WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - #22 St. John Fisher (2-4) defeated Saint Joseph's College (2-2), 10-6, in a RussMatt Central Florida Invitational contest on Tuesday morning.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Cardinals held a 3-2 edge going into the bottom of the fourth and put up three runs off homers from Stephen Edgett (Webster, N.Y.) and Allen Murphy (Richburg, N.Y.) to extend their lead to 6-2.

The Monks trailed 10-2 through six frames, but chipped away at the deficit with two runs in the top of the seventh, when junior shortstop Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) plated Luke Johnson (East Hampton, Conn.) with a single and later scored on a double off the bat of senior center fielder Chris Gerossie (Chester, N.H.).

In the eighth, Murphy delivered senior catcher Jacob White (Salem, N.H.) with a single up the middle to make it a 10-5 game. St. Joe's had the bases loaded with two out and Gerossie at the plate but failed to capitalize, as St. John Fisher hurler Kyle Chambers (Queensbury, N.Y.) froze the senior outfielder with a called third strike.

The Monks continued to fight back in the ninth, when White plated freshman Kevin Aylward (East Bridgewater, Mass.) with a double to right-center.

ON THE MOUND:

Junior starter Grayson Jennings (Mililani, Hawaii) took the loss after allowing six runs off eight hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts in three innings. Sophomore Luke Klenda (Yarmouth, Maine) yielded a run off a hit and a walk with one strikeout in two innings of relief and sophomore lefty Zach Ham (Saco, Maine), making his collegiate debut, surrendered three runs off three hits and a pair of walks in one inning of work.

Sophomore Weston Bergeron (Lyman, Maine) was dominant in his first collegiate outing and fanned five of the six batters he faced in a pair of perfect innings.

St. John Fisher freshman starter RJ Kuruts (Forest City, Pa.) picked up his first NCAA victory after allowing two runs off seven hits with five punch-outs over six innings.

OFF THE BAT:

• Murphy was 2-5 with a run, a stolen base, and two RBI
• White was 3-3 with a run, a double, a steal, and an RBI
• Sophomore Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) went 2-3 with a double
• Freshman second baseman Hunter Richardson (North Monmouth, Maine) was 2-5 with an RBI
• St. John Fisher designated hitter Ryan Fahy (East Herkimer, N.Y.) was 3-5 with a double and three RBI
• Edgett finished the day having gone 2-3 with a run, a homer, and two RBI

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's faces Wartburg College in a single nine-inning game tomorrow at 9:30 AM.