CORTLAND, N.Y. - The Cortland softball team overcame an early 3-0 deficit and defeated Buffalo State, 12-4 in six innings, to win their second straight SUNYAC title and 14th overall. The Red Dragons improved to 35-9 and earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Cortland will be making its 21st NCAA showing overall and its ninth in 10 years. The tournament pairings will be announced Monday at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com. The NCAA playoffs will begin with either four-team or three-team regionals on campus sites Friday through Sunday, May 13-15, followed a week later by two-team super regionals to determine the eight teams that will play in the NCAA Div. III World Series.
Buffalo State (21-20), the sixth seed in the six-team SUNYAC tournament, earned its spot in the championship round after bouncing back from an opening loss to Cortland Thursday to win three straight games. The Bengals needed to beat Cortland twice Sunday to win the title.
Junior
Jamie Lachall (Philadelphia, PA/Sun Valley) earned the win in the circle for Cortland. Now 12-5, Lachall allowed four runs, two earned, on seven hits in five and a third innings. She struck out three and walked one.
Sam Van Dorn (Medford/Patchogue-Medford) recorded the final two outs in the top of the sixth.
Buffalo State took a 2-0 lead in the second with a five-hit inning that featured RBI singles by Cassandra O'Hern and Stephanie Novo. The Bengals extended their lead to 3-0 in the third on a Danielle Szymkowiak sacrifice fly.
Cortland began its comeback in the third when
Rosie Phillips (Geneva/Our Lady of Mercy) led off with a single and eventually scored on a
Niki Barbato (East Meadow/Holy Trinity) RBI groundout. The Red Dragons added a run in the fourth on an
Erin Wolstenholme (Oneonta) RBI single.
Cortland took control with six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Barbato tripled with one out and scored the tying run on a
Kaleigh Churchill (Camillus/West Genesee) RBI single up the middle. Churchill stole second, and
Mikayla Shade (Bethlehem) singled up the middle to drive home Churchill and give Cortland the lead. Two batters later, Wolstenhome hit an RBI single to left, followed by a
Stephanie Tirone (Amherst/Williamsville South) RBI double. After a wild pitch and a Phillips walk, pinch hitter
Skyler Hoyt (Endicott/Union-Endicott) finished the inning's scoring with a two-run double.
The Bengals got a run back in the sixth on a two-out error, but Cortland ended the game with four runs in the bottom of the inning to force the eight-run rule into effect. Shade hit a two-run homer, and later in the frame Phillips singled home a run.
Jamie Bucci (Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow) ended the game with an RBI single up the middle that pushed the lead to eight.
Cortland finished with 15 hits, including five players with two or more safeties. Wolstenholme went 3-for-3 with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored and Shade finished 3-for-4 with a homer, three RBI and two runs. Phillips ended 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI and two runs. Churchill and Barbato were each 2-for-4 with an RBI, with Churchill scoring twice and Barbato once. O'Hern was 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored for Buffalo State.
Cortland junior pitcher
Alexandrea Flint (Dalton/Keshequa) was named the SUNYAC tournament MVP despite not throwing in the championship round. Flint finished the tournament with a 3-0 record and did not allow a run in 13 and two thirds innings. She gave up eight hits and four walks and struck out five. Flint threw a four-hit shutout in a 1-0 win Saturday over Geneseo in the winner's bracket final.
Joining Flint on the all-tournament team were Cork, Bucci, Wolstenholme and Churchill from Cortland, Buffalo State's Lexi Haley, Stephanie Novo and O'Hern, Geneseo's Emily Martin and Danni Napoli, and Plattsburgh's Jennifer Groat.
Tournament Web Page
