PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Senior Amanda Barnett's (Syracuse/Jamesville-DeWitt) two-run homer broke a 1-1 tie and capped a three-run third inning and Cortland defeated Buffalo State, 3-1, in the championship game of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) softball tournament at SUNY Plattsburgh. The nationally 22nd-ranked Red Dragons won their second straight SUNYAC title, their fourth in the last six years and ninth overall.

Cortland (34-11) has earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III playoffs, which begin this Thursday. The NCAA pairings will be announced late Sunday night or early Monday morning. Cortland will most likely be sent to a regional either at Plattsburgh or Ithaca College, which are two of the eight pre-determined regional sites.

Sophomore Katie Finch (Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth) was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after earning her fourth win in as many days. She allowed four hits and three walks and struck out nine batters and is now 18-7 on the season. Finch struck out 48 batters in 32 and two-third innings during the tournament and her 216 strikeouts this spring breaks her own school single-season mark of 182 from last season. Senior first baseman Shara Evanter (Commack) and sophomore third baseman/shortstop Jackie Begnoche (Montgomery/Valley Central) joined Finch on the all-tournament team, which was chosen for the first time this year.

Buffalo State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Christina Tschari led off with a single and Courtney Keleher reached on an error by Finch to put runners on first and second. Two batters later, Karen Oste singled through the left side to score Tschari and advanced to second on the throw. The Bengals left runners on second and third, however, as Finch recorded a pop-up and a flyout to end the inning.

In the bottom of the third, Cortland freshman Brooke Weidman (Perkinsville/Wayland-Cohocton) drew a leadoff walk and was bunted to second by junior Kim Whitman (Victor). Freshman Donnalyn Cross (Binghamton/Chenango Valley) then bunted, and an error on the play allowed Weidman to score and Cross to go to second. Barnett then hit a two-run homer over the fence in left – her first home run of the season and her first hit of the tournament – to plate what held up to be the winning runs.

Buffalo State (28-15) threatened in each of the next two innings but couldn't score. In the third, Jolene Banach walked with one out and Tschari drew a two-out walk before a groundout ended the inning. In the fourth, Oste walked with one out and went to third on a Carly Lopez single, with Lopez taking second on the throw. Finch got the next batter to foul out to Evanter at first, and a foul out to Weidman in left preserved Cortland's two-run margin.

The Bengals managed only one more baserunner over the final three innings on a one-out Banach infield single in the fifth. Aimee Fisher suffered the loss despite allowing only three hits and two walks in six innings. She struck out two batters.

Box Score

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