AUBURN, N.Y. – Junior Jason Simone (UTICA/Thomas R. Proctor) hit an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Cortland a 7-6 victory over St. John Fisher in the championship round of the NCAA Div. III Regional at Falcon Park. With the win, Cortland (36-8-1) advances to the NCAA Div. III World Series for the 10th time in school history. The Red Dragons will play Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the first round on Friday, May 28, at 10 a.m. Central time in Appleton, Wis.

St. John Fisher College was looking for a second straight extra-inning victory, scoring four times in the top of the ninth inning sparked by the game's only error. However, in the bottom of the ninth, Simone belted a single with runners on second and third to score sophomore second baseman Matt June (COLONIE, NY/Colonie) as the Red Dragons punched their ticket to the Series.

Cortland, making its 19th tournament appearance and 18th in a row (the longest active streak nationally), won its 10th regional title in the last 16 seasons and will join seven other regional champions in the five-day affair in Appleton, WI (May 28-June 1).

The Cardinals, the Empire Eight regular season champion, capped their most successful season in the program's history, establishing a new school record for wins, end their season with a 31-14 mark.

Designated hitter Steve Nickel (LAKE RONKONKOMA, NY/Sachem) was named the regional most outstanding player. He finished the day batting 2-for-5 with two runs batted in and a run scored. For four regional contest, he was the team's top hitter with a .600 batting average, an .867 slugging percentage, and a .647 on-base percentage. Nickel was 9-for-15 with two extra-base hits (double, home run) and six runs batted in.

Joining him on the ten-player All-Tournament Team were juniors Mike Assmann (AUBURN, NY/AUBURN), Simone, Travis Ratliff (LEVITTOWN, NY/Division Avenue), and Andersen Gartner (FAIRPORT, NY/Fairport). Representing Fisher were Freshman Ben Bostick (ROCHESTER, NY/Aquinas Institute), senior Dan Jurik (VESTAL, NY/Vestal), sophomore Teagen Barresi (LANSING, NY/Lansing), and junior Phil Pettinella (BATAVIA, NY/Batavia).

Fisher jumped out to a 2-0 lead through an inning and a half before Cortland took command with four runs in the bottom of the third and runs in fifth and the seventh to take what seemed to be a commanding 6-2 lead.

But Fisher mounted the ninth inning rally with four runs over six hits, beginning with a single to centerfield from junior centerfielder Ross Langevin (LIVERPOOL, NY/Liverpool). After senior first baseman Jon Gibbs (PITTSFORD, NY/Pittsford Sutherland) reached base on an infield error, moving to second while Langevin moves to third, the Cardinals got their first out on a pop fly before Barresi singled to score the two base runners.

The Cardinals got back-to-back singles from Pettinella and senior Kevin Wing (WEBSTER, NY/Webster Schroeder), with Wing's hit moving Pettinella and Barresi, who attempted to score after rounding third before getting thrown out at the plate. Sophomore catcher Ryan Shaughnessy (PITTSFORD, NY/Pittsford Sutherland) followed with an RBI single to score Pettinella, while senior infielder Jason Nevada (ROCHESTER, NY/Greece Arcadia) added another run off a single to score senior Andrew Van Slyke (ROME, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherill), who entered the game as a pinch runner. 

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