MARIETTA, Ohio - For St. John Fisher first baseman Steven Karnyski, nothing will top opening the 2012 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional with a 13-7 victory at Don Schaly Stadium.
However, he's also pretty excited about not playing until 4:30 p.m. tomorrow.
"Hey, I get to sleep in tomorrow," he said. "A lot of the guys had a tough time getting sleep last night and we had to be up at 6 a.m. for today's game."
The first pitch came at 9:28 a.m., but the Cardinals' bats were wide awake Wednesday. St. John Fisher (30-10) belted 18 hits of four Westminster (28-16) pitchers.
Karnyski got into the hit parade as he went 3-for-4 with three RBI and four runs. He also had three stolen bases as the Cardinals jumped out to a 5-0 lead through the first two innings.
"Steve is probably the best hitter in our region and he's the best to ever come through our program," said St. John Fisher coach Brandon Potter. "When our guys show up and start hitting this is the way we do it … we do it in bunches."
Center fielder Sean Osterman led all batters with four hits, including an RBI triple in the second inning. He also had a double and two runs. Second baseman Ben Bostick and designated hitter Brad Rush each had three hits. Bostick had three RBI, while Rush had two doubles and three runs.
Potter said an earlier doubleheader split with Westminster this season was a psychological advantage for his players.
"We had seen the starter before, and (St. John Fisher starter) Justin (D'Amato) shut them out when we played," Potter said.
D'Amato wasn't as effective this time, but he was pretty close for six innings. He allowed a two-run home run to Steve Perrotta as Westminster cut the lead to 5-2 in the third inning. He went on to shut them out for the next three innings before running into trouble in the seventh.
In that inning, D'Amato allowed three straight singles to Ty Miller, David Schafer and Perrotta for one run. Eventually Kyle Allen singled home two more runs to cut the lead to 10-5.
However, D'Amato did exactly what the Cardinals needed him to do in the regional opener and he improved to 11-0 on the season.
"I felt pretty good out there, and I had all three of my pitches working (fast ball, change up and slurve)," D'Amato said. "When we got that early lead I felt confident. It's really nice pitching behind our offense."
St. John Fisher responded by scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh off reliever Liam Halferty, pretty much icing the game.
The Cardinals also got two hits apiece from shortstop Chris Roeder and third baseman Peter Krysztof. Westminster was led by right fielder Kyle Allen, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Catcher David Schafer added two hits.
Westminster will be back in action at 9:30 a.m. Thursday against the loser of the LaRoche-Marietta game, while St. John Fisher plays at 4:30 p.m. against the winner.
No one needs to tell Karnyski the game time.
"I may not be able to sleep again tonight, but I won't be getting up at 6 a.m.," he said.