GRAND CHUTE, WIS. – Seth Lamando (Hopewell Junction/Roy C. Ketcham) allowed five hits and matched his career high with 11 strikeouts and Cortland's offense produced 19 hits as the nationally top-ranked Red Dragons defeated Webster University, 12-4, during the opening day of the NCAA Div. III World Series.

Cortland (41-4) will face second-ranked Frostburg State (Md.) Saturday at 1:15 p.m. (CT) in a winner's bracket game of Pool A. This year's series features a new format with two, four-team pools. The winner of each double-elimination bracket will play in a best-of-three series for the title. Frostburg opened play Friday with a 3-1 win over Ramapo. Webster and Ramapo will play an elimination game Saturday at 10 a.m.

Lamando gave up three runs, one earned, and walked only one over seven and a third innings as he improved to 6-0 on the season. He tied his career high for strikeouts set versus Brockport during this year's SUNYAC tournament. Turner Parry (Camillus/West Genesee) pitched the final inning and two thirds and allowed one run on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Cortland pitching combined to fan 16 Webster batters.

Every Cortland starter recorded at least one hit, led by Conrad Ziemendorf's (Penfield/Webster Schroeder) 3-for-5, one RBI effort. Anthony Simon (Suffern/Don Bosco Prep (NJ)) went 2-for-5 with a homer, two RBI and two runs. Fabio Ricci (Hawthorne/Westlake) finished 2-for-4, Mark DeMilio (Valhalla) was 2-for-5 with a triple, RBI and two runs, and Vinny Bomasuto (Dunkirk) was 2-for-5 with a walk and RBI.

Also for the Red Dragons, Austin Clock (Niskayuna) finished 2-for-5, while Matthew Michalski (Buffalo/St. Francis) and Justin Teague (Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) each drove in two runs Michalski was 1-for-2 with a walk, hit-by-pitch and sac fly.

Mke Golich went 3-for-4 with a walk and Max Fecske was 2-for-3 with an RBI for Webster (34-14). Charlie Gandolfi finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. Josh Fleming, the first of seven pitchers for the Gorloks, took the loss after allowing seven runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts in three and a third innings.

Webster led 2-0 in the bottom of the first on singles by Golich and Fecske, an error on a Feckse stolen base, and a Kyle Uhrich RBI groundout. Cortland tied the game in the top of the second. The inning started with infield singles by Simon and Clock and a popped up bunt by Donny Castaldo (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) that fell in for a single to load the bases. Michalski was hit by a pitch with one out to force in a run and Teague drove in a run with a fielder's choice.

A Simon double play grounder resulted in a run for Cortland in the third, but Webster tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the inning on a Gandolfi infield single, combined with an error, followed by a steal of third and a Fecske RBI infield single.

Cortland took the lead for good with four runs in the fourth. The Red Dragons strung together five straight singles with one out, including RBI hits by Teague, DeMilio and Ziemendorf, and the fourth run scored on a wild pitch. Cortland added a run in the sixth when DeMilio led off with a triple and Bomasuto hit a fly ball that fell into shallow center for an RBI single.

Michalski drove in a run with a sac fly in the seventh, and Simon hit a two-run homer in the eighth after Bomasuto drew a two-out walk. Cortland closed its scoring in the ninth on consecutive pinch-hit singles by Matt Personius (Binghamton/Chenango Valley), Connor Griffin (Cortland) and Adam Smith (Vestal). Webster scored the game's final run on a Gandolfi RBI single.

All of Lamando's 11 strikeouts came over the first five innings, including five straight batters from the end of the third through one out in the fifth.

Box Score

Cortland Postgame Press Conference (posted on Cortland's Facebook page)

Full Game Replay (NCAA.com)

Tournament Interactive Bracket