FISHER SWEEPS SAINTS IN SOFTBALL, 6-0, 5-0

April 24: St. John Fisher pitchers Amanda Herberger and Christine Seppeler pitched back-to-back shutouts to lead the Cardinals to a doubleheader sweep of St. Lawrence University in women’s collegiate softball Sunday afternoon, 6-0 and 5-0.

Herberger pitched a two-hitter and struck out 11 to lead the Cardinals to their fifth straight win and Seppeler took a two-hitter into the bottom of the seventh, finishing with a five-hit shutout with six strikeouts in game two as St. John Fisher concluded its regular season with a 26-14 record and wins in 14 of its last 16 games.

The Cardinals jumped on top in game one with a three-run fourth inning. Sara Dresser led it off with a single down the first base line, was sacrificed to second and scored on Amanda Novitske’s double to center. Jessica Shaller’s ground out produced the second run and Kim Barry singled home the third.

Katie Botkins led off the top of the sixth for the Cardinals with a double to right center and Novitske drove in pinch runner Laura Paul with a double to center. Successive wild pitches scored Novitskie to make it a 5-0 game and singles by Barry and Nicole Watkins scored the sixth Cardinal run.

Shawna Weeks doubled to left to lead off the second and Erin Lloyd slapped a single through the left side to lead off the third for the only Saint hits in the game. Heather Tuttle took the loss on the mound for SLU.

The Cardinals scored all the runs Seppeler was to need in a three-run third. Battling a slippery mound, Saint pitcher Ava Pickering walked three with one run scoring on a wild pitch and the other two on a single to center by Michelle Dorscheid. Doubles by Dorscheid and Novitske scored a run in the top of the sixth and Dorscheid doubled in Nicole Watkins, who had singled, for a run in the top of the seventh.

The Saints threatened against Seppeler in the bottom of the seventh as singles by Tuttle, Shelly Martin and Yralee Mendez loaded the bases, but Seppeler struck out two Saint pinch hitters to end the game.

Tuttle had two of the five Saint hits in the game and Erin Lloyd had the other.

The Saints will return to action with a makeup doubleheader against Elmira on Thursday and will host Rochester in makeup games on Saturday.