Dan Jurik,
Teagen Barresi,
Phil Pettinella, and
Ben Bostick were each named to the NCAA New York All-Regional Team.
The eight-team tournament ended in a battle between second-seeded Fisher and top-seeded SUNY Cortland, who earned the trip to the Division III World Series in Appleton, Wisconsin. With a loss to the Red Dragons on Saturday, Fisher wrapped up a 31-14 season in which the Cardinals set a new record for wins at the College, and went the farthest the team has ever went in the NCAA Championships in its 23-year history.
Jurik, a senior pitcher, opened the Regional for the Cardinals, pitching eight innings to earn the win over the College at Brockport and raise his record to 7-3 on the year. The Vestal native fanned a career-high 11 batters and allowed just five hits and no earned runs in a pitching duel that ended in a 3-2 victory for Fisher.
Barresi led the team in batting in the five games, hitting .421 (8-for-19). The sophomore had a team-best nine RBI on the weekend. Against Brockport, Barresi hit a two-run single through the left side to tie the game at two, then went on to score the go-ahead run on a steal when the catcher overthrew to third base. Against Farmingdale on Thursday night, Barresi went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored, including his second two-run single to finally put Fisher on the board following a 6-0 deficit. The sophomore ended the tournament going 2-for-5 with two RBI in each game on Saturday, including in an 11-inning win over Oneonta.
Pettinella was second on the team in batting during the five games, hitting .368 (7-for-19), with his best showing coming on Saturday. In a 6-5 win over Oneonta, the junior stopped a chance for Oneonta to score in the 10th inning, when with bases loaded and only one out he charged in to catch a shallow fly ball out to right, then made the throw home to end the inning abruptly. Pettinella followed that up by ripping his first home run of the year, a line-drive shot over the 20-foot high fence in right field, with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning and the Cardinals trailing 5-4, knotting the game at 5s. In the nightcap, the junior outfielder went 4-for-4 with two runs scored in the elimination game against Cortland.
Bostick rang in third on the team in hitting, batting .364 (8-for-22) over the five games with two doubles and one RBI. The freshman’s first double of the tournament came against Brockport, when he kicked off the seventh inning hitting it down the right field line and was eventually scored by Barresi to tie the game. Bostick’s second double and solo RBI came against the final game against Cortland.