The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College baseball team improved to 19-2 on the season with an 11-7 victory over the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers on Thursday afternoon at Fisher's Dugan Yard.
 
The Cardinals, currently ranked 14^th in the most recent D3baseball.com national rankings, capitalized on eight errors from the Tigers while sophomore pitcher Mitch Modlin picked up his first career win.
 
Fisher would start the scoring in the bottom of the second after Brad Rush led the inning off with a walk and Nick Flemister followed by reaching on an error. Rush would advance around the bases to score the game's first run on back-to-back wild pitches. Mike Roman drove in Flemister on a fielder's choice to give Fisher a 2-0 lead.
 
The Tigers battled back to take the lead with four runs in the top of the third, but it would be short-lived as the Cardinals erupted for five runs in the bottom half to take the lead for good. Mike Fahy began the surge with a leadoff single, while Chris Roeder would reach on an error. Both runners would later score on two wild pitches and a pass ball. After Cody Wiktorski popped out, four straight hitters would reach base, capped off by RBI singles from Malcolm Kelsey and Mike Roman to give the Cardinals a 7-4 lead.
 
Fisher would score two more in the bottom of the fourth after Flemister doubled to drive in Wiktorski and Roeder, who both singled to start the inning. The Cardinals would piece together two more insurance runs over the final four frames to seal the victory.
 
Kelsey led the offense, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Wiktorski and Roman both went 2-for-5, while Flemister finished 1-for-5 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored.
 
Starting pitcher Sean Badger threw 4.2 innings, allowing six runs (five earned), while striking out three. Mitch Modlin picked up his first career win, tossing 3.1 innings in relief. The Adams Center native allowed just one unearned run and struck out three. Junior Ryan Smith threw a perfect ninth and tallied one strikeout.
 
Fisher opens a key four-game series versus Empire 8 Conference foe, Ithaca College, with the first pitch slated for 1 p.m. on Friday at Dugan Yard.