CORTLAND, N.Y. - Diane Cork (Wayland/Wayland-Cohocton) hit her school career-record 32nd home run and finished 2-for-3 with five RBI as top-seeded Cortland defeated sixth-seeded Buffalo State, 8-0, to open play in the six-team SUNYAC tournament at Dragon Field. The game was called due to the eight-run rule after Cortland took an eight-run lead in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Cortland (32-9) will face Oneonta to open the second day of the double-elimination tournament 9 a.m. Firday. Thursday's other action included Plattsburgh defeating New Paltz, 6-2, Geneseo beating Oneonta, 9-1 in six innings, and Buffalo State rallying to eliminate New Paltz, 6-4 in 10 innings.
 
Alexandrea Flint (Dalton/Keshequa) tossed a two-hit shutout over five innings for the win. She struck out one and walked two and is now 14-3 on the season. Flint did not allow a hit until Danielle Szymkowiak and Cassandra O'Hern hit back-to-back singles with one out in the top of the fifth.
 
Cortland opened the scoring in the first when Jamie Bucci (Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow) beat out an infield single and Cork hit a two-run homer to left center. Cork's 32 career homers eclipses the previous school mark of 31 set by Meaghan Kohler from 2011-14.
 
Cortland added a run in the third on Kaleigh Churchill's (Camillus/West Genesee) RBI single. The Red Dragons loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, and Cork cleared them with a three-run double to left center. Cortland ended the game in the fifth on a Churchill double, a Mikayla Shade (Bethlehem) single, a run-scoring passed ball and, with two outs, a walk-off RBI single by Rosie Phillips (Geneva/Our Lady of Mercy).
 
Cork was one of five Cortland players to record two hits as part of an 11-hit assault. Bucci was 2-for-2 with three runs scored, Churchill and Phillips were each 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored, and Shade was 2-for-3 with a run.
 
Lexi Haley dropped to 14-10 with the loss for Buffalo State, which is now 19-19 after its 1-1 record Thursday. Haley allowed 11 hits and eight runs, seven earned, with two walks and a strikeout.

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