CORTLAND, N.Y. - Nathan Stein's three-run homer broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning and Rochester defeated Cortland, 5-2, in the Red Dragons' home opener. Rochester (12-2) is ranked eighth nationally by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and is among the also receiving votes teams in the D3baseball.com poll. Cortland is ranked 15th by the ABCA and 17th by D3baseball.com.
Matt Francis went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Ryan Sullivan was 2-for-4 for the Yellowjackets. Paul Toland earned the win in relief with four innings of four-hit ball. He struck out three, walked three and gave up one run.
Andersen Gardner (Fairport) went 2-for-3 with a walk and Andrew Pezzuto (Hastings) was 2-for-4 for Cortland.
Rochester took a 1-0 lead in the second as Sullivan singled, went to second on a wild pitch, was bunted to third by Casey Storme and scored on a Francis RBI single up the middle. Cortland tied the game in the fourth. Alex Coffey (Hilton) was hit by a pitch with one out, moved to third on a Gardner single through the right side and scored on a grounder to third by Nick Faust (Massapequa/St. Anthony's). Faust was safe on the play due to an error, and stole second on the back end of a double steal with Gardner, but a strikeout and a groundout stranded the runners on second and third.
Cortland grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Mike Avery (Cortland) and Jason Simone (Utica/Thomas R. Proctor) each singled to put runners on first and third. Steve Nickel (Lake Ronkoma/Sachem North) then grounded into a double play to score Avery.
Rochester plated four runs in the sixth to take the lead for good. Jay Jay Vanderstyne reached on a bunt single, Sullivan singled through the left side and Storme was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Francis drove in a run with a fielder's choice that forced Storme at second. Stein then chased Cortland starter Michael Mahay (Whitesboro) with a three-run homer to left center and the Yellowjackets led 5-2. Mahay allowed nine hits and five runs in five and a third innings.
Toland allowed Cortland's run in the fifth, but didn't allow a run over the next three innings as he improved his record to 2-0.
Cortland loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth on two walks sandwiched around a Pezzuto single, but a flyout to right ended the inning. The Red Dragons also stranded a runner on third in the seventh. In the eighth, Cortland loaded the bases again, this time with no outs, as Gardner walked, Faust was hit by a pitch and Pezzutto singled to short.
Toland escaped the jam on a fielder's choice force out at home, a shallow flyout to right and a liner to left, with a great diving catch near the warning track by Dan Ludwig saving at least two runs. Cortland left 12 runners on base in the contest.
Charles Chanatry entered for Rochester in the ninth and retired the side in order for his first save of the season.
Cortland's schedule game Wednesday at Mount St. Vincent has been postponed until Sunday, April 26, at 2 p.m. The Red Dragons will host Oswego on Saturday at noon to open SUNYAC play.
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