ERIE, PA – For the second time in school history, the University of Rochester softball team will play in the final round of the NCAA Division III Championships. Rochester booked its spot by defeating St. John Fisher College, 3-1, early Sunday afternoon at Penn State Behrend College here.
 
Rochester, ranked #14 in the current Division III poll by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), will go to Salem, VA later this week to compete in the finals. Eight regional winners will convene in a double-elimination format. Rochester's last trip to the finals came in 2014 when the Yellowjackets advanced to Tyler, Texas after winning a regional and a Super Regional on their own field.
 
Sunday's victory over SJFC gave the Yellowjackets a 4-0 regional record. Rochester opened with a 6-1 victory over host Penn State Behrend on Friday. On Saturday early afternoon, the Yellowjackets defeated SUNY Geneseo, 5-2, in a winner's bracket game. Later that same day, Rochester played St. John Fisher in a matchup of 2-0 teams in the regional. Rochester's 7-3 win put UR into the championship round. With the loss, Fisher had to play York College (PA) at 10 a.m. on Sunday. The Fisher-York winner would then play Rochester in the double elimination format. Fisher won, 6-4, rallying for three runs in the top of the seventh. If Fisher defeated Rochester, the same two teams would have played one more time to determine which team heads to the finals.
 
Rochester is 35-8 overall. St. John Fisher is 31-7. The teams played four times this season. They split a doubleheader at Rochester's Towers Field on April 28 with Rochester winning the opener, 9-1, on the mercy rule and Fisher taking the nitecap, 3-1. They didn't play again until they met in Saturday's winners' bracket game in Erie. Fisher is ranked #16 in the current NFCA poll. The Cardinals were one of six at-large (Pool C) teams in the tournament. Rochester earned its invitation by winning the Liberty League championship at home on May 15 with a 6-1 victory over Ithaca College.

 
Six Yellowjackets were selected to the All-Regional team. Alexis Pope was named the Most Outstanding Player and Emily Sharlach was chosen as the Most Outstanding Pitcher. The other four individuals were Marissa Russo, Alexis Klee, Madi Turner, and Alizah Ayon.
 
The Game:
Sharlach pitched six gutty innings in relief of Hannah Leahy. She allowed seven hits, walked two, struck out one, and hit one. She did not allow a run. Sher worked her way out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning, a two-on, no-outs situation in the fifth, two on in the sixth, and two more in the seventh. In all, she stranded nine runners, seven in scoring position.
 
Rochester's win was an excellent example of taking advantage of situations, even without the long ball. UR scored twice in the second thanks to one hit and one error (to go ahead, 2-1) and added a third run in the fourth inning without the benefit of a base hit.
 
Fisher scored a run in the second when Rachel Evans hit a leadoff homer over the left centerfield fence off Leahy. Sharlach came on. Abby Flakus hit a long fly to left center. Jen Carson and Alexis Klee converged on it, the ball hit one glove, and fell to the ground. Flackus hustled into second base on the error. Allison Rogowski was hit by a pitch. Maddie Klidonas rifled a single into centerfield. Flackus roared around third, but Klee made an excellent throw to the plate where Hunter Gilbreath tagged out Flackus to keep the score at 1-0. Sharlach got Emily Trotman to pop up. She walked Maria Marcera, loading the bases, but Sammie Torlish hit a bouncer to third. Pope caught it and stepped on the bag just before Klidonas slid in.
 
Rochester took advantage of an error to get going in the second. Toni Anne Hahn walked. Allison Beckwith slapped the ball to the mound. Jess Patterson lobbed a throw to first base, but it was too high, and sailed into foul ground. Hahn took third and Beckwith pulled up at second. Pope ripped a sac fly into centerfield, scoring Hahn and moving Beckwith to third. She scored on Turner's single to left.
 
The Cardinals escaped in the third. Russo singled, but was forced at second by Carson. Hannah Keiper walked and Hahn's left-side grounder was knocked down by Torlish at short, loading the bases. Beckwith hit a grounder to third. Flakus stepped on the bag, then fired across the field to complete the DP.
 

UR got another run home in the fourth – without a hit. Pope walked and was bunted to second by Turner. A wild pitch got her to third. Erin Bevec pinch-hit for Gilbreath. She hit a grounder to Flakus at third. Pope started home and was caught in a rundown. Flakus threw to catcher Megan Kreger who threw back to third as Pope retreated. She pivoted, and raced for home, chased by Flakus. The ball was thrown a bit high to Kreger and Pope slid just under the tag. With Russo at bat, a wild pitch moved Bevec to third. Russo was hit by a pitch, then stole second. Carson's flyball was caught just shy of the fence by Allie Klonowski in left field.
 
Trotman relieved Patterson to start the Rochester fifth. Hahn singled with one down and Beckwith walked. She retired Pope on a fly to right and forced an infield pop by Turner.
 
Sharlach was steady from the third through the fifth. She allowed three baserunners – singles by Flakus and Marcera, and a walk to Torlish. A double play, started by Pope with two-on and no outs in the fifth helped. She ended the inning by slipping strike three past Klonowski.
 
The Cardinals put runners at second and third in the sixth with one out. Klidonas flied out to Klee in short center and Trotman hit a comebacker to Sharlach to end it. In the seventh, Marcera flied out to Russo in right. Torlish singled to center. Kreger flied out to right as well, but Klonowskli gave Cardinal fans some hope, hitting a ball down the left field line with Torlish stopping at second. Sharlach ran the count to 1-2 on Evans, who already had two hits, before getting a half-speed grounder to Turner whose throw to Keiper just beat the runner and ended the game.
 
Sharlach is 13-3. She figured in all four wins in the tournament. She saved the Penn State Behrend and Geneseo games for Leahy, then earned two wins in relief against SJFC. Patterson took the loss for Fisher (16-4). She allowed three hits, three runs (two earned), walked three, fanned one, and hit one. Trotman allowed two hits in two innings with one walk and one strikeout.