Rochester, NY -- After suffering consecutive losses to the Cardinals the day before, the Elmira College baseball team bounced back Sunday afternoon to piece together their strongest back-to-back performance of the season as the Soaring Eagles split a pair of one-run games with St. John Fisher College.  Elmira outlasted Fisher in a pitcher's duel in game one as the Purple and Gold claimed a 1-0 victory but in game two, the Cardinals would rally late for a 3-2 win.
 
Elmira will be back in action this Tuesday, April 21st, when the Soaring Eagles make the short trip to Ithaca, NY to take on the Bombers of Ithaca College in a makeup game from earlier this season.  The first pitch is set for 4:00 p.m.
 
Game One: Elmira 1, St. John Fisher 0
Elmira and St. John Fisher battled it out in game one, a nine-inning game, as just one run decided the outcome of today's contest.  EC starting pitcher Conor Bawiec '18 showed how important he will continue to be for Elmira's pitching staff for the rest of the season as the Lebanon, PA native held the Cardinal offense scoreless while allowing just three hits in nine innings of work as he picked up his first collegiate win. 
 
Of the nine innings Bawiec pitched, only four innings saw Cardinal batters reach safely and only two of those innings had a Fisher runner in scoring position. 
 
Elmira's batters found themselves in a similar situation as Fisher's starting pitcher, Terry Engels, held the Soaring Eagles to just three hits.  However, the difference maker today was that Engel allowed extra base runners by hitting two Elmira batters and walking one other, a mistake that would prove to be very costly in the fifth inning.
 
Brian Wehmeyer '17 led-off the top of the fifth inning by reaching safely as he was hit by a pitch for a second time in today's game.  Coach Corey Paluga looked to put the pressure on Fisher's defense as he had Rochester, NY native, Brandon Davis '17, pinch run for Wehmeyer.
 
With no outs and Davis on first, Bryce Plante '18 reached safely on an infield single, putting a pair of runners on base for Dennis Rudolph '18.  Rudolph would lay down a sacrifice bunt to advance Davis and Plante an extra base, putting both runners in scoring position for Nate Hanner '18.
 
Working with one out and the go-ahead run on third base, Hanner would put the ball in-play to the right side of Fisher's infield, forcing the Cardinal second baseman to make a split decision whether to make a play at the plate or register a guaranteed out at first.  To the delight of Elmira, a play at the plate did not occur as the Fisher second baseman threw Hanner out at first, but not before Davis crossed home plate to put the Soaring Eagles on top, 1-0.
 
The Cardinals nearly answered the in the bottom half of the fifth inning as they put runners on second and third with two outs.  However, Bawiec would get out of the inning unscathed as he got the Fisher's next batter to fly out to center field for the final out.
 
Over the next three innings, Bawiec allowed just one base runner as he kept Elmira's one-run lead intact.  However, in the bottom of the ninth, Bawiec would run into trouble as two Fisher batters reached safely on an error and a walk with just one out.
 
With runners on first and second, Bawiec looked to close the door on a potential Cardinal rally and did so by getting the next two batters to line out and ground out, sealing a 1-0 win for the Soaring Eagles, Elmira's second win of the season.
 
Game Two: St. John Fisher 3, Elmira 2
Two hit batters to open up the top of the first inning resulted in both EC runners crossing home plate as the Soaring Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Hayden Rothenberg '17 and Jack Thistle '18 were hit by pitches on back-to-back at-bats and a passed ball advanced the two runners to second and third base, allowing Dylan Bellinger '17 and Mike Burghardt '18 to drive-in the game's opening runs.
 
Fisher answered in the bottom half of the first inning with one run, cutting Elmira's lead to 2-1. 
 
It looked as though Elmira was going to build on their one-run lead in the top of the fourth as EC put their first two batters on base before Plante advanced both of them one base on a sacrifice bunt, putting two Elmira runners in scoring position.  However, EC's final two batters would strike out, ending the scoring threat as the Soaring Eagles clung to their one-run lead.
 
The Cardinals put a runner on third base in the fourth and fifth innings, but a solid defensive effort by the Soaring Eagles kept Fisher off the scoreboard as Elmira remained on top by one run.
 
In the bottom of the seventh Dennis Rudolph, Elmira's starting pitcher, would get the first two batters he saw to ground out, putting the Soaring Eagles four outs away from a victory.  Unfortunately, the Cardinals would register three straight hits, including a two-run double that put Fisher on top for the first time in either game, 3-2.
 
Trailing by one, Elmira looked to rally as Will Jenkins '18 and Hanner worked a pair of walks to lead-off the top of the seventh.  Following an EC strikeout, Rothenberg would find the pocket in left field for a single, but the hit would not be deep enough to score Jenkins from second as the score remained 3-2.
 
With one out and the bases loaded, Elmira was hoped to score the game-tying run any way possible but EC's final two batters would pop up and strike out, ending the Soaring Eagle rally as Fisher escaped with a one-run win.