FERRUM, VA. –
Patrick Schetter (Beacon) hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to lead the nationally third-ranked Cortland baseball team to a 5-4 victory over Stevenson in non-league action. The Red Dragons improve to 10-2 and the Mustangs drop to 5-6.
Schetter was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Cortland.
Steven Figueroa (Bronx/St. Raymond's) went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks and
Colin BeVard (Syracuse/West Genesee) batted 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Andrew Barnes (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) was the fifth and final pitcher for the Red Dragons. He earned the win after pitching the last two outs in the ninth; which included a strikeout with two outs and a runner on second.
Anthony Visconte (East Islip) pitched the opening two and a third innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits, four walks and struck out five. Three other relievers pitched before Barnes entered the game, with
Eric Sandusky (Stony Point/North Rockland) being the most effective. Sandusky gave up just one hit in two and two-thirds innings and fanned two batters.
Matt Phillips took the loss for Stevenson. In two and two-thirds, he allowed one run, a hit and walked one. John D'Aquanno led the Mustangs with two hits and a walk.
Stevenson took an early one run lead in the second inning off a fielder's choice that scored Kevin Kopas. The Red Dragons answered in the bottom half of the inning when BeVard hit an RBI single to tie the game.
The Mustangs scored the next three runs of the game. With the bases loaded in the third, Jake Dimon earned an RBI when he was hit by a pitch and Billy Small scored an unearned run during the next at-bat as a result of a Cortland fielding error. In the sixth, Jake Hall reached home on a passed ball to increase Stevenson's lead to 4-1.
The Red Dragons rallied to score three runs in the seventh.
Tyler Phillips (Hancock) and Figueroa hit back-to-back RBI singles and
Jack Massa (Shoreham/Shorehame-Wading River) bunted Phillips over to third in the following at-bat. Schetter scored Phillips with an RBI sacrifice fly to even the score at four.
In the ninth,
Billy Kozak (Sidney) reached base after being hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Phillips. Figueroa was intentionally walked, leaving runners on first and second with one out. After a Cortland pop-out, Schetter delivered the game winning RBI single to complete the comeback.
Cortland's scheduled game at Shenandoah on Wednesday has been canceled due to the weather. The Red Dragons are attempting to schedule other games for their trip - any changes will be posted on the Cortland Athletics web page when announced.
