Score: St. John Fisher College 5, Elmira College 3
Records: St. John Fisher (29-9), Elmira (16-19)
Location: Rochester, New York -- Dugan Yard

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The No. 3 seed Elmira College baseball team competed with top-seeded and No. 14 nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College until the final out of Friday's Empire 8 Conference Championship elimination game, but was unable to complete a comeback and fell 5-3 to the Cardinals at Dugan Yard.

The loss ended a superb season for the Purple and Gold, which h isn't accurately reflected in EC's 16-19 overall record. Not only did the Soaring Eagles push reigning tournament champion Ithaca College and the 14th-ranked Cardinals to the brink in both of their games during the E8 Championships, but as stated by Head Coach Corey Paluga postgame, Elmira gained a lot of respect within the league.

Starting pitcher Nick Sampogna '18 held Fisher scoreless through the first three innings. The junior righty recorded two of the three putouts in the opening inning, fielding a grounder and tagging out Evan Ryan for the first out before hustling to cover first to end the frame. He then fanned Malcolm Kelsey in the second inning for his only strikeout of the game.

The Cardinal broke the scoreless draw by tallying twice in each of the next two innings. Kelsey provided the big blow in the fourth with a solo homer over the fence beyond left-center power alley. In the fifth, the Cards loaded the bases before scoring on a passed ball and sac fly. Fisher would tack on one additional run in the top of the sixth, extending its lead to 5-0. A pair of free passes and a single loaded the bases, setting up Justin Graham to drive in a run on a fielder's choice.

After being limited to just three hits through the first five innings, the Soaring Eagles registered four consecutive hits to start the bottom of the sixth. After a lead-off single off the bat of Conor Bawiec '18, Dylan Bellinger '17 plated EC's first run by crushing a double into the gap in left center. Tommy Fogarty '20 followed with an RBI base hit to drive home Bellinger and reduce the deficit to 5-2, and Nate Hanner '18 stroke a single through the left side to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Looking for a big inning, Paluga then signaled for a hit-and-run, but Rudolph failed to make contact, leaving Fogarty out to dry as he attempted to take third. The Soaring Eagles were unable to plate any more runs in the inning, as the next two batters grounded out and lined out to end the threat.

Elmira continued to chip away at the Fisher lead in the bottom of the seventh. Eddie O'Donnell IV '18 and Bryce Plante '18 opened the inning with a pair of soft liners that found grass in shallow right and center, respectively, which chased Fisher starter Anthony Brophy from the game, and reliever Kyle Chambers walked the first batter he faced to load the bases with no outs. Although EC eventually walked in a run to make it a 5-3 game, neither Bawiec and Bellinger – the second and third batters in the lineup and the team's leading hitters – were able to plate a run, and the bases were left juiced with a two-run hole.

The Soaring Eagles had one final chance in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Bawiec singled with a bunt towards third base, bringing the power-hitting Bellinger to the dish representing the tying run. The senior first baseman worked a full count but couldn't get enough under his fly ball to right, which was caught near the foul line by a hustling Stephen Edgett.

Turning Point
Although Elmira mounted a formidable comeback in the late innings, the Purple and Gold were just one swing of the bat shy surpassing the Cardinals, or at least forcing extras. The biggest missed opportunity of the contest was the bases-loaded seventh. With ducks on the pond and no outs, a simple base hit could have scored two runs with the potential to do more damage, but Fogarty's two-out walk was the only run driven in during the inning.

In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Corey Paluga's takeaways from his team's performance in the E8 Championships…
"We came into the conference tournament and were not intimidated by other team's resumes. One of the things we talked about coming into this tournament is that we of all teams should have less pressure on us. We are a first-time tournament experience team and based on what we accomplished up until this point, we should embrace it and have fun doing it. I think the boys had fun these two days and certainly it's a different feeling when you lose as opposed to when you win, but to be in a 4-3 game in the first contest and a 5-3 game in the second, I think our program gained a lot of respect in this conference tournament. I think it's going to show over the next few years as these guys continue to get bigger, faster, stronger, and more experienced that these situations that we were in this year are going to come up again and we will come out on top of those situations in the future."
 
Coach Paluga reflects on what was a historic season for EC baseball…
"I'd day the only frustrating thing is that we lost several games on our schedule, because we want to play as much as possible. One thing we benefited from was the amount that our young players contributed this year. We will certainly miss the three seniors we are losing but knowing how many guys are coming back, we are still in a very good position to take another big step next year."
 
Coach Paluga shares his thoughts on Elmira's comeback effort in today's game…
"It comes down to confidence and understanding that you either embrace the situation or you tuck your tail and hide – we didn't tuck our tails, we embraced it and took it head on. We had opportunities and like I've said before it comes down to execution. We had various chances throughout the tournament that had we executed a little bit better, then we would have cut the lead if not taken the lead."

 
Inside the Box Score

• St. John Fisher held a slight edge in hits, 11-10.
• Both teams committed one error apiece in the field.
• Bawiec went 2-for-5 at the dish with one run scored and one stolen base.
• O'Donnell was 2-for-4 at the dish with one run scored.
• Fogarty went 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and a walk.
• Bellinger was 1-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.
• Rothenberg was 1-for-4 with one walk.
• Hanner, Matt van Muelken '18 and Plante each logged one hit apiece.
• Sampogna allowed five runs on nine hits with one strikeout in 5.1 innings.
• Andy Reed '19 came in for relief duty and held Fisher to two hits over 3.2 innings.
• Fisher's Kelsey finished 1-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs.
• Brophy earned the win by giving up three runs on nine hits in 6.0 innings.
• Chambers was credited with a save after throwing 3.0 scoreless innings in relief.

 
News and Notes

• Elmira finished the 2017 season with a 16-19 overall record.
• 16 wins tied last year's mark for the most in season in the program's first three years.
• EC is now 0-3 all-time in three Empire 8 Tournament games.
• Bawiec's junior season ends on a 28-game on-base streak.
• Bellinger capped off her career with a 13-game on-base streak.
• Fogarty extended his hit streak to eight consecutive games.