UTICA, NY- The Utica College softball team dropped a pair of Empire 8 Conference games to nationally ranked No. 6 St. John Fisher College, 10-1 and 9-1 Saturday afternoon.
 
Utica 1, St. John Fisher 10 (5 Innings)- Game One Final
The Cardinals scored ten unanswered runs, including nine in the fifth inning to come away with the run-rule victory. 
 
Utica jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second as junior Samantha Whitehouse (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) hit a solo shot over the left field fence for her first career home run.  Fisher responded with the tying run in the third and exploded in the fifth inning to improve to 32-5 on the year.
 
Whitehouse, Jacqueline Aronin (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck High School), and Kassidy Ogren (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) each had one hit in the game.
 
Brittany Meka (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) fanned four in 4 2/3 innings, while Fisher's All-American pitcher, Lindsey Thayer struck out 10 to improve to 20-4 on the year.
 
Utica 1, St. John Fisher 9 (5 Innings)- Game Two Final
The Cardinals picked up where they left off as they plated three runs in the second inning and added six more scores before Utica was finally able to get a run across in the bottom of the fifth.
 
 It was too little, too late, however as the Cardinals held on for their second run-rule victory of the day.
 
Sophomores Nicole Rice (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) and Josie Sgarlata (Canastota, NY/Canastota) had the hits for UC, with Sgarlata scoring the lone run.
 
Alyssa Samborin (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) and Shannon Cool (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer) combined for four strikeouts in the loss, while Fisher's Monica Moses fanned ten and gave up just two hits in the win.
 
The Pioneers (17-21) wrap up the season Tuesday as they host Cazenovia College.  First pitch of the double-header is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.