CORTLAND, N.Y. - Junior
Jamie Lachall (Philadelphia, PA/Sun Valley) and freshman
Sam Van Dorn (Medford/Patchogue-Medford) each threw shutouts as Cortland swept visiting Nazareth, 6-0 and 3-0, in a non-league doubleheader.
Lachall threw a seven-hitter in the opener with four strikeouts and no walks to improve to 10-5. Van Dorn, making her second collegiate start, allowed only five hits and one walk and struck out six to up her record to 5-1.
Cortland (27-9) will wrap the regular season with SUNYAC doubleheaders Friday at Oneonta at 3 p.m. and Saturday at New Paltz at noon. The Red Dragons need one victory to clinch the top seed in the SUNYAC and the right to host the league's six-team postseason tournament May 5-8.
Cortland 6, Nazareth 0
Cortland took a 1-0 lead on back-to-back doubles by
Jamie Bucci (Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow) and
Diane Cork (Wayland/Wayland-Cohocton) to lead off the bottom of the third. The Red Dragons added two in the fifth when
Andrea Schoonmaker (Marlboro) doubled with two outs and
Erin Wolstenholme (Oneonta) hit her fourth homer of the season.
Nazareth's best scoring chance came in the top of the sixth. Sarah Papponetti and Maureen Rogers each singled with one out. After a fielder's choice force at third for the second out, Stephanie Mongelli singled up the middle to load the bases. The next batter hit a grounder to second, Mongelli called out for interfering with the second baseman to end the inning.
Cortland put up three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Bucci doubled with one out and Cork was hit by a pitch. A
Niki Barbato (East Meadow/Holy Trinity) single drove in pinch runner
Alissa De Padua (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) from second, and pinch runner
Shannon Damon (Staten Island/St. Joseph by the Sea) eventually scored on a
Mikayla Shade (Bethlehem) bases-loaded walk. Schoonmaker's sac fly to right drove in the final run.
Bucci finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and Schoonmaker was 2-for-3 with a double and RBI. Wolstenholme and Cork were each 1-for-3, with Wolstenholme also drawing a walk and driving in two runs.
Rachel Mertens and Rogers each finished 2-for-3 for the Golden Flyers. Nicole White started in the circle and allowed eight hits and six runs in five and a third innings. She struck out five and walked six.
Cortland 3, Nazareth 0
After four scoreless innings, the Red Dragons broke through in the bottom of the fifth to take a 1-0 lead. Wolstenholme singled and, after a fielder's choice force at second,
Skyler Hoyt (Endicott/Union-Endicott) singled to left to put runners on first and second. A force out created the second out, but Cork followed with an RBI single to left. Damon, who was pinch running at second, crossed home plate a split second before Nazareth threw out a Cortland baserunner at second for the final out as the run barely counted.
Cortland picked up two insurance runs in the sixth.
Kaleigh Churchill (Camillus/West Genesee) hustled out a double on a fly ball that fell into short left center with one out. An error put runners on first and third, and Schoonmaker ripped a two-run triple to center.
The Golden Flyers managed to get only one runner into scoring position against Van Dorn when Delaney St. George led off the third with an infield single and moved to second on a groundout. The Golden Flyers left runners on first and second in the inning after a two-out groundout to the pitcher. In the top of the sixth, Rogers hit a ball to the fence in left, but left fielder Cork fired a strike to second to catch Rogers trying to stretch the play into a double.
Schoonmaker ended 2-for-3 with a triple and finished the doubleheader a combined 4-for-6 with a double and a triple. Cork was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Hoyt finished 1-for-2 with a walk and run scored. Rogers and St. George each went 2-for-3 for Nazareth (17-19), while Mertens a complete-game six innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on eight hits with two walks and a strikeout.