BB: SUNYAC

[jdex]

With conclusion of conference play Saturday, seedings set for May 9-11 tourney at 1-Cortland. New Paltz earns second seed, Oswego is third, Plattsbugh fourth. Final two seed positioning determined on head-to-head series with Oswego in 2-1 control.
Double elimination tourney openers pit Cortland/Pburgh and NP/Oswego.

Cortland winds up regular season with 12-2 victory a weary Fredonia whose BDevils playing sixth game in four days!! Freds on Saturday get three singles but fail to score in the top of the second inning. RDragons respond in their second with game's first three runs as N. Merola double and M. Bruno single get rbi. Host adds pair in the third and five in the sixth. Ends it in the eighth via 10-run rule. D. Georgetti WP (7inn, 7h, 2r, 2er, 1bb, 7k, 89p). Ten Dragons with hits, N. Smith (3bh) and Z. Kringdon two each while Kringdon, D. Mackenzie, Bruno, C. Bonacci two rbi each. Devil A. Tucker 2h, bi, 2bh. P. Ahlstrom LP (5.1inn). Cortland 12-12-0, Freds 2-7-1.
    Cortland 16-2, 28-10-1 and hosting conference tourney May 9-11. Fredonia 3-15, 13-23

New Paltz late season charge continues Saturday by twice beating Oswego by 7-6 and 8-5 verdicts in Oswego.
    First Game: Five-run sixth inning boosts NP Hawks past Oswego whose Lakers in front 5-2 at the time. J. Harvey triple drives home a pair of his game-high three rbi in the rally. Oswego threat turned back in the bottom of the ninth. Loads the bases with one out. J. Hamer sac fly to center makes it 7-6 but next batter skys out to first base. Hamer 4x4, 2r, 2bi, sf.
    Second Game: New Paltz explodes for ninth inning six runs to erase 4-2 Oswego lead. N. Harvey leadoff double triggers Hawks' ninth. T. Kreider single and hit batter loads the bases. Fielder's choice grounder makes it 4-3 followed by M. Boccaross two-run single to left for the lead. Three more runs cross the plate to complete Fri/Sat weekend road sweep. Oswego gets one back in its ninth. Boccaross 3x5, r, 2bi.
  New Paltz 11-7, 26-13; Oswego 10-8, 22-15

Brockport laces guest Oneonta 16-3 on Saturday as GEagles close out their stay in SUNYAC enroute to Empire 8 membership in '25. Bport with five runs in the fifth and six in the eighth when L. Blake unloads grand slam. Port puts 33 players into action, four pitchers. C. Martin 2x3, 3bi, slamming fifth frame two-run triple. R. Peters WP (5inn).
  Bport 9-9, 22-16; Oneonta 4-14, 15-23

Plattsburgh splits Saturday dh with Castleton VT, bowing 7-5 preceding 12-3 win.
      First Game: Cardinals fall behind 7-4 after four innings. Split 24 hits. A. Diltz 2x4, 2bi, one of five Cards with two hits. Home team leaves 11 on base.
      Second Game: Plattsburgh eases way to victory. Diltz 3x4, 3r, 4bi, bb, 2nh; A. Kornblau 3x5, 3r, bi. D. Bass WP (5.1inn) combines with A. Veit for 13 strikeouts.
    Pburgh 24-13, Castleton 9-30

   

[jdex]

Cortland (28-10-1) 20th in both ABCA coaches' Top 30 and D3 Media Top 25 weekly polls. Ithaca (28-9) makes appearance at 30th in ABCA poll while among others receiving votes in D3.
   Oswego and St. Joe's LI among ORV in D3 poll.

   SUNYAC tourney opens Thursday: 1 seed Cortland vs. 4 Plattsburgh, 2 New Paltz vs. 3 Oswego. Double elimination play through Saturday. National tourney invite to winner.
   Liberty League tourney opens Thursday in Troy: Ithaca vs. Union, Rochester vs. RPI.
National invite to winner.

