ITHACA, N.Y. – Junior
Amber Corrigan (Montgomery/Valley Central) threw a four-hit shutout as Cortland earned a trip to the NCAA Div. III World Series with a 7-0 victory over Lebanon Valley in the championship game of the NCAA Div. III Regionals at Ithaca College.
The Red Dragons (32-15), seeded fourth at the regional, earns its eighth World Series trip overall and fourth in the last six years. Cortland will face nationally top-ranked Salisbury University in the first game of the eight-team, double-elimination World Series on Friday, May 17, at 11 a.m. (12 p.m. Eastern) in Eau Claire, Wis.
Corrigan, the winning pitcher in all of Cortland's victories over the weekend, was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player. Sophomore shortstop
Erin Wolstenholme (Oneonta), senior outfielder
Cassie Kardias (Shrub Oak/Lakeland) and junior catcher
Briana Barca (Eastchester) joined Corrigan on the all-tournament team.
Corrigan struck out seven and walked two and is now 18-5 on the season. Wolstenholme was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI and Kardias finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Senior
Lucia Meola (Liverpool/Cicero-North Syracuse) and freshman
Diane Cork (Wayland/Wayland-Cohocton) were each 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Tessa Deardorff, Emily Johnson and Mary Readinger each went 1-for-2 for Lebanon Valley (36-7-1), the third seed at the regional. Sam Derr dropped to 25-6 with the loss after allowing 12 hits and seven runs, five earned, with four strikeouts.
Cortland scored in the top of the first when Cork led off with a single and took third on the play on an error by the left fielder. Meola then reached on an error that allowed Cork to score.
In the fourth, Kardias led off with a double and, with one out, Wolstenholme reached on an infield single. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third and
Courtney Kadish's (Williamsville/Williamsville North) infield single drove in Kardias. Barca followed with a sacrifice fly to right to score Wolstenholme and, two batters later, Cork singled up the middle to plate Kadish and give Cortland a 4-0 lead.
The Red Dragons added single runs in each of the last three innings. Kardias doubled with one out in the fifth and scored on a Wolstenholme two-out single. In the sixth, freshman
Jamie Bucci (Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow) singled with one out, stole second and scored on a Meola double. The final run scored in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by freshman
Carrie Stoddard (Liverpool) and Wolstenholme.
Lebanon Valley's best scoring chance came in the bottom of the first. Deardorff walked and eventually moved to third on two groundouts, but Corrigan struck out the next hitter. The Dutchmen had only one other runner reach second base from that point.
Friday's other first-round World Series matchups feature Luther (Iowa) versus Anderson (Ind.), Tufts (Mass.) versus Texas-Tyler, and Central (Iowa) versus Montclair State (N.J.). Cortland has played Salisbury twice previously in the World Series, losing to the Sea Gulls in the 2003 first round, 1-0, and in a 2009 elimination game, 2-1.
In Cortland's last appearance in the World Series in 2011, the Red Dragons posted their best-ever finish with a 2-2 record and fourth-place showing.
Box Score/Play-by-Play
Regional Tournament Page
World Series Bracket (Interactive)
NCAA Tournament Program (digital version only)
