PITTSFORD, N.Y. - The St. John Fisher University baseball team rallied from a two-run deficit to defeat Houghton, 8-6, on Sunday afternoon at Dugan Yard in the final game of the 2026 regular season. The Cardinals rode clutch contributions from Jack Griffin and Jordan Perry, each going deep, while Conner Walker delivered a dominant performance out of the bullpen to help seal the victory. Fisher ends the regular season to 27-10 (16-6) with the win.
Fisher totaled 10 hits and drew eight walks in the comeback effort. Griffin and Perry each homered, while Brody Becker delivered the biggest swing of the afternoon with a two-run double.
On the mound, Conner Walker (1-0) earned the win after a bullpen shuffle, tossing two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth while allowing no hits and striking out four. Brandon Benkovics came on in the ninth and worked around a one-out single and a walk before closing the door with a groundout to end the game. Robert Leach started and gave the Cardinals two solid innings, allowing one earned run while striking out two, before a difficult third inning for Colin Barry and Nathan Weber allowed Houghton to scratch across four runs — most of them unearned — and take a 5-3 lead. Caleb Clark and Cal Machalek bridged the gap before Walker took over and shut things down.
How It Happened
Fisher wasted no time in the first inning, taking advantage of Houghton starter Danny Bratton's wildness. Ryan Vanderlip drew a walk and stole second, and Jack Griffin walked before both runners stole to put the pressure on. Jordan Perry grounded out to first but scored Vanderlip with an RBI, and Jake Crantz followed with a two-run single to put Fisher up 2-0.
Houghton answered in the bottom of the first when Vincent Lucyszyn doubled to lead off and came around to score on a Christian Tortorici RBI single, cutting it to 2-1.
Robert Leach worked a clean second inning before being lifted, and the wheels came off for the Fisher bullpen in the third. Colin Barry walked Lucyszyn, allowed a Qingyang Feng single and a Tortorici hit-by-pitch to load the bases, then issued a bases-loaded walk to Tobias Waldridge that scored a run. A Ryan Vanderlip error at third base then allowed two more unearned runs to score, flipping the lead to Houghton at 3-2.
Fisher responded immediately in the bottom of the third when Jack Griffin led off with a solo home run to center to tie the game at 3-3.
Houghton regained the lead with two more runs in the fourth. Nathan Weber came on and allowed Ty Kenney to single and Vanderlip committed another error that kept the inning alive. Two more unearned runs scored on a Tortorici fielder's choice and a passed ball by Scott Sleurs, pushing the Highlanders' lead to 5-3.
Fisher began chipping away in the fifth, when Becker roped a two-run double to right to pull back even at 5-5. Houghton added a run in the sixth to push the lead back to 6-5, but the Cardinals would not be denied.
Jordan Perry opened the seventh with a solo home run off Lukas Cornell to make it 6-6, and Fisher completed the comeback in the eighth. Ryan Vanderlip walked and stole second, Jake Crantz reached on a Lucyszyn error, and Brendan Bucello singled to score Vanderlip. A Scott Sleurs walk loaded the bases before a wild pitch from Mathew Gross scored Crantz, giving Fisher an 8-6 advantage.
Brandon Benkovics then shut the door over the final inning, working around some one-out trouble and getting a groundout to end the game in the ninth.
Game Notes
- Griffin's home run is his seventh of the season, a new single-season career high.
- Conner Walker was electric out of the bullpen, punching out four batters, a single-game career-high, over two clean innings to earn his first win of the season.
Up Next
The Cardinals will head to Albany, NY to compete for a chance to earn the Empire 8 Conference Championship and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Fisher is the number three seed, and set to face off against SUNY Brockport on Thursday, May 7. Stay tuned to the St. John Fisher Athletics Website for a first-pitch time.