ABCA top 10: 1. Endicott MA (38-2), 2. Denison OH (35-5), 3. Baldwin Wallace OH (33-7), 4. E. Texas Baptist (36-8), 5. Wisc-Whitewater (32-8), 6. Salve Regina RI (32-6), 7. Case Western Reserve OH (31-9), 8. Salisbury MD (28-8), 9. Johns Hopkins MD (31-9), 10. Christopher Newport VA (25-9)

D3 top 10: 1. Endicott, 2. Denison, 3. E. Texas Baptist, 4. Salve Regina, 5. Baldwin Wallace, 6. Johns Hopkins, 7. Salisbury, 8. Wisc-Whitewater, 9. Case Western Reserve, 10. Christopher Newport

[jdex]

AMAZING!!! One for the conference tourney ages on Thursday in the first round. New Paltz with stunning 12-11 walk-off win over Oswego with three runs in the bottom of the ninth-- N. Harvey rbi single decisive blow. Second seed Hawks climb from 10-0 third inning hole, a deficit created by five home runs and 12 hits.
    Come-from-behind second game follows, top seed and host Cortland racing out to 11-0 bulge through five innings and holding off Plattsburgh 12-6. Double elimination play into Friday (weather permitting) sends Cortland vs. New Paltz, then Oswego/Plattsburgh elimination game.
    Oswego opens gangbusters against New Paltz. There's three singles and CJ McCarthy grand slam before an out is recorded. O. Parliament and J. Levine clear the fence in the second inning for three runs and T. Featherstone and B. VanDreason belt homers in three-run third inning. New Paltz' D. Ristano three-run homer highlights five-run fifth inning to put the Hawks in comeback mode for real. Hawks add single scores over the next three innings and head to the ninth trailing 11-9. M. Boccarossa and Ristano hits precede walk with no outs to open the fatal frame. F. Apicella rbi single to left makes it 11-10, pinch-hitting W. Kirkpatrick sac fly ties it. Wild pitch moves runners to second third. N. Harvey single to center the one-out winner.
      Each team with 16 hits. N. Harvey 3x4, bi, 2bb, 2bh, 3bh; Ristano 3x5, 2r, 3bi, hr. Lakers Parliament 4x5, 2r, 3bi, 2bh, hr; VanDreason 3x6, 2r, 2bi, 2bh, hr. Three pitchers apiece. L. Ryan WP (4inn, 2h, 0r, 1bb, 6k, hbp, 67p). J. Shearer LP.
    New Paltz 27-13, Oswego 22-16

    In Cortland/Plattsburgh scrap, RDragon N. Marola homers to left in the third, M. Bruno triples with the bases loaded in the fourth and Marola doubles for two runs in the fifth to build double digit lead. Cardinals strike back on A. Kornblau two-run homer in the sixth against L. Misla (WP, 7-2, 6inn, 4h, 2r, 2er, 0bb, 7k, hbp, 75p). With Misla gone, Cards score four in the seventh, final pair via A. Veit home run to center. Dragon reliever T. Lynch closes the door (2.2inn, 1h, 4k, 39p). K. Mordecki LP (4-4, 3.1inn, 4h, 7r, 5er, 2bb, 2k, 60p).
  Marola 2x3, 2r, 3bi, bb, hr, 2bh; Mackenzie 2h (3bh), M. Kelly 2h, C. Bonaccci 2r, 2bb. Cortland 12-10-0, Pburgh 6-9-3
  Cortland 29-10-1, Plattsburgh 24-15

[UfanBill]

Wow, that's an unbelievable comeback by New Paltz to stun Oswego. Proof that anything can happen.

