Game One: #15 St. John Fisher College 9 – Elmira College 3
Game Two: #15 St. John Fisher College 16 – Elmira College 0
Records: St. John Fisher (25-6, 12-0 E8), Elmira (12-14, 8-9 E8)
Location: Dugan Yard – Rochester, N.Y.
 
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Elmira College baseball began today's doubleheader against No. 15-ranked St. John Fisher College with hopes of bettering its chances of solidifying one of the four Empire 8 Conference Tournament spots. However, the nationally-ranked Cardinals proved to be too much to handle this afternoon, as the Soaring Eagles dropped a pair of league games on the road, starting with a 9-3 setback in the opener and a 16-0 defeat in the nightcap.
 
EC opened the first game of the series by pushing across a pair of runs in the top of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Leadoff man Hayden Rothenberg '17 was pelted to start things off and EC's Conor Bawiec '18 reached safely on the next at bat on a fielding error by Fisher's second baseman. Another mistake by the Fisher defense allowed both runners to advance another base, as a wild pitch by Kyle Chambers put runners on first and second with no outs.
 
Dylan Bellinger '17 drove in the game's opening run on the next plate appearance, as the native of Elmira, New York, hit a deep fly ball to left field, scoring the speedy Rothenberg from third. Two batters later, Nate Hanner '18 found the gap in left center for an RBI double, scoring Bawiece from second to give Elmira a two-run lead.
 
Elmira's lead was short-lived though, as the Cards put a five-spot on the board in the bottom half of the first inning to take a 5-2 lead. Two of Fisher's runs came with two outs, including a double steal that saw Ryan Prevost swipe second and Nate Roethel steal home.
 
St. John Fisher added to its lead in the bottom half of the second inning with four consecutive hits, including a pair of doubles that drove in three runs and extended the Cardinal lead to 8-2. Elmira left the bases loaded in the top of the third, but a two-out RBI single by Bellinger in the top of the fourth brought in Rothenberg, his second run of the game, to trim the Fisher lead to 8-3. From there EC put three players on base over the next three innings but was unable to bring them in, while the Cardinals tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth to march away with a 9-3 win.
 
Game two started off as a pitcher's duel, as neither team was able to cross home plate through three full innings. However, the Cardinal offense produced three runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a two-run homer by Malcolm Kelsey. The three-run fourth was just a precursor to an 11-run fifth inning for the Cardinals, as they took a commanding 14-0 lead.
 
Elmira was held without a hit for the remainder of the game and placed just one runner on base, while Fisher added a run in both the sixth and eighth innings to clinch its 12th conference win of the season.
 
Inside the Box Score (Game One)

• St. John Fisher held a 12-to-7 lead in hits.
• Elmira did not commit a single error, while Fisher had one.
• Bellinger was a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate with a pair of RBIs.
• Hanner was 1-for-2 with an RBI double and two walks.
• Rothenberg and Bawiec were both 1-for-3 from the dish.
• Rothenberg scored two runs, while Bawiec scored the other and worked a walk.
• Bawiec got the start on the pitcher's mound, but was bounced after one inning after allowing five runs on five hits.
• Andy Reed '19 made a relief appearance and went 5.0 innings with one strikeout.

 
Inside the Box Score (Game Two)

• Fisher outhit Elmira 20-to-5.
• The Soaring Eagles committed two errors and Fisher had one.
• Bawiec was 3-for-4 with a trio of singles.
• Dennis Rudolph '18 went 2-for-4 at the dish.
• DeMaruo took the loss after going 4.0 innings with three runs allowed.

 
News and Notes

• The Soaring Eagles still remain as one of the top four teams in the E8 standings.
• Elmira has one conference game left on its schedule, a May 5th matchup against Utica.
• Bellinger produced his fifth three-hit outing of the 2017 season.
• Bellinger also logged his fifth multi-RBI game of the year.
• Bawiec recorded his fifth game with three-or-more hits.

 
Up Next
Elmira will look to shake off today's setback tomorrow evening when the Purple and Gold welcome Alfred State College to historic Dunn Field for a 4:00 p.m. non-league bout.