KISSIMMEE, FLA. – The Cortland softball team, ranked 19th nationally in Division III, opened its 2017 season with losses to 12th-ranked Trine University, 7-1, and ninth-ranked Rowan, 5-4, at the Rebel Spring Games.
The Red Dragons will continue their 10-game Florida trip Monday versus Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) at 9 a.m. and Wheaton (Mass.) at 1:30 p.m.
Trine 7, Cortland 1
Trine (5-0) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. With two outs and no one on, Nicole Ferraro and Kaylee Fox drew walks and Carly Bachna hit a three-run homer to left. After an error and a Lainey McCue single, Catherine Porter hit a two-run single to the gap in right center.
The Thunder added a run in the fifth when Claire Ryan led off with an infield single and scored on a two-out double by Emily White.
Cortland got on the board in the top of the sixth.
Rosie Phillips (Geneva/Our Lady of Mercy) led off with a walk, was bunted to second by
Andrea Schoonmaker (Marlboro), advanced to third on an
Ericka Sadowski (Liverpool) bunt single and scored on a
Mikayla Shade (Glenmont/Bethlehem) RBI single to right. Trine closed the scoring in the bottom of the sixth on a Ferraro double, a passed ball, and a Fox RBI groundout.
Danielle Ray earned the win for Trine with a complete-game four-hitter. She walked three and struck out eight. She held Cortland hitless until a Shade single with two outs in the fourth. Ferraro went 3-for-3 with a double, walk and two runs scored and Bachna was 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI.
Alexandrea Flint (Dlaton/Keshequa) started for Cortland and allowed five runs, three earned, in four innings. She waked two and struck out one.
Sam Van Dorn (Medford/Patchogue-Medford) threw two innings and gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits. She fanned two batters and walked none. Shade finished 2-for-2 with a walk,
Kelly O'Gorman (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) went 1-for-3 with a double.
Rowan 5, Cortland 4
Rowan rallied from a 4-2 deficit with two runs in the top of the fifth, and the Profs scored what proved to be the game-winning run on Gianna Genello's two-out RBI double in the sixth. Genello finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Rowan (9-0) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out, two-run single by Cassandra Gerard. Cortland tied the game in the bottom of the second on two errors and a one-out, two-run double by
Victoria Brown (Fresh Meadows/Archbishop Molloy) in her first collegiate at-bat.
The Red Dragons scored a run in the third on a bases-loaded walk by
Skyler Hoyt (Endicott/Union-Endicott) and another in the fourth on
Kaleigh Churchill's (Camillus/West Genesee) RBI single, but Cortland left the bases loaded in both innings. In all, the Red Dragons stranded 11 runners.
The Profs tied the game in the fifth on two singles, an error, a jesse DeDomenico RBI fielder's choice, and a Morgan Smith RBI single. The go-ahead rally in the sixth started with a Rachel Breuninger leadoff walk. She advanced to second on a groundout and scored on Genello's double that was slapped just inside the bag at third.
Lauren Shannon earned the win in relief of starter DeDomenico. Shannon went four and two thirds innings and allowed one run on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
Jamie Lachall (Philadelphia, PA/Sun Valley) went the distance for Cortland and gave up eight hits and five runs, four earned, with one strikeout and two walks.
Churchill, O'Gorman and Brown each finished 2-for-4 and Shade was 1-for-3 with a walk for Cortland.