Further proof was exhibited in Troy at The Liberty League tourney. In the early game 4th seed Rochester rode the right arm of ace Nolan Sparks'complete game and  upset the top seeded hosts RPI 3-1 but it was the late game that was one to talk about. In a I score, you score affair Union held a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the 9th. Ithaca fought back to make it 7-6 and had the bases loaded with one out. A inside fastball led to a humpback flair caught by the 2nd baseman so the Bombers were down to their last out. With #9 hitter Riley Brawdy at the plate he quickly went down 0-2 when disaster happened for the Garnet Chargers. To his credit Brawdy made solid contact on the 0-2 pitch but his hard liner to rightfield was right at the fielder. Game over right? No...the ball somehow clanged off his glove and the Bombers won in a walkoff. The only time they led all game. A heartbreaker for Union.   

[jdex]

Friday's schedule rained out ......

Central NY socked in .....wet. Cortland/New Paltz winners bracket game Saturday morning followed by Oswego/Plattsburgh elimination match, and another elimination game. Still could be dodging rain drops the rest of the weekend!!

Too bad not playing east or west of CNY .....Liberty League tourney in Troy not affected. Top seed RPI kayoed by Union in Friday morning elimination game. Ithaca goes 13 innings in walk-off 3-2 win over Rochester in winners bracket game.

Latest NCAA Regional weekly makeup has Cortland heading Region 3 followed by Ithaca, New Paltz, Oswego, St. Joe's LI, Union, Plattsburgh.
    Other region leaders: 1. Salve Regina RI; 2. Endicott MA; 4. Penn St. Harrisburg; 5. Salisbury MD; 6. Christopher Newport VA; 7. Denison OH; 8. Spalding KY; 9. Wisc-whitewater; 10. E. Texas Baptist

[jdex]

Cortland and New Paltz tangle Sunday for conference tourney title and automatic NCAA tourney berth. RDragons head into tomorrow 2-0 while NP is 2-1 following Saturday's three games.
  Cortland deals New Paltz 7-3 setback in Saturday opening winners bracket clash for the hosts' 30th win. Then in elimination tests, Oswego turns back Plattsburgh 8-3 before New Paltz sends Oswego home in 4-3 outcome.

  RDragons effectively counterpunch the Hawks of NP whose N. Acanio tags first inning solo home run only to be matched in the second by A. Mieczkowski three-run blast to right. NP within 4-3 on F. Apicella sixth inning rbi single. But in the home sixth that blow is matched by M. Bruno sac fly. An inning later N. Marola caps the scoring slamming two-run homer to left-center. Marola 3x3, 2r, 2bi, bb. Cortland pitching pair of N. Jessen (WP, 2-0, 6inn, 6h, 3r, 2er, 1bb, 5k, 91p) and R. Banks (3inn, 2h, 1bb, 2k, 48p) keep Hawk attack at bay. J. McGovern LP (3-6, 5inn, 7h, 5r, 5er, 4bb, hbp, 95p). Corts 7-11-3, NP 3-8-0.

  Oswego goes deep to oust Plattsburgh in first consi game. Lakers strike for three third inning runs on C. McCarthy home run to right-center with two aboard. B. VanDreason solo home run ignites three-run fifth as T. Featherstone 2bi single adds to the cause. J. Hamer drills solo homer in the seventh. J. Sanders works eight innings (WP, 5h, 2r, 2er, 2bb, 13k, 123p). A. Veit LP (5-4, 4.2inn, 74p). J. DiRocco with ninth inning circuit clout for the Cardinals who complete 24-16 campaign.

  New Paltz stays alive by once more coming from behind to sting Oswego who fall to the Hawks five times in a week. On Saturday OSt's O. Parliament slams first inning two-run homer and Lakers take 2-1 advantage into NP seventh inning. Couple of errors help NP get the tying run before W. Kirkpatrick base hit to right plates two. Oswego narrows things to 4-3 in the eighth but reliever L. Ryan halts more harm and then registers three strikeouts with a Laker aboard in the ninth. M. Sarni WP (7.1inn, 8h, 3r, 3er, 2bb, 5k, 101p). J. Danyluk LP (8inn, 8h, 4r, 2er, 3bb, 4k, 109p). Parliament 2x4, r, 3bi, 2bh, hr for Oswego. Lakers finish 23-17 while Hawks are 28-14 into Sunday's finals.

