KISSIMMEE, FLA. – Junior Lucia Meola (Liverpool/Cicero-North Syracuse) drove in the tying run with a two-out, infield single in the bottom of the seventh and sophomore Meaghan Kohler (Franklin, NJ/Warren Hills Regional) hit the game-winning single in the bottom of the eighth inning as Cortland rallied past Aurora University, 9-8, at the Rebel Spring Games. Cortland, tied for seventh nationally in Division III, lost to unbeaten Bridgewater College (Va.) in the following game, 7-3, and finishes its season-opening Florida trip with a 6-2 record.

Cortland 9, Aurora 8 (8 inn.) (Box Score)

Cortland let a 3-1 lead after two innings slip away and trailed 8-5 entering the bottom of the sixth inning. The Red Dragons scored twice in the sixth when Meola singled, senior Jessica Harman (Penfield) doubled, senior Abby Martin (Oswego) hit an RBI groundout and Kohler hit a sacrifice fly to right.

In the seventh, junior Cassie Kardias (Shrub Oak/Lakeland) led off with a single and went to third on a single by senior Lorraine Stoddard (Liverpool). Two fielder's choices, however, left runners on first and third with two outs. Meola then hit a ball between the pitcher and first baseman. The first baseman made the play, but Meola beat the throw to first to drive in the tying run.

The teams went to the NCAA tiebreaker rule in the eighth inning where a runner is placed on second to start the inning. Aurora bunted its runner to third base, but popped out on a squeeze bunt attempt. A strikeout ended the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Harman was placed on second base and, with one out, Kohler singled to center to plate the winning run.

Senior Morgan Kuhn (Wayland/Wayland-Cohocton), Cortland's second reliever of the game, retired all seven batters she faced over the final two and a third innings for her second win in as many decisions this spring. She struck out two.

Stoddard finished 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBI in four plate appearances. Kardias was 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored, Meola went 2-for-4 with a walk and RBi and Harman went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.

Samantha Angell finished 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI for Aurora (3-5), which has won more than 30 games each of the last seven seasons. Tristan Wilcox went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Brooke Spencer was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Spencer's RBI single gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the first. Stoddard's two-run single highlighted Cortland's three-run second, but Aurora scored four in the top of the fourth on an error, a Stephanie Dolce pinch-hit two-run single and a Wilcox RBI double.

Cortland tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the fourth on a Harman two-run single. Aurora took its 8-5 lead with three runs in the sixth as Maggie Cooper hit an RBI single and Angell singled home two runs.

Bridgewater 7, Cortland 3 (Box Score)

Cortland had committed just five total errors over its first seven games, but the Red Dragons made seven errors that led to seven unearned runs for Bridgewater (8-0). The Eagles posted their second win over a ranked team in as many days – they beat 10th-ranked Coast Guard, 1-0, on Wednesday.

Senior Lyndsay Rowell (Sandy Creek) suffered the loss despite allowing only four hits and three walks in six innings. She struck out four batters. Bridgewater's Heather Jenkins allowed 10 hits and one walk but only three runs, one earned, in seven innings. She fanned five Cortland hitters.

The Red Dragons scored a run in the top of the first when Martin singled with two outs and scored on a Kohler RBI double. Bridgewater tied the game on a bases-loaded error with no outs in the second. Rowell retired the next three batters, two by strikeout, to keep the game tied at 1-1.

Two Cortland errors and a passed ball contributed to three Bridgewater runs in the fourth. Amanda Lutz's two-run single was the key hit in the frame. In the fifth, the Eagles added three more runs on a Jenkins RBI double and a dropped fly ball that allowed two runs to score.

Cortland constructed a brief rally in the top of the seventh. Meola singled and Harman walked, and they moved to second and third on a groundout. Kohler then reached on an error on a grounder to second and both runners scored. Jenkins, however, got two groundouts to end the game.

Martin finished 3-for-4 with a double, Kohler was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI and Harman went 1-for-3 with a walk. Meola, with her hit in the seventh, has now hit safely in 11 straight games dating back to last season, while Kohler has hit safely in all eight games this spring.

Cortland returns to action on Saturday, March 17. The Red Dragons will play a single game at Lebanon Valley College at 11 a.m. and will play one game versus DeSales University, at Lebanon Valley, at 1 p.m.