ITHACA, N.Y. – Alfred University’s Chelsey Cary threw a four-hitter as the fourth-seeded Saxons defeated top-seeded Cortland, 3-1, during the second day of the NCAA Div. III Softball Regional at Ithaca College.
The Saxons (36-6) advance to the winner’s bracket finals Saturday at 2 p.m. versus Ithaca College. Cortland (39-7) will play Saturday at 10 a.m. versus Polytechnic Institute of New York University in an elimination contest. The winner of that game will play again on Saturday at 4 p.m. against an opponent to be determined. Cortland now needs to win five straight games to win the regional title and make its third straight Div. III World Series appearance.
Alfred struck for a run in the top of the first off Cortland starter Katie Finch (Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth). With one out, Molly Shepherd singled and Jesika LeBarron hit an RBI double to right center.
The Saxons scored again in the fourth when LeBarron walked, went to second on a Ashley Passaro single and scored on a throwing error on Karen Folts’ sacrifice bunt.
Finch escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and almost did again in the seventh before allowing Alfred’s third run. Nicole Hedrick led off the seventh with a triple, Shepherd walked and LeBarron was intentionally walked for the second time in a row. Finch got the next batter to hit a grounder to third that resulted in a force at home. Folts, however, followed with a hard grounder to the right side. Cortland second baseman Donnalyn Cross (Binghamton/Chenango Valley) made a diving stop and recorded the out at first, but Shepherd scored from third on the play.
Cortland only hits through the first six innings were two Lorraine Stoddard (Liverpool) singles. Still, the Red Dragons had two runners in scoring position in the second and sixth innings but couldn’t score.
In the second, Stoddard singled and beat the throw to second on Katie Fusco’s (Lake Ronkonkoma/Sachem North) sacrifice bunt. After a fielder’s choice forced Stoddard at third, Jackie Begnoche (Montgomery/Valley Central) bunted the runners to second and third. Cary, however, notched a strikeout to end the inning.
In the sixth, Jessica Harman (Penfield) walked, Stoddard singled and Fusco walked to load the bases with one out. Pinch hitter Sammi Dieffenbach (Erin/Horseheads) hit a grounder, however, that resulted in an inning ending first-to-home-to-first double play, with Alfred’s second baseman covering first on the throw from the catcher.
Cortland broke through in the seventh. Cross singled with one out and took second on the throw back to the pitcher. With two outs, Cross stole third on a delayed steal for her school-record 50th stolen base of her career. Emily Ringen (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock) followed with an RBI single to center, but Cary struck out the next batter to end the game.
Cary improved to 18-3 with the victory. She struck out five and walked four. Finch dropped only her third game in 29 decisions this spring. She gave up seven hits and three runs, two earned. She struck out 11 batters and walked four, two intentionally.
Shepherd finished 2-for-3 with a walk and Passaro was 2-for-4 for the Saxons. LeBarron was 1-for-1 with three walks, including the two intentional passes.
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