[jdex]

New Paltz wears the conference tourney crown. Hawks put 11-3 and 15-11 Sunday whooping on Cortland at latter's Wallace Field. First tourney title for NP ...on its way to NCAA tourney. Cortland surely lands at-large bid.

    Hawks in Sunday must-win predicament in first game of double elimination event. Pitching strapped New Paltz gets strong outing from freshman 5-5, 135lb. R. Knieriemen in first collegiate start (WP 2-0, 5inn, 3h, 1r, 1er, 2bb, 1k, 92p). Lefty gives up leadoff first inning single, then keeps Corts hitless till yielding two hits in the sixth when C. Olson (3inn, 5h, 1bb, 50p) was summoned.
    In the second inning Hawks pour over three runs. J. Harvey doubles in two and scores on W. Kirkpatrick single. Margin grows to 7-0 in the sixth when Cortland error -- one of four, sets the scene for M. Ascanio bases loaded triple to left-center. Seals the deal with four-run ninth. NP with 13 hits, T. Kreider 3x6, 2r, 2bi; J. Harvey 2x4, r, 3bi, bb, 2bh; Ascanio 3bi, 2bb; A. Pericolosi and M. Boccarossa 2h each. D. Georgetti, first of six CSt pitchers, LP (1.1inn, 4h, 3r, 3er). Dragons strand 14. NP 11-13-1, Cortland 3-8-4

  Winner-take-all second game has New Paltz unleashing 19 hit assault and scoring seven times on six hits in the fourth inning to wipe out 3-0 Cortland edge. Hawks go on to 13-3 and 15-5 leads. Dragons tally eight over final three innings and finish with 18 hits, strand 14, but in the end their pitching falters in a big way. In contrast, NP grad student N. Harvey makes first pitching start of the season and gives Hawks four strong innings. Five relievers including M. Ascanio in ninth with tying run at the plate. J. Lundstedt WP, 1-0. 
  Fourth inning NP binge features ex-Dragon A. Pericolosi bases loaded triple to center to break 3-3 tie. Pericolosi with two-run double in NP four-score seventh inning. Tourney mvp T. Kreider 4x5, 2r, 3bi, sf, 2bh; F. Apicella 3x4, 3r, bi, bb; J. Ortiz 3x5, 4r, bi, 2bh; D. Ristano 3x6. Dragons M. Bruno 4x6, 3r; N. Marola 3x4, r, 3bi, bb; D. Mackenzie hr, Chemotti hr. M. Nochowitz LP (3.1inn, 9h, 5r, 5er, 1bb, 2k, 64p). NP 15-19-0, CSt 11-18-1
    New Paltz 30-14, Cortland 30-12-1

[jdex]

Cortland returns to NCAA tourney field for 31st straight season and Fri/Sat/Sun  hosts one of 16 regionals. 2-seed RDragons (30-12-1) play 3-Washington & Jefferson PA (32-12) while 1-Salve Regina RI (33-8) plays 4-Colby ME (29-10).

Conference tourney king New Paltz (30-14) meets region host E. Connecticut St. after Endicott MA faces Husson.

St. Joe's LI (33-12) is paired with Johns Hopkins MD (32-9) in Baltimore.

Ithaca (31-9) journeys to Cleveland OH campus of Case Western Reserve and opens vs. defending national champ Lynchburg VA (30-15). CWR faces Alvernia PA.

St. John Fisher plays host Misericodia (33-9) in Dallas PA. Middlebury VT and Keystone PA also play there.

