UTICA, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher softball team closed out the 2026 regular season with an Empire 8 Conference sweep of Utica on Saturday. The Cardinals took game one, 4-1, before securing the sweep with an 8-4 win in game two.
Fisher improved to 27-11 overall (18-4 Empire 8), while Utica fell to 15-19 (10-10 Empire 8).
Game One: St. John Fisher 4, Utica 1
The Cardinals broke through in the top of the fourth inning. With two outs, Taylor Shackleton reached on an error and moved to second after Isabella Mahar drew a walk. CC Holmes then doubled to center field, driving in two runs to give Fisher a 2-0 lead.
Utica answered in the bottom half of the inning when Eden Resch hit a sacrifice fly to right field, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Fisher added insurance in the sixth. Madi Rose singled up the middle, and after a sacrifice bunt by Sarah Gross, who moved her to second, Shackleton reached to put runners on first and second. Holmes followed with an RBI single through the right side, and Maddy Schubach added another run with a single to left to cap the scoring at 4-1.
Molly Kuhn earned the win in the circle, tossing a complete game while allowing one earned run and striking out six.
Game Notes
Game Two: St. John Fisher 8, Utica 4
Utica opened the scoring in the first inning. Mya Strong led off with a single and eventually scored on a two-out single to left by Kari Graziano to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead.
Fisher responded in the second inning. After Schubach was hit by a pitch and Julia Hollister doubled, Hallie Lorimer drew a walk to load the bases. Gracie Curella tied the game with an RBI single, and a passed ball allowed Hollister to score. Rose followed with an RBI single, and Gross added a sacrifice fly to give the Cardinals a 4-1 advantage.
Holmes extended the lead in the third with a solo home run to left-center, making it 5-1.
Utica cut into the deficit in the bottom of the inning when Graziano doubled to left, driving in a run.
Fisher added two more runs in the fourth. Curella reached and advanced to second on an error before Rose singled. With two outs, Shackleton delivered a two-run double to center field to push the lead to 7-2.
The Cardinals added their final run in the seventh when Curella lifted a sacrifice fly to score Lorimer.
Utica attempted a late rally in the bottom of the seventh, scoring twice on a passed ball and an RBI single by Resch, but could not close the gap.
Lorimer earned the win in the circle, pitching a complete game.
Game Notes
Up Next
The Cardinals will compete in the Empire 8 Conference Championship. Schedule information will be announced at a later time.
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