ROCHESTER, NY - The Utica University baseball team split its Saturday set with St. John Fisher, falling in game one 3-0 before taking game two 11-4. 
 
Fisher 3, Utica 0
In what turned out to be a pitcher's duel between James Roeschlaub (Auburn, NY/Auburn HS) and Alec Teska of Fisher, the Cardinals touched home first. After a leadoff single in the 2nd, Ben Lavery hit a two-run home run to left field for a 2-0 lead. 
 
Fisher scored once more in the 3rd inning on a sacrifice bunt to extend its lead to 3-0. Roeschlaub settled in following the 3rd, allowing just two hits over his final three innings of work to keep the Pioneers in the game. However, his counterpart Teska cruised into the 7th inning as he allowed just three hits/base runners entering the final frame. 
 
Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) started Utica's rally attempt after leading off the inning by reaching on an error and was followed by a one out single by Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton HS). However, Tesla retired the next two hitters to seal the complete game shutout. 
 
Roeschlaub tossed all six innings for Utica in which he allowed three runs on five hits while striking out four, walking three and hitting one batter over 27 batters faced. At the plate, Battista, Story, Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) and Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) all had one hit. 
 
Utica 11, Fisher 4
After a scoreless 1st inning, Utica drew first blood in the 2nd. Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro ) belted his first career home run as a Pioneer, a solo shot, to put the team ahead 1-0. Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame) drove in another by way of an RBI groundout followed by a Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic) RBI groundout to lead 3-0 entering the home half of the 2nd. 
 
Following a Cardinals pitching change, Fasolo topped his 2nd inning homer with a one out, three-run shot to right field to put Utica up 6-0. 
 
Meanwhile, Ryan Cardone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) tossed three scoreless innings before Fisher found the board in the 4th for its only earned run during Cardone's outing. 
 
Fisher crossed home twice more in the 5th to close the gap to 6-3. The Pioneers got those two runs back in 6th, however, as Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) drove home Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) on a double before he scored on a Fitzgerald two-bagger. Cardone ended his day in the 6th inning after escaping a leadoff double. 
 
Utica added three more in the 7th as Fasolo drove in another run on a double followed by a two-RBI Muentener double. Brian Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) and Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) shut the game down out of the bullpen for the Pioneers to secure the split. 
 
Cardone's final line consisted of six innings pitched allowing three runs, one earned, on eight hits with two strikeouts. Dinnen and May combined for three innings out of the pen allowing one run, unearned. 
 
Fasolo led the team at the plate going 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, and five runs driven in. Muentener had a three-hit performance as well which led to two RBIs and two runs scored. Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) and McCullough had two hits as well in the win. 
 
Utica (11-8, 4-2 Empire 8) will return to the diamond on Friday when the team travels to Keuka College for a pair of games beginning at 1 p.m.