[jdex]

Cortland maintains 20th slot in weekly ABCA coaches' Top 30 poll. Ithaca jumps to 23rd. New Paltz among others receiving votes. Cortland 21st in D3 media Top 25 poll where Ithaca, New Paltz, St. Joe's LI ORV.
    ABCA top 10: 1. Endicott MA (41-2), 2. Denison OH (39-6), 3. Baldwin Wallace OH (36-8), 4. Wisc-Whitewater (35-8), 5. E. Texas Bapt. (36-8), 6. Case Western Reserve OH (31-9), 7. Johns Hopkins MD (32-9), 8. Christopher Newport VA (26-9), 9. Pomona-Pitzer CA (32-11), 10. Salve Regina RI (33-8).
    D3 top 10: Endicott, 2. Denison, 3. Baldwin Wallace, 4. E. Texas Baptist, 5. Wisc-Whitewater, 6. Johns Hopkins, 7. Case Western Reserve, 8. Salve Regina, 9. Salisbury MD (28-9), 10. Christopher Newport

[jdex]

Cortland wins Friday opening NCAA tourney regional test by 9-2 count over Washington & Jefferson PA at CSt. Wallace Stadium. L. Misla (WP, 8-2, 4h, 2r, 2er, 4bb, 11k, 119p) and G. Mays (1inn), L. Krasney (1inn) check W&J on four hits and 14 strikeouts. Behind 2-0 into their fifth at-bat, RDragons push over four runs on five hits. C. Bonacci three-bagger to right-center with the bases loaded. Score four more in the sixth when N. Marola greets reliever with two-run bingle. M. Bruno homers to left-center. Bruno 2x5, r, 3bi; N. Smith 3x4; Bonacci 2r, 3bi; L. Schartner 2x4, r; Z. Kringdon 1x3, 2r, bb; Marola 2x4, r, 2bi. D. Garth 2x4 for W&J. A. Pass LP (7-3), 5.1inn, 7h, 6r, 6er, 1bb, 2k, 84p). Cortland 9-11-1, W&J 2-4-1.
    First game in Cortland goes Salve Regina RI way in 10-5 fashion over tourney novice Colby ME. Saturday early game has W&J (32-13) vs. Colby (29-11) in elimination game. Corts (31-12-1) vs. Salve Regina (34-8) follow before another elimination scrum.

New Paltz conquers host E. Connecticut St. 4-1 behind pitchers X. Zykoff (7inn) and J. Lundstedt (2inn) four-hitter. Hawks with three-run fourth inning with D. Ristano, M. Boccarossa rbi hits. NP on Saturday vs. top-ranked Endicott MA who defeat Husson 6-2.

St. John Fisher falls 5-2 at host Misericordia in Dallas PA. Fisher on Saturday plays Middlebury VT in elimination contest. Middlebury on Friday loses 10-5 to Keystone PA.

St. Joe's LI on short side of 12-1 issue to Johns Hopkins MD in Baltimore. Then becomes first team exiting tourney with Friday evening 4-1 loss to Ramapo NJ. Ramapo earlier Friday suffers 7-0 setback vs. Arcadia PA.

Ithaca drops 3-1 game to Lynchburg VA 2-1 at Cleveland's Case Western Reserve who earlier Friday defeat Alvernia PA 7-4. IC hooks up early Saturday with Alvernia in elimination game. IC scores in the first inning while Lynchburg tallies twice in the seventh and once in the ninth. Pitchers duel ...Bombers C. Leyner (5h, 129p) and Lynchburg's W. Arrington (3h, 133p) go the distance.

[jdex]

Cortland campaign comes to an end in Saturday 3-1 elimination game loss to Washington & Jefferson PA at Wallace Stadium. W&J avenges regional opening Friday loss and advances to Sunday needing to beat top seed Salve Regina twice.
  W&J righty E. Marszalak ousts RDragons with complete game (9inn, 7h, 1r, 1er, 1bb, 9k, 126p). Escapes ninth inning no-out runners on second and third predicament with strikeout, flyout, flyout. W&J breaks 1-1 tie with fourth inning sac fly and adds seventh inning run on D. Garth rbi triple to left-center. Garth 4x4, r, bi. D. Georgetti LP (6.2inn, 85p). Dragon D. Mackenzie 3x3, r, bb, 3bh. W&J 3-10-0, Cortland 1-7-0 and completes season 31-14-1.
    Cortland earlier Saturday drops to losers bracket in 4-2 slip to Salve Regina whose C. Homa go-ahead two-run single caps three-run seventh inning against three Cortland relievers. That was enough for J. Arrigo (WP, 3inn, 1h, 3k) in relief of ace righthanded starter S. Mulligan (6inn, 5h, 2r, 2er, 5bb, 6k, 119p). R. Banks LP in relief (2.1inn, 0h, 2r, 2er, 2bb, 1k). SR 4-8-2, Cortland 2-7-1.
  Washington & Jefferson PA stays alive to start the day with 7-0 clipping of Colby. D. Dimatteo tosses complete game three-hitter.

