeating SUNY Brockport 3-1 in game one before completing the doubleheader with an 8-2 victory.
The Cardinals improved to 21-9 overall (12-2 Empire 8), while the Golden Eagles fell to 13-11 (9-3 Empire 8).
Game One: St. John Fisher 3, Brockport 1
The Cardinals opened the scoring in the top of the second inning. Sophomore Julia Hollister led off with a single before senior Isabella Mahar drew a walk to put two runners on. With one out, senior Leah Fron singled to left field and advanced to second on an error, allowing both runners to score and giving Fisher a 2-0 lead.
The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Saylor Ayers hit a leadoff solo home run to center field to cut the deficit to one.
Fisher responded in the top of the sixth as senior Taylor Shackleton launched a solo home run to left field, extending the lead to 3-1.
Junior Molly Kuhn pitched a complete game to earn the win, allowing four hits while striking out a career-high 12 batters without issuing a walk.
Game Notes:
Game Two: St. John Fisher 8, Brockport 2
The Cardinals struck first in the top of the second inning. With a runner on first, senior Hallie Lorimer singled to right field to drive in the opening run. Later in the inning, with two outs and the bases loaded, freshman Sarah Gross singled to center field to bring home two runs and give Fisher a 3-0 advantage.
Brockport answered in the bottom half of the inning when Ayers singled to left field to score Liana DeValder.
Fisher added to its lead in the third inning. With runners on second and third, Fron reached on an infield single to drive in a run, and Lorimer followed with an RBI groundout to make it 5-1.
The Cardinals broke the game open in the fourth. Hollister grounded out to bring in a run, and Shackleton later scored on a passed ball to extend the lead to 7-1.
Brockport added a run in the bottom of the inning on an Ayers groundout, but Fisher answered in the fifth when Gross lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score the final run of the game.
Junior CC Holmes earned the win with a complete-game performance, allowing five hits while striking out a career-high eight batters without a walk.
Game Notes:
Up Next
The Cardinals will host SUNY Geneseo in an Empire 8 doubleheader at 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, at the Softball Complex in Pittsford, N.Y.
