BROCKPORT, N.Y. - Brockport rallied for five runs in the bottom of the eighth and the Golden Eagles defeated Cortland, 6-5, to salvage the final game of the teams' three-game weekend series.
Brockport (16-8) re-established solo possession of first place in the SUNYAC standings with a 7-2 record. Cortland (21-4), ranked second nationally in Division III, fell to 6-3 with half of the league's 18-game regular season completed.
The Golden Eagles trailed 5-1 entering the eighth. Brett Sanders started the go-ahead rally with a single, Greg Ruddy walked and Wesley Burghardt singled in a run.
Tyler Brien (Ilion) relieved starter
Tanner Whiteman (Cazenovia) and allowed a Chris Davis RBI single that drew Brockport within 5-3. Josh Martin bunted the runners to second and third and Paul Ludden was intentionally walked to load the bases. Joe Bender followed with a two-run single to tie the game, and Dave Battel's RBI single gave Brockport the lead.
Brockport took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Burghardt led off with a double and scored on a Martin one-out RBI single. Cortland broke through with four runs in the sixth on a
Fabio Ricci (Hawthrone/Westlake) RBI triple, run-scoring singles by pinch hitter
Seth Lamando (Hopewell Junction/Roy C. Ketcham) and
Justin Teague (North Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse), and a bases-loaded walk by
Paul Dondero (East Islip). The Red Dragons extended their lead in the eighth when Dondero doubled and scored on a
Steven Figueroa (Bronx/St. Raymond's) RBI single.
Jimmy Lovelass improved to 2-1 on the season with the win in relief. He allowed one run on two hits in an inning and two thirds and was the pitcher of record when Brockport took the lead. Seve Kowalski started the ninth inning and allowed one hit while notching his fourth save.
Whiteman ended with a no-decision after allowing 10 hits, two walks and four runs in seven-plus innings. He struck out three. Brien was tagged with the loss.
Burghardt finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs and Ludden was 2-for-3 with a walk to lead Brockport's 13-hit attack. Sanders and Davis each were 2-for-4 and Bender drove in two runs.
For Cortland, Figueroa went 2-for-4 with a double, walk, RBI and run scored, while
Conrad Ziemendorf (Penfield/Webster Schroeder) finished 2-for-4 with a double and RBI. Dondero was 1-for-2 with a double and also reached on a walk and two hit-by-pitches, while
Nick Hart (Fredonia) went 1-for-2 with three walks.
Cortland will return to action next weekend with a three-game league series at Oneonta. The teams will play a single game Friday at 3 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday at noon.