Among other NYers ....
Ithaca eliminated early Saturday in 10-4 loss to Alvernia PA at Case Western Reserve OH regional. IC completes 31-11 spring. CWR -- blanked 5-0 Saturday by Lynchburg VA, playing Lynchburg on Sunday for regional crown.

New Paltz loses 19-12 to national leading Endicott MA (43-2) in winners bracket Saturday evening game in E. Connecticut St. regional played at Storrs CT UConn park. Hawks with 13-12 hit edge but yield to seven-run Endicott fourth inning for 11-5 lead.
 New Paltz on Sunday at noon faces Husson ME in elimination game, with that survivor vs. Endicott MA. Husson eliminates host E. Connecticut 4-2 on Saturday.

St. John Fisher eliminated Saturday in 10-inning 9-8 loss to Middlebury VT at Misericordia PA regional.

St. Joe's LI drops Friday pair at Johns Hopkins regional.

[jdex]

New Paltz (31-16) on Sunday tumbles 6-2 to Husson ME in elimination tussle at E. Connecticut State regional. Endicott MA captures honors with final 4-3 win over Husson.

Salve Regina RI goes through Cortland regional unscathed to reach Super Regionals next weekend. Seahawks on Sunday roll past Washington & Jefferson PA.

Defending national champion Lynchburg VA stops Case Western Reserve 6-5 on Sunday to win CWR region where Ithaca was Saturday casualty.

Misericordia PA comes out on top of its regionally hosted event where St. John Fisher is involved.

Johns Hopkins MD coasts to JH region leadership, leaving St. Joe's LI in its wake.

[jdex]

Just caught our attention on a D3 cover page ...

Matt Michalski named baseball coach at Keuka College after spending last five seasons on the staff of Cortland's Joe Brown. Was also all-star infielder for the RDragons. Brother Andrew M. -- class of '23, all-star RDragon baseball performer as well.

[jdex]

Cortland continues ambitious ways under longtime skipper Joe Brown. Has 17 pre-conference games, many with '24 final ranked teams. And in addition to usual early trips to Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia, RDragons windup pre-conference play with five games in Texas -- four vs. Trinity TX in San Antonio and one vs. Southwestern in Georgetown TX. Trinity wound up ranked 20th in '24. Corts played in California last year. Other scheduled '24 ranked foes are Salisbury, Lynchburg, Chris Newport, Denison and Hopkins.
  Dragons, 31-14-1 and ranked 24th at '24 conclusion and 15th in '25 preseason D3 poll, launch Feb. 15 vs. Moravian at Salisbury MD. Face hosts in next day twinbill. Begin SUNYAC action March 21 vs. Oswego. Canton replaces perennial contender Brockport in the league.
  Preseason D3 All-Americas include Cortland sr. pitcher Luis Misla and New Paltz sr. shortstop Tommy Kreider.

[jdex]

Cortland season opener -- scrubbed last weekend in Salisbury MD by weather, now moved back one day to Friday (Feb. 21) vs. Marietta OH in multi-day Greensboro NC-hosted D3 Showcase. RDragons on Saturday vs. Lynchburg, on Sunday vs. Chris Newport VA and later that day vs. Denison OH.
   Corts, Lynchburg, CN, Denison ranked in preseason polls.