EAU CLAIRE, WIS. – Junior Briana Barca's (Eastchester) two-run double capped a five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning as Cortland shocked top-ranked Salisbury, 7-6, to advance to the championship round of the eight-team NCAA Div. III World Series.

Cortland (35-16) will play seventh-ranked Tufts in the championship round Monday at approximately 4:15 p.m. (Eastern). Tufts is currently 3-0 in the tournament, so Cortland needs to defeat the Jumbos to create a winner-take-all final on Tuesday morning. The Red Dragons, 3-1 thus far at the Series, are now guaranteed at least a second-place national finish.

Cortland entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 6-2 versus Salisbury first-team All-America pitcher Rachel Johnson. The Red Dragons – who scored twice in the seventh to beat Salisbury, 2-1, in the first game of the Series – started their winning rally with an Alicia Hibbard (Canastota) walk. Cassie Kardias (Shrub Oak/Lakeland) singled up the middle to move pinch-runner Makaylee Dowd (Saratoga Springs) to second and Nicole Gallo (Mount Sinai) doubled to left center to score Dowd.

Erin Wolstenholme (Oneonta) was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Courtney Kadish (Williamsville/Williamsville North) hit a ball that went through the shortstop's legs and two runs scored to cut the Salisbury lead to 6-5. Barca then hit her walk-off double to left center to drive in Wolstenholme and Kadish with the tying and winning runs.

Tiffany Sampere (Liverpool) earned the win after entering the game in the top of the seventh and allowing only one hit and no runs. Amber Corrigan (Montgomery/Valley Central) pitched the first five and a third innings and allowed eight hits, four walks and five runs. Sarah Salamone (Liverpool/Cicero-North Syracuse) pitched two-thirds of an inning.

Barca finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI and Kardias was 3-for-4. Hibbard finished 2-for-2 with two walks, Lucia Meola (Liverpool/Cicero-North Syracuse) was 2-for-3 with a walk and RBI and Kadish went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

For Salisbury (42-4), Sarah Alpaugh went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and Harley Hill was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Kathryn Larson gave up five hits but only one run over the first two innings. Johnson, who had pitched six innings earlier in the day in a win over Texas-Tyler, gave up eight hits, three walks and six runs, five earned, in four-plus innings versus the Red Dragons.

Salisbury (42-4) had broken a 2-2 tie with four runs in the top of the sixth inning. Hill singled in a run, Hannah Mills walked to force in a run, Paige Knussman singled in a run and Lindsay McCabe walked to bring in a run.

Salisbury led 1-0 in the first on a Michelle Gravdahl RBI double, but Cortland tied the game in the second on a Meola RBI single. The Sea Gulls regained the lead in the top of the third when Katie Sebbane was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Cortland tied the game in the bottom of the frame on a Wolstenholme RBI groundout.

Box Score/Play-by-Play

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