St. John Fisher Beats RIT 4-1 In Empire 8 Tournament Opener
ITHACA, N.Y. – Second-ranked St. John Fisher (22-11) defeated third-ranked RIT (13-22) in the opening game of the 2007 Empire 8 Softball Championship Tournament.
St. John Fisher opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman right fielder Sarah Gates (Granby Memorial/Granby, Conn.) led off with a single and stole second two outs later. A passed ball moved Gates to third and she scored when senior shortstop Katie Botkins (Lakeshore/Derby) doubled. Junior first baseman Nicole Middleton (Hudson Falls/Fort Edward) followed with another double to score the Cardinals’ second run.
RIT answered in the top of the second. Senior pitcher Mary Keegan (West Seneca West/West Seneca) singled with one out. After a two-out error by Middleton kept the inning alive, back-to-back singles by junior outfielder Katie Grenga (Christian Brothers Academy/Syracuse) and junior outfielder Rachel Richards (Holy Angels Academy/Buffalo) scored Keegan to cut the Fisher lead to 2-1.
The Cardinals added two runs in the fifth. Gates reached on an error and, after a sacrifice bunt and a groundout moved Gates to third, Botkins’ second double of the game scored her to make the score 3-1. Middleton followed with a single to score pinch-runner Laura Paul (Mt. St. Mary Academy/Towanda) to provide the game’s final run.
Junior pitcher Amanda Shevchuk (Fayetteville-Manlius/Manlius) picked up the win for St. John Fisher, pitching a complete-game six-hitter and allowing only an unearned run. She walked none and struck out four to improve to 10-4 on the season. Botkins went 3-3 and drove in two runs, while Middleton was 2-3 and also had a pair of runs batted in.
Keegan took the loss and fell to 8-11 for the Tigers. She allowed four runs—two earned—and seven hits in six innings. She struck out five and did not walk a batter. She also scored RIT’s only run. Six different Tigers collected hits on the day.
St. John Fisher will play the winner of the Utica-Ithaca game at approximately 2 p.m. in the third game of the double-elimination tournament. RIT plays the Utica-Ithaca loser in an elimination game at approximately 4 p.m.
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