PITTSFORD, N.Y. – St. John Fisher College sophomore pitcher Lindsey Thayer allowed only two hits and struck out nine as the host Cardinals defeated the #19 Manhattanville College softball team, 2-1, in game one of the NCAA Div. III Championship Rochester, New York, Super Regionals on Friday afternoon at the SJFC Softball Complex.
 
St. John Fisher (37-10) takes a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Super Regional and needs to win only one of two potential games tomorrow to advance to the finals of the Div. III Championships in Salem, Va. Manhattanville (41-4) will need to win twice tomorrow to keep its season alive, with game one slated for a 1 p.m. start and the if-necessary game scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
 
The game figured to be a pitchers' duel between Thayer and Valiant sophomore Alycia Feeney (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster), and that proved to be the case as the two hurlers combined to allow just three runs on nine hits. Thayer (27-5), who leads the country in strikeouts by averaging over two per inning, limited the Valiants to just two hits and unearned one run while striking out nine over seven innings. Feeney (25-4) did not pitch badly for the Valiants in the tough-luck loss, ceding two runs on seven hits with two strikeouts over six frames.
 
The Cardinals got on the board in the first inning without getting a ball out of the infield. Back-to-back well-placed infield hits got the rally started, and a hit-batter with the bases packed scored Julia Sortisio with the game's first run. Fisher struck again with two outs in the second inning, with Sortisio doubling to keep the inning alive and coming home on an RBI single from Katie Mazierski to right field.
 
It was Manhattanville's turn for a two-out rally in the third, using some small ball to get on the scoreboard. Senior Alyx Scapperotti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) started the rally with an infield single and then stole second to get into scoring position. Freshman Sophia Chapelone (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) followed with a single deep into the hole at shortstop and the rushed throw to first was wild, allowing Scapperotti to come home.
 
But that was it offensively for the Valiants against Thayer, who retired the final 13 batters of the game after that third-inning single by Chapelone. Feeney allowed only two hits over the final three innings, but the damage had already been done.