PITTSFORD, NY - The RIT softball team (8-18) scored a season-high nine runs in a dominant 9-1 win in five innings over St. John Fisher in game one of a doubleheader played through the raindrops Monday afternoon at Fisher's Softball Complex. The Cardinals (24-10) would rebound to win game two, 1-0 on a walkoff single in the seventh inning.
In game one, RIT slammed eight hits and took advantage of three Fisher errors. RIT would strike right away in the top of the first inning, as
Sam Killian (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) doubled to right field, scoring
Amanda Cook (Royal Palm Beach, FL/Suncoast) and
Sarah Wolcott (Cohocton, NY/Wayland-Cohocton), who both reached base with two outs. After Fisher came right back with a run in the bottom half of the inning, RIT put the game away with three runs in the fourth and four in the fifth.
McKenzie Martin (Deposit, NY/Deposit) drove in a pair of runs in the fourth inning, reaching on an error. She then scored later in the inning, beating a throw home on an attempted double steal after
Alexa Farner (Gowanda, NY/Gownanda) was thrown out at second base, making it 5-1 Tigers.
In the fifth inning,
Alexandria Lunderman (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) singled to left field with the bases loaded, scoring Wolcott to make it 6-1 RIT. Farner followed with a single that drove in a pair of runs and scored the third runner when the ball was misplayed in the outfield.
Killian and
Tori Blaker (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post West) had two hits apiece. Blaker, Lunderman, and Wolcott scored a pair of runs each. On the mound,
Lauren Mahar (Rotterdam, NY/Schalmont), the reigning Liberty League Rookie of the Week, won her fifth straight decision, allowing six hits and a run, while striking out three batters in the complete-game victory.
In game two, fisher ace Lindsey Thayer and RIT's
Sierra Valentine (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) waged a tremendous pitchers duel. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Meghan Burns reached base and would come around to score with two outs on a single by Jessie Smyrski, whose line drive got caught in the wind and was able to drop for the game-winning hit.
Smyrski had three of Fisher's four hits, while Thayer allowed just three hits and struck out eight batters for her 17th victory of the season.
Katelyn Koester (Amherst, NY/St. Mary's School for the Deaf), Wolcott, and Blaker had the RIT singles. Valentine pitched great, but could not get the run support, as she allowed just four hits and the single run, while striking out five batters.
St. John Fisher leads the all-time series between the two schools, 49-27. It was RIT's first win over the Cardinals since the 2011 season, when the two teams were rivals in the Empire 8 Conference.
RIT is right back in action on Wednesdsay with a pair of home games against Geneseo at Tiger Stadium that get underway at 3 p.m.
