YAPHANK, N.Y. – A Giovanni Jimenez bases-loaded walk forced in the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning and Old Westbury went on to defeat nationally 18th-ranked Cortland, 4-2, in a game played at the Baseball Heaven complex.
The game was called due to darkness with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Cortland had briefly tied the game at 4-4 on a
Steve Nickel (Lake Ronkonkoma/Sachem North) two-run homer with one out in the ninth, but the game officially reverted back to the end of the eighth inning since Old Westbury had not taken its offensive turn in the ninth.
Cortland (2-2) took a 2-0 lead on an
Andersen Gardner (Fairport) two-run homer.
Khyle Dimino (Brighton) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, stole second and scored on Gardner's homer to right two batters later.
The Panthers scored once in the second on a Melvin Simmons RBI single and tied the game in the fourth on a Jimenez RBI single. The go-ahead rally started in the sixth when Steven Henriquez was hit by a pitch. Joe Manzella walked with one out and Simmons reached on an infield single to load the bases. Jimenez drew the walk that brought in the tiebreaking run. Old Westbury (1-3) added an unearned run in the seventh when Fernando Lopez reached on an error and eventually scored on a Edwin Pena RBI single.
Cortland left the bases loaded in both the third and fifth innings and stranded another runner on third in the sixth inning.
Gardner and
Jason Simone (Utica/Thomas R. Proctor) each finished 2-for-4 for the Red Dragons.
Adam Brown (Rochester/Greece Athena) suffered the loss after allowing six hits, three walks and three runs in five and a third innings. He struck out three.
Brendan Hourihan (Yorktown Heights/Lakeland), the second Cortland reliever, gave up just one hit and one unearned run and struck out one in two and two-third innings.
Old Westbury reliever Marvin Rosario earned the win. He gave up just one hit and fanned four batters in three innings. Simmons finished 2-for-3 with two walks and Pena was 2-for-4.
Cortland will play a doubleheader versus Mount St. Vincent on Saturday at noon, also at Baseball Heaven.
Box Score/Play-by-Play
