ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Nationally second-ranked Cortland scored three runs apiece in the eighth and ninth innings to rally past the University of Rochester, 15-11, on Wednesday evening at Towers Field. The Red Dragons improved to 15-1 overall and won their fourth in a row.
Vinny Bomasuto (Dunkirk) was 3-for-4 with a triple, three runs scored and five RBI for Cortland.
Conrad Ziemendorf (Penfield/Webster Schroeder) and
Anthony Simon (Suffern/Don Bosco Prep (NJ)) knocked in three runs each. Ziemendorf finished 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, Simon was 3-for-6 with a triple and double, and
Donny Castaldo (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) was 4-for-5 a triple, double and five runs scored.
Simon and Castaldo each finished a homer short of hitting for the cycle. Simon singled in the third, tripled in the fourth and doubled in the eighth. Castaldo singled in the third and the eighth, tripled in the fourth, doubled in the sixth, and was hit by a pitch in the ninth, and he scored every time he reached base. Cortland pounded out 18 hits, seven for extra bases.
For Rochester (4-6), Sam Slutsky was 2-for-3, scored twice, and drove in four runs. He clubbed a three-run home run over the left centerfield fence with two down in the seventh to put Rochester ahead, 11-9. Brendan Garry was 2-for-4, scored twice, and had three RBI. Dan Watten was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. The Yellowjackets had seven extra-base hits among their 12 total hits.
The win went to
Adam Brant (Staatsburg/Our Lady of Lourdes), the fifth Cortland pitcher. He relieved
Ryan McAlary (Shoreham/Shoreham-Wading River) after the Slutsky home run in the seventh. In two and a third innings, Brant gave up one hit and struck out one. He gave up a leadoff single to Will Conroy in the eighth, with Cortland up 12-11, then promptly picked him off. With two down in the ninth, Garry reached on an error before Brant got pinch-hitter Matt Todd to fly out to left.
Zach Ferris (Stephentown/LaSalle Institute) also turned in a solid outing on the mound in middle relief. He entered in the first after Rochester scored five runs and gave up three hits, no walks and one run with three strikeouts over four and two thirds innings.
Warren took the loss for Rochester. He pitched the seventh and eighth innings, giving up three hits, three runs (two earned) with one strikeout. Cortland tacked on three runs in the ninth off Evan Janifer.
Rochester scored its five runs in the bottom of the first off starter
Nick Di Benedetto (Nanuet). Garry's two-run triple was the big hit, while Slutsky doubled home a run to increase the lead to five. Cortland scored five in the third off David Strandberg, the second Rochester pitcher.
Connor Griffin (Cortland) tripled in a run and scored on a
Connor Manderson (New Hartford) single. Ziemendorf hit a sac fly two batters later, with a wild pitch and a
Patrick Schetter (Beacon) fielder's choice accounting for the other runs. Griffin finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs.
In the fourth, Bomasuto singled home a run to put Cortland up 6-5 and Simon tripled to center for an 8-5 lead. Bomasuto also plated a run with a sac fly in the top of the sixth.
Down 9-6, Rochester scored twice in the sixth. Slutsky tripled and scored on Warren's double. He stole third and scored when Tyler Schmidt grounded to short. In the seventh, Nolan Schultz singled with one out and Garry walked. After McAlary fanned pinch-hitter Owen Gabbey, Slutsky homered for an 11-9 lead.
Bomasuto tripled home two runs in the eighth, then scored when Simon followed with a double down the right field line to give the Red Dragons the lead. In the ninth, Ziemendorf doubled in two with the bases loaded and Bomasuto followed with an RBI single.
Cortland is scheduled to play a three-game SUNYAC series at Fredonia Friday and Saturday, March 27-28, with one game Friday at 3 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday at noon. The location of that series, however, will likely be moved due to weather and field conditions. More details will be announced later.
(Thanks to University of Rochester sports information for providing most of this game recap)
Box Score
