PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Sophomore Katie Finch (Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth) allowed six hits and one unearned run as Cortland stayed unbeaten at the NCAA Division III Softball Regional hosted by SUNY Plattsburgh.
Cortland (37-11) improves to 3-0 in the double-elimination, seven-team tournament. The fourth-seeded Red Dragons will play in Sunday's championship round at noon in a rematch with the second-seeded Gulls and need one victory to advance to the Division III World Series in Salem, Va. Endicott stayed alive later Saturday with a 3-0 win over St. John Fisher.
Junior Kim Whitman (Victor) went 2-for-3 with an RBI and sophomore Emily Ringen (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock) was 1-for-2 with a double, walk and two RBI to lead Cortland's offense. Finch struck out nine batters and did not walk anyone as she improved to 20-7 on the season.
Endicott (40-5) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Meghan Sargent led off with a single and pinch-hitter Casey Shanley's bunt single put runners on first and second. A Merry MacDonald sacrifice bunt advanced the runners. Finch struck out the next hitter for the second out, but a fielding error on a ball hit by Megan Downey allowed a run to score. Finch got a flyout to avoid further damage.
The Red Dragons answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Senior Amanda Barnett (Syracuse/Jamesville-DeWitt) led off with a single through the right side and senior Annemarie Nelson (Nassau/Columbia) doubled to left center to push Barnett to third. Ringen followed with a two-run double to right to score Nelson and pinch-runner Cait Carner (Binghamton). Senior Shara Evanter (Commack) singled to left and a Bethany Williamson (Lyons Falls/South Lewis) fielder's choice to second drove in Ringen.
Cortland threatened again in the fifth, loading the bases with one out on a Whitman leadoff single, a Donnalyn Cross (Binghamton/Chenango Valley) single up the middle and, two batters later, Nelson being hit by a pitch. Endicott's Jackie Collier, who relieved Jen Elwell to start the fifth, got out of the jam by getting Ringen to foul out and Evanter to line out to short.
Cortland's final run came in the sixth. Williamson singled through the left side and went to second on a groundout to batters later. Rose Morrison (Miller Place) pinch-ran for Williamson and went to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Whitman's RBI single through the left side.
Finch gave up a two-out double to MacDonald in the sixth, but a fly out ended that inning. MacDonald finished the game 2-for-2. In the seventh, pinch-hitter Dottie Bartsch doubled and went to third on an error on the play to lead off the inning. Bartsch was stranded, however, as Finch induced a flyout and struck out the final two batters.
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