ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior Katie Finch (Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth) threw a two-hitter and became the 11th player in NCAA Div. III history to surpass the career 1,000-strikeout mark as top-seeded Cortland defeated eighth-seeded Keuka College, 7-1, in the opening round of the NCAA Div. III regionals at Ithaca College. Cortland (39-6), ranked sixth nationally, will face fourth-seeded Alfred University in a winner’s bracket semifinal game Friday at 2 p.m.
Finch struck out nine batters and did not allow a hit after the first inning as she improved to 26-2 on the season. Her fifth strikeout of the game, in the top of the third inning, was the 1,000th of her career. Her current total is 1,004.
Sophomore Jessica Harman (Penfield) finished 3-for-3 with two RBI as part of an 11-hit Cortland attack. Senior Emily Ringen (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock) was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI and sophomore Kayla Lynch (Albany/Colonie) went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Keuka took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, snapping Finch’s 35-inning scoreless streak dating back to April 30. Denise Bilbow led off with a single, stole second and scored on a one-out Sara James RBI double. Finch walked the next batter, but got out of further trouble when Jessica VanScoter hit a grounder to third baseman Jackie Begnoche (Montgomery/Valley Central), who touched third and threw across to first for an inning-ending double play.
Cortland quickly tied the game when junior Donnalyn Cross (Binghamton/Chenango Valley) led off the bottom of the first with a triple, then scored on the play as the ball was being thrown back to the pitcher. The triple was Cross’ 14th of the season, breaking her own school single-season record of 13 triples that she established last year. The Red Dragons scored again in the first on three consecutive singles by Ringen, Lynch and Harman.
In the third, Ringen walked and pinch runner Tara Donnino (Northport/East Northport) went to third on a Lynch double down the left field line. Harman’s single drove in Donnino and Lorraine Stoddard’s (Liverpool) groundout drove in Lynch.
Junior Brooke Weidman (Perkinsville/Wayland-Cohocton) led off the fourth with a single, moved to second on Begnoche’s sacrifice bunt and eventually scored from third on freshman Lucia Meola’s (Liverpool/Cicero-North Syracuse) RBI single through the right side. Meola took second on the play and scored on Ringen’s single to right center. Cortland’s final run came in the fifth. Harman led off with a single and Stoddard moved her up on a sacrifice bunt. A throwing error on the play allowed Stoddard to reach and Harman to go to third, and one out later senior Sammi Dieffenbach (Erin/Horseheads) hit a pinch-hit sacrifice fly.
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